Latest news with #Bill63
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rhoden signs government accountability bills
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has signed four bills related to government accountability. Summit asks PUC for more time on CO2 pipeline The bills come in response to a series of at least four corruption cases found in state government in the past year prosecuted by the attorney general's office. Attorney General Marty Jackley supported the legislation and testified in favor of many of the bills. Senate Bill 60 which expands the access and investigatory authority of the State Auditor. Senate Bill 61 which modifies the authority of the Board of Internal Controls. Senate Bill 62 which establishes mandatory reporting requirements related to improper government conduct and crime, and to provide a penalty. Senate Bill 63 which establishes protections for state employees who report improper governmental conduct and crime. 'As stewards of taxpayer dollars, we have a responsibility to ensure integrity in how those dollars are spent,' said Rhoden in a news release. All four bills will take effect July 1. 'Today, our State is choosing to better protect taxpayer dollars and those State employees reporting crimes to the Attorney General,' said Jackley in a news release. Rhoden has signed a total of 106 bills into law for the 2025 Legislative Session. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Honolulu City Council looks at ADUs to bolster housing supply
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Increasing housing supply is the target of a bill that just passed its third reading in the Honolulu City Council. It extends accessory dwelling unit fee waivers set to expire. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news 'Bill 63 expands the sewer waivers, permitting fee waivers, the grading and stockpile. My cousins live with my grandma, and this is really a chance for local families to be able to add on additional space for family members,' said City Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam. Pushback on the bill has been sparse, but some residents are concerned about parking availability and neighborhood character. 'Doing our small part,' state officials on Iwilei's traditional housing project 'Other issues that we have, of course, is the capacity of our neighborhoods, things like sewer capacity, parking, and all of these other issues that we as the council and the mayor through the administration are also gonna have to work on in order to really, make a dent in our housing crisis.' Dos Santos-Tam said. The bill has garnered support from entities like the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii and the Building Industry Association of Hawaii. Last year, the state passed a bill that allows for at least two additional dwelling units per residential lot. 'So we've seen, several hundred ADUs, some possibly over a thousand, being built over the past few years,' Dos Santos-Tam said. 'We hope that that pace increases. But, again, it's gonna take an all of the above approach really to start making a dent.' Adding ADUs is just a part of local government plans to add housing inventory for residents. 'It's really difficult to build kinda small and medium apartments, and that's why we see out in the market.' Dos Santos-Tam said. 'We have a lot of, the sort of subdivision developments out in West Oahu. We have a lot of high rises coming up in town, but those kinds of small and medium apartments really haven't been built, the kind of things you might see in Makiki or McCully. So we're looking at changing the standards for how we build these small apartments. In addition, of course, we need to also look at office conversions. We have a couple of these downtown office buildings that are practically vacant, and so that's also gonna help to transform our downtown area.' Check out more news from around Hawaii Bill 63 has been transmitted to Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who has until March 13 to return it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kansas House embraces bill on religious, moral liberty within state's foster care program
Rija Khan, of Overland Park, urged Kansas House members to reject House bill 2311 because it would, in her view, subject Kansas children in foster care to religious discrimination. The House voted overwhelmingly to approve the bill and forward it to the Senate. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of Legislature's YouTube channel) TOPEKA — Devout Catholic Stacey Chik pleaded with Kansas legislators to pass a law forbidding a state agency from requiring foster or adoptive parents to adhere to policies in conflict with their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs. Her idea was to embed in statute a way of blocking the Kansas Department for Children and Families from imposing a preference for foster care or adoption families committed to supporting DCF regulations on a child's sexual orientation or gender identity. The proposed reform in House Bill 2311 — easily passed this week by the Kansas House — would mandate DCF acknowledge and accept the moral or religious perspectives of potential foster or adoption parents. It would allow filing of lawsuits and recovery of damages and attorney fees from DCF if such barriers to foster care or adoption were enforced after July 1. The bill was sent to the Kansas Senate. 'It is the families who are firmly rooted in faith communities that tend to thrive as healthy and healing homes for foster children precisely because they are surrounded by a community who loves them and loves the service they are doing,' said Chik, who adopted four children and works as executive vice president of Life on Belay. 'HB 2311 is not just about protecting religious liberty. It is about protecting the thousands of children who rely on the generosity of faith-driven families to care for them in their most vulnerable moments.' In the House Child Welfare and Foster Care Committee, a handful of people spoke in favor of the bill. More than 50 shared views in opposition. Lawrence resident Chloe Chaffin, with a mother and grandmother who were adopted, said she came out as queer at age 22. She informed her mother Jan. 28 after absorbing testimony during a Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee hearing in support of Senate Bill 63, which banned health care for transgender Kansans under age 18. The Legislature subsequently overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of that bill. 'Kids need the state's protection from all forms of neglect and abuse,' said Chaffin, who indicated she was strongly opposed to HB 2311. 'Allowing them to be placed in homes with foster parents who will invalidate their queerness and seek to change and fix that which is not broken only compounds existing traumas and risks dangerous mental health crises.' She denounced political targeting of LGBTQ children by members of the Legislature and argued their focus in terms of children in foster care or considered for adoption ought to be on leading 'with kindness and protection instead of compounding the pain of their hardest moments.' Kansas has struggled with a surge in children placed in foster care. Despite reductions of that population, there were 5,800 Kansas children in out-of-home placements in late 2024. During House floor debate on the foster care and adoption bill, an amendment was added by Rep. Cyndi Howerton, a Wichita Republican and chair of the House foster care committee. Her amendment assigned legal responsibility for religious or moral violations contained in the bill exclusively with DCF — not DCF contractors or individuals working on foster care or adoption. An amendment from Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Shawnee Democrat, to modify the bill's language so best interests of a child in foster or adoptive care remained the top priority at DCF was rejected by the House. She said the amendment was necessary because the bill was drafted in a way that could force a subsection of children in Kansas to endure more trauma. 'You have to remember why children come into the system in the first place,' Ruiz said. 'They come into the system because of abuse and neglect, and it comes in so many forms.' Ruiz told House colleagues that Kansas youth were physically beaten and emotionally traumatized by parents and church leaders who wanted children to adhere to a certain sexual orientation or gender identity. Some kids were expected to 'pray away the gay,' she said. Others were compelled to undergo so-called conversion therapy, she said. It has little basis in science, but proposes to erase a person's gender identity or sexuality — usually to conform to ideals of other people. 'This bill opens up the door to one of the most horrible forms of therapy that any human being can be exposed to,' Ruiz said. Rep. Tim Johnson, a Basehor Republican who carried the bill on the House floor, pushed back against Ruiz' conclusions. He said adults involved in foster care and adoption in Kansas shouldn't have to shelve their beliefs and values. It was wrong for DCF to disqualify people for roles in adoption or foster care because they weren't 'necessarily in favor of certain behaviors,' Johnson said. He said the bill offered a First Amendment shield to foster or adoptive children as well as foster or adoptive parents. 'This protects both sides. It makes sure that those with different views all get an opportunity,' Johnson said. He said there had been issues of discrimination in the evaluation of adoptive and foster care volunteers. It's referred to as 'shadow banning,' he said, and occurred in back rooms and office cubicles among government workers making decisions on foster care and ad0ption. He alleged DCF hadn't been forthcoming with the Legislature about its policies or practices at the heart of the House bill. 'Decisions are made. Not recorded,' Johnson said. 'Silence from DCF is deafening.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kansas Legislature overrides veto of ‘Help Not Harm Act'
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Kansas senators and representatives successfully voted in favor of overriding Governor Laura Kelly's first veto action of the year. The Kansas Senate voted 31-9 on Tuesday, Feb. 18 to override Kelly's veto of Senate Bill 63. Also known as the 'Help Not Harm Act,' this legislation would add new restrictions to the use of state funds regarding the promotion of gender transitions and prohibit healthcare providers from providing gender transition care to children whose gender identity is inconsistent with the child's sex. 'Today, a supermajority of the Kansas Senate declared that Kansas is no longer a sanctuary state for the maiming and sterilization of minors,' Republican Senate President Ty Masterson said. 'This action is consistent with President Trump's Executive Order to stop these barbaric procedures nationwide. Let's also never forget the bravery of the victims and whistleblowers who have testified and stood up for the protection of children. Kansas stands with you.' The Kansas House followed suit on Feb. 18, voting in favor of the veto override. Representatives voted in favor of the override at 84 to 35, allowing the bill to become a new law despite the governor's disapproval. 'Today, Kansas House Republicans successfully overrode Governor Kelly's reckless veto of the Help Not Harm Act- voting overwhelmingly in favor of protecting Kansas kids from the irreversible harms of experimental gender transition surgeries and medicines. Governor Kelly chose to side with the radical Left, but this override now ensures that the act will become law-bringing Kansas in line with multiple other states and nations that already protect vulnerable minors from the life-altering effects of medicalized gender transition interventions.' Kansas Representatives Chris Croft, Dan Hawkins and Blake Carpenter joint statement Families protest in Kansas against lawsuit that would eliminate 504 protections for people with disabilities Kelly vetoed SB 63 on Feb. 11. She issued a statement in light of the Kansas Legislature's veto override decision on Feb. 18. 'It is unfortunate that the first bill the Legislature sent me this session is focused on putting politicians between Kansans and their private medical decisions instead of prioritizing solutions to issues like rising prices and the cost of groceries, which would benefit everyone,' Kelly said. 'This divisive bill will undoubtedly have ripple effects that harm Kansas families, our businesses, and our economy and intensify our workforce shortage issue. It is inappropriate that the Legislature dictate to parents how to best raise their children.' For more Capitol Bureau news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kansas Legislature overrides governor's veto of legislation that targets trans kids
Sen. Beverly Gossage, seen during a Jan. 17, 2024, Senate session, defended legislation to ban gender-affirming care for children. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Senate and House Republicans voted Tuesday to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of legislation that bans gender-affirming care for minors, rejecting pleas from Democrats to turn attention instead to issues that would help Kansas families. Republicans used their dominance in both chambers to summon the two-thirds majorities needed to override the veto with votes of 31-9 in the Senate and 84-35 in the House. The unscheduled votes caught Democrats off-guard. Senate Bill 63 prohibits health care providers from providing surgery, hormones or puberty blockers to children who identify as a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Health care providers who break the law will be stripped of their license. It also prohibits the use of state funds for psychological treatment for transgender children, bans state employees from promoting 'social transitioning,' and outlaws liability insurance for damages related to gender-affirming care. A national anti-LGBTQ+ group called Do Not Harm drafted the model legislation, which is billed as the 'Help Not Harm Act.' In brief debates Tuesday in the House and Senate, Democrats echoed remarks made by the governor when she vetoed the bill earlier this month. The governor directed the Legislature to focus 'on ways to help Kansans cope with rising prices.' House Democrats complained about not being given advance notice that they would debate and vote on the veto. When Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Shawnee Democrat, called the move 'cowardly,' she was reprimanded by Rep. Blake Carpenter, a Derby Republican, not to impugn other members of the House. Ruiz called the bill 'egregious and cruel,' and said it wouldn't help kids or families. 'We should all be enraged about this,' Ruiz said. 'This is wrong on so, so many levels. I know certain people don't care. They don't care about these kids. All they care about is control — that somehow the Legislature has the right to interfere in people's bodies.' Only two Republicans — Rep. Mark Schreiber, of Emporia, and Rep. Bob Lewis, of Garden City — voted with Democrats to support the governor's veto. Schreiber said he had received feedback from families who were thankful that he previously voted against the bill. 'They're frustrated, they're scared, and they were amazed that somebody stood up and recognized them,' Schreiber said. He also had a request for his colleagues. Schreiber said he was concerned the term 'radical gender ideology' had been used 'quite a bit' during earlier debate on the bill. 'When we use that, we kind of imply that this is a choice that these kids have or have made,' Schreiber said. 'But you know, ideologies are taught. We've taught capitalism, we teach communism, we teach Catholicism — these are all ideologies. But we don't teach kids to have cancer, we don't teach them to have birth defects, and we don't teach them to have a medical condition called gender dysphoria. 'So if you can refrain from using that, I'd appreciate it. Of course, you don't have to, but I think it would show some kindness toward those families and those children that have that medical condition.' Four Democrats and two Republicans were absent from the House vote. The Senate overrode the veto on a strictly party-line vote. Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat, referenced testimony from supporters of the bill who described gender-affirming care as a means of 'destroying God's most basic plans.' 'I would contend that millions of people destroy those plans daily,' Holscher said. 'Individuals who wear glasses or contacts destroy God's plan to be vision impaired. Individuals who color their hair or get treatment for baldness destroy God's plans to be, let's say, publicly challenged. Males who use forms of erectile dysfunction treatment are destroying God's plans for them to not be sexually active.' She drew a comparison between gender dysphoria and children born with a cleft palate, and questioned the ignorance of Sen. Beverly Gossage, a Eudora Republican who championed the bill. Gossage's response: 'Cleft palate is not a mental disorder. It's a medical condition.' Holscher also said the bill 'does nothing to address the concerns of Kansans.' 'Our constituents want us to make life more affordable for them,' Holscher said. 'This bill does nothing in that regard. It doesn't make child care more affordable, it doesn't make wages better, it doesn't lower property taxes or make health care more affordable. This bill just divides and distracts.' Sen. David Haley, who supported the attack on trans kids when the Senate passed the bill last month, hemmed and hawed about his override vote until Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, ordered him to make a decision. Haley pleaded for more time than the rules allow to explain his vote. 'You will cast your vote or you will shut your mic off,' Masterson said. Haley joined the other Democrats in the failed attempt to sustain the governor's veto.
