Latest news with #HouseBill73
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Transparent Idaho now offers public education data
Idaho State Capitol building on January 11, 2023. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho State Controller's Office has expanded its Transparent Idaho website to include data detailing how schools and districts spent public money and pay their employees. The Idaho State Controller's Office has published public records and data about state government on Transparent Idaho since the free online data portal launched in 2012. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX But that effort has been expanding in recent years. In 2021, the Idaho Legislature passed House Bill 73, which requires uniform accounting, budgeting and financial reporting procedures for Idaho cities, counties and urban renewal districts. That information has been added to Transparent Idaho, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. In October, the Sun reported financial data for 198 Idaho cities is now available on Transparent Idaho. 'We've had state data for 10-plus years, but our vision has always been to have local governments on Transparent Idaho as well,' Idaho State Controller Brandon Woolf said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. The Idaho State Controller's Office announced the latest Transparent Idaho addition on Monday — the posting of new education financial data. The new education data includes detailed enrollment figures for schools and districts, workforce salary data and transactions made by education providers, such as school districts and public charter schools. Woolf said publishing the data isn't meant to serve as a 'gotcha' to public school districts and charter schools. Instead, Woolf said publishing the data can build trust with Idahoans and encourage the public to become informed and engaged with its government and the decisions policymakers set. 'The public being able to track and trace and understand where the taxpayers' money is being spent can go a long way to helping set the right types of policy and making good policy decisions,' Woolf said. CONTACT US The education data is already publicly available. School districts are required by law to post it on their own websites, and Idaho Education News has been publishing enrollment, salary data, test scores, per-pupil expenditures, higher education go-on rates and more on its education data site for years. But publishing the education data on Transparent Idaho means the state government is now publishing education transparency data for public schools, districts and public charters schools in one spot, alongside other financial transparency data related to state government, cities and counties. Transparent Idaho only publishes data about schools, districts and charter schools that receive public funding. Data for private schools, homeschool programs and other private education choice programs do not appear on Transparent Idaho, the Idaho State Controller's Office said in a press release issued Monday. Moving forward, Woolf said he will work on adding additional demographic information and data visualization tools to Transparent Idaho — with an eye toward allowing the public to have more data to make apples-to-apples comparisons between schools and districts. All of the new education data is available free online at SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Today at the Roundhouse, March 12, & recap
Mar. 12—Hundreds of the 1,182 bills filed during this year's 60-day session remain in limbo as lawmakers inch closer to the session's end. Here are a few things to watch out for on Wednesday, March 12, and a recap of Tuesday, March 11. Today at the Roundhouse Medical malpractice: After weeks of inaction, a high-profile proposal to change the state's medical malpractice laws, Senate Bill 176, could get a Wednesday evening hearing in the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee. Child welfare: After passing the House last week on a 64-0 vote, a proposal to create an outside office to investigate complaints involving the Children, Youth and Families Department is on the schedule for the Senate Judiciary Committee. CYFD Secretary Teresa Casados has expressed opposition to the legislation, House Bill 5. Recap Survivors' Justice Act: An emotional debate of House Bill 73, which would allow childhood sexual abuse victims to seek civil action through age 58, led to its unanimous passage on the House floor. Social worker welcome sign: A push to include New Mexico in an interstate social worker compact breezed through the Senate on a 36-0 vote. The bill, Senate Bill 105, is one of several measures filed during this year's session that deal with compacts, which make it easier for registered professionals to legally work in different states. Photo of the day: Dancing on the floor Where the bills stand SB176: Must pass Senate Health and Public Affairs, Senate Judiciary and Senate Finance Committees, then the full Senate, then the House, then the governor's desk. HB5: Must pass the Senate Judiciary Committee, then the full Senate, then the governor's desk. HB73: Passed the House. Awaiting Senate committee assignments, then must pass the full Senate to make it to the governor's desk. SB105: Passed the Senate. Awaiting House committee assignments, then must pass the full House to make it to the governor's desk.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to eliminate child sex abuse statute of limitations for civil claims passes first committee
Lex Garcia says she was raped for two years by her teacher at a Rio Rancho high school. During a time when she said she should have been preoccupied with the normal worries of a teenager, Garcia said she was instead embroiled in a manipulative relationship with her instructor, whom she served as a lab assistant. It took 15 years for Garcia to acknowledge to herself she had been sexually exploited, and even longer 'to admit it to anyone that could help me.' That time, the now 33-year-old said, far exceeded the timeline currently allotted by law for victims to come forward to make a civil claim, a problem Garcia said would be addressed by a bill on lawmakers' table to eliminate the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. 'Trauma is not tied to a [timed] clock,' Garcia told lawmakers of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday. 'It's layered, it's non-linear, and the law cannot dictate how long it takes for someone to share their truth about abuse and seek their justice.' The New Mexican normally does not identify victims of child sexual abuse, but has in this case because Garcia has made clear she wants her story publicly shared in hopes of changing the system. She was one of almost a dozen child sexual abuse victims and advocates who turned out in support of House Bill 73, a bipartisan effort that would remove the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, allowing people to open civil cases seeking damages for personal injury at any time. The bill would not impact the criminal statute of limitations for child sex abuse. Under current law, victims have until three years after first disclosing the incident to medical or mental health providers, or until they turn 24, whichever comes last, to file claims. The bill would retroactively apply to all victims. Advocates argue the bill would encourage victims to come forward when they are ready. 'Survivors of sexual abuse do not come forward until 52, on average, and allowing them the space to come to the courthouse so they can have their stories litigated and heard by a jury of their peers just seems fair,' attorney Theresa Hacsi said. Changing the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse has come up in multiple iterations over the years. HB 73 mirrors a Senate bill in 2023, which passed its first committee but failed in its second. HB 73 sponsor Rep. Marianna Anaya, D-Albuquerque, emphasized in a written statement the bipartisan effort this year, arguing lawmakers signing onto the bill 'send the message that addressing sexual assault is a priority for this body.' The bill unanimously passed the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday, receiving little opposition from lawmakers. 'I think the strong, positive response we saw in committee today shows a desire [to] prioritize the needs of survivors of sexual abuse over insurance company profits,' Anaya wrote. That said, public agencies expressed some concern about the potential losses of new cases being opened. Martin Esquivel, general counsel for the New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority, said the agency supported the intent of the bill and asked for lawmakers to make clear the bill does not make public institutions liable to civil lawsuits. 'We certainly don't mean to minimize that harm and the importance of this issue,' he said. '... Obviously, there are some concerns about the cost of litigating cases that are 25 or 30 years old.' A New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department analysis argued lawsuits stemming from children in state custody or from a judge ruling the agency failed to protect a child could increase under HB 73, thus potentially increasing agency costs. 'This impact could then lead to significant additional litigation costs and potential damages levied against CYFD,' the department wrote. 'Additional litigation would also have the downstream effect of creating a further burden on CYFD legal staff and general resources.' Hacsi argued the bill would not apply to public institutions because they have immunity from suits unless expressly waived by a judge, such as under the state's civil rights act. 'This is a statute of limitations regarding injuries,' she said. 'It does not waive sovereign immunity for a governmental entity.'
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would ban immigration detention centers on state land
Immigration detention centers would be banned on state and county lands, and other bills in the Legislature also would ensure due process for any detainees. The bills have drawn both condemnation and support as Senate and House members consider public testimony. The bills are moving through the state Legislature as federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents continue to enforce President Donald Trump's promise to sweep up illegal immigrants, many of whom have committed no violent offenses, and deport them. During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly said unspecified numbers of illegal immigrants had committed murders and were members of violent drug cartels. Trump also has threatened to eliminate 'birthright citizenship ' for American-born children of immigrants, a right that's enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Gov. Josh Green has repeatedly told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he will not deploy Hawaii National Guard troops to the mainland to assist in rounding up illegal immigrants, especially if it means separating them from their families. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. House Bill 73 would prohibit the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and Board of Land and Natural Resources from allowing state land to be used for immigration detention facilities while also forbidding state and county agencies from 'contracting with the federal government or processing any permit for this purpose.' HB 73 unanimously passed out of the House Committee on Economic Development and Technology. HB 438 and its Senate companion bill, Senate Bill 816, would create a 'Due Process in Immigration Proceedings Program in the state Judiciary to provide legal representation to individuals in immigration-related proceedings in immigration court.' HB 457 also would require state and local law enforcement agencies 'to notify an individual of their rights when in law enforcement agency custody before any interview with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on certain matters regarding immigration violations.' HB 22 would limit state and county law enforcement agencies' ability to collaborate with the federal government for immigration purposes. The bill received support from, among others, the office of the Kauai County Prosecuting Attorney, which wrote, 'As the smallest of the State's County law enforcement team, our Office does not have the resources to spare to enforce civil immigration detainers. In addition, we share concerns about due process violations in enforcement of these orders.' House Bill 73, which would prohibit detention centers on state and county land, has been opposed by individuals and a group called Hawaii Island Republican Women. The bill has been referred to the House Economic Development and Technology, Water and Land, and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs committees. No hearings have been scheduled yet on HB 73. Support for the ban on immigration detention facilities has come from individuals, organizations and agencies such as the state Office of Public Defender ; immigration and civil rights groups ; Catholic Charities Hawaii ; Honolulu Council member Matt Weyer, who represents the North Shore and parts of Central Oahu ; Hawaii County Council member Jennifer Kagiwada ; and unions like Hawaii's largest—the Government Employees Association—and Unite Here Local 5 that represents thousands of employees of Filipino descent working in Hawaii's hotel, food service and health care industries. 'Many of our union members are immigrants or children of immigrants, they are the working-class families, friends and neighbors that make up the fabric of our Hawaii communities, ' the union wrote in testimony supporting the House bills. 'We support HB22 as it clarifies how Hawaii will treat non-judicial warrants. … (There ) are legitimate concerns about the constitutionality of civil immigration detainers, as opposed to criminal warrants issued by a judge with probable cause.' But Jamie Detwiler, president of Hawaiian Island Republican Women, wrote in opposition to banning detention centers on state and county land : 'If the Federal government provides funding to build Federal detention facilities and procures the land lawfully, a federal detention center should be built. We need to support the efforts of our President Trump and his administration in their pursuit of making America safe again.' Andrew Crossland wrote in his testimony in opposition, 'I STRONGLY OPPOSE any Bill in which the State would attempt to defy the deportation efforts of the federal government to enforce our immigration laws. We need to take care of legal citizens and residents in Hawaii first, not illegal aliens who are criminals by definition.' In her testimony, Sharee Orr wrote, 'Illegal aliens are illegal. They did not follow immigration process therefore should not be afforded any help by the state to keep them from being returned to where they came. They eventually become burden to the taxpayer.' Noela von Wiegandt opposed HB 73 in her written testimony because 'we don't have enough housing to house the legal citizens who live here and to house our Veterans and homeless. I do not want my tax dollars spent on any facilities to house illegals on our public land. Just deport them and they can apply the legal way to live in the United States.' State Sen. Henry Aquino (D, Pearl City-Waipahu-West Loch ) chairs the Senate Labor and Technology Committee and helped introduced SB 816, which would create the 'Due Process in Immigration Proceedings Program.' Aquino wrote in a text to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he introduced it 'in response to growing concerns from the immigration community and civil rights groups specifically.' 'Currently there's very few resources that help folks navigate the complex legal processes surrounding immigration-related actions, ' Aquino said. Tuia 'ana Scanlan—president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 665 union, which represents entertainment workers—cited the internment of 120, 000 Japanese Americans and the first generation of Japanese immigrants following the Japanese navy's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In the anti-Japanese hysteria that followed, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, one of America's most progressive Democratic presidents, issued an executive order requiring the U.S. military to round up and force both Japanese-and U.S.-born Japanese Americans into internment camps across the U.S. West, including a much smaller one on Oahu called Honouliuli. Congress eventually apologized and paid surviving internees $20, 000 each, for a total of $1.6 billion. Honouliuli has since been designated a National Historic Site. 'If history teaches us anything, it is that racially motivated support for the construction of detention centers is wrong, ' Scanlan wrote in support of HB 73. 'We need only remind ourselves of the Japanese internment camps. … It is a slippery slope to allow for the creation of internment camps. It is a deplorable mechanism used to rob contributing members of society of their possessions and their dignity.'
