All posts tagged "Governmentlegislation"

In a move reflecting growing discontent with the way South Carolina elects its judges, the state Senate is blocking all judicial elections — including that of the next state Supreme Court Justice — short of the General Assembly passing a bill on judicial reform. Judicial elections are a key function of the South Carolina General Assembly and the House expected to fulfill that function Wednesday. The Senate does not share that expectation, and has instead demanded that the Legislature first effectively address judicial reform before any judicial elections take place. “A substantial number of Se......

New Jersey lawmakers have introduced a bill that would make it the third state to legalize “magic mushrooms.” Under the legislation, anyone 21 and older could consume or grow the mushrooms for medical or recreational purposes. The bill would also expunge past and pending offenses involving the psychedelic drug. The bill comes as Hackensack Meridian, one of the state’s largest healthcare providers, and U.K. biotechnology company Compass Pathways partnered to research a synthetic psilocybin treatment, according to NorthJersey.com. The state health department would oversee licenses for facilities......

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a 2022 law that banned people from sleeping on state-owned land and worried advocates that it would criminalize people experiencing homelessness. The state’s high court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the law violated the state constitutional requirement that bills relate to a single subject, overturning a lower court’s ruling that upheld the law. The provision banning sleeping on state land was included in a sweeping bill that included a range of different policies, including county coroners, building codes and tax exemptions on World Cup......

A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday introduced legislation that seeks to address flaws in the current live-event ticketing system in the U.S. and increase protections for customers. The much-awaited bill, dubbed the Fans First Act, would increase transparency in ticket sales, protect concertgoers from “fake or dramatically overpriced tickets,” and go after those who engage in illegal ticket sale practices. The act was introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, and cosponsored by two other Republicans, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and three......

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida Republican has introduced a scaled-back version of a bill that aims to make it easier for prominent people to sue for libel, a proposal that died earlier this year in the state Legislature after receiving bipartisan criticism. State Rep. Alex Andrade’s new proposal seeks to change long-standing legal standards dealing with anonymous sources. Andrade’s previous bill was mentioned in the GOP presidential debate on Wednesday when Gov. Ron DeSantis and presidential rival Nikki Haley clashed over the merits of anonymous political speech. Andrade, R-Pensacola, has said it s......

SAN JOSE — A man convicted as a teen nearly a decade ago in a San Jose “thrill kill” murder case was freed this week, reviving wounds for the victim’s family and a contentious split over the juvenile justice reform law that paved the way for his release. Jae Williams, now 29, was ordered released Monday at a juvenile court hearing in San Jose, and walked out of the Santa Clara County jail the following day. The release follows a multi-year court battle over the constitutionality of Senate Bill 1391 — a state law passed in 2018 that outlawed charging teens under 16 as adults in criminal court —......