Latest news with #HouseBill254
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
After approving a ban on DEI, NC House votes to honor the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen
Members of the Tuskegee Airmen circa May 1942 to August 1943. (Photo: Public domain) The irony of the moment was likely not lost on Rep. Renée Price. Shortly after a tense, hours-long debate in the state House and the passage of a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across North Carolina government, it was her time to speak on House Bill 254. The Orange County Democrat stood and asked her colleagues to support legislation that would designate the fourth Thursday of March as 'Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day' in North Carolina. In 1941, the federal government established the 66th Air Force Flying School at Tuskegee Institute to train Black pilots for the war. Almost 1,000 African Americans trained at the Army Airfield in Tuskegee, Alabama; and 450 of the men who completed training were sent overseas for combat duty. Most battled discrimination and other challenges not experienced by white individuals in the officially segregated U.S. military. And for those who survived, many such challenges persisted in the decades that followed — a phenomenon that DEI policies sought to combat. 'The Tuskegee Airmen were pilots, mechanics, bombardiers, navigators, crew members, nurses, and instructors,' Price said. 'From 1943 to 1945 in the European Theatre, they provided escorts during bombing missions, helping the Allied Forces in achieving a victory in the global conflict that caused horrific destruction and casualties.' The Tuskegee Airmen flew hundreds of patrol and attack missions — first flying older and less well-equipped P-40 and P-39 airplanes, before ultimately being reassigned to escort B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers, using P-47 and P-51 airplanes. They earned the nickname 'Red Tails' from the distinctive painted tails of the Tuskegee fighter planes. 'I have a personal interest in this request,' Price shared. 'Even though he was from New York State, my father was actually part of the 99th Pursuit Squadron and was with the 332nd Fighter Group.' Rep. Nasif Majeed (D-Mecklenburg) told members of the House that as a decorated Air Force combat pilot who flew 120 combat missions over North Vietnam, the history of the Tuskegee airmen was very dear to him. 'I stand on their shoulders,' said Majeed. 'They were known as the Red Tails and all the bomber pilots said that because of their outstanding record, they wanted them to escort them because they lost fewer aircraft.' The National WWII Museum notes that while 66 Tuskegee Airmen died in combat, it was one of the lowest loss records of any escort fighter group. They are credited with completing more than 1,500 missions, destroying 260 enemy aircraft, and sinking an enemy German destroyer. Rep. Abe Jones (D-Wake) said it was a Tuskegee Airman who helped change the trajectory of his life. After the war, Harold Webb became a teacher and a principal, and served as a leading force for school integration, according to the Raleigh Hall of Fame. Governor Jim Hunt later appointed Webb as the first African American director of the Office of State Personnel in 1977. The former Tuskegee Airman worked to strengthen the state's Equal Employment Opportunity program that was dedicated to diversifying and strengthening the state's government workforce. 'I'm proud to be able to have a chance to vote for this bill,' Jones told his House colleagues. Rep. Jay Adams (R-Catawba) became emotional as he thought about his own father in World War II. 'He was shot down outside of Rome in January of 1944. He spent 16 months in a German prison camp.' Adams said it was after his capture in a dark, crowded box car that his father met a fellow southerner and aviator named William E. Griffin from Montgomery, Alabama. Griffin took flight training at Tuskegee, earned his wings in 1943, and flew more than 23 flights over enemy territory. 'William E. Griffin became one of my dad's best friends. They dug tunnels together. They cooked together. They exercised together. They did everything together for 16 months.' After the war, the two POWs lost touch. Adams said his father was deeply saddened to learn in 1992 that Griffin died in 1969. 'Willie E. Griffin was the only Black guy in that prison camp. In the end of the war, there were 8,500 airmen there. But he was one of them. They were best friends. This is very special to me.' Adams said it took years, but he made sure that letters his father had in Griffin's own handwriting were returned to his daughter. 'He was very educated. He was a smart guy.' Adams, a co-sponsor on the Tuskegee bill, joined 68 of GOP colleagues in voting to approve the bill to ban DEI programs. Earlier this year, in an effort to comply with Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion, the Air Force removed videos that included stories of the Tuskegee Airmen from the military's training materials. Bipartisan outcry over that hasty decision led Air Force officials to walk back the order. Locally, the Heart of Carolina Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Wilson V. Eagleson Chapter are now seeking the special day of commemoration outlined in House Bill 254 to ensure that the history of America's first Black military pilots and their triumph over adversity is never not forgotten. HB254 won a rare unanimous vote (114-0) on Wednesday in the state House and now moves to the North Carolina Senate.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Resolution to develop renewable energy on Lake Erie advances out of Pa. House committee
(The Center Square) ― Studying the viability of renewable energy projects on Lake Erie was the topic of discussion at a recent House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee meeting. Despite some concerns, the committee voted 19-7 to advance House Resolution 53, sponsored by Rep. Bob Merski, of Erie, D-2nd Dist. The resolution proposes that the Joint State Government Commission conduct a study on the feasibility, benefits and drawbacks of developing hydropower, solar and wind energy on Pennsylvania's portion of Lake Erie. 2024: A green energy invention will be tested on Lake Erie. How it works Merski said the study is a response to feedback and constructive criticism received on House Bill 254, legislation he introduced last session that proposed leasing submerged lands of the lake for offshore wind, solar and kinetic energy generation. Stressing that he took concerns regarding such projects and their impact on bird habitats and aquatic life seriously, the study was developed in collaboration with stakeholders from all sides to address these issues. He highlighted a prototype already in place in his district, in which kinetic energy projects in Harborcreek Township are generating electricity from waves on Lake Erie. Regardless of the study's outcome, Merski said, gathering more information will help guide future decisions. Seven of the 12 Republican committee members voted the measure down. Minority Chair Jack Rader, of Reeders, Monroe County, R-176th Dist., acknowledged Merski's intentions but questioned the initiative's effectiveness due to the limited amount of Lake Erie that Pennsylvania owns. He expressed concerns about its effect on outdoor recreation, shipping and tourism and noted the opposition he has heard from area representatives. Merski responded that the state owns hundreds of thousands of acres along a 50-mile stretch and explained that projects would not be near land and would not affect Presque Isle State Park, the most visited Department of Conservation and Natural Resources parks in the state. He said the study's purpose was to ensure that groups such as the Presque Isle State Park Advisory Committee, S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie and the Audubon Society — with whom he said he has met — are supportive of moving forward. He warned that the governor could decide to proceed without their approval and underscored the importance of the legislature's involvement in securing the best deal for the commonwealth. Speaking in support of the legislation, Rep. Abigail Salisbury, of Braddock, D-34th Dist., noted the lake's role as a tourism and transportation asset that benefits the community. She also emphasized the importance of studying its potential for energy production. 'We need to know about it because you can't make good decisions without good information," Salisbury said. More: Pennsylvania trails in race among states to be first with Great Lakes wind farm Rep. Mandy Steele, of Cheswick, D-33rd Dist., said there is significant interest in harnessing the Allegheny River's power through underwater turbines in her district. However, she said that balancing recreational activities and energy generation is important. She believes this balance can be achieved and that the study would yield useful information that can be applied across the commonwealth. Merski said his legislation would help diversify Pennsylvania's energy portfolio while prioritizing the use of clean, renewable energy to efficiently power Pennsylvania without increasing utility prices for consumers. More: NOAA seeks advisory council for proposed marine sanctuary in Pa. portion of Lake Erie 'The Erie region has a tremendous opportunity to be a leader in the development of green energy,' Merski said. 'This bill would put us in a position to rise to the occasion by creating a vast, reliable energy network that will reduce our carbon footprint. 'Additionally, the economic impact of this legislation would be a boon for the Erie area as the projects would be an incredible source of family-sustaining jobs. This is a win-win for our region, and I look forward to championing this vital bill throughout its legislative journey.' The bill heads to the House floor for consideration. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Lake Erie green energy development bill advances in PA House
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Hampshire House tables legalized assisted suicide bill
The New Hampshire House of Representatives meets for a voting day in the State House on Thursday, March 20, 2025. Representatives voted to table a proposal legalizing assisted suicide. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) By a single vote, the New Hampshire House of Representatives decided to table a proposal to legalize assisted suicide. House Bill 254, sponsored by Windham Republican Rep. Bob Lynn, seeks to legalize medical aid in dying in New Hampshire. If enacted, it would allow adults to end their life through doctor-prescribed drugs. In order to receive the fatal drugs under this bill, two different doctors would have to determine those adults to be likely to die within six months or they would have to be in Medicare-certified hospice care with a terminal condition. The patient receiving aid-in-dying drugs would also need to have the mental capacity to 'understand and appreciate health care options available' and give informed consent. The drugs must be self-administered. The medical provider must also determine the patient is not being coerced into the assisted suicide. IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW is in a crisis, call, text or chat the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. To reach the New Hampshire Rapid Response Access Point, call or text 833-710-6477. If you need help with grief and loss, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers advice and resources. You can also call the National SAMHSA Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP, with services in English and Spanish, toll free 24/7. By tabling this bill, the House decided not to advance it to the Senate, but didn't kill it entirely. Lawmakers can still bring it back up for a vote should they choose. The bipartisan vote to table it was 183-182. 'I do enjoy a debate of nine speakers such as we have lined up here as much as the next guy,' House Majority Leader Jason Osborne said, advocating for the House to skip debate and simply table it. 'But I also know that we don't need to have the same debate every year.' The debate over assisted suicide is not a new one in the New Hampshire State House. The practice was almost legalized last year when 2024's House Bill 1283, a very similar piece of legislation, was approved by the House, but failed in the Senate. In hearings leading up to Thursday's vote, proponents of the bill argued it provides a way for people with terminal illnesses and conditions to avoid some of the suffering they may face in their final days of life. Opponents of the bill argued it would lead to a so-called slippery slope where doctors give up on treating people with disabilities and severe conditions in favor of encouraging them to choose death. Opponents were also concerned it would be abused by people with depression and suicidal ideation. Assisted suicide is already legal in 10 U.S. states — including Vermont and Maine — and Washington, D.C. It's also legal in countries like Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and Belgium.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Hampshire is debating legalized assisted suicide. Here's how it's worked out elsewhere.
Signs in the State House express support for the "New Hampshire End of Life Freedom Act." (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) Lindsey Warren, of Coventry, Vermont, has helped many people end their lives using medical aid-in-dying drugs. 'I've seen so many people happy and relieved that they have choice and dignity in the end of their life,' she said. 'Everyone that I've worked with has been overjoyed that they made it to the day. They're able to choose. They're able to say their goodbyes to their family. And they've been fighting the good fight, but they are really ready to rest and not be in pain and suffering anymore.' Warren is an end-of-life doula. Her job is to help people navigate different aspects of end-of-life care including medical aid-in-dying, also known as assisted suicide (though she, and other proponents, prefer the term medical aid-in-dying), which is legal in Vermont. This includes guiding them through the eligibility and approval process required of patients for them to receive medical aid-in-dying drugs as well as helping with doctors appointments. She said having the practice legalized is 'absolutely a positive' for Vermont. 'Every step along the way, it's always their choice,' she said. 'And they may decide to, in the end, not ingest (the aid-in-dying drugs) but at least they knew they had that choice and they explored that.' Warren said she hasn't seen a lot of the common criticisms of assisted suicide – people with disabilities being pressured into it, people with depression and suicidal ideation abusing it – come to fruition, but she has seen long wait times, especially as people from other states come to receive the drugs. She hopes other states, like New Hampshire, will legalize the practice to take pressure off Vermont's system. And many in New Hampshire share that hope. New Hampshire could soon become the 11th U.S. state to legalize assisted suicide as lawmakers debate the so-called New Hampshire End of Life Freedom Act. IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW is in a crisis, call, text or chat the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. To reach the New Hampshire Rapid Response Access Point, call or text 833-710-6477. If you need help with grief and loss, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers advice and resources. You can also call the National SAMHSA Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP, with services in English and Spanish, toll free 24/7. If passed, House Bill 254 would allow adults who have been determined by two doctors to have an estimated six months left to live or are in Medicare-certified hospice care to end their life through aid-in-dying drugs in New Hampshire. The patient receiving the drug must have the mental capacity to understand their options and decision, must be able to self-administer the medication, and must give informed consent. The provider is also required to confirm the patient isn't being coerced. At a hearing in the State House last month, Rep. Bob Lynn, the Windham Republican who introduced the bill, said it was about 'giving people at the end of their life the freedom to end their life in a dignified way rather than endure continuous suffering.' At the hearing, advocates said the bill allows people already near death to end their life on their own terms and avoid the suffering they may face in the lead-up to their death. Opponents argued the bill has a number of flaws, including that it would encourage medical providers to give up on treating people facing severe disabilities or other conditions in favor of ending their lives or that it would be abused by people suffering from depression and suicidal ideation. Gov. Kelly Ayotte said last week she hadn't yet looked at the bill and declined to provide her stance. 'It is a very important issue, and I know that it's an issue that people on both sides of it have deep concerns about,' she added. If the bill becomes law, New Hampshire would be far from the first state or country to legalize assisted suicide. Between criticisms of the practice being used to euthanize the poor and disabled in Canada and disapproval from the American Medical Association to popularity across the U.S. and a surge of travel to Switzerland, the practice has seen a mixed reception. Assisted suicide is legal on both New Hampshire's west and east borders, in Vermont and Maine. In 2013, Vermont became the fourth U.S. state to legalize assisted suicide. Act 39, also known as the Vermont Patient Choice and Control at End of Life law, allows terminally ill patients with a prognosis of six months left to live to receive medical aid in dying in Vermont. The medical aid in dying drugs have to be self-administered, and the patient must be deemed capable of making their own health care decisions and giving informed consent. Vermont's law is very similar to New Hampshire's proposal. From 2013, when the bill was passed, through June 2023, the most recent data available, 203 people ended their lives through this act, according to the Vermont Department of Health. Eighty-five of those occurred from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023. The most common diagnosis cited by patients ending their life was cancer, with 153 cases, or 75%; 26, or 13%, were due to neurodegenerative conditions while 6, or 3%, were end-stage lung diseases like COPD or emphysema. In 2019, Maine joined Vermont in legalizing assisted suicide through the Maine Death with Dignity Act. The law allows for assisted suicide in patients with an incurable terminal illness that is expected to kill them within six months. Maine's law also requires the patient to be able to self-administer the drug and be of sound mind. In Maine, the patient must be a legal resident of the state, which is not the case in Vermont (though it was prior to May 2023) and New Hampshire's proposal. In 2023, 80 patients began the process in Maine to receive aid-in-dying drugs, according to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, though four died before completing the process and nine were still alive at the time of the department's report. From 2019 to 2022, 117 people have been prescribed and taken this life-ending drug in Maine. As in Vermont, cancer is the most common diagnosis for these patients in 2023, representing 42 of them, or 53%. Six of them were diagnosed with ALS and five had heart disease or a cardiac condition. Including Vermont and Maine, there are 10 U.S. states plus Washington, D.C., where the practice is legal. The others are Oregon, Washington, Montana, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Jersey, and New Mexico. In Montana, assisted suicide is legal only through a common law legal precedent established by the Supreme Court case Baxter v. Montana in 2009. All other states legalized it through legislation. In total, 22% of Americans live somewhere with legal assisted suicide. And it's popular across the country, with 71% of respondents in an August Gallup poll saying they believe doctors should be 'allowed by law to end the patient's life by some painless means if the patient and his or her family request it.' However, some physicians in the U.S. aren't as supportive. The American Medical Association says that the practice violates its code of ethics. 'Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician's role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control and would pose serious societal risks,' the association wrote. Quebec became the first Canadian province to legalize assisted suicide in 2014. Since then, however, the Canadian Supreme Court has ruled it legal for all Canadians. After multiple expansions, Canadian law includes some of the world's most permissive policies on assisted suicide. Since 2021, a patient does not have to be terminally ill to receive the drugs in Canada, but rather may be experiencing a long and complicated condition – including disability alone – that impacts their quality of life. The law there also allows a provider to directly administer the drugs rather than require the patient self-administer. (When a provider administers the drug, it's called euthanasia.) Some opponents have called these expansions part of a so-called slippery slope. The practice has exploded there. Assisted dying now represents roughly 1 in 20 Canadian deaths, according to an annual report released in December by Health Canada with data from 2023, the most recent available. That's 15,300 deaths, or 4.7% of deaths in the country. Most – roughly 96% – had a terminal illness, but a small minority – around 4% – fit into the category of illness with a natural death not 'reasonably foreseeable.' The median age was 77.7. In recent years, Canada's assisted-suicide policies have garnered criticism for disproportionately being used by the poor and disabled. An Associated Press investigation in October found that the highest numbers of assisted deaths for patients not facing terminal illness came from the poorest areas. The AP also found medical providers expressing deep discomfort carrying out some of their assisted-dying requests, some of which were avoidable deaths. Additionally, the investigation told the story of someone who was euthanized even after their doctor concluded their suffering was mostly because they were homeless, in debt, and unwilling to accept long-term care, as well as someone who specifically told their doctor that the government's small amount of disability support for their ankle and back injury left them no choice but to request medical aid-in-dying, among others. However, the AP concluded poverty doesn't seem disproportionately prominent among recipients with terminal diseases, which would be the only recipients allowed in New Hampshire under its proposal. A Spectator thought piece entitled 'Why is Canada euthanizing the poor?' and an article from The Guardian, 'Are Canadians being driven to assisted suicide by poverty or healthcare crisis?', both from 2022, delved into the same concerns. In 2020, Roger Foley, a man with a neurodegenerative disease, testified to the Canadian Parliament that medical providers attempted to coerce him into assisted suicide by threatening high rates for the care he needed or to forcibly discharge him. 'Assisted dying is easier to access than safe and appropriate disability supports to live,' Foley said. Assisted suicide is legal in Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland, among others. In 1941, Switzerland was the first country in the world to legalize assisted suicide, though euthanasia – having a provider administer the aid-in-dying drugs – is illegal there. While critics deem it 'suicide tourism,' the country permits foreigners to travel there for assisted suicide. This has been praised by participants' friends and families who say it gives them a good option to end their lives on their own terms. In New Hampshire, the friend of one such person, Hope Damon, who is also a member of the state House of Representatives, told lawmakers the story last month of her friend Michael, who traveled to Switzerland to die. 'We sadly and joyfully celebrated the loss and that he was able to choose to end his life on the terms that were right for him and save his family from watching a heart-wrenchingly sad decline,' she said, urging lawmakers to legalize assisted suicide. The Netherlands and Belgium have gone so far as to legalize assisted dying for children. A study from a group of Belgian researchers found that almost all participants they examined wanted their family member with cancer's medical aid-in-dying request to be granted, and some of them even took an active supportive role in the process. A study from researchers in the Netherlands, while older – from 2003 – also examined the impact of the practice on family members, showing that friends and family of cancer patients who died through euthanasia displayed less traumatic grief symptoms, felt less grief in the moment, and had less post-traumatic stress reactions than friends and family of patients who died of natural causes.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City opposes state bill to collect local occupational taxes
Owensboro City Commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday, voicing their opposition to a bill filed in Frankfort that would have the state collect city and county occupational taxes. Occupational taxes are local taxes collected by the entity that imposes them. Both the city and county have occupational taxes. In fiscal year 2023-24, the city collected $23.644 million in occupational taxes and $6.399 million in net profit license fees. Daviess Fiscal Court collected $6.194 million in occupational taxes and $3.354 million in net profit license fees. The bill, House Bill 254, was filed Tuesday by Rep. Jared Bauman, a Louisville Republican. The bill wasn't available online Tuesday afternoon, but a press release from the House GOP leadership office says the bill 'would establish a working group to assist the State Treasurer's office in the modernization of occupational tax collections.' The press release says the bill would create 'a unified online portal for businesses to streamline the payment of local payroll and net profit taxes across all jurisdictions.' The bill would make it simpler for businesses to pay occupational and net profit taxes, according to the press release. The city's resolution says occupational tax collection 'is best accomplished at the local level by professionals who have local experience and local knowledge of our communities,' and creating a state system for collecting occupational taxes 'would have a severely adverse effect on the fiscal condition and economic development of Owensboro and all local government entities if mandated by the General Assembly.' An official with the Kentucky League of Cities said Tuesday the organization's board voted to make opposition to the plan their top priority during this year's legislative session. Occupational taxes make up an average of 60% of a city's revenue, the KLC official said. A copy of the resolution Owensboro city commissioners approved Tuesday evening was sent to cities across the state by the KLC. Owensboro City Manager Nate Pagan said the KLC has taken the lead on the initiative, and said word of a possible bill was brought to the city's attention last week. Pagan said a concern is the state would have to create a mechanism to collect the tax. 'There's no structure in place' for the state to collect the tax, Pagan said Tuesday. Any collection system the state creates could come with a collections fee taken from occupational tax revenues, Pagan said. 'It's a cost that's not incurred at this point' by the city, Pagan said. The current system, where the city collects the tax for both city and county, is working well, Pagan said. The city's finance department 'has years and years of experience and expertise' collecting the tax, Pagan said. The KLC official said businesses would have to file multiple forms and would have to file with the state to pay the tax. Mayor Tom Watson, who is on the KLC board of directors, said before the bill was filed that another concern is occupational tax revenue would go to the state, where it could possibly be held for a period of time. 'We are definitely opposed to that, because they could hold (the funds) as long as they wanted to,' Watson said. City Finance Director Angela Waninger told commissioners at Tuesday's meeting she had several concerns about the plan. Waninger said with taxes the state already collects on behalf of the city, such as the tax increment financing (TIF) revenue, the state provides no information that city officials can use to reconcile their estimate of the TIF revenue with what the city receives. Waninger also said the city is currently able to collect unremitted occupational tax revenue through audits, but said that will be lost under a state system. People who pay their occupational taxes at City Hall won't be able to get local assistance as they can now, Waninger said. Pagan told commissioners he had seen a comment from Bauman, who said an electronic system could be managed by two people. Pagan said he thought that was unlikely. 'It's a little head-scratching,' Pagan said. Before the meeting, Watson also expressed a concern about not all of the revenue collected returning to the city. 'Usually, when money comes down from D.C. to Frankfort to Owensboro, everyone takes a little cut off it,' Watson said.
