Latest news with #LD
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislative recap for Monday, June 9
The state seal at the entrance to the Maine State House in Augusta. (Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) Faced with the question of whether to change the unique way the state's constitutional officers are chosen, the majority of lawmakers on Monday rejected the notion that the attorney general and secretary of state should be elected by voters, rather than the Legislature. The Senate voted against a bill that would amend the constitution to require the popular election of the secretary of state, attorney general and state treasurer (LD 455) and then voted against a similar bill (LD 508), which was later tabled. Other proposed constitutional amendments to require the popular election of the secretary of state (LD 147) and attorney general (LD 149) were rejected by the majority of both chambers. With papers frantically shuffling between chambers this week ahead of the planned June 18 adjournment, Maine Morning Star will highlight the biggest items of debate as well as legislation and issues that we've followed all session. Here's an overview of what happened Monday. Both chambers Both chambers have now passed a resolve (LD 470) directing the Department of Education to review teacher mentoring programs in Maine Public Schools after the House voted Monday to pass an amended version of the bill. Following the Senate last week, the House voted 81-64 to pass LD 1145, which would give a group of mobile home owners or a mobile home owners' association the right of first refusal to purchase a mobile home park if the owner intends to sell. The House also adopted a floor amendment stripping the emergency clause from the bill that was also approved by the Senate. (More on this issue here.) The House and Senate have both also passed LD 13, which establishes a fund for the Secretary of State's Office for the production and delivery of election-related materials. The Senate backed two measures previously supported by the House that would expand access to needle exchange programs (LD 1078) and fund proper disposal of syringe litter (LD 1738). (More on this here.) Both chambers voted Monday against legislation (LD 1505) that would phase out the sales and use tax, as well as another bill (LD 1899) that would have eliminated taxes on health care spending, which tax committee co-chair Sen. Nicole Grohowski (D-Hancock) said she generally supported but the bill was 'not ready for prime time.' The House voted 74-71 for LD 1113, which asks a court, when sentencing an individual for a Class A, Class B or Class C crime, to consider the age of the individual at the time of the conduct. The Senate later followed, voting 19-15 to pass the measure. A proposal (LD 1036) to prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to tenants solely because they rely on programs such as General Assistance or housing vouchers is essentially dead after both chambers insisted on their respective positions on the bill. After it was initially passed by the House last week, the Senate rejected the bill after Sen. Chip Curry (D-Waldo) explained that the Judiciary Committee is carrying a similar bill into the next session to allow more time to work on it. (More on this bill here.) Before the Senate passed LD 1522 without a roll call, the House voted 76-68 to permanently establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program within the Maine State Housing Authority. Members of both chambers rejected a measure (LD 152) that would have amended the Freedom of Access Act to require agencies to respond to public records requests within a specific time. Both the House and Senate rejected a bill (LD 1593) that would require that, when making a decision based on advancing equity, that a state or a local government agency make public its definition of the term as well as metrics. Both chambers also voted down a so-called parents rights bill (LD 1974), which would explicitly declare it a fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education and care of their child. Both chambers have also now rejected legislation (LD 1707) that would require an individual to be a citizen of the U.S. in order to receive any state or local assistance, aside from education. It would also have required municipalities to comply with federal immigration authorities in order to receive general assistance or state-municipal revenue sharing. LD 613, a bill supported by the Maine Medical Association that allows terminally ill patients to waive the current 17-day waiting period for access to life-ending medication, is in limbo after the Senate voted 17-18 on Monday against passage of the measure, which won the backing of the House last week. The House Monday again voted against passage of LD 1263 after the Senate last week backed the measure, which would create a Class A crime for aggravated trafficking of fentanyl when it results in an overdose. It now goes back to the Senate to take up again. After a failed effort to align with the Senate's rejection of LD 1535, the House insisted on passage of the bill, which would require the Public Utilities Commission to gather a group of municipal, police and fire officials to discuss the high electricity usage related to illegal cannabis grows in the state. Since the Senate last week insisted on its position against the bill, it is now essentially dead. The chambers are split over a resolve (LD 1364) directing the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to evaluate efforts to promote the use of non-lead ammunition with the House passing an amended version of the bill that the Senate rejected. During the Senate debate, Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) said she is consistently approached by constituents seeking to ban lead-based ammunition but said they've never done that because educating people about this topic gets them to choose a better option. The amended version of the bill, she explained, would make educational materials more accessible. After passage in the Senate last week, the House voted 76-69 to reject LD 371, which would remove the 100-megawatt maximum capacity limit for hydropower to qualify as a renewable resource under the state's renewable resource portfolio requirement. (More on this issue here.) After LD 1928 squeaked through both chambers last week, the Senate voted 14-20 against enactment on Monday leaving the bill, which would prohibit lodging establishments from using single-use plastic containers — such as mini shampoo bottles — in limbo. The Senate on Monday voted under the hammer to pass legislation (LD 1202) to create the African American Studies Advisory Council to measure and monitor the implementation of related curriculum using data collected by the Department of Education. It is an amended version of legislation that passed last year but was never enacted. (More on this here). House lawmakers voted 100-44 to back legislation (LD 297) that extends provisions of current law regarding the management of wastewater treatment plant sludge at the state-owned landfill. The House voted against legislation (LD 1268) that would have provided an annual stipend to all employees of the Maine State Ferry Service. Legislation (LD 1471) requiring a landlord to provide tenants an energy efficiency disclosure statement for certain rental housing in the state passed the House. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Mint
a day ago
- Politics
- Mint
LA Clashes Escalate as Trump, Newsom Spar Over Troops
Tensions flared in Los Angeles on the third day of anti-deportation protests, as demonstrators clashed with law enforcement while President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom exchanged blame over the unrest and responsibility for restoring order. The deployment of National Guard troops by Trump over the weekend, despite the objections of state and city officials, led to growing friction between local leaders and the administration. Newsom said he formally requested the White House rescind the 'unlawful' order and return the troops to his command, warning it would only ramp up tensions. The governor also said Sunday that he planned to sue the administration over the action. Subscribe to the Bloomberg Daybreak Podcast on Apple, Spotify and other Podcast Platforms. LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Sunday evening many of the earlier protests around the city had been peaceful, but that conditions deteriorated as people committing vandalism and violence replaced daytime demonstrators. 'This violence that I've seen is disgusting,' McDonnell said at a press conference. 'What we saw the first night was was bad. What we've seen subsequent to that is getting increasingly worse and more violent.' The department issued an order telling people to immediately leave the downtown area, declaring it an 'unlawful assembly.' In a series of Truth Social posts late Sunday, Trump described the unrest as an attack on immigration enforcement efforts. 'A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals,' he wrote. Trump called the demonstrations 'migrant riots' and said federal agencies were directed to take 'all such action necessary' to restore order and continue deportation operations. He later urged law enforcement to escalate their response, including arresting people wearing face masks and said McDonnell should bring in the troops 'right now.' Newsom urged protesters to remain peaceful, an admonition some demonstrators ignored as crowds blocked a major roadway through downtown and people set fire to several self-driving ride-hailing vehicles nearby, sending black plumes into the sky. Newsom met Sunday evening with law enforcement leaders in Los Angeles, he posted on X. 'We're here to keep the peace — not play into Trump's political games,' he wrote. According to LD officials, nearly 30 people were arrested Saturday. At least 10 arrests were made Sunday and three officers were injured. The California Highway Patrol made 17 arrests and the LD said more are likely as immigration raids continue and the violence that's already taken place is investigated. The San Francisco police also reported that on late Sunday they arrested about 60 people after protests against ICE raids broke out downtown. Federal law enforcement officials clashed briefly with a smaller group of demonstrators earlier on Sunday when a crowd gathered outside a federal building in downtown LA. The LD declared the gathering an unlawful assembly, using less than lethal munitions, like tear gas and batons to chase the crowd back. The LD said some people in the crowd threw bottles, chunks of concrete and other objects. The ICE raids are sending a sense of fear and chaos into the city, LA Mayor Karen Bass said during a press conference late Sunday afternoon, adding that people who want to protest should do so peacefully. The First Amendment grants a right to peaceful protest 'but it does not give you the right to be violent to create chaos, or to vandalize property, and that will not be tolerated,' she said. The tense demonstration follows two days of protests sparked by sweeping US immigration raids across the region. Trump directed US Northern Command to assume control of the National Guard and dispatch 2,000 soldiers to the area 'for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense,' the White House said in a statement. About 300 soldiers from the California National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team have been deployed to three locations in greater LA, according to US Northern Command. The Guard is focused on 'safety and protection of federal property and personnel,' the command said in a post on X. The 79th IBCT is primarily a combat unit, though it has previously been called up to support civilian authorities, and a unit most recently responded to the LA-area wildfires earlier this year. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Marines could be sent next if protests intensify. Newsom called Hegseth's suggestion of deploying the Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton 'deranged.' Hegseth on Sunday countered that Newsom had allowed violence to get out of hand. 'Deranged = allowing your city to burn & law enforcement to be attacked,' Hegseth said in a post on X. 'There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE.' Facing mounting pressure from the White House, ICE has ramped up arrests in recent weeks, averaging about 2,000 detentions per day nationwide — still falling short of the administration's goal of at least 3,000 daily arrests. The stepped-up enforcement is part of Trump's vow to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history. In the LA area, ICE reported 118 arrests this week, though the agency has not released updated figures as of Sunday morning. The protests were triggered in part by federal immigration raids that swept through the city from late Friday. Demonstrators gathered outside the federal building downtown, including outside a detention center. Other protests broke out in Compton and in Paramount, south of the city, where a crowd formed near a Home Depot as raids were reportedly underway. Tensions escalated when some protesters threw objects at officers, prompting the LD to declare an unlawful assembly and order the crowd to disperse, according to local media reports. Riot police used tear gas and flash-bang grenades. US Representative Nanette Barragan, a Democrat whose district includes Paramount and other parts of Los Angeles County, accused the Trump administration of using federal troops to suppress dissent. By the time the more violent skirmishes broke out Saturday night, the original protesters had already cleared out and the 'unruly folks' had arrived, she said. 'It's going to escalate the situation,' she said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union. 'People are going to protest because they're angry about the situation. And we have to just reiterate the people to do it peacefully.' Barragan described ICE agents stopping 'anybody at a bus stop that's going to shop' and said she was warned to expect 30 days of stepped-up enforcement. Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut off federal funding to cities and states that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities — so-called 'sanctuary' jurisdictions — including LA. California law bars local law enforcement from using resources to assist in most federal immigration actions. In response to past federal crackdowns, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has defended the state's sanctuary policies and sued the Trump administration over attempts to force local compliance, arguing that California has the right to set its own public safety priorities. In an interview with NBC News, Trump border czar Tom Homan said Newsom and Bass should be thanking the president for helping to restore order. Homan warned the leaders could face arrest if they obstruct immigration enforcement efforts. The White House said the National Guard was being deployed to protect federal personnel and property, including immigration detention centers, citing what Trump described as credible threats of violence that could obstruct enforcement efforts and 'constitute a form of rebellion' against the US government. But the legal basis for the decision could face challenges. Federal law strictly limits the deployment of federal troops within US borders. The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, along with amendments and supporting regulations, generally bars the use of the active-duty U.S. military — the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines — from carrying out domestic law enforcement. The law doesn't apply to state-controlled National Guard forces. With assistance from María Paula Mijares Torres, Catherine Lucey, Isabela Fleischmann, Virginia Van Natta, Kevin Whitelaw and Kara Wetzel.
Mint
2 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Trump Vows to ‘Solve' LA Immigration Unrest as Raids Spark Fury
President Donald Trump warned that the federal government will intervene in Los Angeles to restore order, as his administration began mobilizing the National Guard in response to growing unrest over a wave of immigration raids. 'If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs — which everyone knows they can't — then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. The deployment plans come as demonstrations intensified for a second day following US Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions across the city. ICE said it arrested 2,000 undocumented people a day this week nationwide, including 118 individuals in the Los Angeles area. Authorities are mobilizing troops to 'address violence and destruction occurring near raid locations where demonstrators are gathering,' border czar Tom Homan said in an interview with Fox News'The Big Weekend Show. More than 1,000 protesters surrounded a federal building in downtown LA on Friday, and additional demonstrations broke out Saturday in Paramount, just south of the city. Local media reported tear gas and flash-bang grenades deployed to disperse the crowds. The Department of Homeland Security earlier Saturday accused Democratic leaders in California, including Newsom and Bass, of contributing to violence. 'The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end,' DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. Newsom said the federal government's plan to take control of the state National Guard and deploy 2,000 troops was 'purposefully inflammatory' and likely to escalate tensions. Bass said the 'tactics sow terror in our communities.' The LA Police Department said that it wasn't participating in the federal immigration enforcement crackdown. 'The LD is not involved in civil immigration enforcement,' Police Chief Jim McDonnell wrote on social media. 'While the LD will continue to have a visible presence in all our communities to ensure public safety, we will not assist or participate in any sort of mass deportations nor will the LD try to determine an individual's immigration status.' DHS Secretary Kristi Noem warned the protesters that any violence against officers will be prosecuted. 'You will not stop us or slow us down,' she said in an X post. Multiple arrests have been made, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in an X post. ICE has pledged to continue ramping up arrests as authorities carry out Trump's promise to oversee the largest deportation effort in US history. The president has also threatened to cut off federal funding to the most populous US state after disputes over immigration, transgender issues and allegations of antisemitism on college campuses. Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler announced on Saturday that her agency would begin relocating its regional office out of LA, citing what she described as the city's failure to cooperate with ICE. 'If a city won't protect its people, we won't stay,' Loeffler wrote on X. With assistance from Janine Phakdeetham. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Libya Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- Libya Herald
Aldabaiba hails recent security operations, vows to end militias – warns against illegal eastern parallel spending leading to inflation and LD devaluation
Speaking at yesterday's 2nd Ordinary Cabinet Meeting of 2025 held at Tripoli's Al-Nasser Woods Complex (formerly Rixos Complex), Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, said that the recent security operations (clashes with the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) militia and Abdelraouf Kara's Special Deterrence Force (SDF) / RADA, and their allies), were successful. He blamed the subsequent disorder, fear and damage caused by these clashes and counter-clashes on the militias. Aldabaiba also called on the Attorney General, the Audit Bureau, and the Administrative Control Authority to investigate the over LD 100 billion of parallel spending by the eastern Libyan administration. This parallel spending, he warned will increase inflation, cost of living and reduce the foreign exchange value of the Libyan dinar. It will lead to the economic ruin of Libya, he warned. Security initiative Aldabaiba hailed the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence for their role in imposing security on behalf of the legitimate state. He stressed that the people support state security and not unaccountable militias and that he had received wide international support for the recent anti-militia security operation. On the other hand, he criticised, domestically and internationally, those who supported these militias – implying Hafter and the eastern Libyan administration – militias that engage in illegal activity including illegal detention and imprisonment. Demobilisation of militias, Interior Ministry and Presidency Council forces Speaking at the prompting of his PM on planned security reforms, Acting Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi bemoaned the fact that militias were better armed and stronger (and actually more battle experienced due to their fighting in the February 2011 revolution) than the official Interior Ministry forces. He said there can be no state without security and proposed (to applause from the PM and cabinet members) the demobilization of militias and some Interior Ministry and Presidency Council forces. The plan to demobilise even some Interior Ministry forces implies, and simultaneous confirms, if needed, that some Interior Ministry forces were infiltrated and controlled by militias. He called on all current members of these forces intended for demobilisation to join the Interior Ministry or the Defence Ministry if they wished to continue their careers in the security forces. Interjecting, the PM also vowed to demobilise any security forces under his Office. Continuing, Trabelsi said how can Interior Ministry forces operate and respond to government calls for help and intervention if there are forces operating in the field that are stronger. Trabelsi said how can he be held responsible and accountable if there are other stronger forces operating in the field. Interjecting during Trabelsi's speech again, Aldabaiba stressed that this is the state's project that will be implemented. He warned militias hiding behind tribes and cities, saying that time was over. The Libyan people want a strong state Aldabaiba said the Libyan people want a strong state. He said militias must not be feared and that there is no going back (to a state dominated by militias). There is no other option, he stressed, we must impose the state on them. Militia coercion of Ministers Aldabaiba pointed to various ministers (which the cameras refrained from showing), implying that they were coerced to make decisions by militias. ''No more coercion of Ministers or Ministries like the coercion of the Minister of Health (who is currently under arrest) into importing medicine from a non-medicine origination country (Iraq)'' Aldabaiba revealed that militias even interfered in the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. He vowed to refer them to investigation after the pilgrimage is over. He warned his attentive Ministers that there will be no more excuses for them and their officials for giving into militia coercion. Those who cannot perform their jobs (due to militia coercion) should resign, he stated. We will no longer keep quiet on militia coercion, he vowed. We will pursue those who do not give in the state, he explained. Resuming his speech, Interior Minister Trabelsi said his ministry was following up on all crimes from 2012, whether criminal or financial, and referring them to the Attorney General's Office. To which Aldabaiba added ''we will not protect any Minister or his employees against the law''.
Libya Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Libya Herald
Aldabaiba rejects continued spending by eastern Libya government outside the legal budget
Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, rejected any parallel paths of public spending outside the legal frameworks. Aldabaiba was responding to the Benghazi based House of Representatives approving on 2 June a budget of LD 69 billion over 3 years (2025 to 2027) for the Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund. The Fund is controlled by the Hafter family and is exempt from any administrative and financial oversight. Aldabaiba was speaking during a meeting at his Tripoli Cabinet Office last Monday (2 June) with several members of the High State Council, ''to discuss ongoing political and economic developments, and follow up on the government's project to extend stability, unify institutions, and protect the national economy from parallel financial tampering''. During the meeting, Aldabaiba stressed the government's categorical rejection of any parallel paths of public spending outside the legal frameworks, warning that these practices impose huge financial burdens on the state that are spent in unreal doors, and then re-compensated through public debt, which practically means a deduction from the citizen's pocket and an actual reduction in the value of his income. The Prime Minister stressed that the Libyan citizen will not benefit from projects implemented at double prices outside the unified financial system, saying: 'What is the use of projects if they are implemented at double prices and deducted from the citizen's pocket through the public debt?!' In this context, Aldabaiba called on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ageela Saleh, to disclose the fate of more than 100 billion dinars spent outside the Public Budget during the past two years, stressing that this demand does not come only as a matter of transparency, but as a direct result of the deterioration caused by this spending in the value of the Libyan dinar, and serious repercussions on the citizen's income and market confidence. The Prime Minister also pointed out that a number of economic experts warned that the adoption of a parallel budget, despite its legal violation, would lead directly to a rise in the exchange rate of the dollar in the parallel market, as a result of the imbalance of financial confidence and increased pressure on reserves, which negatively affects the stability of the currency and the standard of living of citizens. Aldabaiba concluded the meeting by stressing that the national and legal responsibility falls on all institutions to stop this financial haemorrhage, defend the unity of public finances, and maintain the stability of the economy and the Libyan dinar.
