TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalTexas House backs lower penalty for low-level marijuana possession
The penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana would be reduced to the equivalent of a traffic ticket under a measure that won initial approval from the Texas House on Monday, although its fate in the Senate remains uncertain in a state that long has taken a hard line against pot use.
House Bill 63, approved 98-43 after about 30 minutes of debate, would make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500 but no jail time. Currently, possession of 2 ounces or less in Texas is a Class B misdemeanor, with a maximum fine of $2,000 and up to 180 days in jail.
“This isn’t about whether marijuana is good or bad. It is about whether what we are doing on enforcement is good policy — we all know it’s not,” said El Paso Democrat Joe Moody, the bill’s author. HB 63 “is simply saying we are not going to lock up 75,000 Texans a year for this low-level offense, and we are not going to spend three quarters of a billion dollars every year at the local taxpayer level” doing so.
Nearly three dozen states — including all four Texas border states — have broadly legalized marijuana for medical purposes in recent years, while 10 states also allow adult recreational use. Texas last eased its marijuana penalties in 1973, when it re-classified low-volume possession from what had been a felony punishable by two years to life behind bars.
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20190429/texas-house-backs-lower-penalty-for-low-level-marijuana-possession
StarKist still 'committed' to American Samoa plant despite challenges
US tuna firm StarKist & Co will remain committed to its processing operation in the territory of American Samoa despite continuing challenges with rising labor costs, the availability of fish and the departure of vessels, Radio New Zealand reported.
Andrew Choe, the company's president and chief executive officer, recently told American Samoa's governor, Lolo Matalasi Moliga, that StarKist remains "committed" to the territory despite those challenges and the pressures of the globally competitive tuna market.
StarKist has been facing other pressures too. The American Samoa plant recently said it will pay $84,500 in stipulated penalties for repeatedly discharging wastewater into Pago Pago Harbour,
This is not the first federal fine StarKist has agreed to pay this year; on April 10, Undercurrent News reported that the firm had tentatively agreed to a fine of at least $50m for its participation in a conspiracy to fix canned tuna prices.
Read more: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2019/04/29/starkists-still-committed-to-american-samoa-plant-despite-challenges/
USDOL secures $3.3M judgment against CNMI casino developer
SAIPAN – The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a $3,360,000 consent judgment against the developer of the Imperial Pacific Resort Hotel and Casino in Garapan, Saipan, for minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act by contractors working on the construction project, the department announced Thursday.
"Entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, the judgment orders Hong Kong-based Imperial Pacific International Holdings, and its Saipan subsidiary Imperial Pacific International (CNMI), to pay $3,160,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to approximately 1,100 employees," the department stated. The developer must also pay $200,000 in civil money penalties.
The settlement follows an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division that found wage violations occurred when foreign-based construction subcontractors failed to pay their workforce required overtime premium rates for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Investigators also found some of the subcontractors' day rates placed employees' earnings below federal minimum wage.
"This judgment demonstrates the U.S. Department of Labor's strong commitment to ensuring employees receive the wages they have earned," Wage and Hour Division district director Terence Trotter in Honolulu, Hawaii, stated in the release. "We will continue to enforce the law and level the playing field, while simultaneously encourage employers and employees to call us for assistance, and use the wide variety of tools we provide. Violations like those found in this investigation can be avoided."
Read more: https://www.postguam.com/news/cnmi/usdol-secures-m-judgment-against-casino-developer/article_b93b96f8-67ec-11e9-bef2-cfc3b41185cd.html
New legislation allows Guam's homeless to get IDs
Guam – Without an ID, it’s nearly impossible to overcome homelessness. A recently introduced legislation would allow homeless individuals to obtain the identification they need.
Cited as the “Homeless Youth and Families Identification Act,” Bill 126-35 would require the Department of Revenue and Taxation (DRT) to implement an exceptions process for homeless applicants unable to meet the department’s established criteria.
The measure, introduced by Senator Mary Camacho Torres, responds to a growing problem reported amongst Guam’s homeless population. According to data from the Guam Homeless Coalition’s most recent Point-in-Time Count Report, the number of responses citing “no identification as a barrier” doubled between 2017 and 2018.
Recognizing that fees for acquiring or replacing personal identification documents are often prohibitive to homeless individuals, Torres’ measure would waive all fees associated with the exceptions process. The measure would further allow alternative verification as proof of residence from homeless service providers on Guam, provided the document is satisfactory to DRT.
Read more: https://pacificnewscenter.com/new-legislation-allows-guams-homeless-to-get-ids/
Minimum Wage Increase Dead For 2019 Session
While nearly all lawmakers wanted to increase Hawaii’s minimum wage this year, state House and Senate negotiators threw in the towel Friday afternoon.
The sticking point was “serious concerns,” as Rep. Aaron Johanson said, from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
The agency advised that allowing one rate increase from the current $10.10 an hour to $15 an hour by 2024 — but also allowing an increase to just $13 for employees that are provided health care — could invite legal challenges.
A last-minute proposal from Johanson to his counterpart, Sen. Brian Taniguchi, called for an annual incremental increase to $15 in 2024.
Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/04/minimum-wage-increase-dead-for-2019-session/
Former bank worker in Alaska sentenced in theft of $4.3M
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A daring Alaska bank employee who boxed up $4.3 million in cash, rolled it to his car and flew it to Seattle was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for bank theft.
Gerardo Valenzuela, 34, also known as Gary Cazarez, was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty in January.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess gave him no credit for the seven years he served in a Mexico prison after his conviction there for smuggling cash, guns and ammunition, U.S. prosecutors said.
Valenzuela was extradited to Alaska in September.
He was 26 in 2011 when he worked as a cash vault services manager for KeyBank in Anchorage. At the time of the theft, investigators said, he was worried that the bank was going to make his job obsolete and he could be terminated.
Read more: http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/former-bank-employee-sentenced-to-years-for-m-theft/article_e3d1f2ca-dde8-5667-b039-91c4a49f53cf.html
Senators hear opposition to rewrite of Permanent Fund dividend formula
JUNEAU — The Alaska Senate Finance Committee is continuing work to rewrite the traditional formula for calculating the Permanent Fund dividend, but a session of public testimony Monday morning indicated lawmakers will have to overcome public skepticism.
“I’m telling you, the people are not in line with what you guys are trying to do here. We’re in line with Gov. Dunleavy’s plan,” said Cris Eichenlaub of Eagle River.
From 1982 to 2016, the dividend was paid using a formula based upon the average investment returns of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. over several years. The new approach under consideration by the finance committee would be based upon the average value of the fund over several years.
Support for the idea was not evident in a session of public testimony Monday: Of the seven people who provided their opinions, none were supportive.
Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2019/04/30/senators-hear-opposition-to-rewrite-of-permanent-fund-dividend-formula/
Survey: Southeast business leaders pan Duneavy budget priorities
A questionnaire sent to business leaders across Southeast Alaska found deep misgivings over the governor’s approach to balancing the budget.
Among other preferences, a majority supported reducing the projected $1.2 billion dollars in oil tax credits, trimming the size of PFD checks, increasing the percentage of Permanent Fund earnings used to pay for state services and instituting a state-wide income tax.
Cuts to core services like public schools and the state ferry system or a state-wide property tax were ranked lowest.
The business climate survey conducted by Southeast Conference.
Read more: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/04/25/survey-southeast-business-leaders-pan-duneavy-budget-priorities/
Morgan Stanley pays California pension funds $130 million over charges it misled PERS, STRS
Morgan Stanley will pay $150 million to the state of California to settle claims that the bank misrepresented investment risks to the state’s biggest pension funds from 2003 to 2007, Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Thursday.
About $122 million will go to CalPERS, the pension plan for most state and local government employees, according to a news release on the settlement. About $8 million will go to CalSTRS, the pension plan for teachers, according to the release.
The final $20 million will stay with the Department of Justice to cover its costs in pursuing the lawsuit and to pay for future investigations.
“The company lied about the risks of its products that it was marketing to CalPERS and to CalSTRS,” Becerra said in a press conference. “It was peddling mortgage-backed securities knowing there were higher risks than it ever was letting on.”
Read more: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article229679664.html
Nepotism investigation expands at California agency: 'I can't wait for the truth to come out'
Seven high-level California government employees could face discipline for their roles in helping a former state department director promote her daughter and favor at least one other job applicant, according to a State Personnel Board report published Thursday.
Identifying employees by their initials only, the report says former Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker called on coworkers to circumvent state rules to get her daughter hired and promoted while shielding her from discipline.
The Personnel Board’s report was based on a review of statements and documents gathered by California State Auditor Elaine Howle, who drew similar conclusions from the materials in a report published last month.
Baker, reached by phone Thursday, vigorously disputed the findings by Howle’s office that informed the two reports, saying the auditor’s office omitted key facts and that she wasn’t contacted by the Personnel Board for its investigation.
Read more: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article229683044.html
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
Number of posts: 112,456
