Latest news with #SenateBill166
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mobile residents react to 10 Commandments bill, possibly allowing them in schools
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Alabama lawmakers are considering a bill that would require schools to display the 10 Commandments in hallways and other common areas. Alabama guard, Mobile native Labaron Philon enters 2025 NBA Draft Even though the bill hasn't been passed to Gov. Kay Ivey's desk to be signed into law, Mobile residents have mixed feelings toward the bill. State Senator Keith Kelley (R-Anniston) proposed Senate Bill 166, which would put up the 10 Commandments along the walls in schools. 'You talk to a lot of people; they don't really have the true foundation of what our country was founded on,' Kelley said. 'And when you take- there's a certain amount of accountability and responsibility that each one of us has, and I think it goes to that accountability.' Residents in the Port City believe it would instill values in the children, so they're all for it. 'That's something that all parents are already teaching all of their children at home anyway,' resident Damien Collins said. 'Like—the 10 Commandments myself—I learned it. I learned it pretty young. It probably wouldn't even matter to see it on the wall at schools.' 'I love that,' resident Ontario Grisby said. 'That's what we need. That's what we need in the community, and that's what we need for the kids. They need discipline.' However, the bill is met with opposition from House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville). He calls the proposal a waste of time. 'That bothers me,' Daniels said. 'That we're focusing on things that are yet, gonna take away, and litigation that we're clearly gonna lose. And cost the state of Alabama hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars.' Others believe that adding the 10 Commandments can be a conflict of interest. 'I don't really think that religion kind of like, belongs in school already,' resident Emily Simmons said. 'Kids are pretty much there to learn, and I think religion should be pretty much taught at home and, you know, based off your own family's beliefs because everyone has their own.' A house and a senate version have passed out of committee in both chambers. 'Recipe for disaster': Residents voice concerns over proposed landfill in South Mobile County Counting Tuesday, there are nine days left in the session for lawmakers to vote on this bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas Legislature's Republican leadership hustling to end annual session in early April
House Speaker Dan Hawkins, right, said the 125 members of the House performed admirably during the 2025 session that began in January. The Wichita Republican hopes lawmakers can wrap up the session after returning to Topeka on April 10. That would be before the mid-April release of new state government revenue estimates typically relied on to fine-tune the budget. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly marked close of the Kansas Legislature's regular session by signing a bipartisan bill forbidding applicants for about 85% of state government jobs from being rejected solely due to lack of a college degree. Kelly, the second-term Democratic governor, said she previously implemented that standard in executive branch agencies under her jurisdiction. The House and Senate approved Senate Bill 166 to formally emphasize a person's prior experience or specialized training when determining work readiness for state government jobs. 'I am pleased to sign this bill to codify this practice,' she said. 'There are a multitude of factors that go into employment consideration, and a postsecondary degree should not always be the deciding factor.' No more than 15% of state employees worked in positions for which a college degree was necessary. These jobs would be exempted from the new state law. 'Countless Kansans chose to build their careers rather than take on debt for a degree, and it's time we recognize and reward their skills,' said Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Stilwell Republican convinced he learned more on the job than in college earning a master's degree. The governor signed a cluster of noncontroversial bills last week as the 2025 Legislature brought the regular session to a close Thursday with a flurry of partisan activity. These pieces of new state law require higher educational institutions to update accreditation policies regularly, allowed dependents of military personnel stationed in Kansas to enroll in school early, voided a discriminatory residential covenant inhibiting a Wichita State University project and expanded college financial aid to Kansas National Guard members and their families. Kelly will have an opportunity to sign or veto additional bills piled on her desk before the Legislature's scheduled return April 10. House and Senate leadership want to quickly conclude their business for 2025. The goal of GOP leaders has been to tie the hands of Kelly in terms of budget and tax policy, while avoiding a repeat of the 2024 special session devoted to passage of a monumental state income tax cut. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, praised the House for its dedication since the annual session began in January. He deflected questions about whether he would run for state insurance commissioner in 2026, but touted work of the 125-member House under his control. 'We have done a great job this year,' said Hawkins, referring to the first session since legislators salaries nearly doubled their salaries. 'Do you realize that not once did we go past midnight. ' Lenexa Sen. Dinah Sykes, who leads Senate Democrats, said the session was artificially shortened by GOP leadership to get the House and Senate out of Topeka before issuance of new state revenue estimates in mid-April. Normally, the Legislature would rely on that revised financial report to set final spending and tax policies before adjourning. This year, she said, Republicans insisted on flying blind and risked unnecessarily cratering the state budget. 'Republican legislative leaders condensed the schedule this year to complete work before we fully understand how the tax cuts we passed affect our budget,' Sykes said. 'It's irresponsible to make critical decisions without knowing the full consequences. In the future, we need to slow down and work together on bipartisan solutions that address real challenges in our state and benefit all Kansas families.' In 2024, the consensus revenue group met April 17 to revise estimates made in November 2023 based on the additional six months of actual data. Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi, a Wichita Republican, pushed back. 'We have done a tremendous amount of work, and I believe a lot of good for the people of Kansas,' he said. The bipartisan harmony that greeted Kelly's signing of a cluster of bills Friday clashed with the governor's work on a pair of bills this session on election and health are reform. In both instances, the Republican-dominated House and Senate responded to Kelly's vetoes with two-thirds majority votes to override her. The House and Senate agreed to punt Kelly's veto of Senate Bill 4, which ended the three-day grace period for advance mail ballots arriving late at county election offices. Kelly said the bill would disenfranchise voters. State lawmakers also derailed her veto of Senate Bill 63, which prohibited health care providers from delivering gender-affirming medical care to minors. The governor said the law ignored a Kansas value of respecting parental rights. 'As I've said before, it is not the job of politicians to stand between a parent and a child who needs medical care of any kind,' Kelly said. Kelly will have additional opportunities to veto bills that range from much-debated legislation on taxes, education, elections and child support for fetuses to lower-key bills on firework sales, sex education, government secrecy, horse racing and employee background checks. While issuance of specialty state license plates for nonprofit organizations rarely produced controversy, Senate Bill 18 would authorize a plate for Hunter Nation Inc. The organization says it was dedicated to the political or legal fight to build 'a grassroots army to promote and protect the traditional American values of God, family, country and the hunting way of life.' Hunter Nation has a litigation fund to pursue its agenda, including a plan to end federal listing of the gray wolf as threatened or endangered in 48 states. 'It's a very bad policy to use license plates to espouse political or religious causes,' said Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita. In terms of the state government's budget woven into Senate Bill 125, Kansas governors have the option of rejecting the entire package or making line-item vetoes of specific spending provisions. Kelly has used this power in the past to jettison earmarks inserted into the budget at the behest of special interests. In the new state budget, Sen. Pat Pettey, D-Kansas City, said she was concerned millions of dollars was earmarked to purchase a firearm-detection software system that would rely on school cameras to remotely identify people with guns. At the same time, she said, the budget didn't appropriate enough for K-12 special education programs. Sen. Renee Erickson, R-Wichita, said the Legislature was once again spending far too much. It was wrong to have allowed state general fund spending to climb from $7 billion in 2019 to $10.8 billion in 2025, she said. She said many of her constituents weren't beneficiaries of that largesse. 'It's too bad those average families don't have a lobbyist,' she said. Sen. Rick Billinger, the Goodland Republican who chairs the Senate budget committee, said the perspective of legislators inevitably ranged from those who argued state spending was outrageous or measly. 'Everybody has their outlook and they've got things that they want or things that they don't want. That's how the process works,' he said. The House and Senate, with two-thirds majorities, agreed to place an amendment to the Kansas Constitution on statewide ballots in August 2026 that would undermine authority of Kansas governors to appoint members of the Kansas Supreme Court. The current merit-based approach enabled a commission led by attorneys to nominate finalists for Supreme Court vacancies to the governor, who could pick one or reject them all. Kansas justices stand for retention elections on statewide ballots. However, the GOP-led Legislature has decided Supreme Court justices should serve six-year terms and stand for reelection just like local, state or federal government politicians. Kelly expressed reservations about the proposed change, but constitutional amendments go directly to the ballot. Governors cannot veto proposed constitutional amendments. 'Kansans can reclaim power from the elites who have controlled the Kansas Supreme Court for nearly 70 years,' said Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican who has challenged Supreme Court decisions on abortion rights and school finance. 'Should lawyers chosen by other lawyers decide who sits on our highest court?' Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611 cleared the House 84-40 and was carried in the Senate by a vote of 27-13. 'This is a blatant attack by the legislators on our justices, and it's part of a decades-long pattern of politicians attempting to punish the judicial branch for issuing decisions on education and reproductive freedom that they disagree with,' said Micah Kubic, executive director of ACLU of Kansas. 'We are confident that, just as they did in 2022, the people of Kansas will see this attack for what it is and, once again, take action to defend their constitutional rights from the power grabs of extremist politicians in Topeka.' During the 2025 session, a slew of proposed constitutional amendments fell short in the Senate and House. The roster included amendments to block public tax dollars from being spent on nonpublic K-12 schools, to allow individuals to vote at age 16, to include ammunition and firearm accessories in the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms, to affirm existing law requiring voters to be U.S. citizens and to allow prosecution of businesses who hire immigrants not in the country legally. The Senate and House split on House Concurrent Resolution 5011, which would have limited growth of valuations on residential property to no more than 4% annually. The Senate passed the measure 27-13 after the proposed ceiling was raised from 3% and implementation delayed until 2027, but it was defeated in the House on a vote of 37-88.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas gov. approves 8 new laws Friday
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly approved multiple bills this week which will now become new laws in the Sunflower State. Kelly announced on Friday, March 28 that she has approved eight new laws this past week. These new laws include the following: House Bill 2092 – updates reporting and audit requirements for Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) with the Kansas Secretary of State. House Bill 2117 – modifies certain business filing and fee requirements for business trusts, foreign corporations and limited partnerships; and makes other technical changes. Substitute for House Bill 2145 – reorganizes the Butler County Fair Board. Senate Bill 166 – creates the Fostering Competitive Career Opportunities Act. Senate Bill 194 – voids a restrictive covenant that limits the use of real property and includes discriminatory provisions, enabling an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) project at Wichita State University to move forward. Senate Bill 78 – requires postsecondary educational institutions to review and update accreditation policies regularly. House Bill 2185 – provides more educational supports for Kansas National Guard members and their families by updating the Educational Assistance Act to allow family of guard members to participate. Substitute for House Bill 2102 – provides for the advance enrollment of a military student whose parent will be stationed in Kansas. WATCH: Satanic Grotto leader taken away in handcuffs at the Kansas Statehouse 'There are a multitude of factors that go into employment consideration, and a postsecondary degree should not always be the deciding factor,' Kelly said on Senate Bill 166. 'While this principal has already been implemented for agencies under my jurisdiction, I am pleased to sign this bill to codify this practice.' Many of the above bills will become new laws on July 1, 2025. Others will be come effective once they are published in the Kansas Register. For more Capitol Bureau news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida Senate Bill 166 aims to change certain graduation requirements
It could soon get easier for high school seniors to graduate. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] That's if a proposed senate bill that would lower graduation requirements passes the Florida Legislature. Senate Bill 166 aims to change graduation requirements for algebra 1 and grade 10 English language arts. As of now students have to pass the statewide tests for both in order to graduate. But if this bill is passed, it could ease that requirement by making these tests a percentage of the final course grade instead of a graduation requirement. The test would account for 30% of a student's final course grade. Andrew Spar, the president of the Florida Education Association believes this is a step in the right direction. 'We have been doing high stakes testing in Florida now for better than 25 years and our test scores are worse off today than they were back then,' said Spar. 'Let's actually pull back and let's focus on the kid and the student and making sure they have what they need.' One local parent said this bill will help alleviate some of the testing anxiety her kids and other students are faced with. 'I think the progress is going away from standardized testing and really evaluating the student in other aspects other than just sitting at a desk and filling in bubbles or at a computer, answering those questions,' said Anne Tressler. 'I think that is really hard for some students to work that way, to test that way.' If this bill is passed, it will go into effect on July 1st. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
3rd-parties could soon issue Kentucky driver's licenses but concern for long lines remains
KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — Anyone who's had to visit a driver licensing office anytime lately had good odds to also face a long wait. As the legislative session begins to conclude, a little relief made it to the finish line, but some lawmakers see a missed opportunity to fix the problem. Coach Mark Pope offers to cover gas for BBN fans heading to NCAA tournament: 'Hit me up' 3rd-parties could soon issue Kentucky driver's licenses but concern for long lines remains Suspect arrested after Kentucky hostage situation 'It is so frustrating. It's so maddening. I get emails all the time,' Sen. Lindsey Tichenor (R-Smithfield) told FOX 2022, Kentuckians could get a driver's license in any of Kentucky's 120 counties. The change to a regional system was prompted by the federal REAL ID Act to improve security. However, the reduction to only 34 regional locations to get a license has naturally led to longer wait times. And requirements this year for both a vision screening and REAL ID are increasing the foot traffic.'It can be quite infuriating when you take your day, and you end up waiting in line all day long and you still don't get into the building. And you may have an appointment. And you may not have an appointment, but they are just bogged down,' Tichenor said. Sen. Tichenor was one of several lawmakers who filed proposals this year to cut down on the wait. House Bill 518 would have returned a clerk model. Tichenor's Senate Bill 166 would have brought a regional office to counties with a population of 50 thousand or more. 'I think that would have opened up five new centers, if I'm correct, which really would help it a tremendous amount,' Tichenor said. Read more of the latest Kentucky news Neither of those bills passed; however, a provision was included in Senate Bill 43 allowing third parties like AAA to also be able to issue licenses. As of Tuesday afternoon, the bill was still awaiting action from Gov. Andy Beshear. 'Now they won't be able to do testing or permitting, but they'll be able to do the renewals and be able to do the REAL ID,' Tichenor explained. However, Tichenor said she does not expect an immediate impact and believes that it will require the flexibility of a budget session next year to pay for opening more driver licensing offices. Tichenor said she is also hopeful that by next year a Kentucky State Police pilot program for pop-up licensing can expand. But until then, she encourages trying to renew online with the proper vision paperwork or seeking out a passport card to satisfy REAL ID requirements if someone is unable to make the time for a lengthy office wait. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
