June was quite the interesting month with political movements, supreme court rulings, case outcomes and legislation. The range of bill topics this month is wide; from new firearm regulations to drones to police body cams to the continuing battle for protections for transgender students, state legislation has certainly reflected the wide variety of political happenings in America these days.
NJ S3067 – Requiring the Commissioner of Education to develop guidelines for school districts regarding transgender students. This bill follows a string of other bills across the US regarding what protections and rights should be afforded to transgender students within schools across the nation. Some bills, such as this bill, aim to provide direction for schools in addressing common issues concerning the needs of transgender students. S3067 would assist schools in establishing policies and procedures that would ensure a supportive and nondiscriminatory environment for transgender students while at school. Other bills, like this Texas bill, aim to keep transgender public school children from using the restroom that matches their gender identity, argued by many increased the stigma associated with being trans and encouraging discrimination. For more information on this issue originally sparked by NC HB2 in 2016, read this blog.
RI S0439 – All Students Count Act. This bill requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to use separate collection categories/tabulations for specified Asian ethnic groups in every demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of residents. The bill defines “Southeast Asian” as individuals who identify with one or more ethnic groups originating from these countries: Cambodia, the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. The schools will need to cross-tabulate data of their student outcome by gender, disability and English proficiency for all students and schools reporting lower than average numbers will also be notated.
RI H5510 – the Protect Rhode Island Families Act. This bill aims to limit access to firearms when a person is under certain types of domestic restraining orders or protective orders issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2017. The bill would order defendants (people with protective orders taken out against them) to surrender physical possession of all firearms in their possession, care, custody, or control and orders them not to purchase, receive or attempt to purchase or receive any firearms while the protective order is in effect. The firearms will need to be surrendered within twenty-four hours of notice of the protective order going into affect to Rhode Island state police or local police department or to a federally licensed firearms dealer.
TN HB0011 – Hearing Protection Act. This bill removes the prohibition on possession, manufacture, transport, repair, or sale of a firearm silencer. Suppressors were originally regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934 along with machine guns and short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and were part of the $200 “tax stamp”. Silencers are banned in 10 states, but in the other 40, you can get one as long as you comply with the federal law. One reason silencers are still regulated and have a stigma associated with them is that crime, action, and gangster movies have “demonized” them by labeling suppressors as an “assassin’s tool”.
TX SB16 – Relating to decreasing the fee for the issuance of an original or renewed license to carry a handgun – The bill aims to require an applicant for a license to carry a handgun to provide, amongst other things, a certified copy of the applicant’s birth certificate or certified proof of age, two complete sets of legible and classifiable fingerprints of the applicant and evidence of handgun proficiency. If someone is classified as “indignant” or considered a senior citizen, the department will reduce their fee by 50 percent for a duplicate or modified license. There will be a $5 fee required for the issuance of a renewed license. If someone applies for certification as a qualified handgun instructor, the department will need to conduct a background check of a person.
AR HB1248 – Creates an exemption under the Freedom Of Information Act Of 1967 concerning certain law enforcement investigative records. This bill aimed to make the data recorded on a body-worn camera or a dash camera relevant to an investigation conducted by a law enforcement agency to be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967 until the investigation is complete. This month, a jury came back with a not guilty verdict in the case of Philando Castile and the dashcam footage of the incident was circulated after the case was completed. This footage, along with the live stream of the incident, contributed to the ongoing controversy surrounding police involved shootings. This is a particularly timely bill due to the increasing issues of data collection and police use of force. For more information read this post or that post about body cams and this post about police consent decrees.
KY HB135 – An act relating to animal torture. This Kentucky bill aimed to redefine “torture” to include deliberate neglect or physical abuse that results in, the death of or serious physical injury to a dog or cat. If someone was convicted of torture of an animal, they would have been required to forfeit the ownership of their dog or cat and would be prohibited from future ownership of an animal for five years for a first offense and life for a second, or subsequent, offense. The animals forfeited by people would have been required to be given to animal rescue organizations or county animal shelters.
NV AB159– Prohibits hydraulic fracturing in Nevada. When are bills about fracking and energy not trending in a few states across the US? Hydraulic fracturing is the process of pumping fluid into or under the surface of the ground to create fractures in the rock to facilitate the production or recovery of oil or gas. This Nevada bill attempted two things: one, to prohibit people from “engaging” in hydraulic fracturing in the state and two, to require people to first obtain a permit from the Division of Minerals if they want to drill and operate an oil or gas well, including a well that is intended to be hydraulically fractured. For more context on hydraulic fracturing legislation form last year, read this post.
NJ A1839 – Revises statutes regarding the practice of physical therapy. This bill aims to expand the scope of practice of physical therapists to include: identification of balance disorders; treatment by means of intramuscular manual therapy, wound debridement and care; screening, examination, evaluation, and application of interventions for the promotion, improvement, and maintenance of fitness, health, wellness, and prevention services in populations of all ages exclusively related to physical therapy practice. The bill also defines “continuing professional education and competency” as the lifelong process of maintaining and documenting the application of knowledge, skills and behaviors required to function effectively, safely, ethically and legally, through ongoing self-assessment, development, and implementation of a personal learning plan and subsequent reassessment. See also this bill in Arkansas, which was ultimately withdrawn, to limit the practice of Athletic Trainers — it was trending for several months straight at the beginning if the year.
LA SB69 – Provides for the exclusive regulation of drones by the state. The state law will supersede and preempt any rule, regulation, code or ordinance of any political subdivision or other unit of local government previously passed and in the future. Drones, also known as unmanned aerial systems, have been a regulatory hot spot for the last four years. There are many hot button issues surrounding safety and privacy that concern citizens. This bill, which passed, is impactful in that the state law will supersede any local law because it will influence different commercial applications like farming, surveying, and photography. For more information on drone legislation read this post.
This month, like all months since we started this segment, was full of incredibly interesting legislation. It is intriguing to see how trending legislation reflects trending news stories and other social and political movements throughout the nation. What is the most interesting bill you saw this month? Any that are particularly peculiar, alarming or funny? I would love to hear about them.
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