SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (April 7, 2017) – Yesterday, an important Illinois Senate committee passed a bill that would reform the state’s 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…
ALBANY, N.Y., (Apr. 7, 2017) – A bill introduced in the New York House would allow certain students to opt out of Common Core Standards and testing, a small step toward nullifying nationalized education in the state. The law would provide additional legal backing to some of the hundreds of thousands of New York parents…
CHARLESTON, W. Va. (April 6, 2017) – Yesterday, the West Virginia House gave final approval to a bill that would legalize medical marijuana and take a step toward nullifying federal marijuana prohibition in the state. Sen. Richard Ojeda (D – Logan, 07) sponsored Senate Bill 386 (SB386), along with 11 bipartisan co-sponsors. The legislation would…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 7, 2017) – A Republican-dominated Tennessee House subcommittee killed a bill that would have legalized the open carry of firearms without a permit by law-abiding citizens last week. House Bill 40 (HB40) was introduced by Rep. Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough), along with 15 co-sponsors. The legislation would have expanded gun rights for…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (April 6, 2017) – Yesterday, an important Missouri House committee unanimously passed a bill that would close a loophole allowing state and local police to circumvent stringent state asset forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds. Rep. Shamed Dogan (R-St. Louis) filed House Bill 231 (HB231) in January. The legislation…
MADISON, Wisc. (April 6, 2017) – A bill introduced in the Wisconsin House would legalize commercial industrial hemp production in the state, setting the foundation to end federal prohibition in effect. A bipartisan coalition of 28 representatives introduced House Bill 183 (AB183) on March 28. Under the proposed law, industrial hemp would be treated as an…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (April 6, 2017) – Today, the Missouri Senate passed a bill that would ban the use of “stingrays” to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications without a warrant in most situations. The proposed law would not only protect privacy in the Show Me State, but would also hinder…
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (April 6, 2017) – Yesterday, a Rhode Island House committee passed a 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. A bipartisan coalition of five representatives introduced House Bill 5676 (HB5676) on March 1.…
Arizona House Bill 2477 (HB2477) would require prosecutors to establish a higher evidentiary standard for asset forfeiture. The bill also takes on federal forfeiture programs by banning prosecutors from circumventing state laws by passing cases off to the feds in most situations. It passed the House by a unanimous 60-0 vote, and then passed the…
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (April 6, 2017) – Yesterday, the West Virginia Senate unanimously passed a bill to shut down the state-run Obamacare health insurance exchange. If signed by Gov. Jim Justice, the legislation would take an important first step toward withdrawing the state from implementing the national healthcare program. Rep. Joe Ellington (R-Princeton) sponsored House Bill…