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TexasTowelie's JournalDelaware lawmakers push abortion bill, fearing Trump's judges
Some lawmakers are taking steps to make sure abortion would remain legal in Delaware even if a future Supreme Court — stacked with President Donald Trump's nominees — overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that made the procedure legal nationwide.
Delaware law technically says abortion is illegal except in a few circumstances, but the 1973 ruling made that ban unenforceable. With the possibility looming that Roe could be overturned, Sen. Bryan Townsend and other legislators want to formally create legal protections for women who want to get an abortion.
"We should have done this decades ago," said Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark. "I believe that we have a responsibility to women across Delaware not to have their rights be invalidated by an extreme shift in Washington."
Abortion is one of the most emotionally-charged debates in American politics, pitting those who believe the practice is murder against those who believe women should have control of their own bodies.
Read more: http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/08/abortion-bill-trump/101427226/
Delaware House passes bill reinstating death penalty
Despite the impassioned pleas of several of its members, the House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday that would bring the death penalty back to Delaware.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where supporters of capital punishment face a tougher vote. And it remains uncertain whether Gov. John Carney would sign or veto it.
The House voted 24-16 to pass the Extreme Crimes Protection Act, which requires that juries unanimously agree that aggravating circumstances in a murder merit a death sentence.
The bill's sponsors say those changes would address concerns the Delaware Supreme Court raised last year when it ruled Delaware's capital punishment law was unconstitutional. Since that ruling, the death penalty law has been unenforceable.
Read more: http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/09/death-penalty-passes-house/314366001/
Marijuana legalization bill passes committee test
Cannabis advocates won their first legislative victory Wednesday when a House committee voted to advance a bill that would make Delaware the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana.
"We're very excited to see our legislators want to end the very dangerous, illicit market for cannabis and replace it with a safe, taxed and well-regulated system," said Zoë Patchell, executive director of the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network.
"But celebration would be premature at this point," she added. "We have a pretty big fight still ahead of us."
The House Revenue and Finance Committee voted 9-2 to move the proposed Delaware Marijuana Control Act to a vote by the full state House of Representatives. Rep. Helene Keeley, D-South Wilmington, who chairs the committee and sponsored the bill, said she plans for that vote to happen in early June.
Read more: http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2017/05/10/marijuana-control-act/315707001/
Alaska lawmaker censured over abortion comment
JUNEAU — The Alaska House voted Wednesday to censure a Republican member over comments he made suggesting there are women in Alaska who try to get pregnant to get a “free trip to the city” for abortions.
The House voted 25-14 to take the highly unusual step of censure after hours of debate, during which Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla — who referred to himself as the “least politically correct legislator in our state” — said he was sorry he made the comments.
“And certainly if I could go back and not say them, I would do so,” he said. He later asked for forgiveness from anyone he had hurt.
Eastman, a first-term, conservative lawmaker who has developed a reputation for being outspoken in his beliefs, set off the firestorm last week in discussing his concerns about the use of state funds and Medicaid for abortions.
Read more: http://triblive.com/politics/politicalheadlines/12287269-74/alaska-lawmaker-censured-over-abortion-comment
Documents offer harrowing timeline of deadly night at Penn State fraternity
Helped by surveillance footage, prosecutors painted a harrowing picture of the events inside a Penn State University fraternity in early February that led them to charge 18 members in the death of a pledge.
The video from cameras inside Beta Theta Pi, interviews with students and text messages allowed them to build a detailed timeline of what happened to Timothy Piazza — from his arrival for pledge acceptance night to his frat brothers' decision to call an ambulance for him the next morning.
The 19-year-old from Lebanon, N.J., drank a life-threatening amount of alcohol during a hazing ritual and then fell numerous times, a grand jury found. Fraternity members didn't call 911 until nearly 12 hours after his first fall, when Piazza was unconscious, the panel concluded.
He had severe head trauma and a shattered spleen and later died of traumatic brain injury.
Read more: http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/12285978-74/documents-offer-harrowing-timeline-of-deadly-night-at-penn-state-fraternity
House changes 'Real ID' bill, putting Pennsylvania in tough spot to meet federal terrorism controls
Pennsylvanians could face airline travel bans after the Legislature altered a bill Wednesday that would have paved the way for new state driver's licenses that comply with federal anti-terrorism protocols.
The Republican-controlled House voted along near party lines to amend a Senate bill that would have let PennDOT create a new driver's license to match requirements of a 2005 federal law known as the Real ID Act. The Senate bill would have repealed a 2012 law prohibiting PennDOT from complying with Real ID over lawmakers' cost concerns and fear the federal government was overstepping its authority by creating a national identification card.
In the fall, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned state officials that continued failure to comply with the law would result in Pennsylvania residents being prohibited from boarding commercial planes and entering federal properties in 2018. In January, Wolf and legislative leaders secured a six-month extension to repeal the old law as a good-faith effort at meeting federal requirements.
In March, the Senate voted with little debate to repeal the 2012 law. On Wednesday, the House didn't, making it much more difficult for the state to hit Homeland Security's June 6 deadline for repeal.
Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-real-id-drivers-license-20170510-story.html
LCB manager caught gambling at casino during work hours can't have his job back, Pa. court says
A Liquor Control Board district manager who was fired after being caught gambling at a casino during work hours has failed to persuade a state court to give him his job back.
Instead, a Commonwealth Court panel on Wednesday quashed Mark A. Emmett's appeal of the firing that ended his 29-year career with the LCB.
Emmett's appeal was untimely, Judge Patricia A. McCullough wrote. In any case, the firing was justified since Emmett kept driving his state car to the Mohegan Sun Casino to gamble when he should have been at work, she concluded.
In his appeal, the Carbondale man argued that he shouldn't have been fired because he still worked at least 37 1/2 hours a week and was good at his job. He also argued that state officials should have made accommodations for his gambling addiction under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
Read more: http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/05/lcb_manager_caught_gambling_at.html
Rep. Lloyd Smucker explains his thoughts on Comey firing, health care and refugees
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration should be more forthcoming about what led to the firing of FBI Director James Comey.
In a meeting with the Rotary Club of Lancaster, Smucker also said the letters to Comey that were made public were “inadequate” for the reasons they provided, and that Congress needs a “fresh start” in its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“It's certainly incumbent on Congress to be sure that the American public know what is happening in instances like this and that we uncover everything that can be uncovered,” Smucker told about 150 people during a Q&A with Rotary members and their guests.
The freshman congressman from West Lampeter Township said he did not know whether the investigation should continue through a congressional committee or with the appointment of a special prosecutor.
Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/rep-lloyd-smucker-explains-his-thoughts-on-comey-firing-health/article_f66d6c26-3595-11e7-9abe-4b6c0147d2ff.html
Senate OKs bill to clear way for more police body cameras
HARRISBURG — Legislation approved by the Pennsylvania state Senate on Wednesday seeks to clear legal hurdles for police departments to expand their officers’ use of body cameras, and it gives departments the discretion to refuse public requests for copies of audio or video recordings by officers.
The bill, which passed 47-1 after brief comments on the Senate floor, would add Pennsylvania to a growing list of states that are setting statewide policy over the collection of audio and video by officers, including from dashboard and body cameras.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect is the bill’s exemption of recordings from requests under Pennsylvania’s open-records law, although a court still could order the release of a police recording.
The bill also sets limits on requests. In particular, it provides a window of just 20 days after an incident to submit a request for a copy of an officer’s audio or video recording.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2017/05/10/Senate-OKs-bill-to-clear-way-for-more-police-body-cameras/stories/201705100196
Convicted state senator wants $20,509-a-month pension restored
HARRISBURG — Nearly five years after a longtime leader of Pennsylvania’s state Senate went to prison on a federal corruption charge, state officials are weighing the unusual step of restoring his $20,509-a-month pension.
The 11 board members who oversee the State Employees’ Retirement System are in the process of voting on the long-fought appeal by Robert Mellow, the Scranton-area legislator who lost the retirement benefit after he pleaded guilty in May 2012.
It’s unclear how long their decision will take or whether it will be made public; the SERS board’s next public meeting is June 14. “The board will deliberate for as long as it needs to,” said its spokesman, Jay Pagni.
Mellow, now 74, couldn’t be reached. A phone message left at a home listed for him Lackwawanna County wasn’t returned. His lawyer didn’t responded to requests for comment.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2017/05/04/Bob-Mellow-pa-senate-leader-wants-pension-restored/stories/201705040069
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