Latest news with #HB1
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate budget plan wins final OK before panel
Senate budget writers gave their final, formal approval Tuesday for a two-year, $15.6 billion state budget proposal (HB 1) whose Republican architects called it a 'tough' plan that deals with a loss of billions in federal grants. 'The vast amount of it will make our state a better place, make it a powerhouse economically,' said state Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton. 'It was tough work, hard work. It was an excellent product for the state of New Hampshire." The two Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee praised their Republican colleagues for reversing several hundred million dollars of cuts made in the House-approved budget. But they said they voted against the budget plan for a lack of spending on housing and child care and for raising costs for working families, including a new health care premium for many families on Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. 'The Senate has made improvements to the budget that the House sent us. I don't think we can confuse 'better' with 'adequate,'' said Senate Deputy Democratic Leader Cindy Rosenwald of Nashua. 'This bill does nothing to lower costs for Granite Staters. In fact, it raises costs in many ways.' The panel approved by the same 6-2 vote a budget trailer bill (HB 2) that makes more than 260 changes in state law needed to carry out the budget priorities. 'This was a difficult road to go down. We were able to restore a lot of what the House had taken out,' said Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead. Senate President Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, served on a budget committee for the first time in her 21 years in the Legislature. 'Over the last two biennium (four years), we had a lot of money, most of it an infusion of cash from the federal government," Carson said. "We spent that money and were smart about how we spent it, but it is gone. It is gone and now we have to go back to the New Hampshire way of living within our means." Finance Chairman James Gray, R-Rochester, noted the committee's first actions erased House cuts in payments to Medicaid providers and in services for mental health and people with developmental disabilities. 'This is a tight budget year, and that means we have to make tough choices with limited state dollars. Our focus has been on targeted state spending on New Hampshire's most vulnerable populations,' Gray said. The two-year Senate plan includes $67 million more in state aid to the University System of New Hampshire than the House budget. But Sen. Dan Innis, R-Bradford, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, said the $85 million a year in the Senate budget looks small, since the state was giving the University System $100 million a year in 2006. 'We need to start viewing both of these entities as investments in our future rather than spending,' Innis said. 'The $100 million every year, inflation-adjusted would be $166 million; we're spending $85 million, which is half. That's just embarrassing — it just is.' +++ What's Next: The full Senate votes on the recommended budget on Thursday. Prospects: A House-Senate conference committee will meet later this month to seek a compromise between the two spending bills. klandrigan@
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State budget with targeted cuts headed to House for debate
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — House Bill 1, which is the state's budget plan, passed out of the House Committee on Appropriations Monday morning with no opposition. The bill authored by Chairman Jack McFarland (R-Jonesboro, La.) sought to deliver a balanced budget with $200 million less in revenue, while still funding priorities identified by the legislature and Governor Jeff Landry. 'If you'll remember when the session began, I told everyone publicly I'm going to fund the priorities of the legislature,' said Representative McFarland shortly after the committee state's bottom line for 2025-2026 is about $45 billion. With less revenue coming in, lawmakers were challenged to find some savings without cutting services and also providing a permanent pay raise for teachers. Committee members congratulated the Chairman of the committee, Jack McFarland, saying the process has been transparent and fair. Targeted cuts include paying down debt, rolling back on state agency purchases, and a hiring freeze by Governor Jeff Landry. Committee members touted the bill as a compromise and pointed out that no crucial services were cut in this budget, and no taxes were raised. 'In tough times, families tighten their belts. We made sure the state government did the same — responsibly, and without asking more from taxpayers,' said McFarland. The full House is scheduled to debate HB 1 on Thursday. Episcopal Church halts refugee partnership with feds over white South Africans Senate GOP weighs safety, legal concerns over Trump Qatar jet gift Perkins Rowe Baton Rouge changes management, Dallas firm acquires local staple State budget with targeted cuts headed to House for debate Trump's Middle East trip: 5 things to watch Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
29-04-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Cause of Fairview Park brush fire unknown, but signs of human activity seen nearby
Costa Mesa fire investigators are examining the cause of a 1-acre brush fire that broke out Friday in a portion of Fairview Park, where sensitive wildlife is known to reside and where evidence of human activity was also spotted. Department spokesman Battalion Chief Chris Coates said the blaze was first seen and called in shortly after 9:30 p.m. by Huntington Beach police helicopter HB1, as officers flew over the scene just west of Placentia Avenue. 'They happened to be flying in the area and observed it,' Coates said Monday. Crews arrived at the park and saw flames reaching toward the sky but could not immediately access the fire's origin point, as the area was covered in thick brush that was unreachable by vehicle, according to Coates. Firefighters used chainsaws to hack their way through the vegetation to gain access, and then ran approximately 2,000 feet of hose to the spot to tackle the fire. Personnel from four engine companies and one battalion chief remained at the park for 4.5 hours to make sure the site was completely overhauled and no burning embers remained, Coates said. No people were seen in the vicinity, but the fire spokesman said there were signs of human activity in the surrounding area. No structures were damaged. No injuries were reported. 'The fire occurred in an area where there is evidence of homeless encampments,' he said, clarifying that it will be up to investigators to determine whether that may have contributed to the brush fire. Such fires are not uncommon in Fairview Park and the adjacent Talbert Park, the lands of which are maintained by the county. On June 23, 2023, crews battled an 8.4-acre brush fire at the park's southern end near Victoria Street that, fueled by high temperatures and dry conditions, caused the temporary evacuation of residents on Swan Drive to the north. Two teenagers reportedly received minor injuries during the blaze and were assessed at the scene, while another individual found in an encampment at the park was taken into police custody on suspicion of trespassing. It is unknown whether that person may have been linked to the start of the 2023 fire, the cause of was never publicly reported. Although the Pilot requested public records on the investigation in September, that request was denied because the case was still under review.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado bill could strip parents of custody for misgendering their children
A bill in Colorado is making its way through the state legislature that would create legal grounds for the state to revoke custody of parents who misgender their children. The bill is called the Kelly Loving Act, named after a 40-year-old transgender man killed in the Club Q mass shooting in 2022. Its text states that 'deadnaming, misgendering or threatening to publish material related to an individual's gender-affirming health-care services' will be deemed 'coercive control' and will influence the court 'when making child custody decisions and determining the best interests of a child for purposes of parenting time.' If a child's parents are split between Colorado and another state, the bill adds that Colorado courts shall not enforce the other state's laws if they attempt to take the child away from the parent who is providing the child with 'gender-affirming care.' In short, if parents call their child by the wrong name or fail to use their preferred pronouns, they could be liable to lose custody. Canada pioneered this type of legislation before the U.S., and one notable case resulted in a father's six-month prison sentence and a $30,000 fine for misgendering his teenage daughter, as reported by the National Post. The man, who chose to remain anonymous, discussed his situation with political podcaster Matt Walsh in 2022. 'It's considered criminal violence to not use the preferred pronouns,' the man explained. 'It's no different, let's say, than if I were to take a broomstick and whack one of my kids over the head. So they were treating it in a similar fashion that misgendering, mispronouning my child was the equivalent of family violence.' More recently in 2024, California passed Assembly Bill 1955, prohibiting school districts from adopting policies that require teachers or administrators to tell anyone, including parents, when a student changes their gender identity. The president of the California Family Council, Jonathan Keller, called the new law 'a direct assault on the safety of children and the rights of their parents.' 'By allowing schools to withhold vital information from mothers and fathers, this bill undermines their fundamental role and places boys and girls in potential jeopardy,' he stated. On April 2, Colorado's Kelly Loving Act passed out of the state's House Judiciary Committee, with the vote falling along party lines, 7-4. On Sunday, the bill passed in the state House and is headed to the Colorado Senate. Currently, Democrats hold a 23-12 majority, and if it clears it will move to be signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis. Colin Wright, the academic adviser for the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine, believes Polis is likely to sign the legislation into law based on previous bills he's pushed through. In 2019, Polis signed HB19-1039, which simplified the process to update the gender marker on birth certificates without requiring surgical transition, a court order or a doctor's note. The same year, Polis also signed HB19-1129, which prohibited state-licensed mental health care providers from engaging in conversion therapy practices with minors. Conversion therapy aims to change a person's orientation or gender identity from gay or transgender to straight or cisgender. The British Department of Equality, Rights and Citizenship defined conversion therapy as 'any efforts to change, modify or suppress a person's sexual orientation or gender identity regardless of whether it takes place in a health care, religious or other setting.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mississippi House amends Senate tax cut bill
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – House Speaker Jason White (R-Miss.) said State Rep. Trey Lamar (R-District 8) has amended Senate Bill 3095 with a revised House Bill 1 in order to eliminate the income tax. 'The revisions in this bill stem from negotiations with the Senate, the demand of Mississippi taxpayers to eliminate the income tax, and opportunities the House identified to bring the most significant tax relief to Mississippians. The amendment that passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee today and heads to the full voting body provides for an immediate net tax cut for all Mississippians,' said White. The House Speaker said the bill would do the following: Income tax rates will be cut from 4% to 3.5% in 2027 and then progressively decrease to complete elimination by 2037. The sales tax on groceries would immediately reduce from 7% to 5%, a change from the phase-in period in the original HB 1. Over two years, Sales Tax would increase from 7% to 8%. White said the revenue from this tax will distribute $48 million annually to the State Aid Road Fund, and the remaining funds will be deposited into the General Fund. An amendment changes Mississippi's Use Tax from 7% to 8% to simply mirror the House's proposed state Sales Tax. The revenue collected from the Use Tax increase will be used for the Homestead Exemption Reimbursement Fund created in this amendment to provide property tax relief in the form of a $200 annual credit to those over the age of 65. The Excise Tax on fuel would increase five cents a year for three years, a change from the fuel sales tax presented in original HB 1 but still provides significant and stable funding for our state's infrastructure through MDOT and the Strategic Multi-Modal Investments Fund. As proposed in original HB 1, lottery proceeds of $100 million will be allocated to PERS until it reaches an 80% funded ratio, and the remaining funds will be deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund. $300 million will be transferred from the Capitol Expense Fund to the Budget Contingency Fund. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
