Latest news with #Bill163
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio senators want to crack down on child pornography created with AI
Ohio lawmakers want to regulate images and sounds made by artificial intelligence, including making simulated child pornography made with AI illegal. This is the second time state Sens. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Twp., and Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, have introduced this legislation. Along with Senate Bill 163's rules against child pornography, it would require images and sounds made with AI to include a watermark and it would also prohibit identity fraud with AI. More: Ohio teen tapped to help draft legislation on health care and AI Blessing said current statues about child pornography leave loopholes for people to create AI-generated child porn as long as it is not explicitly based on a real person. Current law requires a real photo of a child to prosecute someone for generating or possessing child sexual assault material. Because AI does not generate a "real image," there is an exploitable gap that AI fits into. Blessing said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost reached out to the General Assembly to fill this gap in Ohio law. "If you're peddling in child pornography, even if it's artificially intelligence generated it's effectively the same thing," he said. Under SB 163, creating or distributing simulated obscene material, including child pornography, would become a third-degree felony and buying or possessing it would be considered a fourth-degree felony. The bill would also prohibit users from generating sexual images of adults without that person's consent. A provision in the bill would require AI programs to include a distinctive watermark that informs the user that what they are viewing or hearing was made by AI. Blessing said the watermark would not be intrusive and easy for companies to implement. Instead of something visible in an AI-generated image or something a listener could hear in AI-generated audio, this watermark would not be detectable by humans but would instead be detected by another machine. It would exist in the file's metadata and be used to determine the origins of AI images and audio. SB 163 would allow citizens and the attorney general to sue AI generators for not including these watermarks and anyone who intentionally removes them for damages. A group of six companies and interest groups including Technet, a trade association for technology companies, signed onto opponent testimony from the previous version of the bill last year. They acknowledged the threat AI poses, but said companies are doing enough to regulate nefarious uses, including child sexual assault material. They also said the requirement for a watermark might not be feasible with current technology. The regulations proposed by the bill, the interest groups argued, could stifle innovation. If the bill becomes law, citizens could sue people who use AI to replicate someone's persona to, harm their reputation or defraud them. They would also be able to take action if someone used their persona to convince someone to make a financial decision that would require that person's approval. "There's going to be a lot of legislation in this space going forward, and rightfully so, because this is not something that should be left up to the markets as my colleagues like to say." Blessing said. "I'd rather have a regulated environment in this space, rather than just leaving it up to the courts or, you know, God knows what." Donovan Hunt is a fellow in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism's Statehouse News Bureau. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: State lawmakers introduce bill to prohibit AI identity fraud
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
SD Senate supports ‘forever chemical' labels on firefighting protective gear
A federal wildland firefighter at work in a forest. (Photo by U.S. Forest Service) South Dakota senators unanimously endorsed a bill Monday at the Capitol in Pierre to require protective firefighting equipment purchased by fire departments in the state to be labeled with its 'forever chemical' status. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s and don't break down easily in the environment or in the human body. The chemicals can be found in everything from firefighting foam to thermal and water-resistant clothing to soil and water. Research indicates PFAS exposure may be linked to negative developmental and reproductive effects, and an increased risk of some cancers. PFAS pollution a growing problem for U.S. farmers The federal government finalized phased-in limits on some types of PFAS in drinking water earlier this year. PFAS has been found in preliminary testing of Mount Rushmore drinking water and in the Big Sioux River. Sioux Falls Democratic Sen. Liz Larson introduced Senate Bill 163, requiring South Dakota fire departments' future purchases of coats, coveralls, footwear, gloves, helmets, hoods and trousers to have a permanent label from the manufacturer identifying whether the material includes PFAS. Occupational cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty death in the fire service, Larson told lawmakers. She added that the International Association of Firefighters attributes 66% of firefighter deaths between 2002 and 2019 to cancer. The legislation would drive awareness and encourage the development of PFAS-free protective gear 'so that our firefighting departments have the information they need to manage their gear over time, as we hope safer gear becomes available in the future,' Larson said. Similar bills have passed in other states. The National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit organization that develops and publishes safety codes and standards, issued new standards in August 2024. The standards require manufacturer-suppliers of firefighting safety gear to test their materials for some types of PFAS. The bill heads to the House of Representatives next. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Second bill protecting Native regalia at school ceremonies passes committee
A dance group with Owen Padilla await to perform the San Felipe Buffalo Dance at the Santa Fe Indian School Feast Day on Oct. 9, 2023. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM) Following a lengthy discussion about what constitutes 'regalia,' a second bill protecting student's rights to wear tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies passed through committee on Tuesday. Senate Bill 163, co-sponsored by Sen. Benny Shendo (D-Jemez Pueblo), passed unanimously through the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee; the bill is similar to one on the House side that passed through its first committee Monday. Bill protecting cultural expression at graduation ceremonies passes first committee SB 163 specifically prohibits public schools and charter schools from banning students of federally recognized Indian nations, tribes or pueblos from wearing tribal regalia or items of cultural significance at graduation ceremonies or public school events. 'There's roughly 41,905 Native American students in public schools in New Mexico so this would offer that opportunity for our students to be able to wear their regalia to their graduation ceremonies and other culturally related events,' Josett Monette, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, said during the meeting. She joined Shendo as his expert witness. 'They could wear the regalia underneath or attached to the cap and gown, but they would still continue to wear the cap and gown.' A group of Native students joined the committee meeting Tuesday to speak in support of the bill, along with multiple representatives from NM Native Vote, ACLU of New Mexico and the Bureau of Indian Education at the Public Education Department. 'My great-grandmother was only able to attend school up until sixth grade, and so when I was able to graduate high school, I was proud to share my accomplishment and walk that stage for her. However, due to restrictions from my school, I was unable to wear my traditional attire,' Alysia Coriz (Santo Domingo Pueblo), lobbyist for NM Native Vote, said to committee members. 'Our traditional clothing is our strength. It helps us to find the connection back to our ancestors and community.' Sen. William Sharer (R-Farmington) questioned who defines regalia and what the term means for different tribes. 'What about other groups? I know this [bill] clearly talks about Native American, but what if somebody wanted to support Christopher Columbus? What if somebody wanted to put a swastika on their head for First Amendment rights,' Shearer asked the bill sponsors. The bill defines 'tribal regalia' as items of religious or cultural significance such as 'tribal symbols, jewelry, beading and feathers.' Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces) asked about tribes that are not federally recognized, pointing to Tortugas Pueblo in Las Cruces. Monette explained to the committee that the bill is specific to federally recognized tribes, but schools are encouraged to expand their interpretation of the bill and allow members of other groups to express their culture through dress at school ceremonies. SB 163 now heads to the Senate Education Committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP lawmaker files bill to ensure Kentucky schools have ‘gender-specific' restrooms
Superintendent Demetrius Liggins included this rendering in his presentation to a legislative committee in Frankfort, Aug. 20, 2024. Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, objected to the design. A Republican lawmaker is hoping to close what he calls a 'potential loophole' in a state law governing school restrooms in Kentucky. Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, has introduced House Bill 163, which would require at least 95% of restrooms within a school building to be designated for 'a specific biological sex.' It comes after a few Republican lawmakers, including Lockett, grilled Fayette County Public Schools officials last summer about the new Mary E. Britton Middle School, which is set to open later this year. However, a school district spokesperson said the bill wouldn't apply to the proposed design. The school's restroom design features private stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors and an open communal sink area as a way to allow students to be supervised by adults and potentially curb situations of bad behavior. Lockett's bill has not been assigned to a committee; lawmakers return to Frankfort next week to resume the 2025 legislative session. When asked for comment on the bill, Lockett said in an email to the Kentucky Lantern that he filed the bill 'to provide a statewide, clear policy regarding biological sex-specific restroom facilities after concerns were raised about a potential loophole in previous legislation passed during the 2023 Regular Session (SB 150).' That law was omnibus legislation that included several anti-transgender measures, such as requiring schools to create policies keeping people from using bathrooms, locker rooms or showers that 'are reserved for students of a different biological sex.' Lexington middle school's restroom design draws ire of Republican lawmakers in Frankfort Lockett said preserving 'gender-specific bathrooms based on biological sex ensures privacy, safety, and comfort for all users.' 'While the issue was brought to my attention by constituents in Fayette County, the measure would address concerns that parents and students have regardless of what school district they attend,' he said. 'We have an obligation to respect personal boundaries and accommodate biological differences.' Dia Davidson-Smith, a spokesperson for FCPS, said in a statement to the Kentucky Lantern that the school district did not have a comment on the bill at this time, but the restroom plans for the middle school 'have remained unchanged since last year.' 'The restroom designs at Britton Middle School are gender-specific and this bill has no impact on them,' Davidson-Smith said. Last year, the school district said the restrooms would not be 'gender-neutral' as the pods would be designated for boys or girls. It also added that Lockett's district does not include the part of Fayette County where the new middle school would be, so his constituents would not be impacted. Superintendent Demetrus Liggins told lawmakers at the time the new configuration would allow adults to better supervise students. He noted that a 2021 TikTok trend encouraged damage and theft, particularly in boys' restrooms, and cost the school district $42,000 in repairs. According to the 2023-24 School Safety Annual Statistical Report from the Kentucky Department of Education, 13,524 behavior events happened in school restrooms across the state. That accounted for about 5% of all reported behavior events during the school year.
