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The Hill
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Abbott vetoes Texas THC ban
In a dramatic last-minute move, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed a total ban on recreational cannabis that had been backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), causing a rare rift between the state's top elected officials. Abbott signed the veto of Senate Bill 3 on Sunday just one hour before its deadline, calling for a special legislative session in mid-July to address the state's wild-west cannabis market. The move came one day after Abbott signed House Bill 46, which dramatically expanded the state's medical cannabis program to include a wide range of new conditions, put dispensaries across the state and allow the sale of new products such as vaporizers. Senate Bill 3, which passed last month after a bitterly contested fight, represented what the Houston Chronicle has called a 'civil war' between medical and recreational cannabis, in which medical — until Sunday — appeared to have won. In a Sunday statement, Patrick blasted the veto — and Abbott. 'His late-night veto, on an issue supported by 105 of 108 Republicans in the legislature, strongly backed by law enforcement, many in the medical and education communities, and the families who have seen their loved ones' lives destroyed by these very dangerous drugs, leaves them feeling abandoned,' Patrick said. But in his veto statement, Abbott, while pointing to many of the same issues, argued that while the measure was 'well-intentioned,' it would set back the cause of controlling the state's booming hemp market. The bill, he wrote, would not survive legal challenge, because the all-Republican 2018 Farm Bill — which legalized hemp and opened the door to the current thriving cannabis grey market cannabis — bans states from restricting the sale of hemp. 'It therefore criminalizes what Congress expressly realized and puts state and federal law on a collision course,' Abbott wrote. He noted that in the case of Arkansas, the only other state that has tried such a ban, a federal judge effectively blocked it. That, he argued, means that a total ban would, ironically, lead to no control at all. 'If Senate Bill 3 is swiftly enjoined by a court, our children will be no safer than if no law had passed, and the problems will only grow,' Abbott wrote. The legislature, he wrote, will get a chance to regulate the industry later this summer.
Axios
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Axios
Douglas County special election weighs home rule
Douglas County voters are casting ballots ahead of Tuesday's special election to decide their preferred system of government. Why it matters: The ballot language may sound trivial, but its implications are far-reaching, and emotions are running high. State of play: The measure asks voters whether a commission should write a new charter declaring Douglas a home rule county. If approved, a second vote on the charter's language would take place in November. The intrigue: The all-Republican county commission referred the measure to the ballot — with little public input — to give itself more authority to push back against the Democratic-led state Capitol. "We see every year the state legislature encroaching … on traditionally local issues with state blanket mandates," county commissioner George Teal told CPR News. If approved, Douglas would become the third home rule county in the state, alongside Weld and Pitkin. (Denver and Broomfield exercise home rule authority as combined city-county governments.) How it works: A home rule county ostensibly gets more control to adopt ordinances and avoid state mandates. All the cities in Douglas County have home rule powers. Yes, but: It's not unconditional authority, experts say. How much power the county commissioners would wield under home rule status ultimately depends on how the charter language is written. The big picture: Douglas County's leaders may be Republicans, but the county is far from the conservative bastion it once was. Republicans lead Democrats in voter registration by 15%, but unaffiliated voters are the plurality at 49.4%, state figures show. President Trump won the county by a mere 7 percentage points in the 2024 election. What they're saying: "Anti-Trump sentiment in Colorado has driven unaffiliated voters away from Republicans since 2018, so 'home rule' proponents must be able to separate the merits of the issue from that political dynamic," writes Dick Wadhams, the former GOP state chair, in Colorado Politics.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republican incumbents in Branchburg hold off primary challengers
BRANCHBURG – Incumbents Tom Young and Dave Owens easily won one of the first contested Republican primaries for Township Committee in recent years. Young, serving as mayor this year, topped the GOP ballot in his campaign for a 10th term on the Township Committee. Young received 997 votes while Owens, in the race for his third term, garnered 970 votes. Trailing was Steve Price with 760 votes and Tara Murphy with 664 votes. Price and Murphy challenged the incumbents with one of the most aggressive GOP primary campaigns in the township this century. More: Branchburg residents to vote on $70 million school referendum in September In recent years, GOP primary candidates, mostly incumbents, have faced no opposition unlike some of the bitter inter-party squabbles in recent years. The Township Committee has been all-Republican for four decades. Whoever wins the GOP primary becomes a heavy favorite in the November election. Nathan Rudy, the only Democrat on the primary ballot, received 1,085 votes, more than any Republican candidate. Email: mdeak@ This article originally appeared on Republican incumbents in Branchburg NJ hold off primary challengers
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Texas Supreme Court gives initial win to Paxton in migrant shelter case
(The Texas Tribune) — Attorney General Ken Paxton can proceed with his investigation of an El Paso migrant shelter network he has accused of violating state law by helping undocumented migrants, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday. The ruling does not weigh in on the merits of the case, but says the district court erred in blocking Paxton from obtaining documents and getting an injunction to close the shelter. The case began in February 2024 when the attorney general's office demanded documents from the shelter, Annunciation House, related to its work with immigrants. Annunciation House, which opened its first shelter at a Catholic church nearly 50 years ago, primarily serves people who have been processed and released into the U.S. by federal immigration officials. The shelter's director, Ruben Garcia, communicates regularly with Border Patrol and other federal officials to help find shelter for immigrants who have nowhere else to go while their cases are processed. Here's what you need to know: Officials from the attorney general's Consumer Protection Division arrived at the migrant shelter's door on Feb. 7 and demanded a trove of documents within a day. Annunciation House sued the attorney general's office to delay the release of the records, asking a judge to determine which documents shelter officials were legally allowed to release. Paxton's office filed a countersuit to shutter the shelter network. The attorney general's office claimed the shelter was violating state law by helping people suspected of being undocumented immigrants. The investigation was one of more than 12 instances identified last year by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica in which Paxton's office used the state's consumer protection laws to investigate organizations whose work conflicts in some way with his political views or the views of his conservative base. At least four other organizations that work with immigrants have been targeted. An El Paso judge in July denied Paxton's effort to shut down Annunciation House. State District Judge Francisco Dominguez ruled that the state's claim, 'even if accepted as true, does not establish a violation of those provisions.' He also ruled that the state laws are preempted by federal law and therefore 'unenforceable.' Paxton's office appealed the decision directly to the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court. The appeal drew five letters to the court from outside parties. Among them were two in support of Annunciation House filed by El Paso County and First Liberty Institute, a Texas nonprofit that champions religious freedom. America First Legal Foundation, an organization started by a former Trump administration official to advocate for conservative causes, filed a letter in support of Paxton's office. Paxton's office, which has argued that the shelter network should be closed for violating state laws against human smuggling and operating a stash house, told the court that Annunciation House should be shuttered to send a message to other similar organizations. Ryan Baasch of the attorney general's office argued that Annunciation House 'knowingly and purposely' shelters undocumented persons. 'If all the state is allowed to do is obtain an injunction that says, 'Don't do this unlawful act again,' there's absolutely no deterrent effect,' Baasch said in response to a question from a justice about why an injunction would be insufficient. When one of the justices asked whether the state wanted to deter organizations from exercising their religious activity, Baasch responded: 'Not all, your honor. We want to deter organizations from knowingly and deliberately sheltering illegally present aliens.' Annunciation House's lawyers have characterized the state's arguments as 'utter nonsense,' arguing that Paxton's efforts violate the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to free speech, association and religion, and the Fourth Amendment, which offers protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Annunciation House lawyer Amy Warr argued that most of the people who the shelter helps have been processed and released by federal immigration authorities while their cases are pending. She said other federal authorities, like the FBI, sometimes bring undocumented people to the shelter who they need as witnesses in criminal cases. 'Law enforcement knows we are there, knows that we house undocumented people,' Warr said. 'If they want to pick somebody up, they come with a warrant and they get the person — or they wait outside until the person comes out. They have full means to do this.' Annunciation House gave five minutes of its oral arguments to First Liberty Institute, a religious freedom organization. Elizabeth Kiernan argued on behalf of the group that Annunciation House's work is motivated by the group's Catholic faith. 'The Catholic church has claimed Annunciation House as one of its own,' Kiernan said. 'If the (Texas Religious Freedom and Restoration Act) protects anything, it protects this religious charity against outright closure.' In a unanimous opinion, with one justice recused, the Texas Supreme Court found that the district court had erred in granting Annunciation House a permanent inunction against records requests from the Attorney General, and in denying the state's request for a permanent injunction. Should Paxton's office ask for another injunction, 'the trial court must assess it in light of our holdings,' the justices wrote. But they made clear that they were not weighing in on the strength of Paxton's arguments or his chances of winning this case outright. 'It is too early for us, or for any court, to express a view about the merits of the underlying issues,' the unanimous opinion reads. 'Perhaps the case will terminate quickly based on evidentiary or legal grounds; perhaps it will go to trial… We resolve only what we must to dispose of today's appeal.' The case will return now to the district 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Health care advocates form coalition urging Republicans to take their ‘Hands Off Medicaid'
Shelly Ten Napel, CEO of the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas, participates in a debate on Sept. 19, 2024, at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell. She is part of a new coalition opposing cuts to Medicaid. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) A group of South Dakota health care advocates launched a 'Hands Off Medicaid' coalition Thursday, pleading with the state's all-Republican congressional delegation to avoid proposed cuts. Medicaid is a federal-state health care program for low-income people. A U.S. House-approved budget reconciliation bill would reduce the program by $625 billion over 10 years under an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office. Shelley Ten Napel, CEO of the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas, is a member of Hands Off Medicaid. 'The proposed cuts will be especially harmful to rural South Dakota,' Ten Napel said. 'When coverage rates fall, rural health centers lose critical funding – putting access to primary care, maternal care, dental services and behavioral health at risk for everyone in those communities.' U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, voted for the bill last week. It's now under consideration by the Senate. 'This bill is a strong conservative work product, and one that is long overdue,' Johnson said last week in a press release. 'It delivers a historic spending reduction and roots out abuse of federal programs. These changes are a meaningful attempt to turn our fiscal house in the right direction.' SD Rep. Johnson votes yes as U.S. House Republicans push through budget reconciliation bill Hands Off Medicaid's introductory press conference included Democrat Earl Pomeroy, who served as a U.S. representative for North Dakota from 1993 to 2011. He said millions of Americans could lose care. 'This bill represents a complete retreat from decades of bipartisan progress in expanding access to health care,' Pomeroy said. 'It will drive up the number of uninsured South Dakotans and leave rural hospitals drowning in tens of millions of dollars in uncompensated care.' That fear is shared by retired family physician Tom Dean. Born and raised near Wessington Springs, he retired after 43 years of practice and still lives in the small South Dakota town. 'I'm really frightened about the impact it will have on nursing homes,' Dean said. About 147,000 South Dakotans are enrolled in Medicaid. The advocates said 49% of seniors and people with disabilities receive nursing home and community-based care through Medicaid. They also say one out of four births in the state is covered by Medicaid. 'Medicaid is a major payer for prenatal, delivery and postpartum care,' Dean said. 'And that's a major concern, especially in rural areas, but across the country. This country has an alarmingly high maternal mortality rate.' The U.S. maternal mortality rate in 2022 was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund, compared to zero in Norway, 1.2 in Switzerland, 3.4 in Japan, 3.5 in Germany, and 8.4 in Canada. Shannon Bacon is the director of external affairs at Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas. She said access to obstetric care is declining across the state because fewer facilities are offering those services, in part because it 'typically is a money-loser for hospitals, and especially for small rural hospitals that are already financially stressed.' 'And if we lose Medicaid coverage, it will make that problem even worse,' Bacon said. 'And as a result, it will have a direct impact on outcomes.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill includes a policy change that would require Medicaid enrollees who are between the ages of 19 and 65 to work, participate in community service, or attend an educational program at least 80 hours a month. The language has numerous exceptions, including for pregnant women, parents of dependent children, people who have complex medical conditions, tribal community members, those in the foster care system, people who were in foster care who are below the age of 26, and individuals released from incarceration in the last 90 days, among others. Meanwhile, South Dakota officials are considering imposing their own work requirements on adult Medicaid expansion enrollees who don't qualify for a list of exceptions. South Dakotans voted in 2022 to expand Medicaid to adults with incomes up to 138% of the poverty level, a decision that allowed the state to capitalize on a 90% federal funding match. The first of two public hearings on the state's Medicaid expansion work requirements proposal is at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the state Department of Social Services in Pierre. States Newsroom's D.C. Bureau contributed to this report. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
