Latest Legislation News

After Nashville, Congress confronts limits of new gun law

Apr. 01, 2023 19:09 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nine months ago, President Joe Biden signed a sweeping bipartisan gun law, the most significant legislative response to gun violence in decades. “Lives will be saved,” he said at the White House. The law has already prevented some potentially...

Hawaii governor signs 7 government, ethics reform bills

Mar. 31, 2023 21:54 PM EDT

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signed on Friday seven good-government bills drafted in response to news last year that two former lawmakers had accepted bribes in exchange for influencing legislation. One measure, HB137, would require lobbyists to report not only the...

House GOP approves broad bill to 'unleash' American energy

Mar. 30, 2023 21:13 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Thursday approved a sprawling energy package that seeks to undo virtually all of President Joe Biden's agenda to address climate change. The legislation would sharply increase domestic production of oil, natural gas and coal, and ease...

New Jersey passes bill overhauling campaign finance system

Mar. 30, 2023 16:53 PM EDT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's Democrat-led Legislature passed a sweeping overhaul of the state's campaign finance laws on Thursday, sending the measure to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's desk. The measure, called the Elections Transparency Act — a name opponents say it falls...

New Mexico governor signs bill expanding voter access

Mar. 30, 2023 14:51 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor Thursday signed a Democratic-sponsored voting rights bill aimed at expanding access to the ballot and two other related measures. New Mexico was one of several Democratic-controlled states where lawmakers advocated for sweeping voter...

Georgia lawmakers get incomplete grade in transition year

Mar. 30, 2023 13:33 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — For the Georgia General Assembly, 2023 was a year when a lot of things didn't happen. Many Georgia legislative sessions are ultimately remembered for one issue — abortion restrictions in 2019, a hate crimes law after the death of Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, election law...

Veteran actress' surrogate baby stirs controversy in Spain

Mar. 30, 2023 12:54 PM EDT

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s ruling Socialist party said Thursday it will study toughening legislation covering surrogate pregnancies following the revelation that a 68-year-old popular Spanish television celebrity used a surrogate mother in Miami to have a baby. Actress and presenter...

Editorial Roundup: Georgia

Mar. 30, 2023 07:11 AM EDT

Brunswick News. March 27, 2023. Editorial: State Senate must play its part in fighting homelessness In a planning retreat Friday, Glynn County commissioners listed a number of priority projects and goals they would like to tackle in the next fiscal year. Among them,...

Australia makes biggest carbon polluters curb emissions

Mar. 30, 2023 01:28 AM EDT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian Parliament created landmark new laws Thursday that will make the nation’s biggest greenhouse gas polluters reduce their emissions or pay for carbon credits. The center-left Labor Party administration said the so-called Safeguard Mechanism...

Biden won't veto Republican-led bill ending COVID emergency

Mar. 29, 2023 21:28 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden won’t veto a Republican-led measure to end the national COVID emergency, despite having expressed strong objections against it earlier this year, ensuring the bill is on an easy path to becoming law. It marks the second time in the new...