Latest news with #SenateBill33
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas moves to ban taxpayer-funded abortion travel: 'It's time for us to get stern'
Texas cities will be banned from using taxpayer dollars to fund out-of-state abortion travel under a bill that the Legislature sent to the governor Thursday. Senate Bill 33, authored by Republican state Sen. Donna Campbell of New Braunfels, builds on a 2019 law that prohibits public entities from contracting with abortion care providers such as Planned Parenthood, including for services unrelated to pregnancy termination. The Texas House passed the measure with an 87-58 vote, with two Democratic members joining their GOP colleagues to approve the bill. The Senate passed the measure with a 22-9 vote in April. The proposal is all but certain to affect Austin, whose City Council allocated $400,000 to provide logistical support, such as lodging and travel expenses, to residents who terminate their pregnancies outside of Texas. The bill's House sponsor, state Rep. Candy Noble, R-Lucas, said the legislation will ensure public money isn't "spent on an activity that is illegal in Texas." "Our goal, always, in this room, is to have our laws followed when we pass them," Noble said on the House floor. "We don't want to be litigious, but when a city decides to clearly circumvent the intent of a law passed by the Texas Legislature, it's time for us to get stern." Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who led the city's effort to fund abortion travel, called the measure an attack on local control. "This law sends a clear message that Austinites don't deserve the freedom to make personal medical decisions or the right to (enact) policies shaped by our values," Fuentes said in a statement. "It's shameful, it's wrong, and only deepens the reproductive health crisis Texans are already facing.' SB 33 would authorize not only the state's attorney general but also any Texas resident to sue cities and other public entities that violate the law. If a lawsuit succeeds, the plaintiff would be entitled to seek declaratory relief, injunctive relief, court costs and attorney's fees from the defendant. Once signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, the bill would go into effect in September. Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Austin last year over its allocation of funds for abortion travel, citing an existing statute. The suit remains unresolved. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Legislature passes bill to ban Austin's abortion travel fund
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
State offering free PFAS cleanup to local fire departments, schools
Firefighting foam, used at airports and military bases, has been identified as a source of toxic PFAS chemicals. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fire Administration) The state of South Dakota will spend up to $250,000 to clear PFAS chemicals from local areas in the coming year. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS or 'forever chemicals,' break down at an exceedingly slow rate in the natural environment. They're found in products like nonstick cookware, water-resistant items like umbrellas or rain jackets, and cleaning products, among other items. Concerns about their prevalence in the environment and their impacts on human health have grown steadily in recent years, as they've been discovered in drinking water, fish and food packaging. SD House defeats bill requiring 'forever chemical' labels on firefighting gear PFAS are also found in a kind of firefighting foam that's fallen out of favor, but fire departments around the U.S., including in South Dakota, still have some and need to dispose of it. The South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources awarded a $250,000 Solid Waste Management grant to the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) last month to help communities collect and dispose of some PFAS sources. The citizen-led water resources board evaluates projects and signs off on funding through the solid waste program. The grant will allow fire departments with PFAS foam, or schools whose science labs may still have chemicals, to summon the department's contractor to collect and safely dispose of them at an out-of-state location. The state will also reach out directly to agencies, and has begun to contact fire departments, airports, and other public entities by phone to find out if they have PFAS for disposal. The money comes from the Inspection, Compliance, and Remediation program, funded by a mix of fuel tank inspection fees and the sale of lottery tickets. Typically, cleanup grants through the program cover 80% of cleanup costs, with the entity requesting cleanup expected to cover the rest. The South Dakota Legislature approved Senate Bill 33 this year to let DANR put $250,000 of program funds toward PFAS cleanups with no local match. Andy Bruels with the DANR told the water resources board in March that a previous PFAS cleanup a few years ago cleaned up 'a fair amount of material.' The contractor hauled it out of state for disposal, as typical landfills can't adequately prevent the chemicals from continued seepage into the environment. The legislation also allowed for the grants to be used in waste tire cleanup, but Bruels said the primary focus will be PFAS and that it's unlikely much will be left for that secondary purpose. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio first state to allow employers to not post labor, civil rights law notices in workplace
Apr. 24—Ohio employers will soon be allowed to forego displaying certain state labor notices in the workplace and instead display them online. Senate Bill 33 was signed into law Monday by Gov. Mike DeWine and will go into effect 90 days thereafter on July 20. The bill passed the Ohio House and Senate with ease in early April despite opposition from some Democrats. The law will not impact federal labor notice requirements, but it will change how Ohio employers post the state's laws on minimum wage, prevailing wage, overtime, civil rights, workers compensation, and public employment risk reduction laws. And, while employers won't have to display Ohio's Minor Labor Law in the workplace anymore, they will still have to put up a list of the minors employed by the company. The bill was cosponsored by state Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester, who told this outlet that the law will cumulatively save Ohio's businesses tens of millions of dollars on yearly printing costs. "That is money they can use to reinvest back in their business, hire more people, or for those owners that want to, they can put it in their pocket in the form of higher profits," said Lang. Lang said Ohio will be the first state in the country to do away with physical state labor notices. "I encourage every other state to follow suit, and the federal government," he said. Greater Dayton Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Stephanie Keinath described S.B. 33 as "common sense legislation that recognizes how differently workplaces look today than they did five or ten years ago." "Posting notices on break-room bulletin boards doesn't fit what many modern workplaces require," Keinath said. State Rep. Desiree Tims, D-Dayton, was one of 23 lawmakers to vote against the bill. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill to let advocates stop life-sustaining care for pregnant patients passes MI Senate
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — to allow a patient advocate to withhold life-sustaining treatment for pregnant individuals has successfully passed the Michigan Senate. Under current state law, an individual is entitled to designate a patient advocate to make medical decisions on their behalf if they become unable to make those decisions themselves. This is done by drafting and signing a patient advocate designation in front of two witnesses, which can include a statement on what type of life-sustaining treatment an individual wants or does not want performed on them, and the advocate must follow these instructions. Right now, a patient advocate designation can not be used to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment from a pregnant individual that would result in their death. This includes things such as artificial ventilation or dialysis. However, Senate Bill 33 would change that. The bill would add a clause specifying that the designation document can include a statement on which form of life-sustaining treatment the patient would desire or not desire if they are pregnant at the time the document goes into effect. A patient advocate would then be allowed to direct the decision of whether or not to provide life-sustaining medical treatment to a pregnant patient, allowing it to be withheld if that is in line with the patient's wishes. Senate Bill 33 passed the Senate on Thursday. It moved to the House for consideration that same day, where it was read and referred to the Committee on Health Policy. 2025-SEBS-0033Download Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Libertarian' Gov. Jared Polis Signs 'Restrictive' Gun Law and Booze Ban
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis identifies as a "libertarian Democrat" and is known for saying things like "government in general does a lot of things that aren't necessary" and that the state income tax rate "should be zero." Especially among Democratic politicians, he is known as an advocate for making it easier to build housing and reduce red tape. In 2022, I even asked whether he was the most libertarian governor in America. But a couple of new laws he's signed about guns and booze call his small-government bona fides into question. Last week, he signed legislation that gives Colorado "one of the most restrictive gun laws in the country," according to CBS News. The new restrictions, pushed by a state senator whose son was killed during the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting, make it "illegal to buy, sell and make most semi-automatic firearms without background checks and training." The law requires purchasers to get a background check from their county sheriff, who will have the discretion to deny permission if the purchaser is deemed a "danger." After that initial check, the purchaser will then have to pass a 12-hour training course, have their names entered into the state database, and pass a second check by a firearms dealer. The new law also bans bump stocks, which allow semiautomatics to mimic fully automatic weapons. A spokesman for the Colorado State Shooting Association told CBS News that the law is unconstitutional and that the gun rights group plans to sue. Polis has long supported other restrictions on gun ownership, such as red flag laws that allow law enforcement to temporarily suspend gun rights for individuals deemed a threat to themselves and others without due process. Also last week, Polis signed legislation stopping the ability of grocery stores and big-box retailers to sell distilled spirits (or hard liquor). Currently, about three dozen supermarkets and big-box retailers are allowed to sell spirits like tequila, whisky, and vodka. Senate Bill 33 halts the expansion of grocery stores that can sell hard liquor as a way of protecting the state's independent alcohol retailers, who have struggled to compete. In a signing statement, Polis said that he didn't like the way the law "puts the state government in the position of picking winners and losers" and limits consumer choices, but signed it anyway, noting the overwhelming support in both houses of the state legislature. Polis' willingness to sign a bill simply because the vote for it was lopsided is worrying, especially since the Colorado legislature just overwhelmingly passed S.B. 25-086, a social-media law that would force platforms to create "public policies for their platform and remove a user who violates them." Polis has spoken out against such laws and his office released a statement today saying he "is not comfortable with the government forcing private social media companies to act as law enforcement." Yet S.B. 25-086 passed with similarly lopsided support as the bill governing liquor sales bill, suggesting that Polis may well sign it out of deference to the majority. The post 'Libertarian' Gov. Jared Polis Signs 'Restrictive' Gun Law and Booze Ban appeared first on
