Latest Legislation News

Critics of North Carolina school athletics governing body pass bill ordering more oversight

Sep. 22, 2023 21:19 PM EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators have ordered additional oversight of the chief nonprofit body that manages high school sports, finalizing legislation Friday that seeks to leave more rule-making in the hands of state education leaders. In separate House and Senate...

Judge questions Georgia prosecutors' effort to freeze a new law that could weaken their authority

Sep. 22, 2023 18:07 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge expressed skepticism Friday at demands to freeze a new Georgia law creating a commission to discipline and remove state prosecutors. Some Republicans want the new commission to discipline or remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for winning...

Lawmakers author proposal to try to cut food waste in half by 2030

Sep. 22, 2023 11:59 AM EDT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A bipartisan coalition of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a proposal designed to cut food waste in half by 2030. The lawmakers submitted their legislation on Thursday and said it would improve collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and...

India’s Parliament passes law that will reserve a third of legislature seats for women from 2029

Sep. 22, 2023 06:03 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Parliament has approved landmark legislation that reserves one-third of the seats in its powerful lower house and in state legislatures for women to ensure more equal representation, ending a 27-year impasse over the bill amid a lack of consensus among political...

EU calls on Bosnian Serb parliament to reject draft law that brands NGOs as 'foreign agents'

Sep. 21, 2023 10:57 AM EDT

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The European Union on Thursday urged authorities in the Serb-controlled half of Bosnia to without delay withdraw a draft law that brands non-profit groups funded from abroad as “foreign agents.” The law is to be adopted by the Bosnian Serb...

South Africa to host US trade forum as diplomatic tensions subside

Sep. 21, 2023 05:24 AM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa will host a meeting in November of nations participating in the U.S. Africa Growth and Opportunity Act despite earlier calls to exclude the country from the forum due to its ties to Russia and the docking of a sanctioned Russian vessel near Cape Town last year. ...

Iran's parliament passes a stricter headscarf law days after protest anniversary

Sep. 20, 2023 20:50 PM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to impose heavier penalties on women who refuse to wear the mandatory Islamic headscarf in public and those who support them. The move came just days after the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini,...

Bill for preserving site of Wounded Knee massacre in South Dakota passes U.S. House

Sep. 20, 2023 20:32 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill to preserve the site of the Wounded Knee massacre — one of the deadliest massacres in U.S. history — cleared the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. The Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act, introduced by Republican U.S. Rep....

Swiss parliament approves ban on full-face coverings like burqas, and sets fine for violators

Sep. 20, 2023 19:09 PM EDT

GENEVA (AP) — The lower house of Switzerland's parliament voted Wednesday to give final legislative passage to a ban on face coverings, such as the burqas worn by some Muslim women. The National Council voted 151-29 for the legislation, which was already approved by the upper...

Seattle City Council OKs law to prosecute for having and using drugs such as fentanyl in public

Sep. 20, 2023 16:58 PM EDT

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle City Council on Tuesday adopted a controlled substance law after rejecting it earlier this summer, making the possession and public use of drugs such as fentanyl a gross misdemeanor. The council voted to approve the measure by a 6-3 vote on Tuesday,...