Latest news with #HouseBill308
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dozen gather in Perry Square to honor Workers Memorial Day
Two rings of a bell filled Erie City Hall Monday night to remember the life of Igor Akopyan, an Erie man who died after falling down an elevator shaft while working in a West 12th Street business. On Monday, dozens of community members came to hear those bells for the 39th annual Workers Memorial Day service, an event that remembers all of those like Akopyan who died from a work-related incident. Presque Isle Downs & Casino in potential danger of closing — Here's who it will impact 'Overall, the importance of having an event like this is awareness. The more people are aware of the dangers that workers face, the more likely we are to do what we need to do to fix those problems, make sure that OSHA is properly funded,' said Bryan Churchill, president of the Erie-Crawford Central Labor Council. After a prayer and words from a local OSHA director, attendees took the service to a Perry Square memorial that honors those who died on the job. While there a local honor guard gave those who died a rifle salute followed by the playing of Taps on a trumpet. To finish the ceremony, attendees came to the memorial in Perry Square and put up a wreath to remember all those who lost their lives to work-related deaths. But the work isn't done for one local politician at least, who is trying to extend OSHA protection to public-sector workers. 'Currently, if you're a public sector worker, you don't have the same protections, so a classic example is let's say in Erie High, they're redoing the building. You have a private company that's doing electrical work and you have school district electricians working side-by-side. Unfortunately, an accident happens, and it's the private sector worker that's injured; he is covered by OSHA,' said State House Representative (D) Pat Harkins. Harkins said House Bill 308 just passed through the PA House three weeks ago, and if the bill makes it through the Senate, public sector workers in the state would receive OSHA protection. He said he got involved with the bill more than ten years ago after hearing the story of Jake Schwab, an Erie worker for the EMTA who died in 2014 from a work-related incident. As of now, the Jake Schwab Worker Safety Bill will head to Pennsylvania's Republican-controlled Senate for consideration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jake Schwab Worker Safety Bill advances to PA Senate again
(WJET/WFXP)– Pennsylvania's House of Representatives has approved a bill designed to improve workplace safety standards for public employees honoring a former EMTA employee who died on the job. State Rep. Pat Harkins, who sponsored the bill, announced the House passing of H.B. 308, also known as the Jake Schwab Worker Safety Bill, which would extend OSHA protections to public sector workers. Jake Schwab Worker Safety Bill passes PA House of Representatives Currently, public employers in Pennsylvania are not held to the same safety standards as private companies with public sector workers only protected by federal laws. The bill would also allow the state secretary of Labor and Industry to enforce those standards and create a Pennsylvania Occupational Safety and Health Review Board to oversee compliance. It also would impose penalties for violations, ensuring accountability and adherence to safety protocols. Erie airport officials warning of scam calls to passengers 'Today, we honor Jake Schwab's memory and the countless public employees who dedicate their lives to serving our communities,' Harkins said. 'This legislation is about fairness, dignity, and the fundamental right to a safe workplace. Public sector workers deserve the same protections as their private sector counterparts, and House Bill 308 ensures that no worker is left behind.' This marks the second time it has been sent to the PA Senate after being passed by the House in 2023 in honor of Jake Schwab, an EMTA mechanic who suffered a fatal injury in 2014 during a workplace accident. More REAL ID Days planned for Erie, Crawford, McKean Mercer Co. The bill passed by a 111-92 and will be considered by the Pennsylvania Senate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico allows unique water conservation districts to hold separate elections
Groundwater wells fill an irrigation ditch for pecan orchards outside of Rincon, New Mexico. Two local water conservation districts elsewhere in New Mexico, which provide irrigation, river flood control and water conservation services to farmers, are now exempt from the New Mexico Local Elections Act. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday signed an election reform bill into law allowing two local government entities focused on conserving water to hold their own elections separate from other local governments. In 2018, the New Mexico Local Election Act consolidated all local contests into a single election. But special conservancy districts have never been included, because of the complexities of running an election in which people might not be registered voters, but own property in the counties where the districts lie. The original law delayed implementation for conservancy districts until 2022, and New Mexico in 2023 again pushed back implementation for the districts, until this year. House Bill 308 permanently exempts two local conservancy districts from the Local Election Act: the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District based in Albuquerque and the Arch Hurley Conservancy District based in Tucumcari. County clerks, constituents and the six Pueblo governments in the Middle Rio Grande area in the central part of New Mexico have raised concerns about implementing the Local Election Act, HB308 Sponsor Rep. Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo) told the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 28. Jason Casuga, chief engineer and CEO for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, explained to the committee that the two conservancy districts shouldn't be part of the other local elections because their voters are landowners, not registered voters. 'That's what makes the conservancy district unique, and what makes tribal participation within the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District elections unique, in that tribal members don't necessarily have to be registered voters, but they own a stake in the land that's being benefitted,' Casuga said. 'That's where the technical issues came in — and that what we've been working on for years trying to solve — is how do you create a unified voter database that doesn't require the same kind of information for a registered voter database as you would for a land-based one.' Lente called HB308 a 'measure of last resort' to ensure that voters from those Pueblos can fully participate in the conservancy district's election process. In a Friday news release, the Secretary of State's Office highlighted HB308 as one of three pieces of legislation that would 'add stability, transparency, and safety to New Mexico's elections,' along with proposals to make lobbying more transparent and allow 'decline to state' voters — aka independents — the ability to participate in primaries without changing their voter registrations. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver commended lawmakers for passing the bills, saying they 'will further enhance the quality of New Mexico's already top-ranked elections' and give election officials more tools and voters more ways to participate. 'I'm grateful for the hard work put in by the bill sponsors, advocates, and the members of my staff to support the passage of these bills,' Toulouse Oliver said. 'I look forward to Governor Lujan Grisham signing these important pieces of legislation into law.' HB308 was one of eight bills passed by both the House and Senate that required a signature or a veto by Saturday, because they landed on the governor's desk in the session's final 72 hours. Two good government groups on Friday also applauded lawmakers' passage of SB16, saying open primaries in other states have led to stronger voter turnout and more competitive elections. Sila Avcil, executive director of New Mexico Open Elections and NM Voters First, said the new law represents a step toward hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans gaining more access to some of the most consequential elections. 'New Mexico made history today,' Avcil said. 'New Mexico, and our democracy, is better for it.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho legislators address ‘monetization of politics' in new campaign finance bills
Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, answers a reporter's question during a press conference on Jan. 6, 2025, at the Statehouse in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Republican House leadership introduced four bills on Friday to address the influx of out-of-state spending involved in Idaho elections. A total of $17 million was spent on campaign and independent expenditures on 2024 legislative races. More than $9.3 million of that money was spent on materials to oppose or support candidates, according to an official website managed by the Idaho Secretary of State. 'We've never seen that before, so it's our intention to do a little bit better job of identifying who's sending that money in here, where that money's coming from and what it's getting spent on,' House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, said about the legislation. 'The voters deserve to know that.' Moyle, alongside House State Affairs Committee Chairman Brent Crane, R-Nampa, introduced four bills to the committee, including: House Bill 306, which would establish 'criminal libel,' is a bill to make it a felony for someone to publish false statements about another person, establishing a maximum $100,000 fine, imprisonment for at most five years, or both. House Bill 307 is a bill to allow the Idaho Secretary of State Office to investigate false claims against a candidate and publish its findings on its website. House Bill 308 is a bill to require electioneering communications costing more than $1,000 to be reported within 24 hours closer to primary and general elections, and require political committees to upload materials they make about a candidate or campaign to the Idaho Secretary of website. House Bill 309 is a bill which would require lobbyists to disclose expenses on a weekly basis during the legislative session and a monthly basis outside of session. The legislation has support from Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, who said in a press conference before the committee meeting began that Idahoans have a right to know who is trying to influence their opinions during elections and who is trying to influence lawmakers. 'You can see it playing out in this session where there's a lot of pressure,' McGrane said. 'If you go to the speaker of the pro tem's office, they've got stacks of postcards from some of these organizations putting pressure on the process, and so adding transparency and disclosure is a key part of this effort.' Crane said the legislation addresses what he considers 'monetization of politics,' or wealthy groups outside of Idaho getting involved in the state's politics. Out-of-state campaign spending responsible for many of Idaho's negative campaign ads 'I'm extremely concerned,' Crane told the committee. 'In fact, I'm angry about the out-of-state money that is being spent to influence the outcome of elections in Idaho. If I had a magic wand and I could do what I wanted to do, it would be only Idaho dollars spent on Idaho elections.' In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruled campaign contributions are protected free speech, thus allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on political campaigns. The legislation introduced on Friday is meant to enhance campaign finance transparency, Crane said. 'We just want to let you know that we take it seriously when out of state money is being spent, especially dark money out of state,' Crane said. During the 2024 primary election, the political committee that spent the most to oppose Idaho legislative candidates was the Make Liberty Win PAC, based in Virginia. The committee spent $716,000 to support and oppose Idaho candidates in 2024. Moyle was one of the candidates the PAC attacked the most, with $112,000 spent against him during the primary, IdahoEd News reported. The political committee sent mailers across his district falsely labeling him as 'anti-gun,' KTVB reported. The committee voted to advance the bills for a full hearing at a later date. Crane said he would give the legislation a few weeks to circulate among legislators until then. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
