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…
PORTLAND, Maine (Oct. 15, 2015) – After a ruling by the Maine Supreme Court cleared up controversy surrounding Gov. Paul LePage’s failure to sign more than 60 bills within the proper time frame, a new law drastically restricting the use of drones by state and local law enforcement, and serving to thwart one aspect of…
While many gun owners and gun rights activists across the country are waiting fretfully in anticipation of President Obama’s eventual decision to issue executive orders for more gun control, his proposals would be practically worthless if more states enacted laws like Idaho did last year. In 2014, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter signed legislation into law…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Oct. 13, 2015) – On Sunday, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have effectively nullified in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that prevent terminally-ill patients from accessing experimental treatments. Introduced by Asm. Ian Calderon (D-Whittier) and nine bipartisan co-sponsors, Assembly Bill 159 (AB159) would have given terminally ill…
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…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Oct. 8, 2015) – Today, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law not just one, but two bills that represent some of the strongest privacy protections in the country. The new laws work together to protect privacy from some of the worst spying programs on the state level, but also take on a…