#legislature

#legislature

(Reed Saxon / Associated Press)

Heading into the peak of summer, Los Angeles officials want to know what it would take to require every rental unit in the city to have an air conditioner or central air.Just last year, Southern California was gripped by a 10-day heat wave that rippled through the region and smashed temperature records.

(Hector Amezcua / Sacramento Bee)

When Gov. Gavin Newsom took office four years ago, the Democrat went after Republicans on the national stage as they sought to gut the Affordable Care Act.Key to his ambitious healthcare agenda: reinstating the fine on Californians who don't have health coverage, which had been eliminated at the federal level.

(Hector Amezcua / Sacramento Bee)

Gov. Gavin Newsom has sent the Legislature a proposed state budget that is unrealistic and spews red ink.That's essentially the straight-shooting opinion of the most trusted numbers-crunching outfit in Sacramento: the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.By law, the annual budget must be balanced.

A proposed law would require New York state agencies to collect data that more precisely identifies residents who identify as lesbian, gay and transgender, The Post has learned.The state Legislature passed a bill ordering agencies that collect data regarding ancestry or ethnic origin to also ask about sexual orientation or "gender identity expression."

The state Assembly will reconvene in Albany on Tuesday and Wednesday to finish up its business for the year after blowing an original June 8 deadline."It's more of the things that are, I'd say, more of a time-sensitive nature," Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) told News 10 ABC Albany about the legislative agenda this week.

Republican Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny faces harsh criticism after railing against transgender people at a Brooklyn community board meeting on Thursday."Who knows what self-evident truths is.Who is boy?Who is girl?"Brook-Krasny, who immigrated from the Soviet Union decades ago, said after invoking the Declaration of Independence to Community Board 10.

As a result, rents are unaffordable for many Californians.The median rent for a two-bedroom home in San José, for example, is $3,100, according to Zillow.It's the same in Los Angeles.Ann Owens, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California specializing in social inequality and housing, believes everyone has a right to housing.

Under pressure from farmers, Premier Doug Ford's government is considering backing off from proposals that would allow more housing to be built on Ontario's dwindling farmland, CBC News has learned.Leaders of a range of farming and agricultural groups met with senior government officials last week to raise their concerns about proposed changes to provincial land-use policy that Ford and his ministers have said will spur new home construction.

For almost two years, the province of New Brunswick has had a policy that required teachers to use the preferred names and genders of schoolchildren.But under a new policy introduced by the provincial leader, Premier Blaine Higgs, teachers must get the permission of parents if the child is under the age of 16.

For almost two years, the province of New Brunswick has had a policy that required teachers to use the preferred names and genders of schoolchildren.But under a new policy introduced by the provincial leader, Premier Blaine Higgs, teachers must get the permission of parents if the child is under the age of 16.

At the task force meetings over the last two years, non-Black audience members have been rare, but Brown argues that non-Black Californians should be paying attention.According to the 2020 census, Black residents make up less than 6% of the state's population.If the task force's expansive proposals are to become law after they arrive in the Legislature, they will require broad-based support from California residents across racial groups.

Urgent care centres in the southern Ontario communities of Port Colborne and Fort Erie will no longer operate overnight as Niagara Health faces physician shortages, the hospital network announced Wednesday.The decision comes one day before the ER in Minden, Ont., is set to close permanently due to staff shortages, with Haliburton Highlands Health Services transferring all emergency services to its Haliburton site, about 25 kilometres away.

On day 18 of a partial government shutdown, Black Farmer's Association President John Boyd plants winter wheat in one of his fields in Baskerville, Virginia, on January 8, 2019.Melina Mara / The Washington Post via Getty Images Farmers of color plan to appeal a recent federal court judge's ruling, which they say is a continuation of Jim Crow and erases their commitment to right the historical wrongs against them.

If I could answer that, I'd be a rich man.I would hope they want to educate themselves and understand how we got here as a state and how we got here as a nation and the impact that slavery has had and continues to have on this county.What's the legislative timeline here?How long might this all take and what's the earliest we might see legislation from the report put into practice?

Protesters stand outside of the Senate chamber at the Indiana Statehouse on Feb. 22, 2023, in Indianapolis.Darron Cummings/AP INDIANAPOLIS A federal judge issued an order Friday stopping an Indiana ban on puberty blockers and hormones for transgender minors from taking effect as scheduled July 1.The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sought the temporary injunction in its legal challenge of the Republican-backed law, which was enacted this spring amid a national push by GOP-led legislatures to curb LGBTQ+ rights.

Abortion will remain legal in Iowa for up to 20 weeks after the state Supreme Court on Friday declined to lift a block on a six-week ban.In a 3-3 decision, the state's high court could not reach a consensus on whether it should overturn a lower court decision to strike down Iowa's restrictive fetal heartbeat law, which was passed in 2018.

A legal attempt to ban abortion in Iowa after six weeks of pregnancy failed on Friday, after the State Supreme Court deadlocked over whether to vacate a lower court's injunction and allow the ban to take effect.That means abortion will remain legal in Iowa through 20 weeks of pregnancy.As one state after another banned or sharply limited access to abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Iowa's status as a place where abortion remained accessible was at stake.

Christie, right, stands with his brother, Todd, in this old photo he posted to Instagram in 2015.Christie was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1962.His family later moved to Livingston, New Jersey, where he attended high school before enrolling at the University of Delaware.From Chris Christie/Instagram Christie met his wife, Mary Pat, at the University of Delaware.

Drag artist Vidalia Anne Gentry speaks during a Feb. 14 news conference held by the Human Rights Campaign to draw attention to anti-drag bills in the Tennessee legislature.John Amis/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign NASHVILLE, Tenn.Tennessee's first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional, a federal judge says.

The South Carolina Senate passed a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy on Tuesday, after a filibuster led by five women senators, including three Republicans, failed to block it.The bill will drastically reduce access to abortion in a state that has become an unexpected destination for women seeking the procedure as almost every other Southern state has moved toward bans.

Thursday, June 15 marked the end of the longest Republican walkout in Oregon's history.Just 10 days before the 2023 legislative session is set to end, elected leaders announced an agreement between state Democrats and Senate Republicans that would bring GOP officials back to the Capitol for the rest of the 2023 legislative session, creating the needed quorum for votes on key pieces of legislation.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has officially registered as a candidate in the 2023 Ontario Liberal leadership race.According to the Elections Ontario website, Crombie registered her name on Tuesday."Every day I speak with people across Ontario, and I hear how they are facing the challenges of living in our province," Crombie said in a statement this week.

Premier Doug Ford's government has hit the brakes on a proposal that would allow more housing to be built on Ontario's dwindling farmland.Steve Clark, Ontario's Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said Wednesday that the government is not moving forward with the proposal that would have allowed the owners of agricultural land to carve out up to three housing lots on each farm parcel, a policy known as severance.

Farmers in Ontario are rallying to fight a government bill that would loosen the rules around farmland protection in the province, a move farmers say would result in more homes being built on prime agricultural land and could also threaten the very fabric of rural life.Bill 97 or the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act is aimed at drastically reshaping development rules to address housing affordability and supply in the province.

Here's a look at the life of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.Birth date: September 6, 1962 Birth place: Newark, New Jersey Birth name: Christopher James Christie Father: Wilbur Bill Christie, an accountant Mother: Sondra (Grasso) Christie Marriage: Mary Pat (Foster) Christie (1986-present) Children: Bridget, Patrick, Sarah and Andrew Education: University of Delaware, B.A., 1984; Seton Hall University, J.D., 1987 Religion: Roman Catholic While serving as the US attorney for New Jersey, Christie prosecuted more than 130 public officials for corruption.

Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, signed a bill on Friday to ban hormone and puberty blocking treatments, as well as surgeries, for transgender minors.Set to go into effect on Sept. 1, the measure would make Texas the largest state to ban transition medical care for people under 18.The bill would prohibit a doctor from performing mastectomies or surgeries that would sterilize a minor or remove otherwise healthy tissue or body parts, and from prescribing drugs that would induce transient or permanent infertility.

Team Latvia made history on Sunday, winning the nation's first-ever medal at the 2023 IIHF World Championship.Defenseman Kristians Rubins scored twice, including the overtime-winner to defeat the United States 4-3.Both the team and the country as a whole responded to the win with exuberant celebration.

Voters in Alberta, the oil-rich western province that is a bastion of conservatism in Canada, kept its conservative government in power on Monday but substantially reduced the number of seats it holds in the legislature, data from Canada's national broadcaster indicated.The result, while a win for conservatives, is likely to be seen as a rebuff of the politics of Danielle Smith, the hard-right leader of the United Conservative Party who has been Alberta's premier for seven months.

As the 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we'll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Nevada legislature resumes discussions: The bill in Nevada's state legislature that would provide $380MM in public money to fund a stadium in Las Vegas for the A's was put on hold last week when the legislature adjourned Thursday night.

As the 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we'll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. A's stadium deal on the horizon?Yesterday, it was reported that the Athletics have reached a tentative agreement with Nevada legislators regarding the financials for a stadium in Las Vegas.

The Athletics and lawmakers in Nevada have reached a tentative agreement on a stadium funding structure, per reports from both Mick Akers and Steve Sebelius of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Tabitha Mueller and Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent.The Athletics initially agreed to a land purchase just west of the Las Vegas strip and were going to be asking for $500MM in public funding via county-issued bonds to be paid by tax dollars related to the stadium and relocation project.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks on during a tour after a meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott at the Texas State Capitol on May 23, 2023 in Austin.Johnson announced Friday that he's stepping down from his seat in Parliament.Brandon Bell/Getty Images Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will give up his parliamentary seat amid a long-running ethics investigation that is expected to produce a report into his behavior as prime minister next week.

Image Faycal Ziraoui next to a rock formation in the Sierra Nevada.Credit...Thomas Fuller Late last year, Faycal Ziraoui, a French-Moroccan business consultant, was at his home in the Paris suburbs scrolling through satellite pictures of the Sierra Nevada when he came across an image that startled him.

The Texas Legislature gave final approval on Sunday to a new round of voting bills to increase penalties for illegal voting and expand state oversight of local elections specifically in Harris County, which includes Houston, where Democrats have become dominant.The measures, which now head to Gov. Greg Abbott to sign, include a bill that would upend elections in Houston a few months before the city's mayoral race in November by forcing the county to change how it runs elections and return to a previous system.

As Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida begins his presidential bid, officials in his administration have solicited donations from lobbyists and endorsements from lawmakers in the state, blurring the line between his taxpayer-funded office and his political campaign.The outreach by the governor's office, which would normally fall to Mr. DeSantis's campaign staff, was described by two people who said they were approached by administration officials and who insisted on anonymity.

Memorial Day weekend is among the busiest for travel in the United States and the unofficial start of summer; a day for cookouts, beach trips and auto races.But how did Memorial Day, held on the last Monday of May in honor of America's war dead, begin?Here is a brief refresher: The holiday grew out of the Civil War, as Americans Northern, Southern, Black and white struggled to honor the staggering numbers of dead soldiers, at least 2 percent of the U.S. population at the time.

Less than a month after 19 children and two teachers died in the elementary school shooting last year in Uvalde, Texas, the U.S. Senate passed the most significant gun control bill since the long-expired federal ban on assault weapons.The very same day, June 23, the Supreme Court upended gun policy in jurisdictions with some of the country's strictest laws, like New York, Washington, D.C. and California, saying for the first time that people have the right to carry guns outside their homes.

ALBANY - Democratic state lawmakers are expected to pass legislation before leaving the Capitol for the year that just so happens to help incumbent pols fight off future rivals.The bill would overhaul the public campaign finance system by allowing all political contributions to get matched at taxpayer expense up to $250.

California voters could decide if having a place to live should be a constitutional right for state residents.Working its way through the legislature is a proposed constitutional amendment that guarantees a fundamental human right to adequate housing for everyone in California.The measure holds state and local governments responsible for fulfilling a right to housing, which could include boosting housing production, tenant protections, repurposing vacant properties and housing subsidies.

As they've done on field for much of the baseball season, the Oakland A's came up short Monday night in their pursuit of public money for a new stadium in Las Vegas.The A's hopes for up to $380 million from the state of Nevada faltered as the state legislature adjourned without considering a bill proposing public financing to help pay for the construction of a new baseball stadium along the Las Vegas Strip.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers have recently been trumpeting the great financial shape of Illinois.Balderdash.And they know it.There will almost certainly be state tax increases by 2025.As a longtime student of Illinois budgets, I'll explain why, what should be done and what likely will be done.

Chalkbeat Chicago reports that Gov. J.B. Pritzker's 2024 budget, just approved in Springfield, adds another $570 million in education funding, a 6.2% increase that brings annual K-12 funding to $10.3 billion.And yet the legislature could not muster the courage to extend the modest Illinois Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program.

SPRINGFIELD - While failing to get a budget done by its self-imposed deadline, the Illinois General Assembly passed measures addressing issues ranging from abortion rights to full-day kindergarten during its spring session, which this week goes into overtime.It was the first full session since the November election, when Democrats won victories in every constitutional office and expanded their overall supermajority in the General Assembly.

The Texas House of Representatives has voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, an unprecedented move following a legislative probe that faulted the third-term Republican for a yearslong pattern of corruption, including abusing his office's powers, retaliating against whistleblowers and obstructing justice.

ALBANY - Accused sex abuser Assemblyman Juan Ardila (D-Queens) is emphatically denying allegations of sexual misconduct by two women after previously suggesting he was no longer disputing their claims."I did not sexually abuse anyone or engage in any sexual assault," Ardila said in a statement following the release of a 38-page report he commissioned into the allegations.

The U.S. soon could witness "the most substantial Pride celebrations in recent memory," one bill tracker said.People chant during a protest at the Texas State Capitol on April 20, 202,3 in Austin, Texas.Community members and activists rallied together in protest against numerous anti-LGBTQIA+ and drag bills being proposed in the legislature.Brandon Bell / Getty Images Several different legislative trackers have noted that, in the first five months of this year leading up to Pride Month, which began on June 1, hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills have been proposed in statehouses across the country, with dozens of them passing.

Accused sex abuser Assemblyman Juan Ardila (D-Queens) on Thursday night suffered another political humiliation following a nearly unanimous no-confidence vote by Queens Community Board 2.
"He has not been fully engaged in legislative activities for which he was elected ... the district has suffered by his lack of effective advocacy," reads the resolution approved by a 34-1 vote.

Andy Burnham has called for MPs to be elected by proportional representation as part of Labour's plans for a radical rewiring of Britain.The mayor of Greater Manchester's proposals were supported by Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, at the Making Britain Work For Scotland rally in Scotland.

ALBANY - Bombs away!Assembly members came under fire on Wednesday from tenant activists throwing roughly two dozen paper airplanes from the chamber's front balcony."It began before we even gaveled into session," Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R-Bayport) told The Post.
"What appeared to be a group of visitors observing from the gallery was actually a group of activists preparing for the air raid."

Wednesday, May 31, 2023 by Jo Clifton
For the city of Austin, the just-ended 88th regular legislative session offered both good news and disappointments, as outlined in a lengthy memo from Brie Franco, the city's intergovernmental relations officer.On Tuesday, as her team was getting ready to monitor the special session Gov. Greg Abbott called to deal with property taxes and border security, Franco noted six pieces of legislation that will likely have a negative impact on the city.

ALBANY - State lawmakers are close to granting a grieving mother a big wish by passing "Sammy's Law" to allow New York City to lower speed limits to 20 miles per hour before adjourning for the year on June 8.The legislation is named after Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old boy fatally struck by a car in Prospect Park in October 2013 - a tragedy that inspired his mom Amy Cohen to become a street safety activist.

"They can be tiny, they can be small, or they can be nestled inside larger industrial facilities, and so it's not something that strikes you, like a generator or a refinery," said Williams."But the problem is what they're doing there: They're boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution."

Franco Di Paolo, right, is advocating for a bill to help millions of people who rely on battery-powered medical devices during power outages.He is shown here receiving a Director of Athletics Leadership Award from Pablo Gentile at The Cushman School.It was during Hurricane Irma that Miami local Franco Di Paolo found his passion.

ALBANY - Aaaand cut!New York legislators are vowing to terminate a lucrative state tax break for film and TV productions if they replace humans with artificial intelligence."With the advent of AI, we want to make sure that we continue to protect workers and create jobs for New Yorkers," state Sen. Lea Webb (D-Binghamton) said in a statement about the bill she introduced Wednesday.

Switzerland's executive branch on Wednesday threw its weight behind a proposal to decommission 25 out-of-service Leopard 2 battle tanks that Germany's government wants returned to the German manufacturer to help plug gaps in Berlin's arsenal after it shipped tanks of its own to Ukraine.The Federal Council, the Swiss seven-member executive body, said it backs a proposal from a key parliamentary security-policy committee to decommission the tanks and re-export them to Germany.

ALBANY - State lawmakers say teaching Asian-American history could be the antidote for curing New York of anti-Asian violence over the long term."It's easy to hate who you don't know," state Sen. John Liu (D-Queens) said at a Monday press conference at the Capitol."And that's why we're looking to mandate the teaching of the Asian American experience.

It sounded so perfect: For $3 billion, car-choked Honolulu would get a driverless train line moving tourists and commuters among the region's main destinations: the airport, Joint Base Pearl Harbor, Downtown Honolulu and close to Waikiki Beach.All on an elevated track featuring platform-screen doors.