Latest news with #Bill131
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would end practice of police traffic ticket quotas
CLEVELAND (WJW) — It's the start of a bad day. Being pulled over by the police for going over the speed limit. But state lawmakers and police groups are pushing to make sure that everyone who is pulled over is not being pulled over because of dollar signs. I-Team: Cleveland schools CEO dodges questions on travel costs 'The notion that our law enforcement officers that protect and serve us each day is being used as revenue generators, and that's wrong' State Representative Kevin Miller said. Ohio House Bill 131 would put an end to the practice of creating quotas, or as they're sometimes called, performance initiatives, which requires officers to issue a specific number of traffic or other violations every day. At a news conference Wednesday morning, lawmakers said it is legal in Ohio for local governments to require that of their officers. Now they want to not only stop it but also create a framework to report it to the state attorney general. Last term the bill made it out of committee, but late in the year, so it didn't come up for a vote. This time around they have a companion bill in the state senate with Senate Bill 114. 'Having a partner in the senate with Senator Patton as soon as we start education, other members in the house, they get excited they want to be a part of this every time this is in the media I get responses from all across the state,' Representative Bride Rose Sweeney said. 'This is a bill that Representative Sweeny has worked on so very very hard and I think it's good for the public, I think it's a good policy bill and good for the people in the state of Ohio,' State Senator Tom Patton said. The measure also has the support of law enforcement. The Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Patrolman's Benevolent Association say quotas keep officers from doing more important police work. Long-awaited project will connect residents to Cleveland Metroparks 'I can't find one police officer deputy or sheriff that opposes this. Anyone who opposes it under the guise of 'we're going to try to keep you safe and this limits it,' it's complete snake oil.' Ohio FOP President Brian Steel said. Both measures were introduced in the house and senate this week. It's not clear when they will get their first committee hearings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Letter: Pennsylvania needs measure to finally end gerrymandering
In his farewell address, President Ronald Reagan called gerrymandering the 'greatest single blot on the integrity of our nation's electoral system, and it's high time we did something about it.' House Bill 31 and Senate Bill 131 will soon be introduced in Pennsylvania's General Assembly to address Reagan's call to action by creating an independent commission to handle redistricting. Unless these bills are passed in this legislative session and the next, we'll be stuck with the current bad redistricting process for another decade, giving politicians of both parties the tools they need to create extreme gerrymanders. Gerrymandering has consequences, including a dysfunctional legislature that cannot pass bills that large majorities of citizens want. From property tax reform and lead poisoning to gift bans for elected officials and redistricting reform itself, bills are blocked by legislative leaders who can ignore voters because these lawmakers control the redistricting process and put party over people. As area education advocate Myra Forrest writes: 'Gerrymandering is a slick and sneaky political tactic that has been used by politicians since 1812. A ploy used by state legislatures' controlling a political party to stack the deck in its favor by manipulating the boundaries of electoral districts.' Learn more at and write your state legislators to support these bills. Mary Ann Mack Phoenixville
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Five House elections bills fly through Senate committee, head to the floor
CHEYENNE — A record number of elections-related bills were filed for the 2025 general session, and a majority of them are still in play. One bill, Senate File 78, 'Distribution of unsolicited absentee ballot request forms,' is already headed to the governor's desk, and others are not far behind. The Legislature's Senate Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee passed five election-related House bills Wednesday night, finishing the work they started last Friday morning. The proposals in these bills would require proof of residency for voter registration, heighten requirements for independent candidate filings, create a statewide ban on all ballot drop boxes, prohibit the activity of ballot harvesting and amend current laws related to voter fraud. Committee members had their work cut out for them, having spent three cumulative meetings (one last week and two on Wednesday) taking public testimony and discussing and amending each of the five bills sent over by the House of Representatives. Last Friday, committee members didn't even get through the first of the five bills, House Bill 131, 'Ballot drop boxes-prohibition,' before time ran out and senators rushed upstairs for the start of the floor session. Ballot drop box ban A House bill banning ballot drop boxes in Wyoming received a total of three hours of public testimony, spanning over the course of two meetings, before it was passed Wednesday morning on a 3-2 vote. Chairman Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, and Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, voted against the bill. Around a dozen or so members of the public, including county clerks, offered anecdotes either in support of or against the ban on ballot drop boxes. Those who testified in support of the bill argued ballot drop boxes are a breach in the 'chain of custody' of elections. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Chris Knapp, R-Gillette, told committee members on Feb. 14 that voters should return to a full reliability on the U.S. Postal Service. Rep. Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette (2025) Rep. Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette 'Wyoming is extremely vulnerable due to the low population,' Knapp said. 'I think it's very important that the chain of custody be true in any election, and especially in Wyoming.' Knapp and supporters of the bill said the Postal Service is a safe and secure way of delivering absentee ballots to the county clerk. Secretary of State Chuck Gray recounted recent attempts to tamper with or destroy ballot drop boxes in Montana, Washington and Oregon. Chuck Gray mug Chuck Gray A video went viral on social media last October of a person, allegedly aligned with the Democratic Party, attempting to remove a ballot drop box from a wall in Glacier County, Montana. However, the person was not successful in removing the ballot drop box from its secured position, 'The National News Desk' reported on NBC Montana. A spokesperson for Montana Secretary of State Christi Jackson told TNND the individual failed to remove the box and was turned over to Montana law enforcement. Also last October, ballot boxes were set on fire in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, destroying hundreds of ballots, the Associated Press reported. The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information related to the ballot drop box fires. 'These incidents illustrate the inherent risks posed by relying on drop boxes, which could undermine public trust in elections and compromise the secure handling of ballots,' Gray said. 'Banning ballot drop boxes would eliminate these vulnerabilities, ensuring that ballots are returned through more secure and regulated channels, such as direct submission and election offices, or via the U.S. Postal Service.' Wyoming county clerks have previously testified there's never been a reported incident of tampering with ballot boxes in their counties, and they insist these are a safe, secure way of delivering absentee ballots. Platte County Clerk Malcolm Ervin confirmed to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle there have been no reported tampering incidents with ballot drop boxes in the state. The only anecdote he provided was in Fremont County, where some individuals were concerned with the security of a ballot drop box, but did not tamper with it. Fremont County Clerk Julie Freese said she has never had an incident of tampering with the ballot drop box since it was installed in 2016. 'Something to note is that former-Secretary (of State Ed) Buchanan's directives regarding drop boxes were the first time security requirements were attached to the use of drop boxes,' Ervin said in an email to the WTE. 'Once those directives expired, the counties who utilized drop boxes agreed upon certain security measures, which were consistent with former-Secretary Buchanan's directives.' Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee said a combined 5,600 ballots were delivered to the ballot drop box in the 2022 and 2024 election cycles. The 2024 election cycle accounted for more than 2,000 of those ballots. In contrast, 770 ballots for the 2024 election were returned in person to the county clerk, Lee said. Debra Lee portrait after Canvassing Board meeting (copy) Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee poses for a photo after the Laramie County Canvassing Board meeting, where they certified the results of the primary election in the Historic County Courthouse on Aug. 23 in Cheyenne. 'Chain of custody has been mentioned as a reason for this bill, and I would argue chain of custody is a reason to have a drop box,' Lee said. The Postal Service also announced additional cuts of rural mail carriers last fall, Lee said, which means slower delivery of absentee ballots. With a new change in Wyoming election code creating a shorter window for absentee ballot mail, this could put voters at risk of not getting their ballot counted on Election Day, she said. 'This just underscores, I would say, the need for us to have alternative methods for voters,' Lee said. Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas, successfully brought an amendment to the bill that would allow for a 'secured receptacle' to be placed on the exterior of a courthouse for receiving ballots. Case also successfully amended the bill to provide reimbursement to counties for the removal or relocation of ballot drop boxes. Firearm v. election regulations Twice, Chairman Case asked bringers of two different election bills whether firearms should be regulated as heavily as they're pushing to regulate elections. Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander (2025) Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander 'So, do you think the right to vote is as important as the right to keep and bear arms?' Case asked. Knapp responded that certain rights rise to that level of importance, before Case interjected. 'Which one's more important?' Case asked. 'I think one ensures that the other one stays important,' Knapp answered. The chairman repeated his line of questioning Wednesday night, during discussion of another bill, HB 156, that requires proof of residency in voter registration. Critics of the bill argued the new proof of residency requirements could disenfranchise qualified electors, such as senior citizens and individuals without homes, from voting. If these same regulations were being discussed on gun rights, instead of elections, elected officials and members of the public would be 'prickling right now,' Case said. 'We're talking about people that have the right to vote, and we're making them jump through hoops, unlike with gun rights,' Case said. 'In my mind, the right to vote and the right to carry a firearm are equivalent constitutional rights, guaranteed by different amendments, but fundamental to our democracy. 'So, the more restrictions you put on someone, it's no different than putting restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms, as well.'
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers propose bill to create fair redistricting commission
(WHTM) — A bipartisan legislation aims to change the way the state's district maps are drawn. The State Capitol Rotunda steps were filled with people holding signs demanding fair maps today. The legislation is trying to make the redistricting process more fair before it happens again in 2031. That number is emphasized in House Bill 31 and Senate Bill 131. The two pieces of legislation are cross-filed to create an independent citizens redistricting commission. That would take the process from the politicians and give it to the people. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'You can literally move something over two blocks in order to avoid 20 Republicans here, or you can move it over six blocks that way in order to gain 20 Republicans,' said Sen. Tim Kearney (D-Delaware County). 'No one knows who will have the final say in determining Pennsylvanians voting districts from 2031 and beyond if this reform is not enacted soon,' said Carole Kuniholm, the Chair of Fair Districts PA. The commission would be made up of 4 Republicans, 4 Democrats, and 3 non-party affiliated members. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
