Latest news with #SB28
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislative lawyers clear state Sen. Lisa Reynolds over conflict of interest
Newly appointed Oregon Sen. Lisa Reynolds at her pediatrics clinic in Portland on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Photo by Rian Dundon/Oregon Capital Chronicle) A Portland-area lawmaker facing scrutiny over a bill she wrote that could benefit her medical practice has been cleared by legislative lawyers of any potential conflict of interest. Oregon Sen. Lisa Reynolds, D-Portland, told the Capital Chronicle in an email Tuesday that a May 16 opinion from the Office of the Legislative Counsel 'clarifies that I am a member of an exempted class, and as such, have no legal conflict of interest, nor a need to declare one' when it comes to Senate Bill 28. Reynolds is co-sponsoring the bill, which would require commercial insurers to reimburse independent primary care clinics at similar rates to hospital-owned clinics. Reynolds' position as a doctor in a Portland-based primary care clinic raised questions about whether she would improperly benefit from the legislation. A May 30 Capital Chronicle article reported that the Oregon Government Ethics Commission referred Reynolds to Legislative Counsel for further clarity on whether she was exempt from declaring a conflict of interest. Reynolds had previously told the Capital Chronicle the advice was 'reassuring,' and that she would consider seeking further counsel. But in fact, she already had. In its May 16 opinion, Legislative Counsel found Reynolds qualifies for a 'class exemption,' a rule that allows public officials to take official action that would equally impact all members of a 'class,' such as business owners or members of a particular industry. The opinion, which Reynolds shared with the Capital Chronicle on Tuesday, is signed by the Legislative Counsel Dexter Johnson and staff attorney Wenzel Cummings. 'Because you are a member of the smaller class of primary care providers who would be permitted the reimbursement rate under the terms of SB 28, you are excluded from the obligations to announce a conflict of interest, whether actual or potential, prior to voting on the measure in committee or on the floor of the Senate,' the opinion reads. Reynolds apologized for 'not having this clarification ahead of your article of May 30' in her email to the Capital Chronicle. 'I have still been very open about the impacts this bill could have, and I strive to always be very open and honest with the public and with my constituents,' she wrote. 'The legislature's rules around conflicts of interest are complicated and I am learning as I go, as well, and trying my best to follow the advice I'm receiving.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oregon Sen. Lisa Reynolds mulls conflict of interest declaration after ethics report
Sen. Lisa Reynolds sought clarity from the state's top ethics watchdog over whether a health care bill she authored would pose a substantial conflict of interest. (Rian Dundon/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Oregon's statewide ethics watchdog on Thursday referred a Portland-area lawmaker to the Legislature for clarity over whether a bill she authored that could benefit her medical practice raises a substantial conflict of interest. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission said Sen. Lisa Reynolds' decisions regarding votes and bill introductions were within the purview of the Legislature and its legal counsel, according to a Thursday letter written by Susan Myers, the commission's executive director. Introduced in January, Senate Bill 28 would mandate commercial insurers reimburse independent primary care clinics at rates equal to those of clinics owned by hospital systems. In the letter, Myers said that Reynolds, D-Portland, 'would be met with a conflict of interest' unless she is able to receive a class exception. The rule is traditionally adjudicated by the commission, determining whether an official action by a public official would impact all members of a 'class,' such as business owners or members of a particular industry, equally. But it's up to the Legislature, not the Commission, to decide whether the exception applies because the matter 'relates to the performance of legislative functions,' Myers wrote. Lawmakers are allowed to cast votes and perform legislative tasks under Oregon's 'speech and debate' rules for public officials even when they do declare conflicts of interest. Reynolds told the Capital Chronicle she hasn't decided whether she will seek further advice. She said that she will consult with her staff and tends 'to err on the side of caution.' 'I'll see going forward,' she said. 'It would be interesting to note the votes I've taken. For example, the provider tax which funds Medicaid — do I have to say that's a conflict of interest because my clinic takes Medicaid? I don't think so.' The advice follows a request from the commission in a May 6 letter written by her chief of staff, Christopher McMorran, a day before the Oregon Journalism Project ran a story in which Reynolds said she was open to seeking the ethics' commissions advice and declaring a conflict of interest. McMorran sought information about potential conflicts of interest because of Reynolds' job as a primary care provider at The Children's Clinic, an independent clinic in the Portland region. 'SB 28 would likely result in a financial gain for her clinic, along with all other independent primary care clinics in the state,' he wrote to the commission. 'We are curious if her introducing, sponsoring and supporting this bill qualifies as a conflict of interest or if she would be considered a member of a class and be exempt from conflict of interest laws.' Reynolds said the advice was 'reassuring' and that she believes she would likely qualify for a class exemption. 'I'm a citizen legislator. My day job is that of a pediatrician. In fact, I was in the clinic all last weekend,' she said. 'I still see patients and I actually ran as Dr. Lisa Reynolds. I ran for office leaning into the fact that I am a physician and it informs all that I do in the Legislature.' Her legislation is currently sitting in the Joint Ways and Means Committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Senate bill offers last-minute reprieve for troubled Texas Lottery
A bill that would keep the Texas Lottery alive and enact sweeping changes by placing it under a new agency was heard in a Senate committee on Monday, a last-minute lifeline for the increasingly scrutinized department and its games. Senate Bill 3070, filed by Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, would abolish the Texas Lottery Commission and move supervision of the state-sponsored game under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The proposal also contains provisions from several other bills currently being considered by lawmakers in both chambers that would increase oversight of the game and create new criminal penalties for online play and mass purchases of tickets. 'If there isn't enough of an appetite to get rid of the lottery outright, then this bill represents the next best thing,' Hall said during the Senate State Affairs hearing on Monday. All of the bills aiming to tighten the lottery come as the game and its commission have been criticized by lawmakers throughout the session after two lottery jackpots involving lottery couriers sparked concerns of illegal activity. Lottery couriers print and scan tickets for customers, usually at licensed retail stores they own, as a way of playing the lottery online. The first jackpot was won in April 2023 when a single group with ties to a courier used four licensed retailers and dozens of ticket-printing lottery terminals to buy 99% of the 26 million ticket combinations, scoring a $95 million jackpot. The second jackpot was won in February, by a ticket purchased through a courier app called Jackpocket. Fears about couriers enabling money laundering and sales to out-of-state and underage customers have culminated in several lawmakers suggesting the lottery be eliminated entirely. Hall's omnibus bill is a potential lifeline for the Texas Lottery, as deadlines are approaching that will determine whether the game and the billions in funding it provides to public schools will continue. Despite being months past the Legislature's bill filing deadline, SB 3070 was filed by Hall on Monday at the end of the Senate's session alongside a few other bills after senators voted to suspend the rules. The bill includes a total ban on lottery couriers and online ticket sales with criminal penalties — identical to Hall's Senate Bill 28, one of Lt. Gov Dan Patrick's 40 priority bills. SB 28 was unanimously passed by the Senate in February. SB 3070 would also ban customers from buying more than 100 lottery tickets in a single purchase, establish a lottery advisory committee and limit the total number of ticket-printing lottery terminals licensed retailers can have. Those restrictions echo looser provisions suggested in Senate Bills 1346 and 2153. The Senate already approved a bill that would move the state's charitable bingo operations to the licensing and regulation department, which SB 3070 also proposes. The proposed move for the lottery, however, requires the state's Sunset Advisory Commission to conduct a review of the game by Aug. 31, 2027, to determine whether it should be abolished. SB 3070's current proposals may not be its final form, either. During the Senate hearing, Hall listed four amendments he said would be filed once the bill reached the Senate floor that would add provisions not currently in any bill. Those amendments would amplify criminal penalties for illegal ticket sales, require that individuals, not business entities or limited liability companies, cash in winning tickets and create restrictions on where tickets can be bought. The amendments would also deputize the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and speaker of the house as approved inspectors for the lottery, allowing them to enter licensed lottery retail stores and investigate where they keep equipment. That provision comes after Patrick posted videos of himself on social media visiting a lottery courier on two separate occasions, including in April when he was denied entry into the back of the store where they keep their terminals. 'Whenever you're in business and you're doing business with the taxpayers of Texas, transparency is the key,' Patrick said in an April 29 video from inside a courier-owned retailer after an employee denied his request to see their lottery terminals. The lottery commission is currently under a routine review by the Sunset Commission, which state agencies undergo every 12 years, and requires legislation to continue its operations. Without SB 3070, one of two 'sunset' bills in either chamber must be passed; as of Monday evening, neither have received a single hearing. SB 3070 also circumvents the lottery's looming budget obstacles, as the House removed the lottery commission's budget for the next two years from the state's budget proposal. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Senate passes ban on lottery sales through courier services
The Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill on Thursday that would ban online lottery ticket sales and prevent third-party services from selling tickets to customers. Senate Bill 28 was co-authored by 28 of the 31 members in the Senate after initially being filed by Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood. The bill primarily targets couriers, which buy tickets at stores for customers who place online orders to circumvent in-person requirements. The Texas Lottery Commission has been accused by several lawmakers of allowing couriers to engage in potentially illegal ticket sales to minors or out-of-state customers. In committee hearings, Hall has emphasized he believes that couriers would already be illegal under current Texas law, but that the Texas Lottery Commission has avoided responsibility in enforcing it. 'SB 28 will not restore integrity to the Texas lottery — I don't even know if that's possible,' Hall said Thursday. 'But it will reiterate the responsibility we have given the commission to ensure lottery couriers and their licensed retail outlets are no longer able to operate in the state in language even they should be able to understand.' For years prior to the 2025 legislative session, the lottery commission maintained it lacked the legal authority to regulate or censure courier activity in the state. But on Monday, the agency changed its stance and announced it would move to ban the services. Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his own investigation Wednesday into the Texas Lottery Commission, extending a string of investigations and criticisms of the agency. Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have directed the Texas Rangers, a division of the Department of Public Safety, to investigate two recent jackpot wins and the commission's communications with courier services. 'If the lottery commission were to adopt an official motto today, it would have to include the words, lie, cheat, steal, mislead and cover up,' Hall said during the Senate hearing Thursday. The Senate bill stands in contrast to a House bill filed by Rep. John Bucy III, D-Austin, seeking to regulate couriers rather than ban them. House Bill 3201 has yet to be referred to committee, but would create a license program for couriers and mandate background checks and audits for the businesses to operate. We can't wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Georgia Lt. Gov. Burns unveils plan to reset regulations billed as state-level DOGE effort
Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones unveiled in November 2023 his Red Tape Rollback Initiative for 2024 that aimed to reduce bureucratic barriers to small businesses and professional licensing. File: Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder A so-called red tape rollback bill as coined by Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to be a state-level version of the Elon Musk-led federal Department of Government Efficiency cleared its first legislative hurdle Wednesday despite some opposition from Democrats. The Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism passed Wednesday a sweeping 'Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025' that would require state agencies to review all rules and regulations every four years, calculate the economic impact of all proposals and reduce compliance and paperwork on small businesses. The bill now heads to the Senate Rules Committee after advancing through the economic development committee by a 7-4 party line vote. Senate Democrats on the committee voiced opposition, because they say the bill is too broad and overly extends rulemaking powers to the legislative branch. There was also opposition to the agency requirement to produce an economic impact analysis for any rule deemed to have more than a $1 million impact over the first five years of implementation. The Butts County lawmaker's bill would allow the General Assembly to request an economic analysis of how proposed legislation's governmental regulations will affect small businesses. Legislative committee chairs and chamber leaders would be able to order the small business analysis for pending legislation. If SB 28 becomes law, several dozen state government agencies would undergo a full review of their rules every four years unless they've reduced the number of rules by 10%. State departments and agencies are covered in the bill to justify the rules that are in place. The legislation also allows for a legislative committee to object to a rule even when lawmakers are not in session. The bill's sponsor Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Cumming Republican, said state leaders are constantly hearing from Georgia residents about business licensing problems and other regulatory hurdles in food service and other industries that small business owners say are burdensome. Dolezal said the bill is intended to keep any eye out for Georgia's small businesses that employ 85% of Georgians. Under Jones' plan to loosen regulatory constraints, the threshold for what is considered a small business in Georgia would increase from 100 to 300 employees. Dozleal said the bill will clarify the current role that legislators have to control agency rules. 'If we're not careful, those regulations on small businesses can make it such that business owners spend far more time complying with regulations than they do running their business,' Dolezal said at Wednesday's committee meeting. 'It places the General Assembly in the driver's seat around rulemaking.' There is a similar process for this four-year rule making process. The agencies are required in the bill to go through and justify the rules that are in effect and question their necessity. Mark Woodall, Georgia Legislative chair for the Sierra Club, said he's concerned about how the proposed bill would affect environmental regulation in the state. He said of particular concern is the cost-effectiveness of requiring agencies to review every rule every four years. He also expressed skepticism about the necessity of this frequent review, citing examples like the Clean Water Act that are federal regulations that must be enforced by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Woodall said it's important to consider the costs and benefits of regulations. 'We've got the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act,' Woodall said following Wednesday's committee meeting. 'It's still going to be illegal to dump raw sewage in the river. So why do you have to review that every four years? I mean, if they're not careful, they'll wind up losing the delegation to the Georgia EPD, and then you have to go get the permit from the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and I don't think anybody wants that. Kennedy Atkins, government affairs manager at the George Public Policy Foundation, said that since the state began tracking regulations in 1965, the state code now contains over 18,000 regulations. He said a review of those codes found that over 15% of which were in need of review due to being out of date or for other reasons. Jones has coined his bill as a state level DOGE that aims to cut harmful government regulation. DOGE is a temporary government agency formed by the new President Donald Trump administration that is designed to cut 'wasteful spending,' A number of the DOGE cuts under Musk have faced criticism for overblown claims about savings and fraud in areas such as Social Security benefits. Jones said last year that Georgia made positive changes to combat burdensome and costly regulations on behalf of workers and business owners all over Georgia. Last year, there was bipartisan support for legislation reducing some of licensing requirements for a number of jobs. Legislators passed a bill in 2024 that eliminates barriers to employment for various jobs that require professional licenses, particularly for those with criminal backgrounds seeking jobs such as cosmetology, barbering, engineering, librarians and contractors in Georgia. 'As a business owner, continuing our efforts to promote deregulation and free our businesses from harmful government red tape will continue to be a priority,' Jones said in a statement. 'Our state initiative complements DOGE, President Donald Trump's plan to create efficiency, while paring down unnecessary spending and eliminating bureaucratic red tape at the federal level.' Sen. Emanuel Jones, a Decatur Democrat and car dealership owner, said Wednesday that SB 28 proves that 'DOGE has finally made its way to Georgia.' Jones called out the lieutenant governor for taking the first step toward eliminating agencies and cutting the state government workforce. 'He's usurping the power of all the agencies where now the General Assembly, the body that really wasn't elected for those kind of responsibilities now can insert themselves in as a rulemaking body and essentially veto what any of the agencies have done,' Jones said during a press conference Wednesday. Sandy Springs Democratic Sen. Josh McLaurin also said he's worried about the bill essentially giving the Legislature ultimate purview over rulemaking. 'Because it's without any specific types of rules, the general philosophy underlying a bill like this is we simply don't trust the agencies to manage their rule portfolio well enough, and so we have to put sort of these blunt, you know, blunt force 10% rules in place to give them any incentive to reduce the bloat. Sen. Frank Ginn, a Danielsville Republican, said he is supportive of the overall bill but was worried about the $1 million threshold being too low to trigger the economic analyst report. Dolezal said he's open to increasing the hurdle required for agencies to complete an economic impact analysis. Dolezal said the legislation mirrors similar bills that have been passed in other states, including Florida and Kansas. Dolezal said instead of potential business owners dealing with the often confusing bureaucracy of regulations and rules, the proposed revision puts legislators in more control of the process. 'It allows business owners and executives to reach out and communicate to them on either something that has this happening or even something where they can then ask for that to be looked at specifically during the four-year review period,' he said. Alpharetta GOP Sen. Brandon Beach, who chairs the Senate economic development committee, said the legislation is a major step toward helping small businesses. 'We talk about Delta and Home Depot and all the big companies we have here,' he said. 'We're grateful for them, but small businesses are the backbone of our economy. We need to do everything we can to roll out the red carpet and help them get their cash registers ringing.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
