Latest news with #HB50
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
High court upholds House redistricting plan
The state's highest court rejected an appeal from critics that the Republican-led redistricting of the New Hampshire House of Representatives was so politically drawn that it should be deemed unconstitutional. In its unanimous 4-0 ruling the New Hampshire Supreme Court decided the maps for the 400 seats approved and signed into law in 2022 met the 'rational basis' test that courts hold for such legislative acts. A group of 10 residents had brought the appeal that alleged the approved map had failed to provide enough towns and city wards with their own representation. They had introduced a rival plan from a nonpartisan organization known as 'Map-A-Thon' that came up with a proposal that gave 15 more communities and city wards their own state rep compared to the House plan. The justices noted that any lawsuit against redistricting faces a high bar because it's the actions of a separate and independent branch of government. 'This means that we will not hold the redistricting statute to be unconstitutional unless a clear and substantial conflict exists between it and the Constitution,' justices wrote. 'It also means that when doubts exist as to the constitutionality of a statute, those doubts must be resolved in favor of its constitutionality.' Attorney General John Formella's legal team had countered that the redistricting plan (HB 50) was a 'political decision to be made by the Legislature based on policy considerations.' Redistricting has favored GOP State prosecutors maintained for the court to strike the plan down, justices would have to act as lawmakers and the court agreed with that logic. 'The plaintiffs have not persuaded us that the trade-offs the Legislature made in enacting RSA 662:5 (redistricting law) were unreasonable,' the justices wrote. 'Accordingly, we conclude that the plaintiffs have not met their burden of demonstrating that the Legislature had no rational or legitimate basis for enacting RSA 662:5.' Formella issued a statement praising the decision and thanking his legal team for its defense. 'Today's decision reaffirms the court's prior precedent recognizing the Legislature's broad discretion in the area of redistricting and recognizes that the Legislature must balance complex constitutional requirements when determining the most appropriate map,' Formella said. 'We are delighted that the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's finding that the Legislature acted within its constitutional authority …' In November, the high court upheld redistricting maps for the 24-person state Senate and the five-person Executive Council. Since all three maps were approved, Republicans have held onto the ruling majorities in the Legislature and on the council. In 2022, Democratic Party critics noted that their candidates for Executive Council got the most votes across the state, but they won only one of the five seats. That's because the redistricting made four of those council districts more Republican-leaning while the fifth became much more Democratic. The fifth Supreme Court justice, Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, is on administrative leave while she fights charges she illegally interfered in a criminal investigation into her husband, State Ports and Harbors Director Geno Marconi. klandrigan@
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alaska House approves organized betting on snowfall amounts
Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, speaks on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Alaskans could soon have access to a new type of charitable gambling. In a 35-2 vote on Friday, the Alaska House of Representatives voted to allow 'snow classics,' a type of gambling game that involves guessing the amount of snow on the ground at a certain spot and a certain date and time. Snow classics are currently limited to a guessing game at Mount Alyeska, held to benefit Four Valleys Community School, but if the Senate passes House Bill 50 and Gov. Mike Dunleavy allows it to become law, organizations across the state would be allowed to hold them. HB50 was sponsored by Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, who introduced it on behalf of the Juneau Nordic Ski Club. The tax division of the Alaska Department of Revenue said it believes the bill could be implemented without any impact on the state budget. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Judiciary approves two public safety bills over the weekend
Police in Albuquerque in mid-September, 2021. (Photo by Marisa Demarco / Source NM) On Saturday, the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee passed two public safety bills forward in advance of additional proposals in the queue for later this week. House Bill 31 would more severely punish the crime of threatening to shoot people by increasing the attached penalty from a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum possible jail sentence between six months and one year, to a fourth-degree felony, which comes with 18 months in prison. Three years ago, Senate Bill 34 similarly called for this crime to be punished as a fourth-degree felony, but it was amended down to a misdemeanor and included in the omnibus crime package signed into law. House Bill 50 would group together the sentences for four different crimes related to stealing motor vehicles. State law already requires longer prison terms if someone commits one of these crimes on multiple occasions, but HB50 would make subsequent convictions carry greater sentences for having violated any of the four statutes. 'In other words, a first time violator of the one statute would be considered a repeat offender of the larger statutory scheme if they have a prior conviction for a different Article 16D offense,' the Law Offices of the Public Defender explained in its analysis of the bill. 'This may lead to further litigation since an accused person may challenge the legality of an enhanced punishment for 'repeating' conduct they have not actually repeated.' The committee has heard two other bills that lawmakers intend to include in the crime package. The committee is expected to vote on the package on Wednesday. House Bill 4 would give prosecutors more options to involuntarily commit people into a locked psychiatric facility if they are found to be dangerous and unable to stand trial. House Bill 38 would ban devices that can convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones. The committee is scheduled to hold hearings on House Bill 16, which would increase sentences for trafficking fentanyl, and House Bill 86, which would remove the statute of limitations for prosecuting a human trafficking offense. House Bill 12 is headed to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. It would create an alternative process for police officers to ask a judge for an Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order, if a reporting party isn't available or doesn't want to be involved.
