A few days ago, I posted an article about some really stinky bills in this year’s session of the Lege. I highlighted twelve that are odiferous to the max.
To balance that, I wanted to see if I could find some good bills to highlight, especially ones that had a chance of passing. And I did.
Good, but not the best
If you look at our Key Legislation bill tracker, you’ll note that we have marked 35 bills as Strong Support, and 96 as Support.
Here’s the kicker: none of our Strong Support bills are going anywhere – and they probably won’t. They’re all excellent bills like abolishing the death penalty and raising the minimum wage, and they won’t even get heard in committee.
So, the following eight bills are from our Support list, not our Strong Support list. While we wish that some of the latter bills were actually moving, we are thankful that at least these eight seem to be.
(Note: All of these bills have passed in one chamber and “Crossed over” to the other.)
HB 38 – Stronger penalties for violating an EPO.
If you violate an Emergency Protective Order against you, it is currently a misdemeanor. This bill turns that into a felony if you do it repeatedly. A needed improvement.
HB 44 – Choking prevention in schools
This bill’s title is somewhat misleading, as you may be thinking “why would we need a law to outlaw choking?” The bill is actually about two things: encouraging schools to obtain an “anti-choking device” and training staff on how to use it; and, providing protection against civil penalties for someone trying to stop a student choking (for example, by doing the Heimlich maneuver).
HB 219 – ER staff trained on sexual assault response
This bill mandates training for emergency room personnel on sexual assault emergency response requirements, protocols, and resources. The training must include instruction on forensic evidence collection techniques and services provided by rape crisis centers and children's advocacy centers.
HB 263 – Student teacher stipends
This bill makes improvements to the existing stipend program, and allows students to be student teaching outside the state and still receive the stipends.
HB 291 – Caretaker consideration in sentencing
This is one of the best bills this session. It gives sentencing judges the flexibility to consider whether the person being sentenced is a caregiver for children, and to adjust sentencing to take that into account, including using alternative sentencing protocols.
SB 59 – Affordable housing by religious institutions
This bill allows religious institutions (churches, schools, colleges, and so on) to build affordable housing without having to deal with certain planning and zoning reviews, as long as the planned development meets certain criteria.
SB 73 – Legal framework around sexual extortion
This bill begins by defining sexual extortion (communicating threats to injure a person's property or reputation, or to distribute intimate images, with the intent to coerce the victim into sexual conduct), and then proceeds to outline the crimes related to it and the possible punishments.
SB 100 – New regs for tobacco products
This bill tightens up regulation of the sales of nicotine products in the state, with a focus on vape products. It creates the Division of Tobacco, Nicotine, and Vapor Product Licensing, and gives that agency the power to inspect retailers without a warrant. Retailers selling these products to persons under 18 years of age can receive significant penalties.
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There you have it – eight good bills that might actually pass this session. There are others, but most of them are not moving. If they get going, we’ll let you know.
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