Latest news with #SenateBill21
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat claims retaliation by House speaker for not backing contentious corporate law bill
Delaware state Rep. Sherae'a 'Rae' Moore has lobbed a cease-and-desist letter to fellow Democrat and House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown. The letter, sent June 24, claims "blatant retaliation" against the Middletown lawmaker for not supporting the hotly contested corporate law legislation, Senate Bill 21, earlier this session. This only continues a trend of tension between these two colleagues, after an investigation by Delaware Online/The News Journal found Moore among more than 450 educators working on expired or missing teaching licenses in March. In the fallout of that reporting – as well as denial in committee discussion that the issue involved her – Moore was removed as vice-chair of the House Education Committee. When Minor-Brown announced that decision on May 14, some of her comments light up this week's letter from Moore's outside attorney. Wilmington attorney Thomas S. Neuberger called out language the speaker used in an interview with Delaware Public Media, having said: 'I don't know how we can sit here and turn a blind eye to a situation where we clearly know that somebody was in a classroom teaching who should not have been in the classroom holding children's lives in their hands.' He argues that calling Moore a danger to children verges on defamation. More centrally, though, the attorney argues Minor-Brown's decision to strip Moore from her committee was retaliation for opposing SB 21 – which stood to make changes to the Delaware General Corporation Law – and effectively "cancel" his client in the court of public opinion. "You were angered by her public opposition to and refusal to fall into line on this significant legislation with both local and national implications," Neuberger writes, arguing this threatened his client's freedom of speech. "Stated another way, your inability to get fellow members of your own party into line made you look bad in front of the governor who was pushing hard to get this Bill enacted." Moore was one of seven votes against the bill. Regardless, Gov. Matt Meyer signed it into law back in March. The letter seeks an apology, while also threatening to sue the top House Democrat for financial damages if she does not stop "defaming" Moore in the next 30 days. House Speaker Brown wasn't entertaining Wednesday morning. "We're in the final days of session trying to pass laws that actually help people – some of us are just more focused on doing the work than making headlines," she told Delaware Online/The News Journal in a written statement June 25. "Disagreements happen, but spinning conspiracies for attention doesn't help Delawareans. It's disappointing, but not surprising. The timing speaks for itself, and frankly, so does the record." Full investigation, timeline: Hundreds of Delaware teachers found to be working on expired licenses in public schools Senate Bill 21 explained: Controversial corporate law changes passed by House, signed by Delaware governor Moore began her teaching career in 2018. As of this 2024-25 school year, she is both a lawmaker and a special education teacher at Louis L. Redding Middle School. As reporting continued by Delaware Online, Appoquinimink School District uploaded a 'Welcome Letter' from Wilmington University's Special Education Teacher program, dated April 2, 2025, which showed Moore would officially begin her "Alternative Route to Certification" program. When news of her removal from the House Education Committee erupted, Moore initially told Delaware Public Media on May 14 that she believed the move was a "politically motivated" attack from both Speaker Minor-Brown and House Education Chair Rep. Kim Williams. As of April 30, More had accepted an emergency certification in English and special education, as well as an initial license after the lapse. Citing this, Moore told the outlet, "The real reason is politically driven due to, one, me not being able to be controlled and having a mind of my own, and that Rep. Williams has not been deemed the champion of education she has traditionally been." She also argued, as reported by the outlet May 15, her removal was likely based on recent tension between her and Williams over free school meals legislation. In previous reporting, House leadership has credited Moore's removal to previous lack of proper licensing while teaching, as well as floating an amendment to a House bill related to such educator licensing that could have directly benefited her. During an April 9 House Education Committee hearing discussing House Bill 97, as previously reported by Delaware Online, Moore shared concerns about teachers caught up in delays on the part of universities offering ARTC programs. During that discussion, all of her questions surrounded this concern. But when prompted, she directly denied the issue being about her. "If she believed there were flaws or inequities, she could have used her position to advocate for changes," Minor-Brown said in May. "Instead, she remained silent until she proposed an amendment to an education bill that would have personally benefited her own certification status. That action undermined the integrity of our committee process." Full investigation, timeline: Hundreds of Delaware teachers found to be working on expired licenses in public schools Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@ Contact Kelly Powers at kepowers@ or (231) 622-2191. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Democrat claims retaliation in removal from House committee
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Ready for $10M Bitcoin Purchase After Governor Signs Bill for State Reserve
Texas has become the first U.S. state to create a publicly funded, stand-alone bitcoin BTC reserve after Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 21 into law over the weekend. The bill directs the state to establish a bitcoin reserve managed independently from the main treasury, joining a small but growing group of states exploring digital asset reserves. Unlike Arizona and New Hampshire, which passed similar legislation, Texas did not just authorize the reserve but is actively funding it. The state will be appropriating $10 million in order to purchase bitcoin for the reserve. The purchase "represents just 0.0004% of the state's budget but could create an outsized impact by sending the signal to investors and entrepreneurs alike that Texas understands that the future of finance is digital," Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, told CoinDesk. The news comes months after the Trump administration announced the creation of a national crypto reserve — though that vehicle is supposed to be funded in strictly budget-neutral ways, like through crypto asset seizures or by issuing crypto bonds. Abbott also signed bill HB 4488, a companion measure that protects the bitcoin reserve from routine 'fund sweeps' into the state's general revenue. The legislation marks a shift in how states may begin treating digital assets — not just as speculative tools, but as sovereign financial instruments worth holding long-term.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan Senate Committee clears renters rights bills
Michigan Capitol | Susan J. Demas Bills mandating 48-hour response times for landlords to address hazardous conditions in rental properties and requirements for 90-day notice for rent increases were voted through a Michigan legislative committee Tuesday. Lawmakers on the Senate Housing and Human Services Committee heard testimony earlier this month from tenants, advocacy groups and property owner stakeholders on the Tenant Empowerment Package, which aims to empower those residing in the state's more than one million renter-occupied units. Property owners would be required to respond within 48 hours to notice from renters that there is a need for safety-related repairs under Senate Bills 19 and 20. If the property owner doesn't respond to being notified of the defective condition on the rental property premises, the renter could withhold rent or get the repair started themselves and deduct the cost of the repair from their rent. When it comes towards the end of a person's lease, if a landlord plans on increasing the rent, that landlord would have to provide current leasees a 90-day notice of the increase under Senate Bill 21. Senate Bills 19 through 20 passed a committee vote along party lines without support from Republican members Tuesday. Senate Bill 22, which would permit landlords to return security deposits electronically, passed through the committee unanimously. All four bills will now move to the Senate floor for a vote by the chamber. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate panel advances 'right to repair' bills for property renters in Michigan
Lawmakers in the Michigan Senate are eyeing a change to the state's housing laws, including giving renters in the state more power to take repairing faulty appliances and poor conditions at leased properties into their own hands. Senate Bills 19 and 20, introduced by Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, would require landlords to commence repairs on defective appliances and hazardous conditions under set timelines. If the property lessor or licensors don't make the repairs in the required time under the proposal, renters would be able to withhold rent until the repairs are made or commence repairs themselves and deduct the costs from their rent payments. The bills are part of a four-bill package, called the 'Tenant Empowerment Package' by Anthony, approved by the Senate Housing and Human Services Committee on June 10. The measures now move to the full Senate floor for a potential vote. Michigan faces a rising crisis of housing access and affordability, Anthony said, and the goal of the legislation is to ensure that housing that is available to tenants remains safe. 'Whether you live in a rural township (or) a city neighborhood, families across Michigan are struggling to find and keep safe, affordable, quality places to live,' Anthony said during a June 3 committee hearing on the legislation. Under the legislation, landlords would have 48 hours after being notified to commence repairs on any defective condition considered hazardous to the life or the health and safety of a tenant, 72 hours to address mold or pests found in a unit and 30 days for repairs in other cases. If repairs aren't made under the timelines, renters would be able to deposit their rent into an escrow account and withhold it from a landlord until repairs are made. Under current state law, provisions already exist for renters to place rent payments in escrow but the Tenant Empowerment Package would create clear timelines for repairs to begin, whereas current law states landlords have to make repairs in a "reasonable" time. Should a tenant decide to take repairs into his or her own hands, he or she would be required to obtain at least three free written cost estimates from a licensed contractor for the fix, provide the landlord with the estimates and give the landlord 24 hours to start repairs before doing it themselves. Elsewhere in the legislative package, Senate Bill 21 would set a 90-day notice requirement for landlords to inform tenants their annual rent would increase if their lease was renewed, an increase on the current 30-day notice requirement. Senate Bill 22 would allow security deposits to be able to be returned through electronic transfer. Two groups representing rental property owners, the Rental Property Owners Association (RPOA) of Michigan and Michigan Realtors, indicated opposition to Senate Bills 19-21. Anthony and other Senate Democrats previously introduced a version of the Tenant Empowerment Package last year, as well, although certain parts of the bills have been tweaked, including giving landlords slightly more time to start repair work. 'While these bills aim to bring greater balance and accountability to the housing system, they were crafted with a clear understanding of the realities landlords face,' Anthony said June 3. Erika Farley, RPOA executive director, said the organization appreciates the changes under the current version of the bills. Still, Farley said the repair timelines set under the bills may not be achievable for all landlords, particularly considering availability of contractors or tradesmen. "We fully support well-taken care of, healthy, safe housing," Farley said in a June 10 interview. "When we look at this legislation and other legislation that has to do with rental housing, we also have to talk about are we taking a hatchet where there needs to be a scalpel? Are we making sweeping, broad brushstrokes for everyone where there are different scenarios." Right to repair laws exist beyond housing — the measures allow owners of electronics, agricultural equipment and even some automobiles to repair their products without needing to go back to the original manufacturer. In 2023, right to repair legislation was considered in 33 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In order to become law, the bills would have to pass both the Senate and House of Representatives and be signed into law by the governor. A version of Senate Bill 22 passed the Senate last year, but was not taken up in the House before the end of the session. Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Right to repair bills for renters advance Michigan Senate panel
Gulf Today
05-06-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Behind a Texas bill, a push to make gold ‘functional money'
Trevor Bach, Tribune News Service More than 50 years after the United States abandoned the gold standard, Texas lawmakers are moving to bring precious metals into everyday use. The new legislation, House Bill 1056, aims to give Texans the ability, likely through a mobile app or debit card system, to use gold and silver they hold in the state's bullion depository to purchase groceries or other standard items. The bill would also recognise gold and silver as legal tender in Texas, with the caveat that the state's recognition must also align with currency laws laid out in the US Constitution. 'In short, this bill makes gold and silver functional money in Texas,' Rep. Mark Dorazio, R-San Antonio, the main driving force behind the effort, said during one 2024 presentation. 'It has to be functional, it has to be practical and it has to be usable.' After picking up major amendments in the Senate aimed at ensuring the legislation complies with existing laws — most notably, the Senate nixed language from an earlier version that sought to establish an entirely new digital currency based on the metals — the proposal cleared both legislative chambers late last week, and was sent to the governor's desk on Sunday. Governor Greg Abbott does not appear to have indicated whether he intends to sign the bill. In a statement, Abbott's press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said the governor 'will thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk.' Dorazio and state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who authored a companion bill in that chamber, did not respond to requests for comment. This year's gold and silver legislative push comes roughly a decade after Texas created the country's first state-run precious metals depository — and as Republican lawmakers around the country are pushing more broadly to move away from dependence on fiat currency, or money issued and backed by a central government. To date legislators in at least 11 states, including Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona and West Virginia, have introduced bills that declare gold and silver as legal tender, or move for taxation exemptions on the metals, although many of those efforts have failed to become law. State and federal lawmakers, including in Texas, have also been pushing to expand the viability of cryptocurrency, including with government-held reserves. Texas' highest-profile piece of crypto-related legislation this year, Senate Bill 21, which would create a state reserve of bitcoin and potentially other cryptocurrencies controlled by the state comptroller, is now likely to become law after formally advancing through the state legislature on Sunday. 'Bitcoin doesn't need Texas,' Brian Morgenstern, a policy adviser for the Texas Blockchain Council, the state's leading crypto lobbying group, recently argued in an interview with The News. 'Texas and the United States need bitcoin, because it's this modern phenomenon that is an outstanding asset.' The anti-fiat movement generally argues that alternative currencies offer a hedge against inflation and a greater degree of autonomy, because standard-issue currency is theoretically vulnerable to government manipulation. While such concerns have been lingering for decades, more recently they've taken on a more heated pitch. Many see an inflection point amid rising inflation, ballooning federal debt, and a US dollar that recently slid to its lowest value in three years — all of which raise questions about the currency's central role in global finance. 'How am I supposed to buy groceries?' While several states have pushed for the legalisation of gold and silver, those efforts still left the metals functionally unusable, Dorazio has argued, because they didn't include a mechanism for making purchases. 'How am I supposed to go to the grocery store and buy groceries? How am I supposed to put gas in my car with a gold bar?' he said last year. 'Today it's an impossibility. You just can't do it.' HB 1056 aims to solve that problem by enabling the state comptroller to 'establish or authorise one or more electronic systems' for consumers and vendors to make and receive payments with their precious metals held in the state depository. The comptroller would also have the ability to contract the work to third parties and charge associated fees. The current version of the bill focuses on laying the groundwork for such a system without mandating that anyone — including merchants — actually take part. But setting up a functional Texas metals transaction operation would still likely cost tens of millions of dollars and likely prove extremely logistically challenging, including by requiring potential reconfigurations of the state's bullion depository in order to ensure the assets can be accounted for. In addition to many elected Texas Democrats and residents — some who were bewildered as the measure advanced through the legislature — fiscal watchdogs have opposed the bill because of the associated costs. Meanwhile, banking groups that include the Texas Bankers Association and Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT), have raised objections over its lack of consumer protections.
