Latest news with #legislators
Washington Post
21 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
California Legislature to vote on budget capping immigrant health care access to close $12B deficit
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers on Friday are scheduled to vote on a budget that pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark health care expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status, to close a $12 billion deficit. It's the third year in a row the nation's most populous state has been forced to slash funding or stop some of the programs championed by Democratic leaders. This year's $321 billion spending plan was negotiated by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ted Cruz Has a Weird Idea About the Federal Reserve
In their efforts to offset tax cuts and exert more control over the Federal Reserve, some US legislators have lately focused attention on an otherwise obscure element of monetary policy: The Fed, they argue, should stop paying interest on the cash reserves that banks hold at the central bank. It's a bad idea, in more ways than one.
WIRED
2 days ago
- Automotive
- WIRED
Texas Lawmakers Want More Control of the Tesla Robotaxis on Their Roads
As a small number of Tesla robotaxis continue to pick up and drop off a select few Tesla influencers in Austin, Texas, a state legislator who represents part of the electric automakers' limited service area says she's concerned the cars' driving is 'less reliable' than the typical human driver. Videos posted online show some 'moving violations' that 'could be very serious,' state senator Sarah Eckhardt, a Democrat who represents Texas' 14th district, told WIRED in an interview. 'My constituency is particularly tech savvy and excited about this [autonomous vehicle] technology, but my constituency is also very concerned about public safety, and we can hit the right balance.' Last week, as the hours before the debut of Tesla's robotaxi service ticked down, Eckhardt was one of seven Texas Democratic lawmakers who sent a letter to Tesla field quality director Eddie Gates asking the company to delay its plans to launch. Texas has for years had loose rules and oversight around autonomous vehicle operations, making it an attractive place for tech developers to test and launch. But a new law requiring AV companies to comply with "basic safety guardrails' passed this spring and will kick in on September 1, and the lawmakers were 'formally requesting' Tesla wait until then to put its driverless cars on Austin's roads. 'We believe that this is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla's operations,' the lawmakers wrote. If Tesla chose to go ahead with the scheduled June 22 launch, the lawmakers requested "detailed information" about how Tesla will comply with the new law. Eckhardt, the first to sign the letter, hasn't heard from Tesla since, even after the company launched its service Sunday. 'They're sometimes difficult to get a hold of,' she says. Still, Eckhardt credits the lawmakers' pressure for Tesla's decision to leave a human monitor in the front passenger seat of each robotaxi. According to videos posted by riders, these people seem to have some power to intervene when the technology doesn't perform as expected. (Tesla did not respond to any of WIRED's questions for this story.)
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Vietnam ends death penalty for crimes against the state, bribery, drugs
Vietnam will end capital punishment for eight categories of serious crime – including embezzlement, attempts to overthrow the government and sabotaging state infrastructure, state media has reported. The state-run Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday that the country's National Assembly unanimously passed an amendment to the Criminal Code that abolished the death penalty for eight criminal offences. Starting from next month, people will no longer face a death sentence for bribery, embezzlement, producing and trading counterfeit medicines, illegally transporting narcotics, espionage, 'the crime of destroying peace and causing aggressive war', as well as sabotage and trying to topple the government. The maximum sentence for these crimes will now be life imprisonment, the news agency said. Those who were sentenced to death for capital offences before July 1, but have not yet been executed, will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, the report said. The death penalty will remain for 10 other criminal offences under Vietnamese law, including murder, treason, terrorism and the sexual abuse of children, according to the report. During a National Assembly debate on the proposed criminal code amendment last month, the issue of dropping the death sentence for drug trafficking was the most contentious. 'Whether it's a few grammes or a few tonnes, the harm caused by drug transport is immense,' one legislator said, while another said removing the death sentence for drugs would send the wrong signal at a time when drug cases were increasing in the country. Capital punishment data is a state secret in Vietnam and it is not known how many people are currently on death row in the country. Execution by firing squad in Vietnam was abolished in 2011 and replaced by the administration of a lethal injection.
Coin Geek
4 days ago
- Business
- Coin Geek
Maldives makes strides in digital ID as Taiwan faces scrutiny
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Legislators in the Maldives are making strides toward enacting a digital ID legislation, with the most recent development being the initiation of a public consultation. Lawmakers are seeking public comments on the draft of the nation's Digital Identity Bill, which is designed to improve residents' identification by establishing the Maldives Digital Identity System (MDIDS). A community reading of the incoming legislation identifies five key objectives, the first of which is the provision of a system that allows residents to identify themselves in both in-person and online transactions. Furthermore, the system will prioritize privacy and data security while maintaining the economic benefits flowing from digital IDs. There are plans by authorities to use MDIDS as the foundation for a digital payment system akin to India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI). The Maldives is also eyeing the possibility of using the digital ID legislation to crack down on illegal migrants flooding the tiny island nation. Ahead of the legislative hurdles, members of the public are urged to submit written comments on the first draft of the bill. The Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology (MoHST) will lead the consultation exercise and release all comments to the public. However, the MoHST will recognize requests for confidentiality provided they are justifiable, but a non-confidential version must be attached to the submission. 'The MoHST seeks comments from government stakeholders, the business community, and the general public on the draft Digital Identity Bill,' read the statement. 'All comments should be supported as much as possible by detailed explanations and must identify the sources that the respondent is relying on.' The Maldives is keen on catching up to regional first-movers in digitization and exploring the possibilities of partnerships. Recently, it partnered with Dubai-based MBS Global to build an $8.8 billion blockchain hub in an attempt to diversify its economy from tourism and fishing. The country has also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Estonia to explore emerging technology use cases for public services. Despite the forward-thinking initiatives, authorities are clamping down hard against illegal operators of digital currency services and other bad actors within their borders. Taiwan's digital ID system under fire Several months following the public launch of Taiwan's national digital ID system, the initiative has attracted significant criticism concerning the security and privacy risks it presents to the public. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Ju-chun is leading the barrage of criticisms against the digital ID system, arguing that residents face grave risks. Dubbed the Natural Person Certificate system, over eight million digital certificates have been issued, but only around four million are in active use. The lawmaker revealed that bad actors are using the porous security system in the digital ID system for criminal purposes. Up to four times as many flagged bank accounts were opened using Natural Person Certificates over other means of identification, said Ju in a statement. Ju based his argument on the latest data from the Taiwanese Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC). He added that scammers are gaining access to innocent residents' personal details and using the digital ID system to open a wave of bank accounts for criminal activities. Commercial banks are striking back, with up to 17 institutions halting the use of digital IDs for identification purposes. Ju hints that more financial institutions are poised to pause the use of the Natural Person Certificate system, defeating the entire purpose of their creation in the first place. The lawmaker launched a tirade against the government over the handling of the security breaches in the digital ID system. He terms the government's approach as 'absurd,' noting that a public advisory urging individuals to set limits on transfers and asking banks to suspend withdrawals on inactive accounts is 'untrustworthy.' Ju extends his criticism to the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the National Police Agency, and the Ministry of Interior for failing to take decisive action against bad actors. He recommends new security measures to combat the rising tide of bad actors so the government can gain the waning public trust. 'Government agencies should stop promising lots and delivering little, and instead do their jobs, which is to make Taiwan a haven for digital technology developers, not scammers,' said Ju. Despite the criticisms of its digital ID system, Taiwan is marching on to introduce a wave of digital products for its residents. At the top of the list is a national digital wallet to be launched before the end of 2025 that will hold all citizens' personal information. The country is also rushing to plug the holes in its anti-money laundering (AML) rules, aligning itself with international standards. On the regulatory side of things, Taiwan has unveiled new digital asset rules and an artificial intelligence (AI) draft bill designed to improve economic gains. Watch: Digital identity, digital assets enable Web3 title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
