Latest news with #HouseBill117
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
Alaska accuses prominent Kodiak family of widespread fishing permit fraud
A Bristol Bay sockeye salmon "mob" gathers in August 2004 in the Wood River, which flows into the Nushagak River just north of Dillingham. (Photo by Thomas Quinn/, University of Washington) State prosecutors have accused Kodiak fisher Duncan Fields and other members of his family of defrauding the state and fish buyers through a coordinated scheme that involved committing perjury and manipulating permits. Court documents filed Monday state that Fields and his family, who operate Fields and Sons Inc., illegally earned more than $1 million by temporarily transferring various salmon setnet permits to crew members, allowing the family to bypass state limits on individual ownership. Fields, whose family has been setnetting in Kodiak since 1961, denied the state's claims, saying by text that the 'charges stem from the gifting of limited entry permits to family and crew, something my family and I have done for more than 30 years. This is a common practice in the industry, and we believe that our family has been singled out to try to set an example with a unique application of existing statutes. The charges are not supported by the facts.' The criminal accusations against the Fields family — which include multiple felonies — surprised fishers and have implications beyond Kodiak. To avoid the appearance of impropriety, Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, has paused work on House Bill 117, which would allow setnet fishers to pool their fish as a cooperative before sending them to a fishing tender for processing. Stutes, co-chair of the House Fisheries Committee, introduced the bill. Current regulations require each permit holder to submit their fish to a tender separately, but setnet fishers, including Fields, have testified that is impractical and has never been followed in practice. The investigation against Fields, which revealed fish pooling, prompted Alaska wildlife troopers to intensify enforcement of the regulation across the state, causing setnetters to ask for legislative action. 'It wasn't Duncan that brought this issue to us, but he's right in the middle of it, and so I just feel like it's better to stand down on that bill for now,' Stutes said, calling the bill unrelated to the accusations against Fields. According to court documents and legislative testimony, the charges against the Fields family stem from a 2023 message given to the Alaska Wildlife Troopers by the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. 'In 2023, the AWT received information about a set gillnet operation reportedly transferring ownership of permits at high frequency and delivering/selling fish under the names of one or two primary permit holders on behalf of other permit holders,' wrote Col. Bryan Barlow, director of the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, in legislative testimony. Alaska's 'limited entry' permit system was intended to reduce overharvesting while preserving local harvests. In Kodiak, a permit holder 'may operate no more than two set gillnets, with no more than 150 fathoms of set gillnets,' according to state regulation. Prosecutors say that to get around the restriction, members of the Fields family would gift setnet permits to crew members each fishing season, and then the crew members would gift them back to the Fields family at the end of the fishing season, retaining custody. CONTACT US The state argues in its initial filing that the gifts violated a state law that says a permit 'may not be pledged, mortgaged, leased, or encumbered in any way, transferred with any retained right of repossession or foreclosure, or on any condition of requiring a subsequent transfer.' 'As part of their investigation, wildlife investigators interviewed approximately twenty-one individual crewmembers who had permits transferred to them between 2020 and 2023,' court documents state. 'Additionally, they reviewed numerous commercial fishing documents to include permit transfer paperwork, crew member applications, crewmember contracts, gift affidavits, fish ticket data and other relevant paperwork for each individual.' Stutes, who represents the district that includes the Fields' setnet sites, gave credit to the CFEC for alerting police. 'You really have to give CFEC some kudos for catching it, saying 'Whoa, what's going on here? There's been too many transfers.' I'm really impressed with them,' she said. 'It tells me the system does work.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Snag could stop shrimp bill, substitute proposed
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Georgia lawmakers have been working on passing a new bill to support local shrimpers, but with a little over a week before adjournment the bill was hit with a change. House Bill 117 would require all restaurants in Georgia to disclose, in writing on their menu, if their shrimp is foreign imported. It was introduced by State Representative Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) and co-sponsored by Al Williams (D-Midway), Rick Townsend (R-Brunswick), Buddy DeLoach (R-Townsend) and Lehman Franklin (R-Statesboro) back in January. In February, the bill passed 165-7 in the House and moved on to the Senate, where an amendment was added in the Senate Committee on Interstate Cooperation. Committee chairman Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) proposed an amendment that would require imported chicken and beef to be disclosed alongside shrimp. It passed with the amendment. When WSAV reached out to Sen. Moore, he said that he amended HB 117 to include chicken and beef for the same reasons that Rep. Petrea wanted a bill for shrimp. 'Georgia is the chicken capitol of the world and our beef taste better than foreign beef,' Moore said. Rep. Petrea told WSAV that he has a substitute going to the Senate Rules Committee and it will pass including shrimp only. The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah). Petrea previously spoke with WSAV about HB 177 and said that in his opinion, the shrimp industry locally is suffering from unfair trade practices. The state legislative session adjourns on April 4. You can read the amendment here: 20252026-234239Download You can read the original bill here: 232197Download Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bipartisan bill would require Ohio schools to recite Pledge of Allegiance daily
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio public school districts would be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day under a new bipartisan bill. State Reps. Tracy Richardson (R-Marysville) and Sean Brennan (D-Parma) introduced House Bill 117 to require public schools to establish a specific time and manner for the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Schools would also be 'highly encouraged' to develop and implement lessons related to the American flag and the pledge, although participation would not be necessary. 'As a veteran American Government and History teacher, I have always firmly held to the fact that our public schools were, in part, created to instill our young learners with a sense of loyalty to our country,' Brennan said. 'I encourage every adult in Ohio to set the expectation and model for our young people the importance of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, respect for the American flag, standing when veterans march by in a parade and other actions that further this goal.' Could same-sex marriage be on the ballot in Ohio? Under H.B. 117, school districts would have to make these policies publicly available online. School districts would not be allowed to require anyone to participate or infringe on their Constitutional rights. In the U.S., states are permitted to require public school participation, but laws cannot infringe on the First Amendment right to choose whether or not to participate, regardless of age. Four U.S. states — Florida, Utah, Pennsylvania and Texas — currently require parent permission to opt out of the pledge, but Ohio's law would not require parental consent. This would repeal and replace a current Ohio law, which requires districts to clarify if reciting the pledge is a part of the schools program and protects teachers' right to lead their classroom in the pledge if they wish to. Ohio higher education bill one step closer to law In central Ohio, many school districts already recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily. Canal Winchester and South-Western City School representatives confirmed all students recite the pledge daily, and Hilliard schools have a district policy requiring daily recitation. Other districts recite the pledge less frequently. Grandview Heights said its students recite the pledge daily in grades K-3, and then weekly for all other grades. Pickerington representatives said they say it daily in grades K-8, and weekly in high school. A Reynoldsburg representative said the district does not have a specific policy or consistent cadence for reciting the pledge, and a Bexley spokesperson said the district encourages, but does not require it. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words 'under God' to the pledge. This updated, 31-word pledge would be the pledge required under H.B. 117. 'Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance builds nationalism and unity by promising to be faithful to our American values,' Richardson said. 'We live in the greatest country in the world and the Pledge of Allegiance helps to remind us of this.' The bill had its first hearing in the House Education Committee on March 11, but does not yet have a second hearing scheduled. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio bill would mandate daily Pledge of Allegiance in public schools
Mar. 17—A bipartisan bill pending in the Ohio House would require public schools to pick a daily time to recite the pledge of allegiance in a bid to instill patriotism in Ohio youth. The bill, House Bill 117, would retract current law, which allows individual school districts to draw their own policies on when, and how often, to say the pledge. H.B. 117 would then replace the stricken language with a mandate for school boards to set "a time and manner for the daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance to the flag." The bill sets out that participation would not be compulsory for students or staff. It does, however, encourage lesson plans and forbids districts from making any alterations to the pledge's language. Rep. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, a former civics teacher, told the Ohio House committee this week that the state's current law resulted in some districts choosing to do the pledge only on special occasions, others only once a week, and others not at all. Republican joint sponsor Rep. Tracy Richardson, of Marysville, said districts opting not to recite the pledge "has resulted in students who simply never learn our Pledge." "It's too bad that we have to bring this bill, right? I mean, it's too bad that they're not saying the Pledge of Allegiance in every single school every single day in the state of Ohio," Brennan said. While both lawmakers asserted some of the 680 Ohio public school districts would need to change their policies under the bill, neither pointed out specific districts. It's unclear if any Miami Valley districts would be impacted if the bill became law. The Dayton Board of Education, for example, already requires a daily recitation on the basis that it helps students learn of "our democratic heritage, ideals and freedom." The bill sponsors argue a similar point. "I truly believe in my heart that one of my duties as a school teacher was to instill a feeling of patriotic duty, unity and love of country in every one of the students I served," said Brennan. "This bill is one little way we can move that needle in the right direction of instilling a sense of patriotism in our students." H.B. 117 has yet to receive proponent or opponent testimony in its House committee. ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio bill would mandate daily Pledge of Allegiance in public schools
Mar. 17—A bipartisan bill pending in the Ohio House would require public schools to pick a daily time to recite the pledge of allegiance in a bid to instill patriotism in Ohio youth. The bill, House Bill 117, would retract current law, which allows individual school districts to draw their own policies on when, and how often, to say the pledge. H.B. 117 would then replace the stricken language with a mandate for school boards to set "a time and manner for the daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance to the flag." The bill sets out that participation would not be compulsory for students or staff. It does, however, encourage lesson plans and forbids districts from making any alterations to the pledge's language. Rep. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, a former civics teacher, told the Ohio House committee this week that the state's current law resulted in some districts choosing to do the pledge only on special occasions, others only once a week, and others not at all. Republican joint sponsor Rep. Tracy Richardson, of Marysville, said districts opting not to recite the pledge "has resulted in students who simply never learn our Pledge." "It's too bad that we have to bring this bill, right? I mean, it's too bad that they're not saying the Pledge of Allegiance in every single school every single day in the state of Ohio," Brennan said. While both lawmakers asserted some of the 680 Ohio public school districts would need to change their policies under the bill, neither pointed out specific districts. It's unclear if any Miami Valley districts would be impacted if the bill became law. The Dayton Board of Education, for example, already requires a daily recitation on the basis that it helps students learn of "our democratic heritage, ideals and freedom." The bill sponsors argue a similar point. "I truly believe in my heart that one of my duties as a school teacher was to instill a feeling of patriotic duty, unity and love of country in every one of the students I served," said Brennan. "This bill is one little way we can move that needle in the right direction of instilling a sense of patriotism in our students." H.B. 117 has yet to receive proponent or opponent testimony in its House committee. ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
