Vaccine mandate at Disney World, Florida paused

• Disney’s policy that requires Florida-based employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine has been paused as new legislature in the state restricts employer’s power to require vaccinations
• Any Disney employees who are not fully vaccinated will be required to wear face coverings, and observe social distancing and other safety protocols

Kansas proposal is failing to gain GOP support on COVID-19 mandates

• Legislators representing the GOP in Kansas are struggling to rack up support among Republicans for a proposal providing unemployment benefits to workers who lose their job for refusing the vaccine
• Top Republicans in the House were unsure enough about support for the unemployment proposal that they left it out of legislation before their chamber

Judge rules Iowa Medicaid doesn’t cover sex-change surgery

• In a ruling on November 22, a Judge said that an Iowa law that prohibits Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment surgeries for transgender residents actually violated the state law and constitution
• Judge William Kelly ordered the Iowa Department of Human Services to provide coverage for sex reassignment surgeries when ordered to treat gender dysphoria
• 12 additional states have already excluded these types of surgeries in Medicaid coverage 

The post Legislative News – 11-22-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

Ohio marijuana capacity could be expanded by law proposal

• Proposed legislation in the Ohio Senate could expand the amount of marijuana that can be grown for the state’s medical-marijuana program and increase the number of places able to sell it
• The proposal would allow level one cultivators to expand their growing operations from 25,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet, and
• Level two cultivators will have their square footage changed from 3,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet

The post Legislative News – 11-17-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• A representative for Missouri state, Mike Henderson, plans to introduce “Bentley’s Law” during the next legislative session
• The law was originally proposed by a woman named Cecilia Williams who lost three loved ones in an alleged drunk driving crash and is trying to help children who lose parents to similar circumstances
• Under this law, drunk drivers who cause the death of a parent or parents are required to pay child support to a surviving spouse or the relatives raising the victim’s children until the child turns 18 years old 

Senate in Massachusetts allows “Nero’s Law” to pass through which is aimed at injured K-9s

• On November 10, the Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed a bill that allows first responders to provide emergency medical care to injured K-9s
• This bill which is named “Nero’s Law” was filed by State Senator Mark Montigny following the deadly shooting of Yarmouth Police Sergeant Sean Gannon
• Before this law was introduced, K-9s injured in the line of duty has to be driven to a vet, restricting first responders from treating them

The post Legislative News – 11-11-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• For the first time in the state’s history, California State Assemblymember Evan Low is the first to pass a bill that requires retail stores to “maintain a gender-neutral section or area”
• Assembly Bill 1084 applies to retail stores with more than 500 employees and will fine them $250 for the first offense and $500 for additional offenses
• The bill will go into effect in 2024 and will not mandate the manufacturers or vendors stop selling gendered children’s products

Task Force in Kentucky supports funding for Full-Day Kindergarten

• In an effort to turn financial support for full-day kindergarten into a permanent obligation, Kentucky picked up momentum on November 8, when a state school task force endorsed the proposal
• This task force also urged state lawmakers to make plans for full state funding of school district’s transportation costs to fully fund a school safety measure that came into effect in 2019

Cannabis businesses and comedians push for legalization of pot

• Through a celebrity-infused campaign, large cannabis businesses are trying to get marijuana users to pressure Congress to legalize pot across the nation
• The “Cannabis in Common” initiative launched on November 9 to change further the federal legalization of cannabis that struggled with opposition from Capitol Hill

New car technology mandated by Congress to stop drunk driving

• Automakers now have a new requirement by Congress that requires them to find a way to keep drunken people from driving cars 
• This mandate is a part of the new $1 trillion infrastructure package and is aimed to improve auto safety 
• In this new legislation, monitoring systems must be included to stop drunk drivers and will come in all new vehicles as soon as 2026, if the Transportation Department this able to come up with the necessary technology

Illinois Conscience law sees new changes as governor sign new COVID-19 Amendment

• Governor J.B. Pritzker on November 8 signed a change into law regarding the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act that would give punishments to those who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine
• Before this amendment, employees filed lawsuits claiming that they cannot be punished for refusing the vaccine because the law provides a conscience-based exemption

The post Legislative News – 11-09-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• North Carolina judges have struck down the state’s latest photo voter identification law on Friday
• Two of the three trial judges declared the December 2018 law is unconstitutional, even though it was designed to implement a photo voter ID mandate added to the North Carolina Constitution

New York to eliminate Jail time for most minor parole violations

• Under a new law that was signed on Friday by Governor Kathy Hochul, New Yorkers will be able to avoid jail time for most nonviolent parole violations
• Violations include: being late to an appointment with a parole officer, missing curfew, or failing to pay fees or to inform a parole officer of a change in employment
• Starting in March, people on parole will be jailed only for drug or alcohol use if they were convicted of driving under the influence of those substances

The post Legislative News – 09-17-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• House Democrats have unveiled a sweeping proposal for tax hikes on large corporations and the wealthy to fund President’s Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion rebuilding plan 
• The top tax rate would turn back to 39.6% on people earning more than $400,000 or $450,000 for couples, and there would be a 3% tax on wealthier Americans with adjusted income over $5 million a year

The post Legislative News – 09-14-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• On September 13, an Arizona Judge is set  to hear arguments in a case that is seeking to overturn new state laws that restrict the power of school districts and local governments
• Including in the hearing will be complaints about restrictions on school districts to impose a COVID-19 mask mandate

The post Legislative News – 09-13-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• The Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan has vetoed many Republican-sponsored elections bills and she says they perpetuate falsehoods as they discredit the 2020 presidential election
• The measures that were vetoed would have arranged existing practices by limiting access to Michigan’s voter database and keeping the electronic poll books from being connected with the internet

The post Legislative News – 10-04-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• On September 28, a statewide civics curriculum in Wisconsin would be created for all public and private schools to follow
• This measure would require that all public school students take at least a half credit in civics education in order to graduate

Senate in Wisconsin to vote on larger penalties for animal abuse

• The state Senate for Wisconsin is scheduled to vote on September 28 on a bill that would increase penalties for animal abuse
• Currently, the penalty for animal abuse is $500 and abuse that results in disfigurement, mutilation, or death will result in 3 ½ years in prison

The post Legislative News – 09-28-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• In a new rule announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, the domestic production and use of gases that are commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners will be highly limited
• These gases are known as hydrofluorocarbons and according to the agency, this gas is a high contribution to global climate change 

The post Legislative News – 09-23-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.