Latest news with #HB10
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Parental rights bills get over finish line
A push to give parents affirmative rights to information about their children — a legislative priority for Gov. Kelly Ayotte — cleared both House and Senate Thursday in two identical bills. In a key concession, however, Republican leaders in both chambers agreed to remove a section requiring that parents give consent for all health care services provided to their children. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and other advocates of legal abortion argued that section would have been in conflict with federal law that permits teens to gain access to birth control without parental permission. The Senate-passed bill (SB 72) won approval in the House largely on a party line vote of 214-167. The vote to support changes the Senate made to the House bill (HB 10) was 210-160. State Rep. Peter Petrigno, D-Milford, charged that the measure's high legal standard of 'clear and convincing evidence' for educators to be able to withhold information from parents could put children at risk of harm. 'We will be giving cover to child abusers; I am sure that is not the intent but that is exactly what that provision does,' Petrigno said. Rep. Heather Raymond, D-Nashua who formerly worked for the Division of Children, Youth and Families, said the current standard for DCYF to investigate abuse is if the teacher has a 'reasonable cause to suspect' that it happened. DCYF can then bring an abuse allegation to law enforcement if it meets the 'preponderance of the evidence.' House Speaker Pro Tem Jim Kofalt, R-Wilton, said the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a Manchester parent seeking information about their child showed that the Legislature needed to act. 'They did not have clear and unequivocal guidance from this Legislature and governor that parental rights are fundamental and should be viewed through that lens; that changes the game,' Kofalt said. House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, had been working for the past four years on a parental rights policy and made it one of the top 10 issues contained in the House GOP's 'Contract with New Hampshire' during the 2024 campaign. 'Today, with the passage of HB 10, the Legislature has taken a decisive step to uphold parental rights. This legislation reaffirms a fundamental principle: that parents have the right to be informed and involved in decisions affecting their children's lives,' Packard said in a statement after the vote. Kayla Montgomery, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, praised a coalition of groups who had pushed to remove the section requiring parental consent for health care. 'Confidentiality plays a key role in supporting young people to make healthy, responsible decisions as they grow into adulthood,' Montgomery said. 'When confidentiality is assured, teens and young adults are more likely to obtain health services, disclose necessary information to their providers, and seek out needed services in the future. When young people perceive a lack of confidentiality, they often delay or forgo seeking critical care, including sexual and reproductive health care.' Devon Chaffee, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, said removing that section was the right move. 'Granite Staters have continued to make it crystal clear that legislative attacks on our reproductive rights and health care are deeply unpopular,' Chaffee said. Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, said this reform came about because lawmakers worked to come up with the best proposal. 'This language is a compromise between both bodies and is a win for the parents and children of New Hampshire,' Birdsell said. The Senate approved its measure on a voice vote after Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka of Portsmouth had warned that it would not do enough to 'protect our kids' from potential abuse. klandrigan@
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alaska Legislature considers expanding University of Alaska's governing board
The University of Alaska Fairbanks campus is seen on Oct. 10, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) The board in charge of the University of Alaska could grow by one member, if a proposal passed by the Alaska House of Representatives is approved by the state Senate and Gov. Mike Dunleavy next year. House Bill 10, from Rep. Ashley Carrick, D-Fairbanks, would add a UA faculty member to the university's board of regents. If enacted, HB 10 would expand the board from 11 members to 12, with the new seat reserved for 'a current full-time faculty member who is employed at and has acquired tenure at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, or the University of Alaska Southeast.' Speaking on the House floor, Carrick said the addition of a new regent 'will provide the university with a greater ability to fulfill its mission and provide representation to this key stakeholder group.' Alaska would become the seventh state to have a board seat reserved for a faculty member, Carrick said. Other states have non-voting seats reserved for faculty members. The board expansion would expire in 2032 unless legislators later vote to permanently extend the new position. Under HB 10, the faculty senates of UAA, UAF and UAS would hold elections for two faculty members apiece for the board seat, and the governor would have the final pick. Each member would serve an eight year term. The Alaska Legislature passed 33 bills during its regular session this year, but HB 10 wasn't one of them. The House approved it by a 27-13 vote on May 7, but the Senate did not hold a committee hearing for the bill before lawmakers adjourned for the year. It's in a prime position to pass the Legislature next year, however; it's been assigned to just one committee before being presented to the full Senate. In the Senate, the bill is cosponsored by both Republicans and Democrats, including one member of the Senate's Republican minority caucus, Sen. Mike Cronk, R-Tok. The bill didn't advance through the House without opposition. In the House Finance Committee, Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, said she had spoken to every member of the current Board of Regents and none of them were in favor of the bill. No members of the board offered testimony against the bill. Rep. Frank Tomaszewski, R-Fairbanks and another 'no' vote, said he believes that assigning faculty to the board could create conflicts of interest. Early this year, the university reached a three-year labor deal with the union representing faculty. That agreement happened after extensive work and a brief breakdown in negotiations, leading to both parties requesting a federal mediator. Speaking on the House floor, Carrick alluded to the university's budget and contract struggles. 'Over the last decade, the University of Alaska has navigated some of the greatest fiscal and social challenges that have taken place in our state's history,' she said. '(HB 10) allows for better representation in the driver's seat to help make difficult decisions with the rest of our board members about our university system in its future.' The 34th Alaska State Legislature is scheduled to reconvene on Jan. 21, 2026.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Charlotte Democrat joins GOP in supporting bill bolstering ICE cooperation law
A GOP bill that seeks to bolster the state law requiring sheriffs to cooperate more closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved forward on Tuesday with the support of a Charlotte Democrat. The N.C. House voted 70-45 to approve House Bill 318, a measure spearheaded by Republican Speaker Destin Hall. It builds on the law enacted last year by adding a new notification requirement to the process that currently takes place when ICE submits a temporary detention request to sheriffs and other local law enforcement. The vote fell almost entirely along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats voting against the bill except for one, Rep. Carla Cunningham. Cunningham's support for the bill stood out as several other Democrats from Mecklenburg County spoke during the debate on Tuesday afternoon to express their strong opposition to it. Cunningham, one of a few swing votes in the House, previously voted for the GOP legislation last year that required sheriffs to comply with ICE detainers. She also voted to override former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of the bill, helping Republicans enact it into law. During Tuesday's debate, Cunningham spoke about the need to address violent crime in Mecklenburg County. She also mentioned the surge in overdose deaths, and referenced the county's report from February that overdose deaths among Black and Hispanic residents of Mecklenburg have increased by 200% since 2019. 'That 200% are people that look like me,' Cunningham said. 'They're my grandkids, your grandkids that's associating with it.' Hall introduced HB 318 in March in response to a dispute he said he was following between Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and ICE. The dispute began in January, when McFadden said ICE hadn't been communicating with his deputies and failed to take custody of a Honduran national who had been charged with domestic violence. Under HB 10, sheriffs must hold someone subject to an ICE detainer for up to 48 hours to give the agency time to take custody. ICE spokesman Lindsay Williams previously told the Charlotte Observer that the agency requires a notification, either a phone call or an email, 48 hours before individuals held on detainers are released from jail. Williams said that some sheriffs in the state already make that phone call to ICE, in addition to the initial notice the agency receives when local law enforcement tells ICE they've booked someone in their jails whose citizenship or legal status can't be determined. McFadden responded that HB 10, as it was written and passed last year, did not require him to make that additional phone call. He also told the Charlotte Observer that the main issue for his office had been a lack of communication by ICE, and said that once he receives a detainer request from ICE, the agency should be ready to take custody within 48 hours, as the law requires. 'If it requires the sheriff to do his duty, and align with the federal government, with ICE, I expect him to do that,' Cunningham said Tuesday. 'Because that's protecting my community too. My children too.' After Tuesday's voting session, Hall told The News & Observer he hasn't discussed HB 318 with Gov. Josh Stein, but he hopes Stein will sign it into law should it reach his desk. Hall said that when he first started working on the issue of requiring cooperation with ICE in 2019, 'part of me thought even Cooper may not veto it, because it's a pretty clear issue.' 'It's pretty clear that folks in this state want sheriffs cooperating with ICE, and we knew Cooper would probably veto it, but you know, again, we weren't sure,' Hall said. 'With Stein, who knows? I hope he signs it. I think there's a chance. I haven't discussed it with him directly, so I don't know.' While Hall and Stein haven't had a conversation about the bill, Hall's office told The N&O that both offices have had 'staff-level discussions' about the bill, which didn't happen with similar ICE-cooperation bills when Cooper was governor. Republicans previously controlled supermajorities capable of overriding vetoes in both chambers, but lost total control in the House by one seat in November. That means that with any legislation that gets vetoed this session, Republicans will need at least one Democrat to join them in an override vote. Hall told The N&O he hasn't talked with Cunningham about a potential override, but said her comments during the floor debate show that 'she seems to be pretty passionate about the issue.' 'Based on her comments today, I think she probably will vote to override, but I haven't spoken to her about that yet directly,' Hall said. Before GOP lawmakers can send HB 318 to Stein, it will have to pass the Senate. Republicans in that chamber passed their own immigration enforcement bill earlier this year that would expand ICE cooperation to state agencies and require the Departments of Public Safety and Adult Correction, as well as the State Highway Patrol and Bureau of Investigation to enter cooperation agreements with the federal agency.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
Sheriff McFadden: ICE makes arrest outside Mecklenburg County Courthouse
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden says he witnessed ICE make an arrest outside the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on Wednesday. According to Sheriff McFadden, the agents were in plain clothes and in an unmarked car. He does not know the identity of the person arrested or if that person had business at the court. A spokesperson for ICE said more information will be released later. 'I don't think I was that surprised, because we know it is going to happen,' McFadden said. 'It's going to continue to occur.' RELATED STORIES: Mecklenburg County Sheriff discusses impact of HB10 Mecklenburg County Sheriff calls for collaboration and transparency with ICE Sheriff McFadden says ICE failed to pick up 163 undocumented people from jail ICE, partner agencies arrest 24 people in Charlotte operation McFadden says he is now creating a policy for future arrests on courthouse property. He says he gave his personal cell phone number to arresting agents and asked to be contacted next time so court business isn't disrupted. 'We are just looking for collaboration, conversation, and cooperation,' Sheriff McFadden said. 'We just don't want anybody to be hurt. We don't want anything to happen to anyone and we're just concerned.' As Channel 9 has been reporting, ICE says McFadden isn't cooperating with the agency's detainer requests. While inmates flagged by ICE are held for 48 hours, ICE says Sheriff McFadden isn't calling the agency before they are released. McFadden says the law doesn't require him to. Stefanía Arteaga with the Carolina Migrant Network says she is worried the arrest will make people less comfortable going to court. 'We have to remember that Mecklenburg County court isn't just to criminal charges,' she said. 'We have small claims court. We have people who are trying to get married within the court. It will have an impact on the community if community members do not feel safe accessing the court system.' This is a developing story. Watch Channel 9 for updates. (VIDEO: Vape shop employee shoots at fleeing robbers in Lincolnton, sheriff says)
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beshear signs licensing of nicotine retailers, other bills that ‘put our Kentucky families first'
Kentucky Capitol. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) Kentucky will begin licensing retailers who sell nicotine, which advocates have said will help regulate an industry and protect minors from addictive chemicals. Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 100 into law on Monday, which is aimed at curbing minors' access to tobacco and e-cigarettes. Smoking is a leading cause of preventable death. Beshear also signed into law SB 120, which would require coaches and others to report abuse and neglect concerns; HB 38, which will make it a Class D felony to violate a protective order for the third time; HB 10, which will streamline the removal of illegal squatters from private property; and more. 'I will always put our Kentucky families first,' Beshear said in a statement. 'I was proud to sign into law several measures that will do just that – increasing opportunity and making our New Kentucky Home a better place to live, learn and do business.' Under the new law, Kentucky will license all retailers who sell tobacco and vape products, giving the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) inspection and enforcement powers over them, similar to those it exercises over alcohol retailers. It will also fine retailers who sell nicotine products to minors and give half the money collected in fines to a youth prevention program in a state where about 5% of high school students smoke and almost 20% use e-cigarettes, according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Smoking costs the state more than $2 billion every year in health complications, according to the campaign. The other half would go toward enforcement expenses. Parts of the bill will go into effect immediately and others — including the licensing portion — will wait until Jan. 1.
