Latest news with #SenateBill109
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill creating monetary reward for those who tip off police on drug activity advances in WV Senate
Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, the lone sponsor of Senate Bill 109, speaks on the Senate floor on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Charleston, (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography) The Senate Committee on Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health advanced a bill Wednesday that, if adopted, will incentivize residents to report drug activity to law enforcement with monetary rewards funded by a new excise tax on harm reduction tools. The excise tax would add one cent to all purchases of naloxone and drug testing strips — two life saving interventions that help prevent fatal overdoses in people who use drugs — in West Virginia. Under a committee substitute adopted by the substance use disorder committee, nonprofits would be exempt from paying the excise tax. Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, is the lone sponsor of Senate Bill 109, which he named the Neighborhood Assistance and Rejuvenation Compact Act. He said that while he would like to see a permanent, state-backed funding source for the new fund, a tax on naloxone and other overdose mitigation tools was appropriate for the time being. It remained unclear how much money, however, could actually be raised by such a tax since nonprofits largely distribute naloxone free of charge and receive it often through federal and state grant dollars. Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, said he worried that placing the tax on proven intervention strategies could send the 'wrong message' as the state attempts to target higher level dealers and traffickers instead of low level offenders. Tarr, however, alleged that drug traffickers have incentive to use and purchase naloxone and testing strips to prove the potency of the drugs they sell. 'The reason that we went after Narcan and test strips was because the people — both traffickers and [drug] users — are the reason we have to do this in the first place,' Tarr said. Many people who use or overdose on fentanyl are unaware that the drug is present in what they're using and fentanyl test strips, according to experts, allow them to use more safely. Naloxone is an effective opioid overdose reversal drug proven to dramatically lower the risk of fatal overdose, according to countless peer-reviewed studies. The money raised by the excise tax would be put in a special revenue account overseen by the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Ten percent of anything raised would go to administering the new program while the rest of the money could be used for marketing and payments to people whose tips to police successfully help with getting someone convicted for a drug crime. The bill tasked the Homeland Security and the police with creating an anonymous tip line that could be used to submit tips. Payments to individuals would only be levied if a tip proves useful in securing a drug conviction against someone. Confidential informants and those who work for law enforcement would not be eligible for the reward. Marketing for the program, Tarr said, could include buying and posting billboards in areas known to have high drug activity. Those billboards would show mugshots of people convicted of drug crimes and the sentence they received for such crimes in an attempt to deter others from violating the law. Tarr said his inspiration for the billboards came after watching the news one night and seeing 'bodies hanging off of bridges' in a report on cartels in Mexico. The actions, he said, were meant to show what would happen if someone crossed the cartel. 'That's pretty difficult to fight,' Tarr said. 'It's that kind of intimidation — how do you go and have that kind of intimidation and fight back?' After speaking to people in law enforcement, he said he learned that it would be helpful if they could find a way to 'put a price on [drug dealers'] heads.' Tarr clarified that he did not mean to kill them, but to show what the price — i.e. prison sentence — would be for dealing and trafficking drugs in the state of West Virginia. SB 109 passed the Senate Committee on Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health via voice vote. It will now advance to the Senate Finance Committee. Lawmakers on the committee were also considering a bill Wednesday to prohibit opioid treatment programs in the state of West Virginia. Action, however, was not taken on that bill by publication time. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Free lunches for Ohio students may become reality
Students across Ohio could soon have free breakfast and lunch provided for both public and private schools. Senate Bill 109 is currently being heard in committee. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7′s Mason Fletcher speaks to the local community about what free student meals could do for their kids. On average, one student's school lunches for a year costs more than $500, according to the Education Data Initiative. More than 500,000 children across Ohio do not have access to health food. The bill would also fix the problem of school lunch debt, which was more than $271 million last school year. TRENDING STORIES: New Ohio bill aiming to limit secondhand marijuana smoke for children passes Senate UPDATE: 'Armed and dangerous' 17-year-old arrested in Richmond neighborhood School bus catches fire while taking Ohio students to school 'I'd definitely vote for that,' Carlos Bennet Sr. from Moraine said. 'I think it's definitely needed, man.' With rising grocery prices, parents are spending double what they used to at grocery stores, making providing even more difficult. Bennet says he has nine kids, and knows first hand how expensive it is to feed them. 'That's hard on a person's pockets because everything is literally going up,' Bennet said. 'It's going to hurt them so bad.' If the bill passes, Bennet says it would save families a lot of money. 'You got school fees and you've got to pay for lunch, you know,' Bennet said. 'By the end of the day, ain't nobody rich.' According to Feeding America, more than 500,000 children in Ohio are experiencing hunger right now. For Bennet, money is no object when it comes to feeding students. 'All the kids eat, and you can't eat because you ain't got some money,' Bennet said. The bill would pay for the lunches through the Department of Education, and would need $300 million in funding. 'Don't let the kids suffer, because they don't have to,' Bennet said. News Center 7 spoke with other parents who did not want to be on camera, but they are in support of the bill. They said anything that could help with the higher costs of groceries is a good thing. To read the bill, click here. Senate Bill 109 will have to pass through the Senate, House and be signed by Gov. Mike DeWine before it becomes law. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How Ohio schools could offer free breakfasts and lunches to students
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio lawmakers are reaching across the aisle to provide free breakfast and lunch for students. Senate Bill 109 would provide no-cost breakfast and lunch to public and charter schools that opt in to the national school breakfast and lunch programs. The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Sen. Louis W. Blessing III (R-Colerain Township) and Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid). Blessing said not only would S.B. 109 help families, it would do so at little cost to the state. Under the legislation, the state would reimburse public and charter schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program and its breakfast counterpart. Low-income students are eligible to receive reduced-price or free meals through the program, and each qualifying meal served receives federal reimbursement. Under S.B. 109, the state, rather than the school districts, would cover the costs that are not federally reimbursed. Fines for passing a school bus could double in Ohio Blessing said academic performance in Ohio is strongly linked to poverty, with districts in poorer areas performing worse. Smith seconded this, pointing out that the number of homeless students in Ohio has doubled over the last decade. Both senators told NBC4 they believe this legislation will help fuel students for success. 'I am convinced this is going to improve test scores in the long run,' Blessing said. Blessing said it would not only reduce costs for families, but it would positively affect students. He said truancy is an issue in Ohio, and free meals could serve as a good incentive for students to attend school. Families would also be able to save time in the mornings by not needing to prepare breakfast or pack lunches. 'Ensuring a student gets two out of their three daily meals will help them advance academically, emotionally and physically,' Smith said. 'Kids only make up 22% of Ohio's population, but they are 100% of our future. By providing basic existence needs to Ohio kids, we are investing in our future workforce.' Ramaswamy launches campaign for governor Currently, at least five central Ohio school districts are part of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, which gives state reimbursement on top of the federal funds. For non-CEP districts, students pay an average of $1.43 for breakfast, $2.83 for elementary lunches, $3.11 for middle school lunches and $3.41 for high school lunches. This means the average high schooler would owe more than $600 if they bought lunch every school day. Blessing said the legislation could save Ohio families thousands. S.B 109 would also remove financial weight from school districts that currently balance these costs. Bexley City Schools, for instance, does not qualify for CEP participation but allocates $100,000 to ensure all students have access to free breakfast. Bexley does opt in to the National School Lunch Program, so S.B. 109 would alleviate these costs. Proposed LGBTQ+ discrimination ban loses support Blessing said some constituents have voiced concerns about the cost of the legislation. He said S.B. 109 would cost the state $297 million annually, which the legislation proposes to come out of the state's general revenue fund's line item 'school meal programs.' He said for a state with a $100 billion budget, that cost is fairly inexpensive for the outcome. Further, he said, it would not require property taxes, with no increased cost to families. The General Assembly is currently considering options for the biennial budget, which will go into effect in July. Recommendations from Gov. Mike DeWine would have about 15% of the budget go toward education. See previous coverage of the state's budget in the video player above. The bill has been referred to the Finance Committee but does not yet have a scheduled hearing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With bipartisan support, Alaska Senate panel again proposes new PFD formula
The Alaska Senate Finance Committee chambers are seen on April 22, 2022, in Juneau. (Photo by Rashah McChesney) All seven members of the Alaska Senate's powerful finance committee on Monday proposed rewriting the payment formula for the annual Permanent Fund dividend, renewing the Senate's effort to replace an obsolete state law that hasn't been followed since 2015. If signed into law, Senate Bill 109 would split the annual transfer from the Alaska Permanent Fund to the state treasury. Seventy-five percent of that transfer would be reserved for state services, and the remaining quarter would be used for dividends. This year, that's worth about $1,420 per recipient, according to estimates by the Legislative Finance Division. Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel and co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said he didn't bring the proposal to all 14 members of the Senate's majority caucus before introducing it, but he already has the support of all seven of the committee's members, including two members who are part of the Senate's Republican minority. Hoffman said the bill could have been sponsored by the committee, but instead, all seven senators put their names as sponsors and co-sponsors. 'I think it makes a bigger statement to the people of Alaska and the House and Senate that … this is something that should be on the table for discussion,' Hoffman said. The effort to rewrite the formula faces long odds. Members of the Alaska Senate have supported the '75-25 split' proposal since at least 2017, the year before lawmakers enacted the annual Permanent Fund transfer. At that time, legislators said the dividend formula would be addressed at a later date, but no new formula has garnered sufficient support to become law, and in the meantime, the dividend has been set by fiat each year, becoming the Capitol's biggest annual issue. For the past two years, the dividend amount has been based on the 75-25 split, even though the new formula has failed to become law. The 2024 dividend was boosted by an additional energy relief payment. This year, barring tax increases, there isn't expected to be enough state revenue to pay for both a 75-25 dividend and the K-12 public school funding increase advancing through the Alaska House. Estimates by the Legislative Finance Division, which performs fiscal analysis on behalf of the Legislature, show a deficit of near $500 million in the next fiscal year with a 75-25 dividend and the proposed public-school funding increase. Some members of the Alaska House of Representatives have suggested a $1,000 Permanent Fund dividend — instead of the 75-25 split — would be needed to balance the state's books if the proposed K-12 funding bill becomes law. But that would also require the Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy to approve a rewrite of the state's corporate income tax law to cover Hilcorp, a privately held oil company. In the coming weeks, it's expected that one or more legislators will introduce a bill that would raise revenue by reducing or eliminating a per-barrel oil tax credit that's part of the state oil tax system. That change is expected to raise more than $400 million annually, and coupled with the change to corporate taxes — worth an estimated $140 million annually — could be enough to pay for both the 75-25 dividend and the K-12 funding bill. Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau and a cosponsor of the new formula bill, said that without action, he believes legislators will continue to cut the Permanent Fund dividend in order to meet rising costs. 'We need something that we can afford and that Alaskans can count on, so that the argument about how much the (PFD) check should be this year doesn't drive the end of every legislative session,' he said. 'And to be quite frank, so we don't end up at zero, because that's the path.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bipartisan Ohio Senate bill aims to pay for public school breakfast and lunch
Students eat lunch at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in South Salt Lake, Utah, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps/Utah News Dispatch) A co-sponsor of a new bipartisan bill to give Ohio public school students free meals is hoping to see it included as a priority in the state's two-year operating budget due July 1. State Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Twp., said the newest move to get the state to pay for all students to have free breakfast and lunch at school is similar to Senate Bill 342, which he and co-sponsor Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, introduced in the last General Assembly. 'It's such a great idea, it's a public good,' Blessing told the Capital Journal. S.B. 342 had other aims, such as increasing the Local Government Fund and modifying funding for the Low and Moderate-Income Housing Trust Fund, along with the goal of total eligibility for student meals, so when Blessing and Smith brought back the idea in the new General Assembly, simplicity won out. 'To me, this should be a no-brainer,' Blessing said. Under the new bill, Senate Bill 109, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce would be directed to reimburse public and chartered nonpublic schools who participated in the National School Breakfast Program to cover the gap between the federal reimbursements for free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches, along with covering those who would be required to pay because they don't qualify for meal assistance. The bill lists an appropriation of $300 million to support the reimbursements. Blessing and Smith plan to push for the bill to be included in the new two-year state operating budget due July 1, currently under negotiation in the Ohio House, though Blessing hopes to have at least one hearing in the Senate Finance Committee 'to say this is great policy.' Polling as recently as last year in Ohio showed vast public support for a universal free school breakfast and lunch program in a state where 1 in 6 children live in households that struggle to keep food on the table. A 2023 report from the advocacy group Children's Defense Fund Ohio found that 1 in 3 children who live in those homes don't qualify for free school meals. School nutrition administrators spoke to the legislature during the last round of budget negotiations, telling stories of student meal debt putting them in the difficult position of keeping students from receiving a hot meal, and perpetuating the stigma that comes with students identified as free or reduced-lunch eligible. Support for universal school breakfast and lunch comes as the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee contemplates cuts that could impact the Community Eligibility Provision, which works within the federal National School Lunch Program in high-poverty areas to provide no-cost meals to students who qualify. Schools qualify based on the rates of participation the school students and families have in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The national Food Research & Action Center found that the proposed changes to the eligibility provision on the federal level could impact more than 280,000 Ohio students and 728 schools. Blessing acknowledged there was pushback about paying for the state-level measure in the last operating budget. But he countered the argument by saying the measure could be paid for by increasing some taxes, such as the severance tax. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'I wouldn't be surprised if it's the House or the Senate that puts a significant income tax cut in (the new budget), and that's money out the door right there that could have paid for this,' Blessing said. In the previous state operating budget, $4 million was included to extend free meals to those who qualified for reduced-price breakfast and lunch for the 2023-2024 school year. But attempts at universal eligibility didn't make it to the final draft. For Blessing, a bill that gives school-aged kids two meals a day addresses campaign promises that were made to ease the costs for everyday Ohioans and Americans. 'Right, wrong or indifferent, Trump was elected because there was a cost-of-living crisis,' Blessing said. 'I would hope that we would deliver on this to help with that. It should matter to everyone.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
