Latest news with #SB164
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Political deepfakes bill headed to South Dakota governor's desk
The sun sets on Feb. 5, 2025, behind the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) A bill to require labels on political deepfakes within 90 days of an election passed the South Dakota Legislature on Monday at the Capitol in Pierre. A deepfake is a digitally altered photo, video or audio of a person or people, meant to appear real, often created using artificial intelligence. In the runup to the 2024 presidential primary, a robocall featuring an altered version of then-President Joe Biden's voice circulated in New Hampshire. 'Election integrity' activists speak out against labels for political deepfakes Senate Bill 164, which passed the House of Representatives 45-24, is a more narrowly tailored version of a proposal that first appeared in the Legislature in 2024, shortly after news of that robocall broke. That version drew free speech concerns, in part from broadcasters worried it might sweep them up into liability for unwittingly hosting deepfakes. SB 164, which passed the state Senate last week 32-3, explicitly exempts broadcasters, newspapers, websites or radio stations from liability. Sen. Liz Larson, D-Sioux Falls, introduced the bill. If Gov. Larry Rhoden signs the bill, people or organizations that disseminate unlabeled deepfakes of South Dakota politicians with the intent to hurt a candidate, within 90 days of an election, would be subject to civil and criminal liability. Unlabeled political deepfakes could be shared outside of the 90-day election window. Labeled deepfakes and deepfakes that constitute satire could be shared at any time. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kentucky senator launches 1-2 punch to DEI policy in government, K-12
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — On the coattails of a bill filed on Wednesday by Rep. Jennifer Decker, a pair of bills filed on Friday by the Kentucky Senate aim to dismantle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policy and offices in the state's government, as well as K-12 education. Sen. Lindsey Tichenor filed the bills—SB 164 and SB 165—on Thursday. Gov. Beshear declares state of emergency ahead of expected flooding: 'Dangerous conditions' SB 164 would create new sections of current state law that would prohibit any public agency from giving 'preferential treatment to people or entities based on religion, race, sex, color, or national origin when they contract or seek employment with the state or local government.' This bill is also heavily focused on state employee training, forbidding government staff in trainer roles from incentivizing diversity or inclusion initiatives on a financial or policy level, as well as terminating funding for DEI offices in local and state governments. Any state or local government body that would violate SB 164, if it gets signed into law, would reportedly be liable for civil action. SB 164 specifies that Kentucky's Office of Diversity, Equality, and Training would be simplified to 'Office of Employee Training' if the bill is signed into law. The other bill, SB 165, applies similar changes to the Kentucky Department of Education's infrastructure—amending current state laws to remove DEI positions and policies from the state's school districts. 12 years of playing pays off for Danville man with $25K a year for life lottery win National humane society leader speaks alongside state government officials at annual Frankfort summit Trump seems to question well-known part of Sen. Mitch McConnell's life — his childhood polio battle If passed, SB 165 would partially take effect Feb. 1, 2026. Both bills carry an emergency designation, meaning SB 164 and parts of SB 165 would become state law upon signature or veto override. SB 164 and SB 165 can each be viewed in their entirety on the Kentucky General Assembly website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Montana Senate Judicial committee takes up bill that criminalizes care for transgender youth
Sen. John Fuller, R-Whitefish, waits to present Senate Bill 164, which would make procuring or providing certain care for transgender youth a felony. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan) A doctor couldn't fix a cleft palate on a baby or circumcise an infant if Senate Bill 164 takes effect, said one medical provider. Another doctor said a child with scoliosis couldn't be treated if the bill is signed into law. Several people who testified said suicide rates among transgender youth will increase. The Senate Judiciary committee on Jan. 27 heard testimony on SB 164, which would make it a felony for a parent or medical provider to procure or provide treatment to alter the appearance of a child younger than 16 or to provide surgical treatment, puberty blockers or doses of estrogen or testosterone to affirm a transgender child's identity. Sen. John Fuller, R-Whitefish, sponsored the bill, which comes with a penalty of up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine, or up to 10 years and $25,000 if a 'child suffers serious bodily injury.' In 2023, the Montana Legislature passed and Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate bill 99, which made it illegal for young people who are transgender to receive gender-affirming care. The ACLU of Montana sued on behalf of plaintiffs and opposed SB 164 too. Monday, Fuller said the Montana Supreme Court already found SB 99 to be unconstitutional — although Derek Oestreicher of the Montana Family Foundation corrected him and said it has only been preliminarily enjoined. However, Fuller said his bill is different because it is amending a different section of code, one that addresses endangering the welfare of children. Representatives from the Montana Family Foundation and Montana Medical Freedom Alliance were among the handful of proponents who testified in support of the bill. Oestreicher said gender dysphoria, where a person feels their biological sex doesn't match their gender identity, is a 'deeply complex and personal experience,' and the bill seeks to ensure children aren't subjected to 'life altering consequences' from treatment. 'This legislation is critical to protecting Montana children from harmful and irreversible medical interventions,' Oestreicher said. In December, the Montana Supreme Court found SB 99 likely violates the state constitution's right to privacy, and the law is temporarily blocked while the lawsuit plays out. At the hearing Monday, many members of the medical community including counselors and an emergency room doctor testified against the bill. They said doctors are sworn to present the best options to patients, and the bill would make them and parents criminals for offering them necessary care and potentially increase suicide rates among children. Dr. Cathy White had retired as a pediatrician, but she came out of retirement because of a shortage of providers in Butte. White said if the bill passes, shortages will get worse. Some transgender youth don't experience any dysphoria at all, but White has had patients come into her office and say, ''If my body keeps changing like this, I'm going to kill myself.'' White said the use of puberty blockers isn't taken lightly, but they have been used for decades, and she will quit working if the bill passes. 'Personally, I'm too old to risk a felony if this law passes, and I would cease to practice in Montana,' said White, past president of the Montana Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics. The Movement Advancement Project lists 24 states including Montana that have bans, not all in effect, on 'best practice' care for transgender youth. MAP describes itself as a nonprofit think tank dedicated to research that supports equality. Dr. Lauren Wilson, with the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, presented the committee with a list of 43 medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, that have issued statements in support of medical care for transgender patients and against restrictions that criminalize them. Wilson, also testifying for the Montana Academy of Family Physicians, told the committee it's important to recognize transgender and intersex people have existed across cultures and throughout history. No single pathway exists for youth seeking gender affirming care, Wilson said. In some cases, support entails allowing a child to get a different haircut or use a different name. Of adolescents seen in a gender clinic in a large children's hospital, 65% received no medication or other interventions, Wilson said. Just 7% received puberty blockers, and 35% received hormones. Children don't undergo surgery, and just 25% to 35% of people who are transgender have ever had surgery, Wilson said. 'Bills like this one are based in misconceptions about gender affirming care that are circulating nationally,' Wilson said. Planned Parenthood of Montana, the Montana Hospital Association, Montana Primary Care Association, a member of the Montana Psychiatric Association, the Women's Foundation of Montana, and a pastor were among the opponents who testified. Faye Wilde said before she was a transgender woman, she was a trans child, and she knows she would have faced less harassment if she had had access to puberty blockers early on. Wilde described the bill as cruel and 'blatantly unconstitutional,' and she said transgender people have always existed in Montana, 'and we always will.' 'You cannot legislate us back into the closet, into the grave or out of existence,' Wilde said. 'We are here, and here we will remain.' The bill has no fiscal note, but it would be costly for public defenders and child and protective services, said Kelsen Young, with the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Young said the coalition stood in 'indignant opposition' to the bill. Some parents won't testify in opposition because they fear prosecution, said Young, who identified herself as a mother and grandmother. 'Please know that this is a life and death situation,' Young said. 'The fact that we are creating a felony for parents who are doing the best they can in these incredibly difficult situations is offensive to those of us who work with children.' Anna Louise Peterson, a licensed clinical professional counselor, has provided support to transgender, nonbinary and intersex clients for the last 25 years. 'I have yet to see a single case in which the treatment protocol has caused any harm to any of my clients. Quite the opposite. It has enabled them to thrive,' Peterson said. Shawn Reagor, on behalf of Bridger Care, Montana's largest nonprofit reproductive and sexual health clinic, said the bill aims to block treatment that saves lives. Reagor said it also affects less than 0.1% of the population in the country, fewer than 3,000 people, and the bill is a waste of time and money. 'The government has no place inserting itself between parents, teens and their trusted health care providers,' Reagor said. In support of the bill, however, Erin Laws, with the Montana Medical Freedom Alliance, said voters gave Americans and Montanans a clear mandate in the most recent election to return to 'common sense' and traditional values. Laws also pointed out that a doctor who had received nearly $10 million from the U.S. government for a study regarding puberty blockers declined to release the full results. 'She refused to release the findings because she did not want them to be weaponized,' Laws said. The committee did not take immediate action on the bill on Monday.
