The later in the year we get, the more we see patterns in the legislative trends throughout 2017 emerging. This month featured many of the “hot topics” discussed this year at state or national levels. Ranging from protections for people with disabilities to the ever-increasing debate about “living wage” to opioids and marijuana to gun regulation to immigration visas to mitigating hurricane disasters, November really did hit most of our zesty topics of the year.
IL SB0940 – Amends the Developmental Disability and Mental Disability Services Act. This bill aims to help people with developmental disabilities who are over 18 transition to community-based services. The bill would help people who 1) qualify for Medicaid Waiver services, 2) reside in intermediate care facilities with 9 or more residents and 3) request to receive community-based services or placement in a community-based setting transition to the new services and placement. Florida introduced a bill allowing parents to ask for a specified meeting and evaluation from the school district. This bill is supposed to help parents when they are seeking to have an individual education plan (IEP) reevaluated to change a student’s matrix of services.
New Jersey had two bills relating to companion animals trending this month. NJ S1640 – establishes requirements concerning the necessary care of dogs, domestic companion animals and service animals. It also puts forth some regulations regarding tethering dogs. NJ A4081, or “Charlie’s Law”, establishes civil penalties for people who interfere with or deny people with disabilities accompanied by service or guide dogs access to places of public accommodation.
MS HB820 – Mississippi Minimum Wage Act. This bill, which did not pass, aimed to set a $10 minimum wage, exempting tipped employees, along with establishing different requirements for exemptions and overtime. Tipped employees (employees who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips) would have been required to receive $3.62 an hour as their minimum wage. Employees who receive $455 or less per week would have been entitled overtime at time and a half. The bill also laid out which jobs are entitled overtime pay regardless of their salary: manual laborers or other blue-collar workers, police officers, park rangers, firefighters, emergency personnel and others. For more on minimum wage vs living wage, read this post.
MA H1190 – Regarding conversion therapy and minors. This bill aims to prohibit state-licensed mental health professionals from subjecting minors to conversion therapy practices to change their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Health professionals who this pertains to are: psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, allied mental health and human services professionals, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed rehabilitation counselors, licensed mental health counselor and licensed educational psychologists. These practices involve any attempts to impose change of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity; including efforts to change behaviors/gender expressions or attempting to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions/feelings toward individuals of the same sex. For more posts relating to LGBTQ issues, go here.
US HR4052 – Keep Americans Safe Act. Prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices. A large capacity ammunition feeding device is a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip or similar device that has a capacity, or can be readily restored or converted to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The bill makes it unlawful for any person to import or bring a large capacity ammunition feeding device into the US. The bill does not apply to US and state departments or agencies. For more firearm related posts, go here.
US HR170 – Protect and Grow American Jobs Act. This bill would require third party employers provide assurance to H-1B employers that they have not displaced a US worker in the 90 days before hiring someone and they won’t displace US workers during the placement period. Along with assuring no US workers have been displaced, the bill would require employers to submit a report summarizing recruiting efforts following the H-1B application detailing:
- The good faith steps taken to recruit US workers
- The number of US workers who applied for the job
- The number of such workers who were offered for the job and, if so, whether workers accepted the offers
- For each worker not offered the job, the reason the job was not offered.
Go here for more information on immigration or DACA.
NJ A4193 – Legalizes marijuana. This bill aims to legalize marijuana by treating it similar to tobacco products and outlines regulations for records expungement for certain past offenses. It also outlines civil penalties for providing marijuana to people under 19: no less than $250 for the first violation, no less than $500 for the second violation and $1,000 for the third and any subsequent violations. Also, by regulating marijuana like cigarettes, the bill prohibits smoking in various indoor or public places, having industrial manufacturing of marijuana in a home setting and having advertisements for marijuana on the exterior sides of school buses. Finally, the bill would require instructional programs in schools on the physiological, psychological and sociological effects of marijuana on individuals, families and society. For the latest on marijuana legislation, read this post.
Controlled Substances. A Florida bill aims to require each person registered with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and authorized to prescribe controlled substances to complete a board-approved 2-hour continuing education course on prescribing controlled substances as part of their biennial renewal. The courses must specialize in current standards for prescribing controlled substances, particularly opiates, and alternatives to these standards. Finally, they should learn about the risks of opioid addiction following all stages of treating acute pain. Louisiana also had a bill establishing an Advisory Council on Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education.
CA AB132 – Public contracts for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This bill authorizes the Governor to execute games support contracts in connection with the site selection process for LA to become the host for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It also allows for the state to accept financial liability for amounts owed by the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) as a result of the hosting of the games. Exciting news, don’t forget the winter Olympics are coming in February!
Following all of the crazy hurricanes in the last year, New Jersey proposed NJ A815 to address concerns for “code blue” alert plans to shelter at-risk individuals during severe weather events. This type of program serves to identify at-risk individuals prior to, or during, a severe weather event and assist them in voluntarily finding appropriate shelter. At risk individuals are defined as an individual living outside, in a building not meant for human habitation or a building which the person has no legal right to occupy.
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