Latest news with #Democrat-sponsored
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Morrisey signs outage notification, vacancy procedure bills sponsored by WV Dems
A sign in on the front of Gordon Algoe's West Side home asks Mountaineer Gas workers to restore his family's gas service. In November 2023, a gas outage affected about 1,000 residents on Charleston's West Side for weeks. (Lori Kersey | West Virginia Watch) Gov. Patrick Morrisey has approved a Democrat-sponsored bill requiring utility companies to create plans to notify customers of outages and another bill establishing procedure for filling vacancies to state offices. House Bill 3263 was introduced in response to a November 2023 gas outage that left more than 1,000 residents of Charleston's West Side without heat and the ability to cook for weeks. The outage was caused by a 'significant sustained water leak' that infiltrated 46 miles of the company's natural gas distribution system, according to Mountaineer Gas. The bill requires that such communication plans at least include a way of notifying customers in advance of planned service disruptions, methods of communication and include an estimate of the duration and end of the outage. The plans are to be filed with the West Virginia Public Service Commission. The bill is effective July 10. 'We would think that utilities would already be required to effectively communicate with their customers during these types of situations and during outages, whether they're planned or unexpected,' said Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, a West Side resident and sponsor of the bill. 'One would think that would already be the law. What we found out in late 2023, is that was not the case. 'The rate payers, the customers over on the West Side, were not well informed,' he said. 'We were getting our information from the media. We weren't getting updates from the utility.' Pushkin originally introduced the bill during the 2024 legislative session. It had unanimous support in the House, but stalled in the Senate, he said. The bill codifies a requirement the Public Service Commission already has for utility companies. In an October 2024 order, the PSC mandated that the utility companies and cable companies have text and email messaging in place to notify customers of outages. The legislation is one of two with Democratic lead sponsors that Morrisey signed this year, Pushkin said. The governor also signed Senate Bill 586, which requires that when filling vacancies of state officials, justices, judges and magistrates, the appointment be made from the same party that originally held the seat at the time of election, not the party to which the official may have switched before he or she resigned. 'This is a bill about fundamental fairness and ensuring the will of the voters, and not the party in power, is reflected in filling vacancies in the Legislature,' bill sponsor Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said in a news release. The bill has been called the 'de Soto bill,' a reference to Joseph de Soto, whose seat in the House of Delegates was vacated after he was arrested on charges of threatening to harm and kill lawmakers. De Soto was elected in November as a Republican then switched to the Democratic party hours before he was arrested. Morrisey appointed a Republican to the seat. The Democrats filed a legal challenge, arguing that House Republicans didn't follow the proper Constitutional procedure in vacating his seat and that there was legal precedent that the seat should go to Democrats due to de Soto's party switch. In 2014, former Sen. Daniel Hall switched parties from Democrat to Republican just days after the election, shifting the control of the body to the GOP. He resigned from the Senate in December 2015, leaving some questions as to which party should fill the seat. The next year, the state Supreme Court ruled that Republicans should replace Hall. 'The Supreme Court got it wrong in 2016, when they ignored the will of the voters in their decision to allow Daniel Hall's seat to go to a Republican, ignoring the fact that Hall was elected as a Democrat,' Pushkin said in a news release Wednesday. 'The Republicans in the Legislature got it wrong in 2018 when they codified this bad decision into law because it benefited them politically to do so. We knew it was a bad law when earlier this year the Republicans twisted themselves into knots in order to ignore the law they passed in 2018 so they wouldn't have to fill the vacancy they created in House District 91 with a Democrat. We applaud Sen. Garcia for righting this wrong and restoring the voice of the people to this process.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Senate backs Canada over tariffs in rare Trump rebuke
The US Senate has passed legislation that would terminate new tariffs on Canada in a rare rebuke of Donald Trump, hours after the president unveiled a raft of reciprocal tariffs on other countries. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 51-48 to approve the Bill and sent it to the House of Representatives, where it is likely to be blocked. Although it is likely to have no material impact on Mr Trump's tariffs, the fact that four Republican senators sided with Democrats to push the legislation through represents a blow to the US president's authority. The Democrat-sponsored Bill would terminate a national emergency declared by Mr Trump in January over fentanyl crossing the US border from Mexico and Canada, as well as China. He imposed tariffs on those countries as punishment for failing to stop the flow of the deadly drug into the US. John Thune, the Senate's Republican majority leader, rallied against the Bill despite Canada being his state's largest export market. The South Dakota Senator admitted, however, that he had concerns about 'what the ultimate objective' of imposing tariffs on Canada was. Like many of his colleagues, Mr Thune said he was mindful of the potential harm retaliatory tariffs posed to home-state industries such as agriculture, and expressed discomfort with any 'across the board tariffs'. On Tuesday, Mr Trump urged Republicans to vote against the Bill, saying it would be 'devastating' for the party. But the four Republican senators – Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul – ignored his pressure. Despite their opposition, Mr Trump remains in control of tariffs, which he announced in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday afternoon. A 10 per cent baseline tariff was set on all imports to the US, which will come into effect for a number of countries, including the UK, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. Custom tariffs were imposed on the 'worst offenders', which for Mr Trump included China, the European Union, Japan, and Taiwan. No additional tariffs were placed on Canada and Mexico, which have already been targeted. Bloomberg reported that some Republican congressmen were driving behind the scenes efforts for tariff exemptions, including for farmers. Ms Collins, the Maine Republican senator, said she had tried to persuade the White House to soften tariffs against Canada, which would affect the lobstering and paper mills industries in her home state. She told reporters that the decision to impose duties on it 'just makes no sense.' Meanwhile, Mr McConnell, the former Senate leader and long-time critic of the president, said tariffs on both Canada and Mexico would affect workers in his home state of Kentucky. Other Republicans have been more supportive. Last week, Senator Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, said the tariffs had led to Honda announcing plans to build a new hybrid vehicle in the state. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
03-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
US Senate backs Canada over tariffs in rare Trump rebuke
The US Senate has passed legislation that would terminate new tariffs on Canada in a rare rebuke of Donald Trump, hours after the president unveiled a raft of reciprocal tariffs on other countries. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 51-48 to approve the Bill and sent it to the House of Representatives, where it is likely to be blocked. Although it is likely to have no material impact on Mr Trump's tariffs, the fact that four Republican senators sided with Democrats to push the legislation through represents a blow to the US president's authority. The Democrat-sponsored Bill would terminate a national emergency declared by Mr Trump in January over fentanyl crossing the US border from Mexico and Canada, as well as China. He imposed tariffs on those countries as punishment for failing to stop the flow of the deadly drug into the US. John Thune, the Senate's Republican majority leader, rallied against the Bill despite Canada being his state's largest export market. The South Dakota Senator admitted, however, that he had concerns about ' what the ultimate objective ' of imposing tariffs on Canada was. Like many of his colleagues, Mr Thune said he was mindful of the potential harm retaliatory tariffs posed to home-state industries such as agriculture, and expressed discomfort with any 'across the board tariffs'. On Tuesday, Mr Trump urged Republicans to vote against the Bill, saying it would be 'devastating' for the party. But the four Republican senators – Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul – ignored his pressure. Despite their opposition, Mr Trump remains in control of tariffs, which he announced in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday afternoon. A 10 per cent baseline tariff was set on all imports to the US, which will come into effect for a number of countries, including the UK, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. Custom tariffs were imposed on the 'worst offenders', which for Mr Trump included China, the European Union, Japan, and Taiwan. No additional tariffs were placed on Canada and Mexico, which have already been targeted. Bloomberg reported that some Republican congressmen were driving behind the scenes efforts for tariff exemptions, including for farmers. Ms Collins, the Maine Republican senator, said she had tried to persuade the White House to soften tariffs against Canada, which would affect the lobstering and paper mills industries in her home state. She told reporters that the decision to impose duties on it 'just makes no sense.' Meanwhile, Mr McConnell, the former Senate leader and long-time critic of the president, said tariffs on both Canada and Mexico would affect workers in his home state of Kentucky. Other Republicans have been more supportive. Last week, Senator Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, said the tariffs had led to Honda announcing plans to build a new hybrid vehicle in the state.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Editorial: Springfield missed another opportunity to cut red tape and get Illinoisans back to work
Illinois gained over 32,000 nonfarm jobs on net since before the pandemic. But 73% of them were government jobs. Where the state could use some work is private-sector growth. Some of Illinois' most important industries still haven't recovered from the pandemic. For example, the state is down more than 20,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry since that industry's pre-COVID-19 peak. Illinois still has among the highest unemployment rates in the country. We say an easy place to start is to get rid of rules and requirements that prevent people from finding work. This legislative session, there was broad, bipartisan momentum around occupational licensing reform, a rare and welcome example of both sides of the aisle supporting pragmatic solutions for the public good. Despite support from both sides of the aisle, licensing reform legislation went nowhere. Licensing reform always faces stiff opposition from special interest groups that benefit from keeping out competition. But if we want to get people back to work, it's a necessary part of the solution. To understand how burdensome rules keep people on the sidelines, consider what aspiring barbers have to navigate before they can become licensed: 1,500 hours in an approved barbering school, which can cost as much as college tuition. By comparison, New York requires just 500 hours — a third as much — yet suffers no apparent decline in public safety or service quality. A Democrat-sponsored bill could have made it easier for Illinoisans to become licensed stylists. State Rep. Michael Crawford, D-Chicago, is behind legislation that would enable aspiring barbers to become licensed through apprenticeships, offering an alternative to traditional schooling by recognizing hands-on training under licensed professionals. Meanwhile, a downstate Republican wanted to make it easier for newcomers to our state to find work. State Rep. Paul Jacobs, R-Marion, is the lead sponsor of the Recognition of Licenses Act, which would establish provisions for the recognition of out-of-state professional licenses in Illinois. Illinois does recognize some out-of-state professional licenses, such as teaching licenses, but not all. And it's not part of the Nurse Licensure Compact, which establishes mutual recognition of nursing licenses among the 41 member states. Another bill, sponsored by state Rep. Yolonda Morris, D-Chicago, would've added Illinois to the NLC — a long-overdue and crucial step in addressing the nursing shortage that's plagued hospitals since COVID-19 hit. With a list of legislative backers ranging from Democrats such as Morris and Crawford to Republicans such as Jacobs, sponsors of these proposals span the political spectrum, and you'd hope that alone would've given Springfield politicians the confidence to act decisively. The benefits are clear: More people working leads to stronger communities, better personal fulfillment and other perks for government — namely, more tax revenue, more consumer spending and less reliance on public aid. In a state that desperately needs private-sector jobs growth, these are not controversial proposals. It's true that reducing licensing red tape wouldn't fix all that ails Illinois' economy — but it's a smart place to start. We wish Springfield would've acted on this initiative and hope these bills are revived soon. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@
Chicago Tribune
30-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Springfield missed another opportunity to cut red tape and get Illinoisans back to work
Illinois gained over 32,000 nonfarm jobs on net since before the pandemic. But 73% of them were government jobs. Where the state could use some work is private-sector growth. Some of Illinois' most important industries still haven't recovered from the pandemic. For example, the state is down more than 20,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry since that industry's pre-COVID-19 peak. Illinois still has among the highest unemployment rates in the country. We say an easy place to start is to get rid of rules and requirements that prevent people from finding work. This legislative session, there was broad, bipartisan momentum around occupational licensing reform, a rare and welcome example of both sides of the aisle supporting pragmatic solutions for the public good. Despite support from both sides of the aisle, licensing reform legislation went nowhere. Licensing reform always faces stiff opposition from special interest groups that benefit from keeping out competition. But if we want to get people back to work, it's a necessary part of the solution. To understand how burdensome rules keep people on the sidelines, consider what aspiring barbers have to navigate before they can become licensed: 1,500 hours in an approved barbering school, which can cost as much as college tuition. By comparison, New York requires just 500 hours — a third as much — yet suffers no apparent decline in public safety or service quality. A Democrat-sponsored bill could have made it easier for Illinoisans to become licensed stylists. State Rep. Michael Crawford, D-Chicago, is behind legislation that would enable aspiring barbers to become licensed through apprenticeships, offering an alternative to traditional schooling by recognizing hands-on training under licensed professionals. Meanwhile, a downstate Republican wanted to make it easier for newcomers to our state to find work. State Rep. Paul Jacobs, R-Marion, is the lead sponsor of the Recognition of Licenses Act, which would establish provisions for the recognition of out-of-state professional licenses in Illinois. Illinois does recognize some out-of-state professional licenses, such as teaching licenses, but not all. And it's not part of the Nurse Licensure Compact, which establishes mutual recognition of nursing licenses among the 41 member states. Another bill, sponsored by state Rep. Yolonda Morris, D-Chicago, would've added Illinois to the NLC — a long-overdue and crucial step in addressing the nursing shortage that's plagued hospitals since COVID-19 hit. With a list of legislative backers ranging from Democrats such as Morris and Crawford to Republicans such as Jacobs, sponsors of these proposals span the political spectrum, and you'd hope that alone would've given Springfield politicians the confidence to act decisively. The benefits are clear: More people working leads to stronger communities, better personal fulfillment and other perks for government — namely, more tax revenue, more consumer spending and less reliance on public aid. In a state that desperately needs private-sector jobs growth, these are not controversial proposals. It's true that reducing licensing red tape wouldn't fix all that ails Illinois' economy — but it's a smart place to start. We wish Springfield would've acted on this initiative and hope these bills are revived soon.
