Latest news with #HB216
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Domestic violence funding easily passes through judiciary panels
Funding domestic violence programs like shelter, legal aid and and counseling serves as a critical strategy for reducing child abuse and neglect, Sen. Linda Trujillo (D-Santa Fe) told the Senate Judiciary Committee in January. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM) Twin proposals to fund domestic violence services in New Mexico have sailed through their initial committees, but await approval to be included in the state budget. Senate Bill 191 would set aside $10 million to the Crime Victims Reparation Commission for community-based domestic violence programs. Its companion bill in the other chamber is House Bill 216. The bills have each passed unanimously through their respective committees dealing with New Mexico's judicial branch; SB191 got through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 31 and HB216 passed the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 6. Both await hearings in budget committees. Domestic violence services are not available in all counties, making it necessary for some survivors living in rural areas to travel as much as 90 miles to receive them, according to the Crime Victims Reparation Commission's analysis of SB191. In places where services exist, they're inadequately funded to meet survivors' needs, the Commission wrote. Funding domestic violence programs like shelter, legal aid and and counseling serves as a critical strategy for reducing child abuse and neglect, co-sponsor Linda Trujillo (D-Santa Fe) told the Senate Judiciary Committee in January. Those services give survivors a better chance at escaping dangerous situations and provide a stable and safe environment for their children, she said. Trujillo cited studies showing that children who witness domestic violence develop a higher risk of experiencing abuse themselves and suffering long-term emotional and development harm. 'By investing in these programs, we not only protect survivors but also break the cycles of violence, reducing the number of children entering the welfare system,' she said. 'This is a proactive, cost-effective approach that prioritizes safety, stability and stronger families.' MaryEllen Garcia, CEO of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the 32 shelter programs she represents are operating at a 'funding deficit' and haven't received a state funding boost in five years, despite a 44.7% increase in shelter nights provided since 2023, and a 53% increase in crisis calls since 2020. 'We are at a critical time — I'm sure you all are aware of what's happening nationally — and we are in jeopardy of receiving massive funding cuts because of the type of work we do,' Garcia said at the Senate Judiciary hearing. 'It's imperative that we secure and lean into our values as a state, ensuring that those who are most vulnerable are receiving services.' House Bill 57, co-sponsored by Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Albuquerque) would create a program for attorneys to represent domestic violence survivors, and SB191 could provide the funding for that work, according to the Commission. That legislation awaits a hearing in the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House approves bill allowing voluntary firearm surrender
Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, walks across the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 25, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Bedsole sponsors HB 216 that would create a firearm surrender program for individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday approved a bill that would allow people experiencing suicidal thoughts surrender a firearm to a licensed gun dealer. HB 216, sponsored by Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, passed the chamber on a 98-2 vote. Bedsole said the bill is named for Houston Lee Tumlin and Hunter Chase Whitley, two veterans who died by suicide shortly after returning from active duty. Bedsole mentioned the over 6,000 veteran suicides nationwide within a year of returning from deployment. 'In the state of Alabama, 85% of the veterans who took their life did so by gunfire,' Bedsole said. The Houston-Hunter Act provides liability protection for any gun dealer that chooses to participate in the Safer Together Program, where community members can surrender firearms. A substitution from the House Judiciary Committee limits the places where a firearm can be surrendered to the Federal Firearms License dealers. It was adopted 100-0. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 840 Alabamians died by suicide in 2022. That ranks Alabama 26th for suicides per capita. In the United States, 54% of suicides were done by gunfire, according to the CDC. 'And I would dare say that each of us in this chamber have a personal account of knowing someone that has made a similar choice to take their own life,' Bedsole said. The bill goes to the Alabama Senate.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Effort to let nontribal property owners hunt on Flathead Indian Reservation fails
Feb. 18—The House Committe on Fish, Wildlife and Parks last week tabled a bill allowing some nontribal members to hunt deer and elk on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Under House Bill 216, residents of Flathead Indian Reservation would have been able to obtain a license to hunt deer and elk on their own land, regardless of their tribal affiliation. The bill challenged a long-standing agreement between the state and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes that allows nontribal members to hunt birds and fish on the reservation while preserving the exclusive right of tribal members to hunt big game. Rep. Tracy Sharp, R-Polson, introduced the bill under the argument that the restriction on nontribal hunters violates private property rights and the Montana Right to Harvest Act. "There's no asterisk here that says, 'Except for you guys. You don't get to hunt,'" said Sharp as he lofted a copy of the Montana Code Annotated at a Feb. 13 committee meeting. Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, D-Browning, disputed Sharp's argument and asserted that passing the bill would result in legal challenges for the state. "This is one of those times where we need to be educated on Indian Law so that we're not making determinations that can affect the state of Montana in a negative way," Running Wolf said. State and tribal wildlife officials echoed Running Wolf's concerns at a Jan. 28 hearing on the bill, during which several opponents referenced a 1990 lawsuit regarding nontribal fishing licenses. That lawsuit was eventually settled out of court when the state and tribes entered into their current fishing and hunting agreement. Opponents argued that HB 216 would have led to another arduous court case. Representatives from other Montana reservations also expressed concerns about the legal precedent the bill would set. While many other tribes permit big game hunting within reservation boundaries, tribal authorities said the bill threatened tribes' status as sovereign nations. "You know they start off with just taking a little tiny crumb, which ends up to be a big, big crumb," said Rep. Sidney "Chip" Fitzpatrick, D-Crow Agency. Fitzpatrick confirmed in the Feb. 13 hearing that his elders had urged him to vote against the bill because they worried it would lead to similar actions on their own reservation. The committee voted to table the bill after it failed to pass in a 9-11 vote. The head of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' National Resources Department Rich Janssen Jr. said the vote was good news, but he doubts the bill's failure will quell the conflict between some nontribal residents and tribal wildlife officials. "It's the same few that want to try to impede tribal sovereignty and hunting rights on the reservation," said Janssen. "I fully expect they'll try to find another way to try to bring this to the forefront." The 2025 bill was preceded by a 2023 ballot initiative and a 2021 bill. Both failed to gain traction during the early stages of development, a fact Janssen partly attributes to the tribes' successful collaboration with state wildlife officials. "The bottom line is, we work well with the state of Montana," said Janssen. Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at hsmalley@ or at 758-4433.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Senate OKs bill requiring life sentences for use of machine gun in murder cases
Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, hold a sheaf of papers while speaking in the Alabama Senate on Feb. 13, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The Alabama Senate Thursday approved a bill sponsored by Smitherman that would mandate a life sentence for anyone convicted of murder committed with a machine gun. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Senate approved a bill Thursday that would require a person convicted of murder with the use of a machine gun be sentenced to life in prison. SB 32, sponsored by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, would also make an assault in the first and second degree using a machine gun a Class A felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison. The bill passed 30-1. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Possession of automatic weapons like machine guns has been illegal in most cases in the United States since 1934. But devices called Glock switches, which can rapidly increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic weapon, have circulated despite a federal ban. The devices were present in a mass shooting in Birmingham in September that killed four people and left 17 injured. Smitherman's bill includes devices like Glock switches in its definition of machine gun. Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, said that he was initially concerned because he thought the bill would ban the death penalty. He said he was assured by 'criminal law expert in the House of Representatives downstairs that the capital murder statute is totally different.' 'The capital murder statute is totally different. And so this would not the language here would not infringe on that in any way,' Givhan said. Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, introduced an amendment to provide gun owners would not be targeted under the new definitions. '[The amendment] syncs up the language that … deals specifically with kind of the definition of that machine gun,' Elliott said. Smitherman said he supported the amendment, adding that 'this is what we were trying to do in there.' The amendment passed 30-0. The bill moves to the House, where it has been assigned to the Judiciary committee. Alabama lawmakers advanced several gun-related bills on Wednesday, with Gov. Kay Ivey pushing for a public safety package. Approved measures include banning firearm conversion devices, expanding gun license restrictions, and allowing voluntary firearm surrender. Some bills, like firearm storage requirements and penalties for failing to disclose gun possession to police, faced delays due to opposition from gun rights groups. One bill, SB 116, makes possession of Glock switches a state crime, giving local law enforcement more enforcement power. SB 119 expands firearm prohibitions and increases penalties for shooting into occupied buildings. HB 216 establishes a voluntary gun surrender program. Other proposals remain stalled. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
