BOSTON (Nov. 5, 2015) – A bill under consideration in the Massachusetts Senate would reform asset forfeiture laws to prohibit the state from taking property without a criminal conviction in most cases. Introduced in April by Sen. Salvatore DiDomenico (D-Middlesex) along with a bipartisan group of cosponsors, Senate Bill 797 (S797) was given a hearing in…
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Nov. 4, 2015) – A Maryland bill scheduled for introduction in 2016 would set the foundation to nullify in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that deny access to experimental treatments by terminally ill patients. Sen. Bryan Simonaire (R-Pasadena) intends to file ‘Right to Try’ legislation for next year that would…
NASHVILLE (Nov. 3, 2015) – Tennessee has joined the growing number of states considering reforming state asset forfeiture laws. Last week, the state Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the matter, and law enforcement lobbyists predictably showed up in force to defend their ability to “police for profit.” Current Tennessee asset forfeiture laws allow…
Wyoming legislators will take another stab at reforming the state’s asset forfeiture procedures during the 2016 session. But they need to be aware of a loophole that allows law enforcement to use the feds to skirt more stringent state laws. Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) vetoed SF0014 in 2015. The bill would have required a…
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Oct. 22, 2015) – A bill under consideration in the Pennsylvania Senate would reform asset forfeiture laws to prohibit the state from taking property without a criminal conviction in most cases. The legislation also takes on federal forfeiture programs by banning prosecutors from circumventing state laws by passing cases off to the feds.…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Oct. 19, 2015) – Bills recently filed in the Florida legislature would help facilitate healthcare freedom and set the stage to nullify Obamacare in practice. Rep. Fred Costello introduced House Bill 37 (HB37) in August. Sen. Denise Grimsley introduced a companion bill (SB132) in the Senate. The legislation specifies that direct primary care…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 16, 2015) – A Kentucky legislator has prefiled a bill that would restrict the use of drones by state and local law enforcement. The bill not only establishes important privacy protections at the state level, it would also thwart the federal surveillance state. Rep. Diane St. Onge prefiled HB22 in August. The…
A bill intended to “invalidate and nullify all federal laws and regulations restricting ownership or possession of firearms” has been pre-filed in the Bluegrass State.Kentucky State Representative Diane St. Onge has filed House Bill 35 (HB35), which directs the Kentucky General Assembly “to take all appropriate action to safeguard Kentuckians’ rights to possess firearms in accordance…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Oct. 9, 2015) – On Wednesday, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have stopped transfers of some battlefield-ready military equipment to state or local law enforcement agencies. His reasoning was a load of crap. Introduced by Asm. Nora Campos (D-San Jose), Assembly Bill 36 (AB36) would have unconditionally banned law enforcement…
BOSTON (Oct. 9, 2015) – A privacy bill that would prohibit collection of electronic data from communication service providers without a warrant in most cases, and that would effectively block an NSA data sharing program, continues to work its way through the Massachusetts legislature. Last spring, a bipartisan coalition of 36 legislators introduced Senate Bill…