Legislation

Israel Targets Rights Groups With Bill To Outlaw Filming Of Soldiers

June 18, 2018 Jeffrey Heller, Uk.reuters.com Resist! Israel, Legislation, Military, Repression

Rights groups frequently film Israeli soldiers on duty in the occupied West Bank, documentation the organisations say is necessary to expose abuse by the military. A video filmed by Israeli rights group B’Tselem in 2016 showing an Israeli soldier shoot dead an incapacitated Palestinian assailant drew international condemnation and led to the soldier’s conviction for manslaughter in a highly divisive trial. The proposed law, formulated by the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, would make filming or publishing footage “with intent to harm the morale of Israel’s soldiers or its inhabitants” punishable by up to five years in prison. The term would be raised to 10 years if the intention was to damage “national security”. A ministerial committee which oversees legislation voted to approve the bill on Sunday.

California Senate Passes Gold Standard Net Neutrality Bill Despite Fierce Lobbying From ISPs

May 31, 2018 Staff, Tumblr.fightforthefuture.org Create! California, Electoral Politics, Internet, Legislation, Net Neutrality

SB 822 passed in large part due to mass mobilization by California residents in support of net neutrality. The bill heads next to the State Assembly, where it will likely get a vote early this Fall. -More than 53,000 California residents sent letters to the Senate Energy committee calling on them to advance SB 822 -Nearly 200 small businesses in California have signed on to open letters here and here. -Dozens of public interest groups like Fight for the Future, Color of Change, Greenpeace, Consumers Union, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, CREDO, and Daily Kos signed on to a letter calling on Committee Chair Ben Hueso to advance SB 822.

House Passes $717B Defense Bill That Covers Trump Military Parade

May 26, 2018 Sommer Brokaw, Upi.com Educate! Congress, Legislation, Military, Trump Administration

May 24 (UPI) -- House lawmakers overwhelmingly voted for a $717 billion defense bill Thursday, which includes funding for the military parade President Donald Trump asked for. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2019 authorizes funding for new military equipment -- including new submarine- and sea-launched missile systems -- as part of a nuclear modernization program. The bill also authorized $617 billion for the Pentagon budget, $22 billion for the nuclear weapons program and $69 billion for U.S. military efforts abroad. House lawmakers passed the proposal by a vote of 351-66, despite Democratic opposition for the new weapons.

California Net Neutrality Bill SB822 Floor Vote On May 29

May 26, 2018 Staff, Act.eff.org Create! California, Electoral Politics, Legislation, Net Neutrality

Internet users were already at the mercy of ISPs, like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon before the FCC repealed net neutrality protections. Now they don’t have to treat everything you access online equally. A new bill in California would provide strong protections for an open and free Internet. Californians: say you support net neutrality and S.B. 822 Despite the huge outcry from the public, 2017 saw the FCC vote to repeal net neutrality. While Congress can still, and should, act to save net neutrality and ISP privacy on a national scale, federal protections do not exist today. In response, states should use their own leverage to try to keep the Internet free and open. That includes requiring any ISP that receives state funds or access to taxpayer-funded infrastructure to adhere to net neutrality principles.

Inside The CIA, Facial UnRecognition & Bills For Blue Lives

May 24, 2018 Eleanor Goldfield, Occupy.com Resistance Report CIA, Legislation, Police

We go inside the #CIA with John Kiriakou - the only person to ever serve jail time for the CIA's torture program - because he blew the whistle on it. He also worked with Gina Haspel, the new chief of the CIA who not only took a large and energetic part in the torture program but destroyed evidence of it as well. John dishes on the CIA paradigm, the war on whistleblowers and the deep state. PLUS, Blue Lives Matter bills have cropped up all over the place recently. And now, the Protect And Serve Act has passed the House and awaits Senate Approval. Here's why that's horrifying and problematic. Speaking of horrifying and problematic, Facial Recognition technology is the new toy for law enforcement - from the FBI to your local police.

State Sets Massive Precedent, Passes Law To Effectively Ban The NSA

May 21, 2018 By Rachel Blevins, Activistpost.com Create! Legislation, Mass Surveillance, Michigan, NSA

“It hangs up a sign on Michigan’s door saying, ‘No violation of the Fourth Amendment, look elsewhere,’” Howrylak said. “Democrats, as well as Republicans, would certainly stand very strong in our position on what this law means.” While Howrylak said he thinks the law makes “a strong court case saying this is what the state intends,” he hopes other states will join in by passing similar legislation, in an effort to cripple the NSA’s illegal activities. Next month marks 5 years since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden released a trove of classified documents revealing that the United States government was routinely collecting metadata from innocent American citizens without warrants, and using “national security” to justify its actions.

California Becomes First State Requiring All New Homes Be Built With Solar

May 10, 2018 Rob Nikolewski, Sandiegouniontribune.com Create! California, Legislation, Solar Energy

Environmental groups hailed the decision, pointing to estimates that energy use in buildings account for about one-fourth of greenhouse gas emissions in California. The state’s four investor-owned utilities — including San Diego Gas & Electric — also came out in favor of the measure. A representative for the Utilities Codes and Standards statewide team said the rule is “a cost effective way to help customers reduce energy use, lower greenhouse gas emissions and represent(s) a significant milestone in the continued effort to achieve California’s long-term energy and climate goals.” Under Senate Bill 350, passed in 2015, the state must double statewide energy efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas end uses by 2030. California also calls for at least 50 percent of state’s electricity to come from clean-energy sources by 2030. The updated code, which includes an option to promote solar paired with battery storage systems, figures to give the solar industry a big boost.

‘People Have To Strengthen The Laws Protecting The Water’

May 5, 2018 Janine Jackson, Fair.org Educate! Environment, Legislation, Water

Janine Jackson: It is impossible, really, not to connect two recent pieces of news: Residents of Flint, Michigan, have been told that the state that poisoned their drinking water will no longer provide them free bottled water. They’ll be going back to paying some of the highest prices in the country, some $200 a month, for water that may still be making them sick. The Washington Post reports at least 12,000 homes in Flint still waiting for replacement of lead pipes. At the same time, Michigan approved a permit letting the Nestlé Corporation pump more fresh water out of a well in the Great Lakes Basin to bottle and sell at a profit, more than half a million gallons a day, the right to which will cost Nestlé…wait for it…around $200 a year. And that won’t increase, although the amount of water they are taking will—by 60 percent.

Oakland Passes “Strongest” Surveillance Oversight Law In US

May 4, 2018 Cyrus Farivar, Arstechnica.com Create! Deportations, ICE, Legislation, Oakland, Surveillance

OAKLAND, Calif.—Late Tuesday evening, the Oakland City Council formally approved a new city ordinance that imposes community control over the use of surveillance technology in the city. Oakland is now one of a number of California cities, including Berkeley and Davis, that mandates a formal annual report that details "how the surveillance technology was used," among other requirements. In the wake of Oakland’s 2013 efforts to approve federal grant money to construct a "Domain Awareness Center," the city has now also created a "Privacy Advisory Commission," or PAC. This body, composed of volunteer commissioners from each city council district, acts as a privacy check on the city when any municipal entity (typically the police department) wants to acquire a technology that may impinge on individual privacy.

Food Policy Action Plans Broad-Based Opposition To Draft Farm Bill

May 4, 2018 Staff, Foodtank.com Resist! Farms, Food and Agriculture, Legislation, Policy

On May 8-9th, 2018, Food Policy Action (FPA) is mobilizing stakeholders from across the United States to voice their united opposition to the draft 2018 Farm Bill released by the House Agriculture Committee. Advocates have a narrow window in which to convince House members that supporting a Farm Bill that cuts support for SNAP, small farmers, and the working class is not only irresponsible but will lose them support at the ballot box, says FPA executive director Monica Mills. “We are already doing a dismal job providing support for new, young, and small farmers, and this bill is going to be incredibly harmful to rural economies if it eliminates what programs we do have. And the changes to SNAP feel like we’re waging war on the poor,” she told Food Tank.

Under Louisiana Bill, Peaceful Protesters Could Face 20 Years In Prison

April 21, 2018 By Christine Baniewicz, Truthout.org Educate! Legislation, Louisiana, Protests, Repression

"It's a good bill," he said, then motioned for favorable passage. Ninety-seven legislators voted yay, three voted nay, and just like that, all 4.6 million residents of Louisiana took a step toward losing their First Amendment rights. Should the bill become law, it would impose severe penalties on peaceful protesters engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience actions at sites considered "critical infrastructure" by Thibaut's bill. In fact, simply planning to take such an action, considered "conspiracy" by HB 727, could be punishable by fees of up to $10,000 and prison sentences as long as 20 years. With the crack of a gavel, Louisiana joined the growing number of states across the nation with similar "critical infrastructure" bills moving swiftly through the courts and onto governors' desks.

AT&T And Cable Lobby Are Terrified Of A California Net Neutrality Bill

April 19, 2018 Jon Brodkin, Arstechnica.com Create! California, FCC, Legislation, Net Neutrality

Internet service providers celebrated four months ago when the Federal Communications Commission voted to eliminate nationwide net neutrality rules that prohibit blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization. But now Internet service providers in California are terrified that they could end up facing even stricter rules being considered by the California legislature. AT&T and the lobby group that represents Comcast, Charter, Cox, and other cable companies have been making their displeasure known to lawmakers in advance of hearings on a bill that could impose the toughest net neutrality law in the nation. The California bill implements the FCC's basic net neutrality rules from 2015, but it also bans paid zero-rating arrangements in which home or mobile Internet providers charge online services for data cap exemptions.

Speak-Out Held In Senator Sanders’ Office For Critical Improvements To His Bill

April 14, 2018 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Healthoverprofit.org Resistance Report Electoral Politics, Health Care, Legislation, Reform

Ed Klein from Freeport, IL is currently on Medicare, but he has found it does not pay the cost of a very expensive essential medicine he needs. He wants Medicare to be improved to cover those costs and emphasized that for-profit insurance companies have no place in health care, as they put their profits before the health needs of people. Phil Ateto from Annapolis, MD is with the Backbone Campaign, which gave Sanders an award a few years ago for moral courage. He was a strong supporter of Sanders’ presidential campaign but feels that even supporters need to urge him to fix the shortcomings in his Medicare bill. He wants a strong bill that will excite the single payer movement and that we can enthusiastically champion.

Utilities Kill Solar Bill Despite Majority Support In SC House

April 14, 2018 Sammy Fretwell, Thestate.com Educate! Legislation, Solar Energy, South Carolina, Utilities

Under pressure from the state's major utilities, the S.C. House killed a solar bill Tuesday that was intended to protect thousands of jobs and save customers money on their monthly power bills. The bill's defeat, a stunning reversal from a House vote last week, brought withering criticism from many lawmakers, who said the House caved in to opposition by Duke Energy and SCE&G, derailing the legislation. Utilities have expressed concern about how competition from solar could affect them. State Rep. James Smith, the bill's chief sponsor, also blamed Republican Gov. Henry McMaster. Smith, a Democratic candidate for governor and potential opponent to McMaster in November's general election, said the Republican urged some lawmakers not to vote for the bill — a point McMaster's office hotly disputed.

Louisiana And Minnesota Introduce Anti-Protest Bills Amid Fights Over Bayou Bridge And Enbridge Pipelines

April 3, 2018 Alleen Brown and Will Parrish, Theintercept.com Resist! Legislation, Louisiana, Minnesota, Pipelines

THIS WEEK, THE Louisiana House of Representatives introduced new legislation aimed at criminalizing the activities of groups protesting the extraction, burning, and transport of oil and gas. The bill is similar to a model created by the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council. Indeed, in the wake of the massive protest movement at Standing Rock, which attempted to prevent completion of the Dakota Access pipeline, at least seven states have introduced or passed “critical infrastructure” legislation. Louisiana’s version comes as opponents of the Bayou Bridge pipeline have ramped up protest activities in the state, staging occupations and blockades aimed at halting construction of the project. The legislation creates new crimes that would punish groups for “conspiring” to trespass on critical infrastructure sites and prescribes particularly harsh penalties for those whose ideas...

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