Latest news with #HB476
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama House bill aims to make it easier for people to repair their devices
Rep. Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville, speaks during a debate on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 12, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Judiciary Committee held a public hearing for her hill to make it easier for people and independant shops to repair their devices. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama House committee Wednesday held a public hearing on a bill aimed at making it easier for consumers and independent retailers to repair electronic devices. HB 476, sponsored by Rep. Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville, would require the manufacturers of technology devices and software providers to provide information, tools and parts for items they produce to consumers and repair shops. 'It would reduce consumer cost and have significant environmental and economic benefits,' Lands told the committee prior to the public hearing. 'It promotes affordability, sustainability and access to critical supplies.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill states that an original equipment manufacturer will not impose contractual limitations on access to documents that outline how to repair the items they make. Manufacturers will also ensure that parts are available to repair their devices for at least five years after the discontinue making the item and that the parts are offered on 'fair and reasonable' terms without requiring consumers or repair shops to buy additional services from them. It also makes manufacturers subject to a $10,000 fine for not complying with the provisions in the bill and allows consumers and repair shops to file lawsuits against manufacturers for violating elements of the bill. Members of the public spoke both in favor of and against the legislation. 'It is wonderful for our environment to keep appliances going for longer rather than throwing them into landfills, particularly with the sort of toxic components that are often involved in e-waste,' said Tabitha Isner, who spoke in favor of the legislation. 'It is also great for the economy to have folks who are able to make a small business out of repairing electronics.' Dustin Brighton, director Repair Done Right Coalition, an organization that advocates for the safe and secure repair of electronic devices opposed the bill, saying that it would lead to safety risk and threats for Alabama residents. 'Mandating that companies outsource their repair service to a third-party network prevents them from being able to fully stand behind their products' safety and security,' he said. The committee plans to vote on the legislation next week. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Hampshire House officially axes 15-week abortion ban proposal
Michelle Cilley Foisy and Kelly Omu attend a State House rally in Concord in May 2022 opposing restrictions on abortion. (Annmarie Timmins/New Hampshire Bulletin file photo) A proposal to further restrict abortion access in New Hampshire has officially died. The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted 340-15 to withdraw House Bill 476, which would've banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities. It did not include exceptions for rape or incest. Abortion is currently illegal in New Hampshire after 24 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities. However, there are no exceptions for rape or incest. HB 476 sought to tighten the ban by nine weeks. The bill's prime sponsor, Wolfeboro Republican Rep. Katy Peternel, filed a motion to withdraw it in late January, saying 'there is a flaw in the bill that prevents us from moving forward in a logical, reasonable, or obvious way.' Her co-sponsors also asked to pull the legislation. Peternel did not respond to requests for comment about what flaw made her withdraw the bill. The bill faced an uphill battle even before its sponsors backed away from it. Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte promised to veto any legislation seeking to tighten the state's abortion limits, which were put in place in 2021. 'If you send me legislation that further restricts access to abortion beyond our current law, I will veto it,' she said during her inaugural address in January. Additionally, House and Senate Republican leaders also promised not to pass further abortion restrictions on the campaign trail.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republican lawmaker pulls 15-week abortion ban proposal
Before the bill can be officially withdrawn, all of the co-sponsors must agree and the matter must go to a House floor vote. (Photo by Dana Wormald/New Hampshire Bulletin) Rep. Katy Peternel, a Wolfeboro Republican, announced Monday she was requesting to withdraw her proposed 15-week abortion ban. 'After careful review, it has become clear that there is a flaw in the bill that prevents us from moving forward in a logical, reasonable, or obvious way,' Peternel said in a statement. 'Without consensus among the pro-life organizations across New Hampshire, this bill does not have the broad support it needs to advance successfully out of committee.' House Bill 476 would've made abortion illegal in New Hampshire after 15 months of pregnancy. The bill provided exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities. It did not include exceptions for rape or incest. 'The withdrawal of HB 476 allows the legislature to refocus its efforts on other legislation,' Peternel continued in her statement. Peternel did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the bill or what flaw specifically led her to request the withdrawal. House Clerk Paul Smith said he's heard from Peternel's co-sponsors and all wish to proceed with withdrawal. Now, before the bill can be officially withdrawn, the matter must go to a House floor vote on whether to approve the withdrawal, according to Smith. However, without the support of its sponsors the bill appears extremely unlikely to advance. Abortion has been illegal after 24 weeks of pregnancy since 2021, and includes exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities. This proposal would have tightened that ban by nine weeks. Even before the withdrawal request, the proposed abortion ban faced significant obstacles to becoming law. Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she would veto any further restrictions on abortion. In her inaugural address given to lawmakers earlier this month, Ayotte said, 'If you send me legislation that further restricts access to abortion beyond our current law, I will veto it.' Additionally, during the 2024 election season, House and Senate Republican leaders vowed they wouldn't pass any additional abortion restrictions.
Boston Globe
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Sponsors of 15-week abortion bill in N.H. ask to withdraw their proposal, citing unspecified ‘flaw' in the bill
'After careful review, it has become clear that there is a flaw in the bill that prevents us from moving forward in a logical, reasonable, or obvious way,' Peternel said in a statement House Republicans released promptly, without specifying the nature of the flaw. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up 'Without consensus among the pro-life organizations across New Hampshire, this bill does not have the broad support it needs to advance successfully out of committee,' Peternel added. Advertisement Republican Representative Robert J. Lynn of Windham, who chairs the committee, said a bill can be withdrawn at this stage only when all co-sponsors agree to do so and the full House votes to approve the withdrawal. Since that process cannot be completed until Feb. 6 at the soonest, the hearings on Monday would proceed as planned, he said. The committee then heard New Hampshire House Clerk Paul C. Smith said all the sponsors of HB 476 contacted him before the public hearing began Monday, so under House rules the request to withdraw the bill will be listed on the consent calendar for the next session day. Representative Alexis Simpson of Exeter, the Democratic minority leader in the House, said Republicans moved to withdraw the bill after seeing that more than 11,000 people had used the committee's 'But even that didn't stop a member of their leadership from testifying in favor of the ban,' she said. Advertisement If the GOP didn't want to 'strip away your rights,' then their members in the House wouldn't have introduced this 15-week abortion bill in the first place, Simpson said. 'Make no mistake, New Hampshire Republicans are determined to roll back your reproductive freedoms — if not today, then in the very near future,' she said. Even before Peternel announced plans to withdraw HB 476, there was already a move afoot from a fellow Republican to change everything about the legislation. Lynn, who served previously as chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, sponsored an amendment that would convert HB 476 into a proposal to require the state to collect and report abortion statistics. Instead of imposing abortion restrictions earlier in pregnancy, Lynn's amendment would require health care providers to fill out a form to document the 'induced terminations of pregnancy' they perform each month, with information about the patient's age, the estimated gestational age of the fetus, whether the patient had used contraception, and confidential numbers linked to the identity of the patient and the health care provider or facility. Those who oppose the collection of such sensitive health data — lawmakers have The committee's agenda called for a public hearing on Peternel's original bill, followed by a public hearing on Lynn's proposed amendment. The committee, on which Republicans hold a Advertisement There is also a separate proposal on abortion data collection, There are several other abortion-related proposals on the legislative docket this session as well, including these: A version of this story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Steven Porter can be reached at
