Latest news with #SB92
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama public school cellphone ban moves closer to Senate vote
Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, at a Senate Education Policy committee meeting on April 30, 2025, in the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama. The committee approved HB 166, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, Wednesday that bans cell phones in public schools during instructional time. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama Senate committee approved a House bill Wednesday to ban cellphones in schools. HB 166, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, requires public school boards to adopt a policy banning cellphone use during instructional time. The Senate Education Policy Committee unanimously approved the legislation at its last meeting of the 2025 Legislative Session. 'This is the companion bill for the Focus Act,' Chesteen said. 'I know you've put about two years into this, so we look forward to getting it on the Senate floor and passing it into law.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Alabama House of Representatives approved the measure on April 4. The legislation also provides three exceptions for students to use their cell phones: if they study under an Individualized Education Plan that allows it; for teacher-approved instruction and for medical purposes. The House Education Policy Committee approved the Senate version of the bill, SB 92, sponsored by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, on April 16. Both bills await final approval from the second chamber. There are four legislative days left in the 2025 session. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House committee approves Senate version of cell phone ban
Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, listens attentively to the Senate debate on March 18, 2025, in Montgomery, Alabama. A House committee Wednesday approved a bill sponsored by Chesteen that would ban cell phones in public schools during instruction hours. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House Education Policy Committee Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would ban cellphones in public schools during class instruction time. SB 92, sponsored by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, is identical to HB 166, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, which passed the House earlier this month. 'It is identical to the way that we passed it out of the House and amended it on the floor recently. So we're making sure that they're tracking identically, and we have been able to successfully do that,' Hulsey, who carried the bill for Chesteen, said Wednesday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill requires local school boards to adopt a policy to store student cell phones during class hours. Some schools use Yondr Pouches to store phones, but the legislation does not specify how a phone should be stored. 'They just have to turn the phone off, store it off your person in a locker, car, whatever your storage solution is, it's a similar solution. Whatever they choose,' Hulsey said. There are three exceptions for when a student can access their phones: if they study under an Individualized Education Plan that allows it; for teacher-approved instruction and for medical purposes. The bill was approved with no discussion. It moves to the full House for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House rejects making state Bar membership voluntary
The Cascade County Courthouse in Great Falls, Montana (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan). Calling it a battle over constitutional freedoms of choice and association, Rep. Tom Millett, R-Marion, urged his colleagues in the House to pass Senate Bill 92, which would make membership with the State Bar of Montana voluntary for lawyers. 'Now you may have heard or think this is an attack on the Bar, but that is not true,' Millett said, telling the House that the bill would still allow for oversight of the profession and was only meant to return constitutional rights to lawyers. House lawmakers soundly opposed the bill, 43-57. Rep. Brian Close, D-Bozeman, a lawyer, said the bill had no proponents speak during the hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. The only Republican attorney on the committee opposed the bill, he added. 'There were not a bunch of lawyers lined up in the hallway crying, 'Free us from our shackles,'' Close said. 'So the persons most affected by the current bar structure are fine with it.' The Montana State Supreme Court ordered the creation of the State Bar in 1974, making membership to the Bar a condition to practice law in Montana. Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, introduced SB 92 as a 'freedom bill.' His main issue, he said, was that the state Bar collects dues from members, and takes stances on some political issues, including lobbying the Legislature. If a member has an issue with a State Bar position, they can get their proportion of funds used in the effort refunded, which last session amounted to $7.61. Despite this, Fuller said he still took issue with the requirement to associate with members of the state Bar. Alanah Griffith, D-Gallatin Gateway, an attorney and former treasurer for the state Bar, said during the floor debate she was concerned the bill didn't contain a clear substitute mechanism for how attorneys who opt out of the State Bar would complete their licensing and continuing-education requirements for maintaining their status. Other opponents to the bill in the House pointed out that the Montana Constitution clearly states the state Supreme Court may make rules governing admission to the Bar, and legislative action would be overreach. Millett, who is not an attorney, pushed back on that notion by indicating there was no legal review note from legislative staff attached to the bill. Fuller had previously objected to the state Bar for disparaging remarks and name-calling by a Montana lawyer during a panel hosted by the organization as part of a continuing legal education seminar last year.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Senate passes bill banning cell phones in public schools
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Gov. Ivey praised the Alabama Senate Wednesday night after it unanimously passed a bill that would ban the use of cell phones in state public schools. The bill (SB92) would establish the Freeing our Classrooms of Unnecessary Screens for Safety (FOCUS) Act, which bans 'the use, operation, and possession of wireless communication devices on certain public school properties.' Additionally, students would be required to complete a social media safety course prior to the eighth grade. Alabama congressman predicts U.S. Space Command will relocate to Alabama soon 'The Senate unanimously passed the FOCUS Act, which removes the distraction of cell phones during students' classes. There's a time and a place for our phones, but while a teacher is teaching is NOT it. Thank you, Sen. Donnie Chesteen. Let's get this bill to my desk!' Gov. Ivey wrote on X (formerly Twitter). The Alabama House companion bill, HB 166, passed last week. The bills now swap chambers and whichever bill first passes through the opposite chamber is sent to Gov. Ivey's desk. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida Lawmakers Push for Front License Plates Over Unidentified Hit-And-Runs
Florida has introduced a new bill that would make it the 30th US state, along with the District of Columbia, to require a front license plate along with a rear plate. SB (Senate Bill) 92, backed by the Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations Committee, aims to lower Florida's cases of unidentified cars from hit-and-runs. Out-of-state vehicles would be allowed to follow requirements for their home state. Florida Senator Joe Gruters highlighted how only 12.5% of Florida hit-and-run cases in 2023 resulted in charges, noting in a Fox interview: 'As people are speeding away from these scenes, there's a lot of cameras out there, and those cameras can't always see the back of the plate. Sometimes, there are repeat offenders who know exactly how to get away from an accident without having their plates seen.' Another section of the bill would require Florida drivers to submit crash reports to auto body shops for estimated repairs worth $2,500 or more. This report must include a driver's personal information, vehicle details, and a damage description. If drivers don't submit a crash report, the auto body shop would be required to send their repair estimate to a Department of Law Enforcement database. Body shops that fail to forward the estimate could lose their registration. If passed, the bill would enact the Lilly Glaubach Act, named after a 13-year-old Tampa girl who was killed in a hit-and-run while riding her bike home from school. The front-and-back license plate requirement was added last week as an amendment to the bill. Gruters noted that Florida drivers would pay a single registration fee, and the state would provide two plates, negating the need for another registration fee. Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd is in favor of the bill's body shop legislation but disagrees with the license plate requirement, labeling it as a burden for drivers to get another license plate and for police to enforce the law. 'We have a lot of technology that we use to solve hit-and-runs, and if added front license plates were the end all, then I would be for it, but it's simply not,' Grady said in an interview with Fox. Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations Committee members voted unanimously in favor of the bill, which has to pass through one more committee before a full Senate vote. Pending approval, SB 92 will take effect July 1—but this isn't the only Florida road law that could begin in July. A Florida legislature bill has proposed increasing the state's maximum speed limit from 70 mph to 75 mph. Palm Beach Gardens driver Hunter Hopwood said that a speed limit change is worth looking into for speeding up traffic flow but clarified that the law's effectiveness could be good or bad depending on the location and time of day, according to CBS. While cost and safety concerns over a new front license plate requirement are valid, many drivers object to the practice since they feel it negatively alters their vehicle's look. This perspective can be especially true for some car types, like Alfa Romeos and their Scudetto grille, which weren't manufactured with front license plate placement in mind. For many years, Alfa Romeo had an off-center position for the front license plate, but the automaker decided to ditch this design in favor of centrally-mounted plates last year. It'll be interesting to see how manufacturers and drivers against the mounting of a front license plate will react if this bill gets passed.
