Latest news with #HouseBill322
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Ohio lawmakers propose physical fitness test in schools. How fat, obese are Ohio's kids?
Ohio lawmakers want to bring back the Presidential Physical Fitness Test to the state's schools. The proposal would require students in grades 1 through 12 to take an annual fitness exam modeled after the test, which started in 1956 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and was discontinued in 2012. Ohio lawmakers say today's children need more physical fitness. "In a time when sedentary lifestyles, screen time, and childhood obesity are on the rise, this legislation sends a clear message: physical fitness is not optional, it is essential," said Elgin Rogers, D-Toledo, one of House Bill 322's sponsors. So how heavy are Ohio's children? Here's a look at the state's childhood obesity rates. The rate of obesity in Ohio is 18.3% for children ages 6 to 17, according to the State of Childhood Obesity report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, slightly higher than the national average of 17%. The study uses data from the National Survey of Children's Health in 2022 and 2023. Ohio ranks No. 17 in the nation for obese children, better than Wisconsin (No. 16) at 18.4% but worse than South Carolina (No. 18) at 18.1%. Topping the list is Mississippi, which has a childhood obesity rate of 25%, according to the report. Looking at childhood obesity rates for different age groups in the report, Ohio is No. 12 in the nation for obesity among high school students with a rate of 16.8%. The report uses data from 2019 for that statistic. For children ages 10-17, the obesity rate is 16.2%, 27th in the nation, using data from 2022. And for children ages 2-4 that participate in the state's Women, Infants and Children program, the obesity rate is 12.5%, using data from 2020, putting the Buckeye State at No. 42 in the nation in that age group. According to Harvard Men's Health Watch, a publication of Harvard Medical School, the fitness test has undergone many revisions over the decades. However, the version most people are familiar with consists of a one-mile run, pull-ups or push-ups, sit-ups, shuttle run and sit-and-reach. "The aim was to assess cardiovascular fitness, upper-body and core strength, endurance, flexibility, and agility," Matthew Sloan writes in the article. The test was discontinued in 2012 by President Barack Obama in favor of a different method, the Presidential Youth Fitness Program. The new program "modernized fitness education" by emphasizing student health, goal setting and personal progress. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio lawmakers eye physical fitness test return. Childhood obesity rates
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New bill in Idaho Legislature seeks to raise judges' pay
Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan, center, delivers the 2025 State of the Judiciary address in the Idaho Senate on Jan. 15, 2025. (Courtesy of the Idaho Supreme Court) A new bill that would raise the pay for Idaho judges is heading to the floor of the Idaho House of Representatives with a recommendation it passes. If passed into law, House Bill 322 would raise the salary for each judicial position in Idaho by $17,000. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The proposed increase is coming on the heels of appeals from the Idaho Supreme Court to raise judges' pay. During the annual State of the Judiciary address to the Idaho House and Idaho Senate on Jan. 15, Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan told legislators that pay for Idaho judges ranks 48th out of 53 U.S. states and territories. Bevan said pay for Idaho judges is so low that one-third of Idaho judges who announced their retirement in fiscal year 2024 returned to the law as attorneys, where they can make more money. Bevan said the judicial branch often has a difficult time filling open judges positions because experienced candidates could earn much more money in private practice as attorneys. 'As you likely know from the recent cases in which this body has had to hire private legal counsel, the disparity between current judicial salaries and the compensation of attorneys in both public and private sectors is continuing to grow,' Bevan told legislators Jan. 15. 'Even at current salaries, the cost of housing and other life expenses in parts of our state discourages attorneys from seeking the bench. Pay does not just not affect recruitment. This is also a retention issue.' CONTACT US If passed into law, House Bill 322 would make the following changes to judges' salaries: Idaho Supreme Court justices' salaries would increase from $169,508 to $186,508, a 10% increase. Court of Appeals judges' salaries would increase from $161,508 to $178,508, a 10.5% increase. District judges salaries' would increase from $155,508 to $172,508, a 10.9% increase. Magistrate judges' salaries would increase from $147,508 to $164,508, a 11.5% increase. House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee Chairman Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, and Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello, co-sponsored the bill to raise judges' salaries. 'I hope this may help us with some of the loss of judges that we are experiencing now who are going back into private practice, which I've stated before, has never happened in my career as an attorney,' Skaug said. 'I've never seen judges leave the bench and go back to private practice like we are seeing now, and we're not getting applications for judges, especially district judges, right now.' Skaug told legislators Thursday that the salary increases proposed in his bill don't go as far as he would like personally. However, he said he is putting the proposal forward as is because he thinks it has a better chance of passing. House Bill 322 heads next to the floor of the Idaho House with a recommendation it passes. If a majority of members of the Idaho House vote to pass the bill, it would be sent to the Idaho Senate for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to reduce number of Montana Supreme Court justices dies in House
Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court Cory Swanson addresses a joint session of the Montana Legislature on Feb. 17, 2025. (Micah Drew/Daily Montanan) Montana has seven justices serving on its Supreme Court, but freshman legislator Rep. Lukas Schubert, R-Kalispell, believes that is too large of a judicial bench for a small state. He introduced House Bill 322 to eliminate two associate judges from the court, saying it would save taxpayer money and create a more efficient court. The majority of his fellow representatives, however, didn't agree with his arguments and voted overwhelmingly, 29-71, against his bill during the House's Saturday floor session. Schubert told his fellow lawmakers that the state constitution originally provided for a chief justice and four associate justices — with a provision for the legislature to increase that number, which it did in 1979. 'If we pass this bill, we are going to be cutting two of the justices out of the state, and we're going to be saving $1.2 million annually,' Schubert said. 'There are better things we can spend our constituents' money on than these two justices and their staff.' There are nearly 350 state Supreme Court justices serving across the country on courts ranging from five to nine justices in size. The most common supreme court size is seven justices, with 28 state Supreme Courts, followed by 17 states with five-judge courts, and seven courts with nine justices. The bill to reduce Montanan's court was requested by Sen. Barry Usher, R-Billings, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Rep. Tom France, D-Missoula, said HB 322 was possibly the most 'arbitrary and capricious' bill he'd ever seen come to the House floor. 'I feel almost like the sponsor got up and while he was brushing his teeth said, 'Well, let's just cut the number of justices form seven down to five,'' France said. 'He didn't ask the bar, he didn't ask lawyers, he didn't ask judges, about whether or not the case load could be effectively managed with fewer judges. He just looked at some statistics from other states.' During a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 7, no proponents testified on behalf of the bill, but numerous individuals and organizations spoke against it, including the State Bar of Montana, the Montana Defense Trial Lawyers, the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, and the Montana County Attorneys Association. Many spoke about the caseload before the court and the need to keep the court fully staffed to ensure expedient decisions delivered for Montanans. Newly elected Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court Cory Swanson also spoke in opposition to the bill. He told the committee that he'd spent several hours the day before redrafting a single opinion for the court. 'I was taking a lot of time, and doing a lot of research, and I'm not done with it,' Swanson said. 'The question for this committee is, 'Do you want your Supreme Court justices to do that?' Because with seven justices right now, we're all at capacity in terms of the work, in terms of time commitment, in terms of research, writing, drafting, discussing cases in conference.' He also pushed back against the idea that cutting justices would save money, pointing to an upcoming bill to create a new court that would be more expensive than current associate justices cost. 'You want your justices to spend the time and attention necessary to craft good opinions, to give clear interpretations of the law,' Swanson said. 'That's it, and I think if you go from seven to five, you're going to sacrifice that.' While the House Judiciary Committee passed the bill 12-8, the House voted it down by huge margins on Saturday, with 71 representatives opposing it.
