Wisconsin AB537 would reform asset forfeiture laws to prohibit the state from taking property without a criminal conviction. The legislation also takes on federal forfeiture programs by banning prosecutors from circumventing state laws by passing cases off to the feds in most situations. It must pass through the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety before…
TRENTON, NJ. (Dec. 15, 2015) – Last week, a New Jersey Assembly committee passed a bill to authorize the farming, production, and sale of industrial hemp in the state. This bill would effectively nullify in practice the unconstitutional federal prohibition on the same. Introduced in Feb. by Asm. Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), Assembly Bill 2719 (A2719) sets…
South Carolina H.4496 would completely ban the use of automatic license plate readers by law enforcement in the state. It would also throw significant roadblocks in the way of a federal program using states to help track the location of millions of everyday people through pictures of their license plates. It must pass through the House Judiciary…
CONCORD, N.H. (Dec. 14, 2015) – A bill prefiled in the New Hampshire House would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from obtaining most types of military hardware, thereby rejecting federal militarization of police officers. Rep. J.R. Hoell and seven other representatives have prefiled House Bill 1402 (HB1402). The legislation would prohibit state and…
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Dec. 14, 2015) – A bill introduced in the Ohio Senate would restrict the use of drones by state and local law enforcement. The legislation would not only establish important privacy protections at the state level, it would also help thwart the federal surveillance state. Sen. Michael Skindell (D) and Sen. Kris Jordan…
CONCORD, N.H. (Dec. 14, 2015) –A bill has been filed in the New Hampshire state House that would end mandatory government licensing of marriages in the state, effectively nullifying in practice both major sides of the contentious national debate over government-sanctioned marriage. HB1596 acknowledges the right of two individuals to marry and that because of this “it is…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Dec. 12, 2015) – A Missouri bill prefiled for the 2016 legislative session would create the foundation to organize a compact of states dedicated to nullifying EPA emission regulations. But while conceptually strong, there exists little likelihood that the compact would ever come into existence because it requires congressional approval. Rep. Eric…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Dec. 12, 2015) – A Missouri bill prefiled for the 2016 legislative session would create the foundation to organize a compact of states dedicated to nullifying EPA emission regulations. But while conceptually strong, there exists little likelihood that the compact would ever come into existence because it requires congressional approval. Rep. Eric…
RICHMOND, Va. (Dec. 11, 2015) – A bill prefiled in the Virginia House for the 2016 legislative session would prohibit state cooperation with the enforcement of any future federal laws, regulations, or executive orders relating to firearms, ammunition or firearms components, effectively nullifying any such acts in practice within the state. Del. Bob Marshall (R…
In Montana, citizens rendered a marijuana law unenforceable through jury nullification. Recently, a man was arrested for possessing a small amount of marijuana, but the judge could not find one single person willing to sit on a jury and convict him. Unable to seat a jury, the judge was forced to give up and offer…