Tag: Policy

National has released its alternative medicinal cannabis bill, which it says will make cannabis medication products more widely available. But the real story of the day was a political one, with National blindsiding Labour, whose medicinal cannabis bill returned from select committee today. The bill puts pressure on the Government’s support parties, particularly the Greens, whose own medicinal cannabis bill brought by Chlöe Swarbrick was defeated in January. Bills mount up National’s bill is sponsored by Shane Reti, a doctor and the Deputy Chair of the Health select committee, which had been looking at the Government’s bill. Users would be issued with a Medicinal Cannabis Card, certifying them to buy medicinal cannabis products. In the House, Bridges accused the Government of not “doing the work” and said National’s detailed bill was evidence of a “Government in waiting”. Woodhouse said the Government members on the Health select committee were “ambivalent” about National’s proposals, while Bridges said the Government’s bill didn’t even have “the makings of a framework” to look at the regulations National members demanded. The Health Select Committee’s Chair, Labour’s Louisa Wall, said the introduction of a new bill on the day the select committee was to release its report undermined the integrity of the select committee process. Then, to pass its first reading, it would need the support of a minor party, likely the Greens or New Zealand First. Neither minor party would commit to supporting the bill on Wednesday, before they had read it.

Montana voted in laws to disclose donors because they really don't like "Dark Money" in their politics. Every state should follow their example! Kimberly Reed’s new project “Dark Money” pulls off what so many campaign reformers have trouble doing: She captures the personal impact of the flood of cash that has flowed into elections following the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. So much focus on money in politics is on Senate and House races; “Dark Money,” which opens this weekend, looks at state lawmakers in Montana who found themselves driven from office by a flood of pre-election day attack ads. The sources were opaque groups, financed by out-of-state corporate money, often with the message that the incumbents are too moderate. “The characters I ran into were really heroic, everyday characters, and most of them were Republicans who were being attacked by their own party, by the far right-wing of their own party,” Reed said. What makes “Dark Money” work is that it traces what has happened in the state over several election cycles, as she followed political figures and journalists over the course of five years. She also digs into the state’s tradition of clean politics, which at times is threatened by corporate interests. “As a native Montanan, I know how to talk to these people. I knew how to get the access that I needed, and also because of that, I had a sense that you really needed to stick to this tale,” she said.

Tucker: Democrats are banking that rage will get their voters to the polls in November. It may. It may also destroy the country. #Tucker FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as…

Three days after the Chicago Tribune reported that the centerpiece of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s affordable housing program had fallen far short of his promises, Emanuel announced he was re-establishing the city’s Department of Housing. Indeed, Leah Levinger, executive director of the Chicago Housing Initiative, called the move a “smokescreen,” an attempt to frame the city’s growing housing crisis as a problem of bureaucratic inattention “instead of talking about the real issues of race and class segregation, and how public and private interests are harmonized.” Emanuel’s last big housing move—a revamped Affordable Requirements Ordinance, which increased opt-out fees for housing developers who get city assistance to avoid affordable housing quotas, was passed in March 2015, weeks before the runoff in the mayoral election. At the time the mayor’s office predicted the measure would create 1,200 new units of affordable housing over the next five years and generate $90 million for the two housing funds. According to the Tribune, the ordinance generated just 194 units in its first two years, and just $9.2 million in fees. DePaul’s Institute for Housing Studies estimates there are 230,000 units in Chicago that are affordable for 350,000 low-income households – a “rental affordability gap” of 120,000. Emanuel recently announced new initiatives for early education and for City Colleges. One ordinance would preserve existing public housing by requiring one-for-one replacement for units lost to redevelopment. It would also address longstanding problems with Chicago’s housing programs, which skew toward small units aimed at higher income levels—the proposed ordinance requires that developers produce affordable family-sized units, with half aimed at households earning below 50 percent of area median income. “Experiences from New York City and various cities in California are reasonably clear that modern rent stabilization measures [which include increases to cover inflation and expenses] – as opposed to first-generation, hard-cap ‘rent control’ – work well,” said Frank Avellone, policy coordinator for the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing. “There is no loss of units, landlords continue to make fair returns, and rent-stabilized buildings are some of the best maintained.” Levinger points out that, since existing housing programs (including CHA vouchers) provide subsidies that are based on market rent levels, rent stabilization would reduce their cost and allow them to reach more families.

It's one of the most controversial mining projects in the United States, and it's sparked heated debate among Alaskans for more than a decade. Bill Walker urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to suspend a key environmental impact study of the proposed Pebble Mine in the Bristol Bay watershed, home to the world's largest wild salmon fishery. "I think that the governor's action has a lot more to do with politics than policy," Mike Heatwole, a spokesperson for Pebble Limited Partnership said Sunday. "Because all of the questions, the high bar that the governor has put out there, are exactly the type of issues that should be resolved and looked at and evaluated through the regulatory process." of Natural Resources, Andy Mack, said there's only one way the Walker administration would support the project. But Heatwole says zero impact isn't possible. Heatwole says Pebble has invested over $150 million in environmental studies of the area. As for the financials on the proposed mine, Heatwole said he couldn't address why a potential investor, First Quantum Minerals, backed away from the project in May. "I can't speak to why they backed away, I think that's probably best answered by them," Heatwole said. "Pebble is on state of Alaska land open to mineral development.

Has Democratic socialism ever worked? DSA honorary chair Cornel West weighs in on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.' #Tucker FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The…

Greg Hilburn/USA Today Network BATON ROUGE – Maybe it was Louisiana lawmakers’ exhaustion after four legislative sessions this year. Maybe the urgency of cuts only days away suddenly felt very real. Many lawmakers seemed almost giddy — dancing, clapping and taking selfies — after the agreement was struck and they could end the tense, frustrating months of arguing about state spending. She didn’t vote for either sales tax proposal in the second special session that cratered without a deal. And I just need to make sure you’re level-headed, remain strong, can handle it until the end because it’s going to get probably messy before we get there.” The House speaker, who helped block previous agreements on taxes, also gave lawmakers trying to rally tax votes an assurance. He said he told them if one of their tax measures had enough support to pass, “I will not stop that process.” When the deal on the 0.45 percent tax rate came up for approval, Barras supported it, lighting up his green button early enough to show other reticent Republicans his decision. Though House GOP leader Lance Harris didn’t support the final tax, he didn’t work to block it, a critical decision that helped pass the deal. The final deal avoided all the worst-case-scenario reductions. The House and Senate have spent 46 weeks — nearly an entire year — in session since 2016, as Edwards repeatedly called them back to work on closing budget gaps. Sen. Jack Donahue, the Mandeville Republican who handled Davis’ sales tax bill in the Senate, told senators: “I know you all are as sick of this as I am.

Michigan congressional candidate Lena Epstein says Franklin Hills Country Club called off her event because of her support of the president. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political…

28-year-old socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez upsets Rep. Joseph Crowley; Michelle Malkin sounds off on the dangers of the newcomer's agenda. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business…

Fox & Trends with Carley Shimkus. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number one network in cable, FNC has been the most watched…