Latest news with #Bill127
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
VT Governor calls for action on housing legislation
MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Vermont Governor Phil Scott issued a statement Friday that criticized the state legislature for its slow progress on passing housing bills. He wrote, 'As the legislative session comes to a close, I'm concerned we have not done nearly enough on housing. With 41,000 more homes needed by 2030 (just to catch up) we cannot afford to kick the can down the road again.' The state legislature is currently considering Senate Bill 127 and House Bill 479. Both bills include measures meant to incentivize new construction, such as a $15,000 grant to build a house foundation in an existing empty lot. The two bills differ on some details and would need to be reconciled in order to be sent to the governor's desk; for example, H. 479 allows municipalities to impose a one percent tax on short-term rentals. Shopping for a home in Vermont? How to gain an edge in a sellers' market The governor released the statement shortly after the Vermont House held an all-house caucus on S. 127 Friday morning. According to the RE/MAX national housing report released last month, Burlington, which is Vermont's largest housing market, saw a 22% increase in median house prices year-over-year, the biggest increase out of any of the metro areas surveyed. Governor Scott has promoted options such as extending exemptions to Act 250, which allow for a quicker path to building new housing in areas already deemed to have sufficient infrastructure, and modifying the tax increment financing, or TIF program, so that smaller towns can make use of it to make improvements to an area and then pay back debt later. A proposal to expand it 'would help finance essential infrastructure, like water, sewer, and roads, to enable new housing,' according to Brett Long of the Vermont Department of Economic Development. To address housing crunch, UVM will build apartments for upperclassmen 'Vermonters across the state are impacted by a lack of housing options – from renters, to first time homebuyers, and retirees looking to downsize,' wrote Governor Scott. 'Last session, the Legislature passed 70 bills in three days, so I'm confident there is still time to pass a housing bill that actually helps Vermont, because without action, we will fall further behind.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia lawmakers race to pass bills on final day of legislative session
The Brief Lawmakers are racing to pass remaining bills before the 2025 session ends at midnight on Sine Die. A religious freedom bill has cleared both chambers and now awaits Gov. Brian Kemp's signature. Several high-profile proposals — including bills on DEI bans, immigration enforcement, and public records — are still awaiting final votes. ATLANTA - Georgia lawmakers are making a final push to pass key legislation as the General Assembly wraps up its 2025 session on Sine Die, the last day of the legislative calendar. What we know Legislators returned to the Capitol early Thursday morning, hoping to push bills through both chambers and onto Gov. Brian Kemp's desk for a signature before the midnight deadline. While some high-profile bills have cleared major hurdles, others face long odds as the clock ticks down. 2025 Georgia Bill Tracker | Current Status of Closely-Watched Bills This week, lawmakers advanced several controversial measures, including a bill that supporters say protects religious freedom. That proposal has cleared both chambers and is now awaiting the governor's signature. What's next Other bills are still navigating the legislative process: A measure to ban or restrict automated school zone cameras still needs approval from the state Senate. A Republican-backed bill that would limit public access to certain police and lawmaker records is pending a vote. Legislation targeting sanctuary city policies and tightening immigration enforcement awaits a vote in the House. House Bill 127, which would ban diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in Georgia's public schools and universities, is awaiting final approval in the House before moving forward. The session officially begins at 10 a.m., with lawmakers expected to work late into the night. Once the final gavel falls and the words "Sine Die" are spoken, any bills not passed this year will have to be reintroduced in the next session. MOST RECENT STORIES Georgia lawmakers push to eliminate state income tax on overtime pay Georgia legislature passes controversial religious freedom bill amidst partisan tensions Georgia bill to reduce prison sentences for domestic violence survivors on its way to becoming law Georgia House Democrats walk out in protest over bill banning gender-affirming care for inmates
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate Education Chair introduces bill that could close low-performing public schools
COLUMBUS, Ohio — JUNE 07: State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, speaks during the Ohio Senate session, June 7, 2023, at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal) A Republican bill that could automatically close low-performing Ohio public schools received no supporter testimony this week. Ohio Senate Bill 127 would revise Ohio's public school closure law and require a poor performing school to either close or take remedial action. Senate Education Committee Chair Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, introduced the bill last month and no one submitted supporter testimony for the bill's second hearing this week. 'It is my hope that this bill will help to standardize the law surrounding school closures for public and community schools and help ensure that each student in Ohio receives the best education possible,' Brenner said to the Senate Education Committee earlier this month during his sponsor testimony. The bill defines a poor performing school as a school (district operated, community or STEM), serving grades four and older, that has performed in the bottom 5% among public schools based on its Performance Index Score for three consecutive years, and is in the bottom 10% based on its Value-Added Progress for three consecutive years. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A poor-performing school would have the option to close at the end of the school year or replace its principal and a majority of licensed staff. Another option is the school could get the help of an Ohio Department of Education and Workforce management organization, charter management organization, education service center, or an Ohio public or private university with experience in school improvement. 'This bill leaves open many options, and so whatever option is probably in the best interest of the school district and those buildings and those students is what could be adopted,' Brenner said. The two Democrats on the Senate Education Committee — Sens. Catherine Ingram of Cincinnati and Kent Smith of Euclid — questioned Brenner about the bill. 'Do you have any idea how many schools this could potentially impact or how many districts this might impact?' Smith asked. Brenner didn't have an exact answer. He explained how 5% of the state's total school buildings would be about 180-185 schools. 'Have you run the numbers for academic performance, the performance index and the value added because it's got to be for three years?' Smith pressed. 'Do you have any idea is that number 185? Is it less?' Brenner said the actual number would likely be less than 185 since a school would have to be in both the bottom 5% among public schools based on their Performance Index Score for three consecutive years and in the bottom 10% based on its Value-Added Progress for three consecutive years to be considered poor-performing. 'You may have one year that they're better than that and outside of that zone,' Brenner said. 'So we don't have the exact numbers, but you do know what the maximum number potentially could be based on this, and this is based on the current situation in our schools.' Ohio charter schools are automatically closed if they have three straight years of poor performance. Brenner introduced a similar bill in the previous General Assembly, but it did not make it out of committee. Only one person testified in support of that bill with nearly 20 people speaking out against it. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
University of Texas alum crawling the Austin marathon to raise sexual assault awareness
Summer Willis hated to run. As a senior in high school in Beaumont, she quit soccer because "we were running so much, and it filled me with the most anxiety." A year and a half ago, Willis, 30, who now lives in Houston, hit rock bottom after being diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder following a sexual assault her sophomore year at the University of Texas. Just three months from her 29th birthday, she decided she would run 29 marathons in a year to raise awareness about sexual assault. Having completed those 29 marathons in a year by October, Willis is returning to the marathon circuit on Feb. 16 for the Austin Marathon. This time, though, she'll be crawling the marathon. She'll start on the course at 8:00 the night before after being at a gala for Austin's SAFE Alliance, and crawl on her hands and knees with her husband, Andrew, staying beside her to make sure she doesn't get lost in the dark and is kept fed and hydrated. She'll use knee pads and tape her wrists, but she knows it will be a grueling feat. She expects to reach the finish line around 1 p.m. and will be joined by friends and family, her therapist, as well as Texas legislators who are helping her spirit bills protecting victims of sexual assault. Several bills, including Senate Bill 332 and House Bill 1714, would make it a sexual assault if the person "knows the other person is intoxicated by any substance such that the other person is incapable of appraising the nature of the act" or if the person "knows that the other person has withdrawn consent to the act and the actor persists in the act after consent is withdrawn." Several bills, including Senate Bill 127 and House Bill 1778, would remove the statute of limitations on prosecuting sexual assault. The idea to crawl came to Willis because recovery after a sexual assault is slow and painful, she said. "It felt like I was on hands and knees just trying to get by for years — trying to crawl back into the person that I used to be," she said. "It's also right now a crawl to get anything done: to get legal help, to get the rape kits that you need to get, the counseling. ... It just all feels like this really slow process, but there's also strength in that. There's strength in the slow recovery." Willis was inspired by another runner who had run 52 marathons in 52 weeks to raise money for pancreatic cancer research. Willis had just had a baby, was sleep deprived and out of shape, she said, but she knew she could do it. "I couldn't run a mile. I was overweight. I was depressed. but I had some running shoes, and I started training," she said. She did three marathons in three days in Lake Tahoe that October as her first entry into the world of marathons. She later did 13 marathons in eight weeks. Sometimes the marathons were just a mess. One time she forgot pants and had to have pants delivered to her through Uber, but the pants that arrived were almost see-through. Another time she forgot to pack deodorant. And for her first marathons, her luggage was lost, including her breast pump, which meant she could barely lift her arms while running because her breasts were so full with milk and no pump to express it. Willis' healing was about getting stronger through running and through writing and talking about her assault, which she never reported. "I needed to be the person that I used to believe that I could be before the rape, just someone who is strong and resilient and a fighter and someone who would do good," she said. "And so by running 29 marathons and sharing my story with the world, I guess that was me trying to be the person that I always believed I could be before." Coming back to Austin is always difficult. When she was last here, she went by the street where her assault occurred and just cried. She says she and a group of her sorority sisters went to a fraternity party where she was handed a drink. She believes that drink was laced with something because she has very little memory of that night. She does remember the bed and saying "no" over and over again. Then she remembers running along the street outside the fraternity house, falling on the ground and then taking a hot shower afterward. She later heard from people at the party what had happened to her, and she says the fraternity's underground newsletter published a narrative of that night's events, which included her rape, she said. She didn't tell anyone what had happened to her for more than a year. "Only 21% of people report that they were raped because it's humiliating and shameful," she said. During one marathon, she ran through New York's Central Park with a twin mattress strapped to her back to point out that during college, women are three times more likely to be sexual assaulted during their college years than at ay other time. The running has been therapeutic for Willis. "For a long time, for a decade, I just ran away from all the trauma, and this was my way of finally facing it head on," she said. "And then it turned into something way bigger than just myself." When she runs, fellow survivors of sexual assault will run along side her and tell her their stories. "At first that was really, really hard, because not only was I carrying my pain, I was carrying their pain," she said. "This is my way of turning pain into purpose and creating lasting change." Even today, when she feels stressed or is having a bad day, she'll go for a run. It's become her way to heal. She's created the nonprofit Strength through Strides and is working on creating a series of 5K races that will raise awareness about sexual assault and bring survivors and their loved ones together. She's also working an a film about sexual assault prevention and she is advocating for women to protect other women, especially during their college years. It's the advice she gave her own younger sister when she arrived at UT. That means noticing when someone has had too much to drink and making sure they get home OK, or telling a someone to "get lost" if they see that person being inappropriate to another person. She's also working on a national law to create a sexual assault victim's counselor at every college that receives federal funds. Today, she has a lot of gratitude for her husband Andrew, who is her biggest supporter, for sons Alfred, 3, and August, 1, who love to run with her or play Pokémon Go. "I don't even know if you ever can fully heal or recover," she said. "It is a crawl and it is an endurance race. I just want people to know that there's hope, and you can still have your happy ending. Although occasionally, I do feel sad and it was hard, I have my husband and my boys, and I'm so happy and blessed." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: UT graduate crawling Austin Marathon to raise sexual assault awareness
