Progress in the States & Localities

Progress in August to mid-September

Posted on September 13, 2017

** = new or updated legislation since our June report

Civil Rights & Liberties

The Montana House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB147, which requires government agencies to get a warrant before accessing data in any electronic device unless it has informed, affirmative consent of the owner. The Montana House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed HB148, which will require government agencies to get a warrant in order to obtain electronic communication from service providers.  The Arizona Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 1342 and the New Hampshire House and Senate enacted HB 474 both of which would ban police use of “stingrays” which track the location of phones and collect electronic communications without a warrant.  The New Mexico House and Senate passed, but the Governor vetoed, SB 61, which would have prohibited the use of “stingrays” or the compelling of a service provider to share user metadata without a warrant but it was vetoed by the Governor.  The New Hampshire House passed HB 171, which would prohibit the state from assisting a federal agency in the collection or use of a person’s electronic data without a warrant. The North Dakota House passed HB 1170, which would reform the state’s asset forfeiture laws by requiring a criminal conviction before asset forfeiture can proceed and preventing prosecutors from circumventing state laws by passing cases off to federal forfeiture programs.  The Arizona House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 2477, which requires prosecutors to establish a higher evidentiary standard for asset forfeiture and establish stringent reporting requirements for law enforcement agencies for how seized funds are spent.  The Utah House passed HB 19 and the Indiana Senate passed SB 8 both of which work to reform the state’s civil forfeiture procedures. The New Hampshire House passed HB 614 which would close a federal loophole that allows state and local police to circumvent civil asset forfeiture laws by passing cases off to federal authorities. The New Hampshire House passed HB 97, the Hawaii House passed HB 314, and West Virginia passed SB 9, all of which would prohibit the use of drones to obtain information for law enforcement purposes without a warrant. The Alabama Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 16, which prohibits the court from overriding a jury verdict in the sentencing phase of capital cases.  The Vermont Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 79, which grants the governor sole authority to approve agreements with federal immigration officials and prevent law enforcement agencies in the state from collecting personally identifiable information, including race, sex, immigration status, religion or sexual orientation, and sharing that information with federal authorities. Washington’s Governor issued Executive Order 17-01 which prohibits any state agency from inquiring about a person’s immigration status and forbids the use of agency funds, equipment, or personnel to assist in the creation of any federal program requiring registration of individuals on the basis of religious affiliation or assist in the of targeting or apprehending of residents for violations of federal civil immigration laws. The Maryland House passed HB 1362, which prohibits law enforcement officials from arresting or detaining individuals for the purposes of investigating suspected immigration violations. The New York Assembly passed AB 4876, which would reform the criminal justice system by raising the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 years of age. The New York Assembly also passed AB 2142, which would seal the criminal records of individuals who were arrested for simple possessions of marijuana, decreasing their barriers to accessing employment, housing and other state services. The New Hampshire House and Senate passed HB 640 which would decriminalize marijuana possession in the state. **The California Senate and second Assembly committee passed SB 54 which would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using resources to investigate, detain and report or arrest people for the purposes of immigration enforcement. North Carolina’s House passed HB 280 which would allow 16 and 17 year olds who commit certain crimes to be tried as juveniles, instead of automatically as adults. The Columbus City Council voted to codify this executive order, made by the Mayor of the city, that prohibits arresting or denying someone services based on their immigration status. **California’s Senate and the second Assembly committee passed SB 10 which requires judges to take a defendant’s income level into account when deciding whether or not to impose bail as a condition of release during arraignment.  **The Oregon Transportation Commission, the California Senate and second Assembly committee as well as the DC City Council all passed bills that create an additional category for non-binary residents on state driver’s licenses. The Illinois legislature passed, and the Governor signed, SB 2034 which works to reform the bail system by discouraging the practice of requiring people charged with minor crimes to post cash bail as a condition of their release. The Louisiana legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a package of bills intended to reform the state’s criminal justice system.  Nevada’s legislature passed, but the Governor vetoed, AB 259 which would have allowed a person who was convicted of a marijuana misdemeanor to have their conviction vacated and their records sealed. The Nebraska legislature passed, and the Governor signed, LB 259, which aims to address the modern-day version of debtor’s prisons by providing judges with options for low-income defendants to pay fines in installments or partake in community service. The Colorado House passed HB 1122 which would make eliminate a barrier for transgender citizens by no longer requiring that a person go through transition surgery or appear before a judge to change their gender on their birth certificate. The Connecticut legislature passed, and the Governor signed, SB 7146 which requires a criminal conviction for civil forfeiture, protecting citizens from wrongful seizing of their assets by law enforcement. **The Los Angeles City Council voted in favor of replacing Columbus day with Indigenous Peoples Day as an official city holiday. **The Denver City Council passed an ordinance that states the city will not detain someone beyond their sentence on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and that city employees are prohibited from collecting or sharing any information about immigration or citizenship status with ICE. **California’s Senate and Assembly passed SB 51, which would try to ensure that federal scientists and other public employees licensed in the state do not lose their professional certification for reporting violations of the law, as well as instructing state agencies to protect scientific data from being destroyed or censored. **California’s Senate passed SB 396, which would require workplaces to offer trainings about gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation in order to combat discrimination and encourage greater inclusion of transgender individuals in the work force.

Consumer Protection

The Virginia Assembly and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 2113 which will protect citizens from identity theft by requiring employers to notify the attorney general’s office if they discover that employee payroll information has been compromised. The Wyoming House passed HB 227, which would require notice and disclosure of automatic renewal provisions in consumer contracts. The Maryland House passed HB 172 which expands the state housing policy to include providing for fair housing to all citizens regardless of income and prohibits a person from refusing to sell or rent housing to any person because of income level. The Maryland House passed HB 453, which would work to protect residents from losing their homes over unpaid water bills, by putting a moratorium on the water lien foreclosure process.  The New Mexico legislature passed, and the Governor signed, HB 15, which requires that individuals who are affected by a security breach involving personally identifying information must be notified within a specific time frame. The Maryland House and Senate passed and enacted SB 884, which sets up a Financial Consumer Protection Commission to study and issue recommendations on the impact of changes to federal financial industry laws and regulations. The Maryland House and Senate passed and enacted HB 631, which would prohibit manufacturers and wholesale distributors from engaging in price gouging in the sale of an essential generic drug. The New Jersey legislature passed, and the Governor signed, SB 743 which will forbid the state’s student loan agency from seeking repayments from the families of deceased students. **The California Senate and Assembly passed SB 711, which is intended to protect utility customers from spikes in winter heating costs by requiring lower level rates and cost estimates for the following month on each bill. The Washington legislature passed, and the Governor signed, HB 1493, which prohibits a company from enrolling a biometric identifier in a database for a commercial purpose, without first obtaining the user’s consent. The Nevada Assembly and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, AB 163, which seeks to reform payday lending services by increasing grace periods and transparency around short-term loans. **California’s Senate and the first Assembly committee passed SB 790 which restricts pharmaceutical companies from giving gifts and incentives to medical professionals in order to limit their likelihood of prescribing expensive name-brand drugs instead of more affordable generic options. The New York City Council passed Intro 1218 which establishes fines for landlords and property owners that illegally convert homes into three or more units above what is legally allowed. The Nevada legislature passed, and the Governor signed, SB 538 which will require internet service providers and website operators to provide notices on what information they gather from consumers. **Similarly, the California Assembly and the first Senate committee passed AB 375, which would prohibit an internet service provider from using, disclosing, selling or permitting access to a consumer’s personal information. **California’s Assembly and Senate passed SB 17 which would require drug companies to notify direct buyers of their products 90 days before raising the price of medications and would also require insurers to issue an annual report that increases transparency around drug costs on patient premiums. **The Seattle City Council passed, and the mayor signed, an ordinance that prohibits landlords in the city from taking a prospective renter’s criminal history into account when deciding whether to rent to them or not.

Education

Both the Virginia Senate and Assembly passed, and the Governor signed, HB 2257, which will require all high school family life education curriculum to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the meaning of consent. The Indiana House passed HB 1386, which would establish a student-centered competency-based education pilot program in K-12 schools. Similarly, the Kentucky Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 1 which will mirror the Every Student Succeeds Act and alter the state’s education standards by allowing school districts to develop their own teacher evaluation methods and criteria. **The Maryland House and Senate passed HB 461 which would limit the amount of time school districts can spend on testing but was vetoed by the Governor. San Francisco’s mayor announced a new program which allows for free tuition for all students who are California residents living in the city and provides subsidies to current low-income students. The Georgia Senate passed SB 152, which would make alternative education the state’s preferred school disciplinary policy rather than suspension or expulsion. The New Mexico House passed HJR 1, which would propose an amendment to create a permanent fund to help pay for early childhood education. The New Mexico Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 374, also known as the Hunger-Free Students Bill of Rights, to ensure that all children are provided with stigma-free school lunches regardless of their parents’ ability to pay. The Maryland House and Senate passed and enacted HB 516 which creates a commission to study the implementation of universal access to pre-kindergarten. The Maryland legislature passed and overrode a veto of MD HB 978, which prohibits school quality indicators from being based on student testing and requires educational accountability programs to include certain factors and stakeholder input. Both the New York and Tennessee Governors have created plans to allow for free community college for residents of the state and older students respectively. The Texas Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 179, which would require public schools to create cyberbullying polices and establish methods for students to anonymously report cyberbullying. **The Massachusetts House and Senate passed HB 3740 that allows students who are learning the English language to participate in bilingual education programs in public schools. **The California Senate passed SB 328 which would prevent all California middle and high schools from starting regular classes earlier than 8:30am.

Environment & Smart Growth

The Maryland House voted to override the Governor’s veto of HB 1106 which will increase the state’s use of renewable energy and create green jobs. Maryland’s House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 1325, which prohibits the use of hydraulic fracking for the exploration or production for oil or natural gas in the state. Oregon’s House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 2746 to encourage the use of their recycling program by doubling the payment for used soda cans and glass bottles to 10 cents each. The Maryland Senate and House passed and enacted, SB 184, which extends the state’s energy efficiency and conservation programs. The Maine House and Senate passed LD 57, which would have promoted the use of reusable bags and recyclable alternatives to disposable foam food containers, but was vetoed by the Governor.  The Maryland House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 830, which bans the use of certain pesticides in areas designated as pollinator habitats in order to protect the local bee population. The Hawaii legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 559 which works to expand strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the state in accordance with the principles and goals adopted in the Paris Agreement. The Hawaii legislature passed, and the Governor also signed, HB 1578 to identify agricultural practices that improve soil health and promote carbon sequestration which helps to mitigate climate change. The Portland City Council voted transition to 100 percent clean energy from renewable energy sources by 2050.  The California legislature passed, and the Governor signed, AB 617 which will establish a statewide program to measure and combat air pollution in the neighborhoods that have the most air quality issues.

Government Performance

The Maryland House and Senate passed, and the Governor passed, HB 879, which strengthens state ethics laws that apply to legislators and state officials by making financial disclosure statements publicly available, expanding conflicts of interest to include entities with which an individual is negotiating employment and prohibiting public officials from using their resources or title to solicit political contributions.  The Tennessee House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 58 which makes it easier for residents to request public records by expanding the modes of communication from written requests only to all forms of requests including in person, telephone, fax, email or other electronic means. The Oregon House passed HB 2577 which would increase transparency by requiring lobbyists to disclose their pay and employers and which bills and amendments they have attempted to influence.  The Maine legislature passed and enacted LD 543, which will ban legislators from paying themselves or their own businesses from political action committees (PACs) under their control.

Health

The New Mexico Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 121, which bans providing conversion therapy to any person under 18 years of age. Oklahoma SB 83 passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and would require parents to view a video about the risks of not vaccinating a child before opting their children out of vaccination requirements.  The Oklahoma Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 765 which would ban any person under 18 years of age from using tanning beds. The Vermont Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 16, which would expand access to medical marijuana by increasing the list of qualifying conditions and doubling the number of dispensaries in the state. The New Mexico House and Senate passed HB 175, which would have prohibited the use of solitary confinement for pregnant women, juveniles and mentally ill inmates and requires correctional facilities to submit a detailed report about the use of this practice to the state every three months but it was vetoed by the Governor. The Nebraska legislature passed, and the Governor signed, LB 487 which would provide immunity for those who seek medical help for someone suffering from a drug overdose from criminal charges for possession or paraphernalia. The Maryland House and Senate passed and enacted SB 571 which creates a commission to monitor changes to health care programs and provide recommendations for state and local action to protect access to affordable healthcare. The New York Assembly passed AB 3977, which would ban the practice of conversion therapy for patients under the age of eighteen. The Ohio House passed HB 101, which seeks to make epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPens) more affordable and accessible for Ohioans who need them for life threatening allergies. The Texas House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 2466 which would give low-income women in the state’s Medicaid program increased access to postpartum depression screenings and mental health care referrals.  The Colorado legislature passed, and the Governor signed, HB 1119 which creates a fund for injured workers whose employers aren’t insured. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance that requires city employers to have a policy regarding lactation in the workplace and defines minimum health and safety standards for lactation accommodation spaces. **The Illinois House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 3161, which requires the Department of Health and Human Services to create and maintain a website to educate the public on heroin and prescription opioid abuse, including information on warning signs of addiction and other resources. **The California Senate and Assembly passed SB 258 which creates stricter requirements for manufacturers of cleaning products sold in the state to disclose on the label any information about chemicals in the product that might be hazardous to consumers’ health. **The New York City Council voted to increase cigarette prices and ban their sales from pharmacies in the city.  **The Oregon legislature passed, and the Governor signed SB 754 which raises the age of tobacco sales in the state to 21.

Public Safety

The Georgia House passed HB 9, which would update Georgia’s invasion of privacy laws to make filming under or through a person’s clothing a felony in the state.  The Kentucky House passed HB 122, which would require all children under the age of 12 in the state to wear a helmet when riding a bike. The Utah House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed HB 200, which requires the testing of all sexual assault kits within a specified time frame, outlines the process by which the kits are stored and transmitted for testing, and authorizes the Department of Public Safety to develop and implement a statewide sexual assault kit tracking system. The Vermont House passed HB 25, which would establish a bill of rights for people who have been sexual assaulted. The Maryland and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 255, which requires hospitals and government agencies to transfer a sexual assault evidence collection kit to a law enforcement agencies within a certain amount of time. **The Maryland Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, HB 1163 which will allow courts to order domestic violence suspects to wear GPS devices that would alert victims if their abusers were in the area as a condition of pretrial release or probation. The Washington legislature passed, and the Governor signed HB 1153, which encourages each county to develop a written protocol for handling criminal cases involving vulnerable adults who have a higher risk of suffering from financial exploitation or physical neglect. Colorado’s legislature passed, and the Governor signed, HB 1035 which allows victims of sexual assault and stalking to break their residential rental agreements. **California’s Senate and Assembly passed SB 464 which would increase the mandatory storage and security requirements for firearms dealers. **The California Senate and first Assembly committee passed SB 497 which would prohibit multiple applications to purchase a handgun within a specific time frame. Oregon’s legislature passed, and the Governor signed, SB 719 which creates a process for obtaining an extreme risk protection that prohibits an individual from possessing any weapon if they are deemed to present an imminent risk to other’s or other own safety. **The Illinois legislature passed, and the Governor signed, SB 189 which will remove the statutes of limitation for sexual abuse crimes. **California’s Assembly passed AB 41 which requires law enforcement agencies to report the number of untested rape kits and allows survivors to know the status of their kits.

Reproductive Rights

The Virginia Assembly and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 2267 which will require health benefit plans that provide coverage for hormonal contraceptives to cover up to a 12-month supply of hormonal contraceptives.  The Colorado House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 1186 and the New Mexico House passed HB 284, both of which require that health benefit plans reimburse for up to a 12-month supply of contraceptives for covered individuals. The St. Louis City Council passed Board Bill 203, which would prohibit discrimination based on a person’s reproductive health decisions. The Colorado House (HR 1005), the New Jersey Senate (SCR 78), the Vermont Senate (SR 9) and the Vermont House (HR 9) all passed resolutions supporting a woman’s right to decide her own reproductive choices. The Maryland House and Senate passed HB 613, which authorizes pharmacists to prescribe and dispense certain contraceptives. The Maryland House and Senate passed and enacted HB 1083 which protects funding for Planned Parenthood and other family planning services. The Delaware Senate and Assembly passed, and the Governor signed, SB 5 which codifies the Roe v. Wade decision to keep abortion services legal in the state. The Oregon House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 3391, the Reproductive Health Equity Act, that ensures that basic health services, including abortion and contraception, will be covered by insurance plans in the state. The Washington legislature passed, and the Governor signed, HB 1234, which requires that health benefit plans must reimburse for refills of contraceptives for 12 months at a time instead of monthly.

Taxation

The Alaska House passed HB 115 which would institute a progressive personal income tax. The Maryland House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed SB 304, also called the Taxpayer Protection Act, which would give the Attorney General increased authority to fight fraudulent tax returns and preparers and identity theft. The Montana Senate passed SB 354 which would implement an additional tax on the price of a pack of cigarettes, as well as e-cigarettes and vaping products, to pay for raises given to direct health care workers who take care of elderly and disabled individuals.  The Maryland legislature passed, and the Governor signed, SB 758 which will incentivize the use of cleaner energy by providing tax credits for residents who invest in their own energy storage. **The New York Senate and Assembly passed SB 4058 which allows first time homebuyers to more easily save for a down payment and closing costs through a tax-free savings plan.

Voting & Elections

The New Mexico Senate and House passed SB 96, which would have established campaign contribution limits and would promote greater transparency in the political spending of “dark money” groups by requiring any such group that spends more than $1,000 campaigning during an election cycle to report expenditures and provide information about certain contributors but was vetoed by the Governor. The New Jersey House and Senate passed SB 3048, which would require candidates for President and Vice President of the United States to disclose federal income tax returns to appear on the ballot and prohibits Electoral College electors from voting for candidates who fail to file income tax returns, but it was vetoed by the Governor. The Nebraska Legislature passed LB 75 which would have provided for the restoration of voting rights upon completion of felony sentence or probation for a felony but was vetoed by the Governor. The Mississippi Senate and House passed, and the Governor signed, SB 2689 which works towards campaign finance reform by restricting politicians from using campaign money for personal expenses. The Oregon House passed HB 2927 which would allow the state to award its Electoral College votes only to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. **The Illinois House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, SB 1933 which creates an automatic voter registration program that allows an application for a driver’s license to also serve as an application to register to vote. The DC City Council unanimously passed this bill which would automatically register residents to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles. **The California Senate and first Assembly committee passed SB 149 which would require all presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to have their name placed on the state’s primary election ballot. **The Seattle City Council passed an ordinance that requires landlords must provide their tenants with information about how to register to vote or how to update their registration information.  The Rhode Island legislature passed, and the Governor signed, HB 5702 which provides for automatic voter registration for citizens who apply for or renew their driver’s license or personal identification cards.

Wages & Benefits

The Washington House passed HB 2097, which prohibits employers from requiring employees to disclose information about their religious beliefs, practices or affiliation, prohibits state and local government agencies from using public funds to assist in the creation or enforcement of any government program compiling a registry or database of personally identifiable information about individuals based on religious beliefs, practice, or affiliation, and forbids any state and local law agencies from collecting information on the religious belief, practice or affiliation of any individual except as part of a targeted criminal investigation. The Utah House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed HB 156, which will prohibit public employers from requiring an applicant to disclose a past criminal conviction before an initial interview for employment. Philadelphia’s City Council passed City Council Bill 160840, making it the first city in the nation to forbid employers from requiring potential employees to disclose previous salary history in order to fight the pay gap between men and women. The Washington House passed HB 1506, which would prohibit retaliation against female employees for inquiring about the salaries of coworkers and would allow women to receive the same promotional opportunities as men within a company. The Georgia House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, SB 201, which allows employees to use sick leave for the care of immediate family members. The Maryland Senate passed SB 230, also known as the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, which would provide employees with earned sick leave as well as accounting for maternity/paternity leave and safe time off in cases of domestic abuse. The Colorado House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 1021, which will increase transparency around wage theft by including under Colorado’s Open Records Act any findings by state labor officials that an employer engaged in wage theft.  The Oregon House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 2005 which makes it an unlawful employment practice to use gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or age, as a means to discriminate in payment of wages for comparable work and would also prohibit the practice of screening or basing salary decisions for job applicants based on their salary histories.  The Connecticut House passed HB 5591 which would ensure pay equity by prohibiting compensation discrimination on the basis of sex and prohibits time spent on leave due to pregnancy or family leave from reducing an employees’ seniority. The North Carolina House passed HB 409 which prohibits state agencies from asking for criminal histories on job applications.  The New York City Council passed Introduction 1253-A which would prohibit employers from making salary history inquires or relying on salary history to determine a prospective applicant’s salary. The Texas House and Senate passed HB 3016 which would make it easier for Texans to apply for jobs if they have a record of low-level offenses by not requiring them to disclose these offenses on their applications.  **The Connecticut House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, HB 6668, which would strengthen current protections for pregnant women employees under the state’s anti-discrimination laws. **California’s Assembly and Senate passed AB 168 which bans employers from seeking the salary history of job applicants. The Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio has issued an order that raises the minimum wage for city workers to $15 dollars an hour by April 2018. **Similarly, the Illinois House and Senate passed SB 81 which would have raised the minimum wage for employees over 18 years of age to $15 dollars an hour by January 2022 but it was vetoed by the Governor.  The Washington legislature passed, and the Governor signed, SB 5975 which approves a paid family leave program that gives employees paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child or for a serious medical condition suffered by the employee or the employee’s family member. The Massachusetts’ legislature passed, and the Governor signed, HB 3680 which will prohibit workplace and hiring discrimination related to pregnancy and nursing and require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant and new mothers in the workplace. The Maine legislature passed, but the Governor vetoed, LD 1259 which would have worked towards pay equity by banning employers from asking prospective employees about their salary history.   **The Oregon House and Senate passed, and the Governor signed, SB 828, which is the first bill in the country to mandate work schedule predictability for certain food service, retail, and hospitality workers.  **California’s Senate and Assembly passed SB 63 which seeks to expand the state’s paid family leave program by incorporating the policy with smaller businesses as well.  **California’s Assembly and first Senate committee passed AB 1008 which would forbid an employer from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal record until they have received a conditional offer. **California’s Assembly and Senate passed AB 568 which would provide six weeks of fully paid maternity leave for public school employees in the state, both in school districts and community colleges.