Latest news with #SB14
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
TN bill proposes removing public officials who ‘disrupt' ICE efforts
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Republican lawmakers in Tennessee filed a bill Monday that would make releasing certain records regarding immigration enforcement actions a crime. The filing of Senate Bill 1464 comes after Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell enacted Executive Order 30, which requires the Metro Nashville Police Department and Metro councilmembers to document and publish interactions with federal immigration authorities. In May, a city document detailing 35 immigration-related interactions between Metro Police and federal agencies was released. The report initially named individuals, including a Metro Council member, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement analyst, and Homeland Security officers. However, the names were later removed from the public version of the report. PREVIOUS | TN House Speaker demands Nashville mayor rescind executive order tied to ICE interactions Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) has since demanded that the mayor rescind the order, claiming it jeopardizes state and federal agents. However, Mayor O'Connell stated he has no plans to rescind the order, adding that it 'helps makes sure that nobody can accuse local, state or federal entities of activity that did or did not occur.' Now, Sexton has joined Senator Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) in filing Senate Bill 1464. 'Mayor O'Connell's decision to release sensitive information undermines the rule of law, violates public trust, and jeopardizes the safety of those who protect our communities. This bill makes it clear: if you use your office to interfere with federal immigration enforcement or endanger officers, there will be swift and serious consequences. Tennessee will not be a sanctuary for lawlessness,' said Sexton. According to the filing, SB14 will: Make it a Class E felony for state and local officials to negligently release identifying information of officers involved in immigration enforcement; Provide for outster from office for those who violate the law; Expand the confidentiality protections under the Tennessee Public Records Act to cover undercover officers and sensitive enforcement activity; Strengthen existing penalties in state law for unauthorized disclosures of protected law enforcement information. 'The people of Tennessee expect their elected leaders to protect law enforcement—not endanger them,' said Leader Johnson. 'When a public official like Mayor O'Connell chooses political activism over public safety, especially by interfering with federal immigration enforcement, he has no business holding office in this state.' ⏩ Sexton added that Tennessee stands with law enforcement and 'will not become California, and Nashville will not become LA or San Francisco.' The bill will be formally considered during the 2026 legislative session. The legislation is reportedly co-sponsored by all the Senate Republican leadership — including Lt. Governor Randy McNally, Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile, Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Yager — as well as Finance Committee Chairman Bo Watson. News 2 has reached out to O'Connell's office for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
NH House passes mandatory minimums for fentanyl possession and reduces punishments for shrooms
The New Hampshire House of Representatives debates bills during a voting session in the State House Thursday afternoon. Earlier Thursday, they approved Senate Bill 14, which institutes mandatory minimums for fentanyl possession. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted, 214-167, Thursday to pass Senate Bill 14, which creates mandatory minimums for fentanyl possession and reduces the penalty for people caught with psilocybin mushrooms. If enacted, SB 14 would create mandatory minimum sentences for people convicted on fentanyl charges. That includes manufacturing, selling, transporting, or possessing the drug with the intent to sell. People convicted with 20 grams or more of the drug would face at least 3½ years in prison under the bill. People convicted with 50 or more grams would face no less than seven years. There is currently no minimum sentence under state law, which gives judges leeway to decide. There is, however, a maximum of 30 years on the first offense and life imprisonment for repeat offenders. The bill was previously approved by the Senate in February. 'The people asked us for law and order,' Rep. Terry Roy, a Deerfield Republican, said on the House floor. 'Let's give them law and order.' One Republican lawmaker doubted the bill's minimums would actually be impactful. 'Twenty grams plus of fentanyl possession is almost certainly gonna be prosecuted as a federal crime,' Rep. Kevin Verville, a Deerfield Republican, said. 'The odds of the state actually using this bill when it becomes law is infinitesimally small in my opinion.' The representative characterized the mandatory minimums as something being done for show. 'You can campaign on law and order on this,' Verville said. 'In my opinion, that's what this is.' However, the bill was amended on the House floor to add a provision that aligns with one of Verville's biggest priorities as a legislator. That provision reduces the penalty for possession of psilocybin, a psychedelic drug commonly known as magic mushrooms or shrooms. Under the amended bill, possession or use of less than three-quarters of an ounce of psilocybin would be a misdemeanor on first offense as opposed to a felony, which is currently state law under the Controlled Drug Act. Verville is the sponsor of another bill, House Bill 528, that would reduce the penalty to a simple violation. Verville and his colleagues have argued it's less dangerous than other harder drugs and that it has medicinal benefits such as treatment for PTSD or migraines. HB 528 was approved by the House in March. Verville is a vocal proponent of fully legalizing psilocybin, though he has acknowledged he doesn't believe he can convince enough of his colleagues of that, so he settled for this measure. Verville urged his colleagues to approve SB 14. 'What this bill now has in it is it has real psychedelic reform for the citizens of New Hampshire,' he said. 'Compounds that help people beat alcoholism, opioid addiction, other drug addiction, depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome.' Verville said SB 14 'finally ends a felony charge for simple possession for a small amount of psilocybin,' which he called 'an excellent trade.' He also argued that the minimum sentences outlined by the bill were 'fairly short.' 'The benefit of the psilocybin far outweighs — far outweighs — any mandatory minimums,' he said. 'I'm begging you.' Eight Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill, while six Republicans bucked their party to vote against it. Most Democrats were opposed to the legislation. 'I want to be clear, SB 14, like several other bills, is not about crime,' Rep. Linda Harriott-Gathright, a Nashua Democrat, said. Harriott-Gathright pointed out that fentanyl possession is already illegal and punished severely by law. She, and many of her Democratic colleagues, argued that mandatory minimums were ineffective at hindering crime. 'The question before us today is whether we think adopting mandatory minimums and maximums, an outdated one-size-fits-all solution, is going to be an effective use of taxpayer dollars to address the many substance issues in our state,' she continued. 'The bottom line is that our country has already tried that approach. … We all know that it has failed.' She said the bill 'robs judges of their ability to fully consider all relevant facts and circumstances and 'undermines basic principles of justice.' She also argued the psilocybin provision was 'likely to vanish in committee of conference,' the process where House and Senate members negotiate the differences between their bills. Because the bill was amended by the House, it will return to the Senate to be reconsidered. The Senate can now either accept the amendment, enter the committee of conference process to hash out its differences with the House, or reject the bill outright. Enacting the mandatory minimums has been a priority for Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who publicly called on lawmakers to bring the legislation to her desk. A similar bill, Senate Bill 15, would've created even harsher minimum sentences for cases where a death was involved. It would've created a minimum sentence of 10 years for people who illegally manufactured, sold, or dispensed fentanyl that resulted in someone dying. The Senate approved that bill the same day as SB 14 in February. However, that bill was retained in committee and has not yet been considered by the full House.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Greg Abbott signs 'DOGE Bill' into law: 'Texas is getting too burdensome'
Gov. Greg Abbott, flanked by the top two legislative leaders Wednesday, signed the first bill of the 2025 session into law, a measure designed to reduce red tape for business and find efficiencies to streamline state bureaucracy. "Business could not be doing better, with one exception," Abbott said as he affixed his signature to Senate Bill 14. "Among the CEOs that I talk to every single week, there were growing concerns, and concerns that were repeated time and again, that the regulatory environment in Texas is getting too burdensome." SB 14 has been dubbed the "DOGE bill," taking its cue from Elon Musk's federal cost-cutting initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency. The legislation is something of an homage to the Trump administration's effort to downsize the federal government, and it establishes the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office "to provide critical assistance and direction in identifying rules that are no longer necessary or useful," according to the Legislature's bill analysis. Despite holding the state's highest government office for 10 years, and with Republicans having control of both chambers of the Legislature and all the statewide elective offices since 2003, Abbott said he was "shocked" to learn that Texas has the fifth-highest regulatory burden for business in the nation. Abbott said that before President Donald Trump and Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla, Space X and X (formerly Twitter), had enshrined the term "DOGE" into the political vernacular, his administration began working to reduce red tape at the state level to promote business startups and relocations. He used Musk — Trump's point person for DOGE — as an example, saying the founder of electric vehicle maker Tesla approached him in 2020 about the prospect of building an assembly plant in Texas. Abbott said that he swiftly got behind the proposal and that the sprawling Tesla Gigafactory along the Texas 130 toll road in Travis County was operational within 18 months of its ground-breaking. More: Elon Musk to take step back from DOGE as Tesla profit sinks 71% Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the state Senate's president who fast-tracked SB 14 through the upper chamber, said government bureaucracy must always be closely monitored. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican in his first session at the helm of the lower chamber, said that, though the proposal seeks to put business development on a glide path, it will not replace oversight with a blind eye. "Texas businesses, Texas citizens, they deserve regulations that are (in) plain English," Burrows said. "What this bill is going to do is provide an efficient regulatory framework. And what I believe is, the fewer regulations we have, the more efficient they are, the easier they are to understand, it is going to help Texas' business and economy continue to boom. "We want to have a clear review of all of our agencies, where we can trim and how we can save taxpayers money so that they will continue to come here and create jobs and to our economic viability and competitiveness." More: Is a $5,000 DOGE stimulus check in the near future? Here's when dividends could be sent This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Gov. Abbott signs Texas DOGE Bill, says it will streamline bureaucracy
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas creates its own version of DOGE as Gov. Greg Abbott says regulatory environment is 'too burdensome'
It's DOGE, Texas style. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed a bill to create the state's own version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in an effort to get rid of unnecessary rules and slash regulations. In Austin, Abbott signed SB 14, which would create the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office and streamline the way state agencies establish and enforce regulations. "The regulatory environment in Texas is getting too burdensome," Abbott said before putting pen to paper. "The regulatory environment in Texas is well-known for being good, but it seems like it's not as easy to navigate as it once was." Texas Poised To Create Its Own Version Of Doge As Bill Passes Both Chambers An advisory panel would be created to work with the governor's office to streamline processes. It would be made up of business owners, researchers, state agencies and the public. Read On The Fox News App The bill also aims to create an accessible online portal, so the public can look up state regulations. Doge Reveals What You Get For The Half Million You'll Pay In Taxes Over Your Lifetime "Texas businesses, Texas citizens, they deserve regulations that are in plain English that you can understand what they mean," said Dustin Burrows, the Republican speaker of the Texas House. "They deserve to know what they actually do, and they deserve to make sure they're consistent and as few as possible." The legislation was authored by state Republican Sen. Phil King and backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. It passed the Texas House with a 97-51 vote and the Senate 26-5. The bill is similar to what the Trump administration has aimed to do with DOGE by getting rid of unnecessary rules, as well as rooting out fraud and wasteful spending. Abbott said DOGE "crystalized" what Texas lawmakers were seeking to achieve. "It gave strategies to it," he said. "Texas DOGE will lead to spending cuts, regulation cuts and a more user-friendly government."Original article source: Texas creates its own version of DOGE as Gov. Greg Abbott says regulatory environment is 'too burdensome'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Abbott signs first bill of session into law, creating a Texas DOGE
Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed the first law of this year's legislative session, a bill creating a new regulation-cutting agency inspired by Elon Musk's federal Department of Government Efficiency. 'Texas can have our own DOGE,' Abbott said Wednesday. 'What this law is going to do is make government more efficient and less costly.' Senate Bill 14, which passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan supermajorities, establishes the 'Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office' at a cost of $22.8 million over the next five years. Abbott signed the bill with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dustin Burrows and the bill's sponsors — Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford — by his side. 'The fewer regulations we have, the more efficient they are, the easier they are to understand — is going to help Texas business and economy continue to boom, which is why I'm excited this is the first bill that is being signed,' Burrows said. With five weeks left in the biennial legislative session, SB 14 is the first bill to reach Abbott's desk. The Senate and House have each passed other priority measures — including a school voucher program that Patrick put on a glide path last week when he endorsed the House's proposal — but some, like the budget, differ slightly across chambers and still require final approval before they can go to the governor. The 'Big Three' — Abbott, Patrick and Burrows — all touted the bill signing as one of the earliest in recent sessions, which have been bogged down in part by bitter relationships between the governor's office, Patrick and former House Speaker Dade Phelan. Patrick called the early bill signing 'the first proof of efficiency.' The 'Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office' will be charged with helping other state agencies identify 'unnecessary and ineffective rules.' It will also advise agencies on ways to make regulations more effective, streamline the regulatory process, reduce department costs and increase public access to regulatory information. The governor will be responsible for appointing members of the panel, which will be supported by up to 18 full-time staff members. The new law also states that courts in Texas are not required to defer to a state agency's interpretation of the law in legal challenges of regulations. It follows the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine, which for 40 years required the court to follow government agencies' determination of the law when statutes were ambiguous, as long as it was reasonable. The doctrine was a prime target for those looking to roll back the power of federal agencies. SB 14, which was designated a priority bill in the Senate, is part of a broader push by Republican elected officials to continue to make Texas more attractive to businesses and corporations. In 2023, the Legislature created a specialized business court, and lawmakers this session are looking to pass tighter restrictions on lawsuits. Some Democrats in opposition to the bill questioned why the new agency was necessary on top of the state's Sunset Advisory Commission, which already regularly assesses the continued existence and performance of state agencies and regulations. Republicans who opposed the measure, including Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, called the bill an expansion of government. 'The point of DOGE is to cut government, reduce spending and shrink the bureaucracy,' Harrison said on the House floor. 'Unfortunately, this bill does the exact opposite.' Other states have also established groups inspired by DOGE, including Kentucky, Iowa, Oklahoma, New Hampshire and Louisiana. The Texas House created its own Delivery of Government Efficiency committee this session with the goal of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in government. During the bipartisan committee's first hearing in March, Capriglione, the panel's chair, said: 'At times, we will use a scalpel, carefully dissecting inefficiencies to make government work smarter. At other times, we will wield a sledgehammer, tearing down systemic waste and corruption that may have gone unchallenged.' Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
