COLUMBIA, S.C. (March 28, 2016) – Last week, the South Carolina Senate stripped a bill of provisions to defund state participation in some contentious federal refugee resettlement programs. A coalition of seven senators introduced Senate Bill 997 (S.0997) on Jan. 14. The legislation would have generally banned state expenditures directly or indirectly benefiting a refugee placed…
TRENTON, N.J. (March 28, 2016) – A New Jersey bill would criminalize TSA nude body scans and subject TSA agents creating or distributing such images to criminal penalties. Sen. Michael Doherty (R-23) introduced Senate Bill 1420 (S1420) in February. The legislation would criminalize nude body scans at New Jersey airports. “For the purposes of this…
PIERRE, S.D. (March 28, 2016) – South Dakota State House and Senate leadership maintained the unconstitutional status quo. It killed five bills that would have blocked the federal enforcement of unconstitutional policies, squandering several golden opportunities for common sense reform in the Mount Rushmore State. The rundown of key legislation that failed in South Dakota…
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Mar. 28, 2016) – On Wednesday, the Rhode Island House Committee on Judiciary will hold a crucial hearing on a bill that would require a judicial order for the use of “stingrays” to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications. Passage of the bill would not only protect privacy in…
RICHMOND, Va. (Mar 28, 2016) – On Friday, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) vetoed a bill that would have taken a small, but important, first step in setting the foundation to reject federal some EPA rules and regulations in practice. House Bill 2 (HB2) would have required the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to prepare an extensive…
BOISE, Idaho (March 25, 2016) – An Idaho bill that 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 was signed by Gov. Otter on Wednesday The House of Delegates Health and Welfare Committee introduced House Bill 481 (H481) on…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 25, 2016) – A bill expanding the state’s “Right to Try” law by legalizing the limited use of medical marijuana by terminal patients was signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott today. Rep. Matt Goetz (R-Fort Walton Beach) sponsored House Bill 307 (HB307). Sen. Rob Bradley (R-Fleming) sponsored a companion bill in the…
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Mar. 25, 2016) – Maryland House and Senate committees killed two bills that would have set the foundation to nullify in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that deny access to experimental treatments by terminally ill patients. That leaves these gravely ill Marylanders with little hope of receiving what could have…
Partnerships don’t work too well when half the team quits. By withdrawing all resources and participation in federal gun control schemes, the states can effectively bring them down.
JACKSON, Miss. (Mar. 25, 2016) – A Mississippi bill that would that would expand the state’s current “Right to Try” Act passed the state House Thursday. Last year, the Mississippi legislature passed, and the governor signed,“Right to Try” legislation giving terminally ill patients access to medicines not yet given final approval for use by the FDA.…