September has been a month full of social movements and fights, similar to every month so far in 2017. From Trump rescinding DACA ,to a revival of the attempt to repeal and replace the ACA, to marijuana to conviction’s record,s to minimum wage, to capital gains and startups – it has been one heck of a month! Let’s take a look.
NJ A5038 – Revises procedures for expunging criminal records and information. The bill also includes language aimed at shortening certain waiting periods for “expungement eligibility” and increasing the number of convictions which may be expunged. The law moves to allow a person who has been convicted of a crime, or a combination of one crime and less than four “disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons offenses” not closely related in circumstances or in time to seek expungement. Currently, they’re generally limited to expunging one criminal conviction and two additional convictions for disorderly persons offenses. TX HB2120 – Relates to good conduct time earned by inmates and their consideration of release on parole. The bill states “the parole panel shall give special consideration to the amount of good conduct time accrued by the inmate when determining whether the inmate’s release would increase the likelihood of harm to the public.”
FL S0128 – Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use or threatened use of force. This bill states a person who uses or threatens to use force as permitted in the Florida law is justified and immune from criminal prosecution and civil action. The only exception to this is if someone used force or threatened to use it against a law enforcement officer who was acting in the “performance” of his or her official duties and identified themselves at the time of the event.
NJ A4193 & IL HB2353 have to do with marijuana. New Jersey’s bill aims to legalize marijuana and allow for records expungement for certain past marijuana offenses. It wants to have the state treat marijuana products similar to tobacco products, including the use of civil penalties for providing marijuana to persons under 19 years of age. This is different from a lot of other states which have 21 as the age of legality for marijuana consumption. Illinois’ bill amends their Cannabis Control Act to make a technical change in a Section concerning the short title. For more information about marijuana legislation and what is currently happening under Sessions, read this post.
IL HB2893 – Amends the Wildlife Code. This bill aims to allow any person to use a crossbow to take wildlife during the appropriate archery season. The bill also states it is unlawful to carry or possess a gun in any State refuge unless otherwise permitted, have snares or snare-like devices, deadfalls, nets, or pit traps for the purpose of taking animals, use mechanical devices, smoke, explosive or many other types poisons to get animals out of their dens . You are also not allowed to use ferret or any other small mammal (used in a similar manner for which ferrets are used) to frighten or drive any mammals from their dens or hiding places.
NY A04644 – Excludes certain seasonal fair workers from the definition of employee for purposes of the minimum wage act. This bill goes over many different types of jobs that do not qualify for the “minimum wage” designations under state law like: part-time babysitters, labor on a farms, outside salesmen, drivers operating taxicabs, staff counselors in children’s camps or an employee of a traveling amusement or recreational establishment who resides outside of New York and is employed on the premises of a county or agricultural fairground. This has to do with implications of states attempting to raise their minimum wage to a “living wage” like California did.
NY A06933 – Provides a capital gains and investment income tax exemption for resident New Yorkers investing in a New York resident technology or science start-up company. To qualify as a tech or science company they have to be a company working to “advance industry based in biology, chemistry, computer science, geology, information science and technology, mathematics, physics, biochemistry, biophysics, environmental science, mathematics, natural science, neuroscience – cellular and molecular, and nanoscience.” The three rules to qualify for this tax exemption are: one – the technology or science company is a start-up company that has been in operation not exceeding three years, two – the company is a resident of New York state and transacts business in New York state, and three – the taxpayer filing the income tax return is also a resident of New York state.
NM SB239 – Make Mountain Daylight As Permanent New Mexican Time.We’ve been seeing a few other bills similar to this one in Texas, California, Colorado, and Michigan. These bills have been proposed as a response to studies showing that changing the time zones every spring and fall is actually super bad for your health and also leads to decreased productivity. The bill states “the biannual change of time between mountain standard time and mountain daylight saving time is disruptive to commerce and to the daily schedules of the residents of the state of New Mexico.”
CA SB562 – The Healthy California Act. This bill would create the “Healthy California program” to provide comprehensive universal single-payer health care coverage and a health care cost control system for the benefit of all residents of the state (including its undocumented residents) – effectively replacing private medical insurance. If this bill passes, California would consolidate existing federal funds (payments for Medicare, Medicaid, and tax revenues) to support the universal health insurance. Colorado voters overwhelmingly rejected a similar proposal in the fall of 2016 due to widespread concerns about the cost to citizens of the state.
US S1804 – Medicare for All Act of 2017. Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a new “Medicare for all” health care bill with almost a third of the Senate Democratic caucus by his side. This bill more or less offers a blueprint for moving the country to a government-run, single-payer health care program, fundamentally reshaping the American system. If this bill was passed and implemented, Americans would receive a “Universal Medicare card”. This card is the gateway to comprehensive health care services – like hospital stays, doctor visits, substance abuse treatment, dental, vision and reproductive care. For more information about what is happening in the healthcare space and what universal coverage is, read this post.
US HR3440 – Dream Act of 2017. The DREAM Act is a bill which directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel “removal and grant lawful permanent resident status on a conditional basis to an alien who is inadmissible or deportable” or is in temporary protected status. It is pretty much a path to citizenship for immigrants to this country who are undocumented and have proved to be valuable, contributing members of our society. Many of the people who this act would benefit are those who have DACA status, which was rescinded by Trump this month. For a more comprehensive post about DACA, read this post.
Which popular bill do you think was the most important for the theme of politics this month? Do you think the big bill fights like DACA or repealing the ACA take away attention to other bills that matter just as much for states? With this year coming to a close, where do you think we should focus our legislative energy on for next year?
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