Latest news with #SenateBill250
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Manatee County wetland protections on hold after response from state
The Brief Four state agencies are questioning the legality of efforts to restore wetland buffers in Manatee County. County Commissioners are not holding back in their feelings about this. "This is ridiculous. This is weaponizing unelected bureaucrats. Nothing we are doing is wrong. We are just putting back something that was there," said Commissioner George Kruse. BRADENTON, Fla. - It was supposed to be a final vote to restore wetland buffers in Manatee County. But four state agencies are now questioning the legality of those efforts, calling them restrictive and burdensome. The backstory Manatee County Commissioners were trying to reinstate extra protections that a previous board removed two years ago. From the commissioners to environmentalists, each are questioning the pushback and who it really benefits. Manatee County Commissioners did not hold their words back. "This is ridiculous. This is weaponizing unelected bureaucrats. Nothing we are doing is wrong. We are just putting back something that was there," said Commissioner George Kruse. As staff read letters from Southwest Florida Water Management District, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Department of Commerce and the Florida Department of Transportation, each said restoring wetland buffers of 30 to 50 feet and requiring developers to maintain the natural barriers would be more burdensome or restrictive. "This is bat sh** crazy. I don't think it's legal," said Commissioner Dr. Bob McCann. Dig deeper The agencies had no complaints, until a few hours before a final vote by commissioners. They cited a law passed in 2023. "SB250 was for hurricane disaster relief. How can it say protecting wetlands is more restrictive? How does it have anything to do with disaster relief?" said McCann. That's what Suncoast Waterkeeper also questions. What they're saying "Why have another billion-dollar storm if we can protect ourselves with our comprehensive plan language that really protects the ecology and ecosystems that are there to buffer the storm," said Abbey Tyrna, executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper. Senate Bill 250 expires in October of 2026. Tyrna now has concerns about Senate Bill 180. "There's two sections within that bill that puts a moratorium on any a blockage on any moratorium on building, any increased protections in a comprehensive plan. You aren't allowed to do that until 2027. Manatee County won't be able to protect wetlands until 2027," said Tyrna. The bill passed both the House and Senate. It's designed to help residents with the aftermath of a disaster, but there are concerns that a section of the bill takes away local power. "My colleagues and all are wondering who does this benefit? Why was this language snuck in on the 11th hour of the last day of session? The bill is otherwise good. That bill alone would benefit all of Floridians, but this language doesn't benefit anybody," said Tyrna. What's next As for Manatee County, if commissioners don't hear back from the state, they said they'll handle developers on a case-by-case basis. "If you come in front of us and say you want 15-20-foot buffers, you will get denied because that's not what this board wants," said Commissioner Kruse. Representative Fiona McFarland helped sponsor the House companion bill of Senate Bill 180 said its main purpose is to help property owners rebuild after a storm, not restrict them. She said the bill also makes huge investments to help local governments plan and prepare for future emergencies. The Source FOX 13 reporter Kimberly Kuison gathered the information for this report. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter Follow FOX 13 on YouTube
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas governor vetoes fetal personhood bill, allows experimental drug treatment passage
Gov. Laura Kelly tours the Axe Shedd during an April 25, 2024, visit to Emporia. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly condemned Republican overreach in health care as she announced Wednesday evening a list of seven vetoes and bills passed without her signature. The condemnations came after she announced her signature of more than three dozen bills ahead of the Legislature's veto session, which is scheduled to begin Thursday. Kelly characterized the two health-related bills she vetoed — House Bill 2062 and House Bill 2240 — as 'questionable' and an 'unconstitutional overreach.' She allowed Senate Bill 250 to become law without her signature. Republicans vowed to try to override the governor's vetoes. HB 2062 sought to offer child support payments to a mother from the date of conception. It was initially written and promoted by anti-abortion groups while Democrats criticized the bill for cementing the concept of 'fetal personhood' in Kansas law. 'At first glance, this bill may appear to be a proposal to support pregnant women and families,' Kelly wrote in an announcement. 'However, this bill is yet another attempt by special interest groups and extremist lawmakers to ignore the will of Kansans and insert themselves into the lives of those making private medical decisions.' In a joint statement, GOP leaders said the bill was a 'common sense' measure. 'But because of the governor's unreasonable pro-abortion ideology, even more funding to help pregnant women, fetal development education, and holding deadbeat dads accountable are too extreme for her,' said House Speaker Dan Hawkins, of Wichita, and Senate President Ty Masterson, of Andover. The governor said the Legislature 'has become all too comfortable' in that place. The bill is a 'dismissal,' she said, of the will of the voters, referring to nearly 60% of voters rejecting a 2022 constitutional amendment meant to eradicate abortion rights. 'Furthermore, the provisions of this bill are questionable, and it is surprising it has been put forward,' Kelly said. A Democrat from Topeka, Sen. Patrick Schmidt, amended the bill as it was debated on the Senate floor to include a child tax exemption for fetuses. House Democratic Leader Brandon Woodard, of Lenexa, supported the governor's veto. He said in a statement Wednesday that fetal personhood is 'a common and well-known tactic that is used across the country by the anti-abortion movement.' He added: 'Our family court systems are already able to provide backdated child support that includes pregnancy-related expenses.' Senate Substitute for HB 2240 was a proposal from the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency that would require legislative approval for any change to public assistance programs in Kansas. That includes programs like Medicaid, or KanCare as it's known in Kansas, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and intellectual and developmental disability services. Any requests to federal agencies for waivers for existing rules and changes to funding or modifications of services for disability assistance would not be allowed without approval from the Legislature or, when the Legislature is not in session, the Legislative Coordinating Council, which is made up of the governor, legislative leadership and other state officials. Kelly called the bill 'an unconstitutional overreach by the Legislature into the executive branch' to create undue influence over KanCare. Republican leadership said the bill is within the scope of the legislative branch's powers to appropriate state funds. 'Any effort to expand or alter public programs that drastically affect the state's financial bottom line should be done with legislative approval — not executive fiat,' said Hawkins and Masterson. 'It's disappointing that the governor decided to put her own power above working together.' They called the veto a 'power grab' from the executive branch. The governor's office estimates the bill would add hundreds of hours of work and research and jeopardize 'the very functioning of the underlying programs.' 'Our doctrine of independent governmental branches is firmly entrenched in the United States and Kansas constitutional law and significant intrusion by one branch into the duties of another has been held to be unlawful,' she said. 'There is little question in my mind that this represents such an intrusion.' Kelly added: 'This bill and the subsequent backlog that it would create threatens food and medical assistance benefits for our most vulnerable Kansans at a time of increased inflation and overall financial uncertainty.' The governor allowed SB 250, known as the Right to Try for Individualized Investigative Treatments Act, to become law without her signature. The bill will allow people with rare, life-threatening or debilitating conditions to access investigational treatments, also known as experimental drugs. Sen. Beverly Gossage, a Eudora Republican, was a major proponent of the bill and defended it on the Senate floor, citing American patients who had to travel outside of the country to receive needed treatments. Kelly was supportive of the bill. 'Now,' she said. 'I think it's time for the Legislature to finally legalize medical Marijuana, giving the Kansans suffering from chronic pain or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and children suffering with Dravet's Syndrome (epilepsy) the choice of the treatment they and their doctors determine best suits their needs.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Immigration attorneys file complaint about ICE raids in NM
Mar. 17—SANTA FE — Earlier this month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 48 undocumented immigrants in New Mexico. Immigrant rights advocates and attorneys still don't know the names or locations of those individuals. A coalition of advocacy groups held a news conference Monday morning at the Capitol to announce a complaint the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over the weekend regarding the arrests and lack of information. They also urged state legislators to pass two immigration-related bills, one that would end civil immigration detainment in New Mexico, House Bill 9, and another barring the use of state resources for the enforcement of federal immigration arrests or detainment, Senate Bill 250. ICE, along with other federal agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in early March held a weeklong "enhanced enforcement operation" in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Roswell, resulting in the arrests of 48 immigrants in the country unlawfully, 20 of whom had criminal charges or convictions, according to ICE. On March 16, ACLU-NM interim executive director Leon Howard and senior staff attorney Rebecca Sheff filed a complaint, which the ACLU shared with the Journal, about the operation to the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, both of which are under the purview of DHS. The complaint included four requests: an investigation into the 48 arrests; ensuring the physical and psychological well-being of the arrested individuals; ensuring the arrested individuals are not retaliated against as a result of the complaint; and pursuing accountability for all involved personnel and contractors. "We don't know what's happened to these four dozen New Mexicans. They've effectively disappeared," Sheff said at the news conference. She said advocacy organizations — ACLU-NM, Somos un Pueblo Unido and New Mexico Immigrant Law Center — haven't encountered the unnamed 48 individuals in the ICE detention facilities in New Mexico and are unsure if the arrested immigrants are still in the U.S. She said DHS hadn't notified ACLU that it had received the complaint, as the complaint requested, as of Monday morning. Twenty-one of the arrested individuals have final orders of removal, according to ICE. "These arrests exemplify the type of criminals living among us and highlight ICE's commitment to our agency's primary mission — protect public safety," said Mary De Anda-Ybarra, enforcement and removal operations field office director in El Paso, in a statement on March 12. ICE didn't immediately respond to an inquiry from the Journal asking for the names and detainment locations of the arrested individuals or, alternatively, a reason for the anonymity. Meanwhile, legislative efforts related to immigration rights are inching along in the Roundhouse. But with less than a week left in the session, time is running out to get bills to the governor's desk. House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, is waiting for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee and has already passed the House. Senate Bill 250, prohibiting state agencies from using resources to enforce federal immigration laws, is sitting on the Senate calendar and still needs to pass the House of Representatives. Despite the looming Saturday session deadline, advocates noted that there's still time. "People in our community are gone," said Marcela Díaz, founding executive director of Somos un Pueblo Unido. "Workers are gone. Family members are gone. Neighbors are gone. ... We have to be more bold in protecting our communities."
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM advocates call for statewide immigrant data protections amid fear of mass deportation
Rosalindo Dorado, at lectern, a leader at El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos reads a statement during a Feb. 20, 2025 rally for immigrant rights in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque. Dorado and others called on the Legislature to enact bills protecting sensitive data and prohibiting local resources being used to enforce federal immigration laws. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM) New Mexico immigrant advocacy groups are calling on lawmakers to pass a pair of data privacy and public safety bills this session, saying immigrants' distrust in government following federal deportation threats is tearing holes in communities across the state. Since President Donald Trump was inaugurated, immigrant families are increasingly afraid to send their kids to school, attend church, go to hospitals, report crimes or interact with state and local governments in any way, said speakers at a rally in Albuquerque's Barelas neighborhood Thursday morning. Communities suffer when immigrants are afraid to participate in civic life, they said. NM immigration, civil rights groups back enhanced digital privacy protections 'Family separation is not just about individual deportation,' said Rosalinda Dorado, a leader at El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, who said her brother was deported in 2010. 'It is about breaking communities.' To restore trust, speakers, including Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, called on lawmakers to pass Senate Bills 36 and 250. SB36 would prohibit state Department of Motor Vehicles employees from disclosing driver data to any entity that would use it to enforce federal civil immigration laws. That includes requiring private companies that buy DMV data to certify they won't use the data in service of deporting immigrants who aren't accused of crimes. Senate Bill 250 would prohibit any state and local funding or personnel from being used to enforce or investigate federal immigration laws, including identifying, arresting or detaining a person suspected of being an undocumented immigrant. Both bills are efforts, speakers said, to rebuild trust across the state and improve public safety by getting more buy-in from immigrant communities. Several big New Mexico cities, including Albuquerque and Las Cruces, have adopted similar policies against sharing data with or helping federal agents with deportations. Keller said the city deliberately doesn't collect that data. Several speakers represented groups advocating for domestic violence victims, who they fear are trapped in cycles of abuse for fear of speaking out. The First Judicial District Attorney recently told Source New Mexico that one domestic violence victim recently ceased contact, likely due to fear of being deported. 'No domestic violence survivor should have to choose between their safety and their privacy when personal information isn't protected,' said Mary Ellen Garcia, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 'Trust in our institutions breaks down. Abusers go unpunished and public safety is compromised.' Several attendees and speakers at the Albuquerque rally rushed to Santa Fe afterward to hear Senate Bill 36 get its hearing on the Senate Floor. The bill, sponsored by Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Albuquerque), spurred more than an hour of debate. NM immigration, civil rights groups back enhanced digital privacy protections 'We need all New Mexicans, including immigrants, to continue to give their information to state agencies, including MVD, to ensure public safety across the state,' Sedillo-Lopez said. Sedillo-Lopez said the MVD sells data to New Mexico Interactive, a private company, that 'slices and dices' the data and sells it to databases like LexisNexis or for other purposes. Taxation and Revenue Communications Director Bobbie Marquez previously told Source New Mexico in a written statement that MVD releases data as necessary for state and local law enforcement, voter registration, vehicle recall notices, driver history checks and other 'critical government functions.' She also said the MVD would comply with the state law if amended. Republicans in the Senate said they were concerned the bill would impede local law enforcement or draw the ire of President Trump. In a state that relies so heavily on federal dollars, it's risky to do anything that might get in the way of his mass deportation goals, Republicans said. 'You think that the president, who ran on the fact that, 'If a state remains a sanctuary state, I'm going to pool their federal funding,' isn't going to? Seriously, you're going to take that risk?' said Sen. Craig Brandt (D-Rio Rancho) to Sedillo-Lopez. 'Well, you get to answer to your voters. Not me.' Sen. Bill Sharer (D-Farmington) tried to refer the bill to the Senate Finance Committee to consider the potential of losing all of the state's federal funding in retaliation for the bill, which the Senate voted down. Ultimately, Senate Bill 36 passed along party lines. Brandt said he would possibly vote in favor of a measure to prohibit the state from selling all resident data to third parties. Sedillo Lopez said she would introduce that bill next year. 'Maybe we could co-sponsor it, Sen. Brandt,' she said. Senate Bill 250 has not yet been heard in committee. It will go before the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
