Latest news with #SenateBill154
Associated Press
03-06-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
"Don't Criminalize Me" Rally at Louisiana Capitol Asks Governor Landry to Veto Senate Bill 154
Help give voice to over 325K Louisianans who will be criminalized by SB154 On June 3, 2025, the 'Don't Criminalize Me' rally gathers at the Louisiana State Capitol to ask Governor Landry to veto Senate Bill 154. What: Louisiana kratom advocates, veterans, small business owners, and concerned citizens will gather on the Capitol steps for the 'Don't Criminalize Me' Rally to urge Governor Jeff Landry to veto Senate Bill 154, which would criminalize the possession and use of kratom by over 325,000 Louisianans. Louisiana and national media is strongly encouraged to attend and contact for details. When: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at 2:00 PM Central Time Where: Louisiana State Capitol, located at 900 North 3rd Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802 Why: Senate Bill 154 threatens to unjustly criminalize law-abiding citizens—including many veterans—who responsibly use kratom as part of their health and wellness routines. The rally will call on the Governor to veto SB154 and instead establish a Louisiana Kratom Commission to: Advocates will share personal stories and expert perspectives supporting appropriate regulations and age restriction evidence-based policy—not fear-driven bans. Visuals: Signs, banners, personal testimonials, and a peaceful crowd demanding consumer protection—not criminalization. Media Inquiries: Contact Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy for the American Kratom Association, at 571-294-5978 or [email protected]. About American Kratom Association (AKA) American Kratom Association (AKA) is a consumer-based, nonprofit organization, focused on furthering the latest science as guidance for kratom public policy. AKA works to give a voice to millions of Americans by fighting to protect their rights to access safe and natural kratom. For more information, visit and learn more at Media Contact Mac Haddow [email protected] ### SOURCE: American Kratom Association (AKA) Copyright 2025 EZ Newswire
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Morrisey signs bills into law to suppress voting and put school children in danger
Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed into law Senate Bill 154, which states that if a student asks to be referred to by pronouns different from their biological sex or to be referred to by a different name, that the teacher must tell the student's parent, even if the teacher believes the student may be in danger if they do so. (Getty Images) Now that Gov. Patrick Morrisey has finished his actions on all of the bills passed during the legislative session, we can finally say it's officially over. On Wednesday, he vetoed six bills — because of 'financial reasons' — and signed some of the most controversial bills from the session into law. Morrisey was so proud of signing a voter ID bill into law, he held a news conference at the Capitol. He even had a little sign on his lectern that said 'ELECTION INTEGRITY.' (Memo to self: Put in a public records request to find out how much is this administration spending on these signs for every event? Talk about financial waste.) House Bill 3016 will require that voters provide some sort of photo identification when they vote at the polls. Even the governor said during his ceremonial signing of the bill that he and other legislators acknowledge that voter fraud is not widespread in West Virginia. Voter fraud is extremely rare. Not only that, but voter impersonation is 'virtually nonexistent.' Research has found that many instances of fraud are actually clerical errors or bad data matching practices. Voter ID laws only prevent in-person voter impersonation, which according to the Brennan Center, is extremely low at 0.00004.% The report noted that it's more likely that a voter would be struck by lightning than impersonating someone else at the polls. What voter ID laws actually do is suppress voting access for older people, low-income individuals and people of color — who tend to lean more Democratic than Republican. In another blow to marginalized groups, Morrisey also signed his legislation to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in West Virginia. This was one of his first executive orders he made on his second day in office. The only thing surprising about this is that he didn't sign it sooner. Possibly the most dangerous bill signed into law was Senate Bill 154, which prohibits instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity. This bill states that if a student asks to be referred to by pronouns different from their biological sex or to be referred to by a different name, that the teacher must tell the student's parents. Even if the teacher believes the student may be in danger if they do so, they are still required to report it or the parents can bring legal action against the school. It's disappointing that this bill was sponsored by a public school teacher. Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, has introduced several bills to help teachers and students, but this legislation will put children in danger. 'In cases like these, a teacher would be faced with choosing between following this new law or putting their student's life at risk,' said Andrew Schneider, executive director of the LGBTQ civil rights organization Fairness WV. Teachers know better than anyone that not all parents are accepting of their children and that school may be the only safe space for them, or a teacher could be the only safe adult they can talk to. Transgender people are much more likely to be abused by their immediate family and kicked out of the home, leading to depression, increased risk of suicide and substance abuse, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Trans youth, despite being a small percentage of the population, are overrepresented in the foster care system, juvenile detention centers and homeless shelters. Is it really worth telling a child's parents they want to go by a different pronoun or name when doing so can result in that child becoming homeless or dead? About 54% of transgender and nonbinary children found their school to be gender-affirming, and reported lower rates of attempting suicide, according to the Trevor Project's 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People. The survey also found that LGBTQ+ children who said they lived in accepting communities attempted suicide at less than half the rate as those who said their communities were very unaccepting. A child cannot learn if they don't feel safe or respected. Accepting a child's preferred name, nickname or pronoun is a great way to create a supportive learning place. While it's true that lawmakers took up — and even — passed other measures, that this was a priority in a session where much more needed to be done to help West Virginians, is ridiculous. For instance, they did nothing to fix health insurance for public employees, which has been a mess for years. No, thousands more of taxpayers money will be used for Morrisey's special session to address that issue. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Associated Press
01-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
States Step Up for Veteran-Owned Businesses: NaVOBA's State Tracker Shows National Progress
With billions in opportunity on the table, states are boosting support for veteran-owned businesses — and NaVOBA's State Tracker shows who's leading the way. LEXINGTON, KY, UNITED STATES, May 1, 2025 / / -- From expanding tax credits to boosting procurement preferences, states across the country are making bold legislative moves to empower veteran-owned businesses (VOBs). This growing momentum is being captured and celebrated through the National Veteran-Owned Business Association's (NaVOBA) State Tracker — a leading tool that monitors how well states support veteran entrepreneurs. Updated annually, the NaVOBA State Tracker offers the latest snapshot of how well each state is supporting veteran-owned businesses through legislation and programmatic action. Grading states across key policy areas — including procurement goals, loan programs, access, and veteran business incentives — the Tracker has become an indispensable resource for policymakers, advocates, and veteran entrepreneurs alike. Its consistent year-over-year updates ensure transparency, encourage accountability, and highlight where real progress is happening. The 2025 State Tracker update reveals a wave of new legislation and expanded initiatives that are reshaping the veteran business landscape across the country: Alaska: Senate Bill 154, sponsored by Sen. Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) and signed into law in August 2024, created a 2% bidder preference for state contracts awarded to businesses that hire veterans and help transitioning servicemembers enter the civilian workforce. Illinois: SB 3807 amended the Build Illinois Act to increase the small business loan cap from $400,000 to $2 million or 50% of project costs, directly benefiting veterans, minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. Kansas: Statute 73-230 mandates contract preference for service-disabled veteran businesses, with a goal of awarding at least 3% of all applicable contracts. Kansas currently holds a 4-star rating in the State Tracker. Maryland: In 2024, the state increased its veteran procurement goal from 1% to 3% and expanded its Military Personnel and Veteran-Owned Small Business Loan Program, offering no-interest loans up to $100,000. Massachusetts: The HERO Act, signed in August 2024, provides a $2,500 Veteran Hire Tax Credit to small businesses and includes expanded protections for veterans' healthcare and disability benefits. Tennessee: The new Veteran Ready Business Recognition Program recognizes employers that hire and support veterans, offering tiered certifications (Bronze, Silver, Gold) and visibility through digital badges and public listings. These state-level victories matter—but they're just the beginning. For veteran-owned businesses looking to grow and scale, the biggest opportunity isn't in government contracts. It's in Corporate America. While state and federal contracts provide important opportunities for veteran-owned businesses, Corporate America is the largest and most scalable marketplace for veterans to compete and thrive. 'Most veteran-owned businesses who identify as a Veteran-Owned Business (VOB) are aware of and trying to compete for government contracts,' said Matthew Pavelek, President and CEO of NaVOBA. 'While this can be very lucrative, it's dwarfed by the opportunity in Corporate America simply since there are so many more potential customers. In fact, that same 5% of private sector spending is more than $150 billion annually.' 'The opportunity in Corporate America is by far the greatest marketplace for veterans to compete,' Pavelek added. 'More than 900 FORTUNE 1000 companies include Veteran's Business Enterprises as preferred vendors in their supplier diversity programs.' NaVOBA works closely with corporate partners to integrate veteran businesses into these supplier networks and maximize visibility, access, and growth potential. The NaVOBA State Tracker- Transparent, Evolving, Impactful: NaVOBA's State Tracker uses a 0 to 4-star rating system to evaluate states' legislative and programmatic support for veteran-owned businesses. It is regularly updated to reflect changes in state laws, executive orders, and veteran-focused initiatives. The Tracker helps policymakers and advocates identify where veteran entrepreneurs are supported — and where there's still work to be done. It serves as a benchmark for progress, a tool for accountability, and a call to action for stronger and more consistent support nationwide. Explore the Tracker and Join the Movement: With state legislatures passing impactful new laws and Corporate America continuing to expand supplier diversity, the NaVOBA State Tracker remains a vital resource in bridging opportunity gaps and honoring those who served — not just in words, but through economic empowerment. 🔗 Explore the Tracker: To fully capitalize on these opportunities, veteran-owned businesses are encouraged to become NaVOBA Certified. Certification verifies your veteran status and positions your business as a trusted supplier for corporate partners actively seeking to diversify their supply chains. It is recognized by leading Fortune 1000 companies, provides visibility through NaVOBA's national database, and enables veteran-owned businesses to stand out in competitive corporate procurement pipelines. 🔗 Learn more and apply: Marketing Team NaVOBA +1 724-362-8622 [email protected] Visit us on social media: Facebook X LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-LGBTQ legislation casts uncertain future for Fairmont's Human Rights Commission
FAIRMONT — The mood at the Fairmont Human Rights Commission is somber these days. The commission spent the bulk of its March meeting Wednesday discussing bills from the state legislature that target trans and queer individuals by prohibiting municipalities by passing ordinances that protect LGBTQ identity. 'I'm really disheartened that the legislature is focused on people's body parts and who you love and not on the citizens of West Virginia,' Vice Chair Donna Blood said. 'The important things, for instance, the muddy water in southern West Virginia. They just loosened the regulations for water purity. What's that about? That's not helping anyone.' Andrew Schneider, executive director of Fairness West Virginia, delivered a report to the commission about the legislature's activities. Schneider said Senate Bill 154 would require teachers to out transgender students to their parents, even if it means outing the child to hostile parents who might harm their child. Schneider also characterized the bill as a don't-say-gay bill as well. It would prohibit LGBTQ curriculum in schools, and would get teachers in trouble merely for bringing up in class anything related to LGBTQ identity. Schneider said Senate Bill 299 as well, which bans gender affirming care. Schneider said both bills have moved out of the senate into the House of Delegates, where they await to be taken up by a committee. Schneider expects that to happen. Fairmont City Councilmember Rebecca Moran asked if Senate Bill 579, which prohibits municipalities from passing ordinances that go beyond the scope of state code and targets gender identity protections, would affect the Human Rights Commission. She wanted to know if the bill would impact ordinances that were approved by voters and weren't simply passed by council. Schneider said most likely the Human Rights Commission would continue to exist, but would overrule the 2018 ordinance passed by voters which firmly established the commission and added gender identity to the list of protected classes. Blood said she doesn't know if they will continue being a commission only because it has no teeth. The commission has no enforcement power, and serves as an education organization and provides advice to city council. The city itself does not enforce any anti-discrimination statutes on private entities. HRC Chair Cyndy Straight agreed the current legislative environment creates a lot of uncertainty for the future of their work. She said Republicans in the state legislature are following President Donald Trump's lead, who has made the eradication of DEI programs a centerpiece of his agenda. However, even if the local control bill passes, the commission's mission may not change. 'Fundamentally it doesn't really change our purpose,' James Spadafore said. 'We may not be able to explicitly say part of anti-discrimination is the LGBTQ community, but we are promoting non-discrimination and equality of opportunity for everyone. Unless we are specifically forbidden to do so, I don't think it changes our mission at all.' Moran called SB 579 legislative overreach. She said residents made their desires clear when they voted for the commission in 2018, the language protecting gender identity was part of the ordinance when the public voted on it. Public hearings were overwhelmingly in favor of the commission and the updates made to the ordinance in 2022. She pointed out a lot of fear mongering previously used to sway people against the commission hasn't come to pass. Moran is a big supporter of local government, it's the arm of government that's most responsive to citizens since it's at an accessible level where people live their daily lives. 'We live in a democratic society,' Moran said. 'This is what our country was founded on, and if we're going to fight for that, we have to be OK with the outcome of an election, even if that's not what we individually may have wanted. You can't circumvent that by going to the next higher level up and try to change things from up there.' The group is busy planning its Pride event for 2025. She said Fairmont has been supportive of the event. Moran said Fairmont has spoken, and all are welcome here. She expects the community and most residents who live here will continue to act in such a way. But the threat of those bills passing remains high. 'You know that saying, mountaineers are always free?' Straight said. 'Yeah? Not so much, huh?'
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia House OKs bill to prepare state code for potential end of U.S. Department of Education
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom) A bill preparing Georgia for the end of the U.S. Department of Education moved closer to Gov. Brian Kemp's desk Friday when it passed the state House 144-15 with bipartisan support. Senate Bill 154 amends numerous sections of state code regarding the department, adding 'or its successor.' Proponents say it would allow the state to continue work like licensing new professionals if the department is eliminated. President Donald Trump sent his strongest signal yet that he intends to do just that Thursday, signing an executive order calling on Education Secretary Linda McMahon to 'take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure' of the agency. McMahon pledged to 'follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working through Congress to ensure a lawful and orderly transition,' though it is not clear whether the administration can whip enough votes to make that happen. Department supporters say it provides vital services and enforces federal laws to ensure schools are safe, supportive and effective. Opponents say eliminating the department would save money and allow for more local control of education. Kemp praised Trump's order in a tweet on X Thursday. 'In Georgia, we've empowered parents, supported our teachers, and put students first. @POTUS executive order puts education back where it belongs: with the states.' In the House, some of the praise for the state bill preparing for the potential closure was more muted. Duluth Democratic Rep. Ruwa Romman, who voted for the bill, said she was glad to see the House and Senate come together to protect Georgians, but she said she's not so glad that what they're protecting Georgians from are the actions of the federal government. 'With a bill like this one, we are getting ahead on some of these issues, we are able to provide some stability to parents, but the reality is they shouldn't need it to begin with,' she said. 'And that's what really gets me is that we are now having to deal with issues and work on issues that we shouldn't have to, even in the limited time that we already have, so now instead of dealing with the already growing backlog of problems that Georgians have, we are now seeing an even bigger backlog because of the chaos on the federal level.' House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, a Mulberry Republican, disagreed with Democrats' characterization that the federal government's actions were improper or chaotic. 'That is not unilateral action,' he said. 'There's acknowledgement that Congress will have to act on that. But if Congress does act before we are back in session in January, 2026, we will have taken necessary steps to make sure that our code is updated, and I believe that this is an opportunity for us to reflect our priority and focus on the education of Georgia students and to embrace this not with uncertainty, but with confidence. This is going to allow an opportunity to continue to prioritize students, educators and professionals in Georgia classrooms. It's going to give an opportunity to ensure that every license, every training program and institution in this state that provides education is able to function smoothly and effectively.' Because the bill was amended in a House committee, it must head back to the Senate for another vote before it can reach Kemp's desk. The end of this year's legislative session is scheduled for April 4. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
