Å bill that would increase penalties for selling a drug that results in a death and hike penalties for fentanyl sales is headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk, according to The Des Moines Register.
The Iowa Senate passed House File 595 41-9, making it eligible to be signed into law by Reynolds, who said she will soon sign it. All no votes were Democrats.
The bill would mean that a person would receive three times the sentence otherwise imposed by law if they sell or provide a drug to another person that results in their death. The sentence would be doubled if the sale results in serious bodily injury. A person who manufactures a drug in the presence of a minor or sells a drug to a minor would be subject to twice the penalty otherwise imposed by law.
The Iowa Senate has confirmed former State Auditor Mary Mosiman as the state’s top tax official, reports Radio Iowa.
Governor Kim Reynolds appointed her to be director of the Iowa Department of Revenue on March 29. Mosiman, who is a CPA, has been the deputy director of the department for the past three years. Senator Pam Jochum a Democrat from Dubuque, says as the chief deputy, Mosiman has had oversight of the agency’s tax division and has done a good job.
Jochum and other Democrats in the Senate say they have concerns about staffing levels in the agency in its expanded role under the governor’s state government reorganization plan, but all Democrats and all Republicans in the Senate today voted to confirm Mosiman as the Iowa Department of Reenue director.
Nebraskans are close to being able to carry concealed weapons without a permit, according to the Omaha World Herald.
State lawmakers passed the bill this morning. The bill will be sent to Gov. Jim Pillen's desk, where he's expected to sign it into law.
LB 77 will allow Nebraskans 21 and older to carry concealed weapons without a permit. The bill will apply statewide and invalidate any local ordinances limiting that ability. It will take effect 90 days after the session ends, likely near the end of August or early September.
Supporters have repeatedly argued the state's current restrictions on firearms are too strict and violate the Second Amendment. Opponents have launched several protests against it, citing the rising rate of gun violence in the U.S. and contending that the bill will make Nebraska less safe.
Currently in Nebraska, getting a concealed carry permit requires passing a criminal background check, paying a $100 fee and taking an eight- to 16-hour gun safety class.
LB 77 will allow people to continue getting permits if they wanted. It would not change who is allowed to purchase firearms in Nebraska, nor would it change where people are allowed to carry concealed weapons.
Measures like LB 77 are sometimes called “constitutional carry” in reference to some gun rights advocates’ belief that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives people the right to carry concealed guns without a permit.
South Dakota has a new set of social studies standards that educators will start teaching to students in the fall of 2025.
That’s after the South Dakota Board of Education Standards passed that set Monday in Pierre, despite hearing from a majority of educators and the state’s nine tribes who all stood in solidarity opposing the standards.
A two-year implementation period for the standards will start in June at the South Dakota Department of Education office, along with the South Dakota Historical Society and the Office of Indian Education to help current teachers learn how to put the standards into practice, according to a press release from Gov. Kristi Noem’s office.
