Free Republic

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Tennessee for passing a law that bans chemical castration and body mutilating surgeries from being performed on youth who are confused about their sexual identity. Under President Joe Biden, the DOJ filed a complaint in intervention on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division, on behalf of families already suing the state over the law.At issue is Tennessee Senate Bill 1, signed into law last month and scheduled to take effect in July. The DOJ has asked the court to block the law...

Important - Listen to Ted Cruz powerfully speak out against Senate Bill (S1) that would result in the US becoming a one party nation run by Democrats. If this bill passes, it will destroy our democracy as we know it.

Caltrans will widen striping and increase visibility on 1,027 lane miles of U.S. Highway 101 from the San Benito/Santa Clara County line to the Santa Barbara/Ventura County line, thanks to funding by Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.“The wider and brighter striping will make it easier for all drivers and truckers to see the lane lines,” said Caltrans Director Laurie Berman. “The highly reflective striping will improve safety for road users, especially during rainy days. The six-inch striping will also take up more surface so it will be more durable and last longer,...

Dear Supporter, Our elected leaders in Richmond have some serious work to do over the next two months. Virginia is running a $1 billion budget deficit. Education and public safety funding is being diverted to fund transportation. And the state stands to lose federal funding and flexibility if it does not move forward with a Health Benefits Exchange. So, why is the General Assembly focusing time and energy to fix a problem that does not exist? There are a slew of bills moving through the General Assembly right now that threaten your voting rights and waste your tax dollars all...

A controversial bill on the governor's desk would give illegal immigrant college students in California new benefits, including access to state grants and fee waivers. Immigrant rights groups have urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign Senate Bill 1, also known as the California Dream Act, saying it would give those students hope for a better future. But the governor rejected a similar bill last year and opponents say the measure would stretch the state's already tight resources. "I guess California hasn't figured out what to do with its revenue surpluses," said Ira Mehlman, referring to the state's ongoing budget shortfall....

Emboldened by the success of California's anti-global-warming initiative, environmentalists are now eyeing a bevy of other green bills they believe can help save the planet. More than 20 high-priority bills are on their way to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk, including one on flex-fuel cars and one mandating cleaner power plants. There also are less-publicized bills such as one requiring most grocery stores to offer plastic bag recycling and one reducing the amount of water used in every toilet flush. Although the governor is being applauded for striking a deal with Democratic leaders ... under the Global Warming Solutions Act [AB32],...

CALIFORNIA may be a leader in curbing greenhouse gases and creating solar power, but Texas hasbreezed past the Golden State as the nation's top producer of wind power. The Lone Star State, better known for its oil derricks and natural gas, now has a capacity of 2,370 wind-generated megawatts, enough to power 600,000 average-sized homes a year, according to a report released by the American Wind Energy Association. California, the nation's wind energy leader since 1981, has 2,323 wind-generated megawatts, a mere 47 megawatts less than Texas. California industry observers shrugged off the development, describing it as a relatively small...

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday signed a bill that completes his “million solar roofs plan,” a move he says will put California on the cutting edge of renewable energy while also boosting the economy. The bill and action by the state Public Utilities Commission in January use a rate increase, about $15 a year for the average residential customer, to provide rebates lowering the cost of installing solar panels. The goal of the $3.2 billion program is to create 3,000 megawatts of clean solar power – or 5 percent of the state's total need – during the next decade,...

California citizens will pay at least $3.2 billion over the next 11 years to finance a costly solar energy initiative rejected by the state's legislature in fall 2005 but implemented by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on December 13. Observers quickly derided CPUC's decision, the California Solar Initiative, as demonstrating deliberate disregard for the state's democratic processes. Initiative Mirrors Failed Bill CPUC's California Solar Initiative is virtually identical to S.B. 1, the Million Solar Roofs proposal that was supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) but died in the state assembly in September 2005. S.B. 1 aimed to place solar...

Gov. Schwarzenegger's latest green initiative – to blanket the state with solar power - has come under attack from, of all places, Democrats. The bill - SB 1 - shows once again how closely tied California's Democratic politicians are to organized labor, their biggest source of money. The Democrats talk a good game about improving the schools, helping the poor or protecting the environment. But on almost every issue, their actions come down to: What do the unions want? What the unions wanted was a guaranteed piece of the business. They amended the bill to require that only certified electricians...

Gov. Schwarzenegger is fighting the good fight, so we can forgive him when he occasionally misfires. His "Million Solar Roofs Initiative" to subsidize photovoltaic (PV) systems is one such error. PV systems convert sunlight into electricity. This is great but for a few problems: the systems are costly; they rarely produce the electricity claimed; and, even with subsidies, PV does not pay for itself. Senate Bill 1 is the legislative vehicle for the governor's initiative. It passed the state Senate on a 30-5 vote with only Republican opposition. The next stop is the Assembly, then the governor's desk. California has...

SACRAMENTO The Senate today passed Governor Schwarzenegger's plan for a new round of incentives to encourage use of solar-generated electricity _ despite arguments that years of government support has yet to make the industry self-sufficient. Sunny California has a wealth of solar energy just when it needs it most--on stifling summer afternoons of the sort that led to rolling blackouts and spiking electricity costs during the state's power crisis in 2000 and 2001. Proponents say the proposed 10 years of incentives that would be provided by electricity ratepayers would jump-start a promising technology. Schwarzenegger's goal is to produce three-thousand megawatts...

(Atlanta, Saturday, April 26) -- The SB1 Stealth Triggerlock bill ran out of gas yesterday before it reached the finish line. Coming to the floor early in the afternoon, the measure was tabled after House Pro-Gun Leader Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta) and others began piling up amendments on it and debate became chaotic. Then a beefed-up team of CSG legislative volunteers moved into action in the House lobby, calling out uncommitted Reps. one after the other, and leaning on them to support the Self-Defense amendment. The volunteers kept the heat on for hours, knowing the bosses would want to wait until...

SB1 Stumbling to Finish Line (Atlanta, Thursday, April 24) -- Backers of the SB1 Stealth Triggerlock bill were caught off guard Tuesday as a massive wave of grass-roots pressure slammed legislators. A number of fence-sitters in the House are now saying they will vote for the Self-Defense amendment to SB1.If you participated in the Capitol call-in Mon. Apr. 21 or Tue. Apr. 22, you were awesome. "The first cracks in the child endangerment front appeared Monday. On Tuesday, we drove a big wedge in those cracks," said CSG Vice-President Steve Bellofatto.As a result of the heat, SB1 didn't make the...

Atlanta, Friday, April 18) -- House Judiciary Chairman Tom Bordeaux (D-Savannah) called an irregular "short-notice" meeting yesterday of a "special" subcommittee to advance the SB1 Stealth Triggerlock bill.The full Judiciary Committee will take up SB1 on Mon. Apr. 21 and it's expected to be approved. SB1 will then go to the House Rules Committee where it will likely be scheduled for floor action Thu. Apr. 24, the last day of the session.But CSG lobbyists warned that could change. "The creation of a special subcommittee to advance SB1 on short notice is a signal House bosses are ready to use irregular...

(Atlanta, Monday, March 3) -- A crucial vote in the Georgia State Senate Judiciary Committee on the SB1 substitute so-called "child endangerment" legislation was postponed for an unprecedented third time last Thursday until 4:30 pm this afternoon because of heavy pressure from people opposing the bill. Over the weekend, CSG attorneys studying the latest SB1 substitute language confirmed it was a "stealth-type" triggerlock bill posing a major long-term threat to your right to keep and bear arms in Georgia. Each time SB1 has been scheduled for a full committee hearing, pressure on committee members has become so intense that Chairman...

(Atlanta, Tuesday, February 25) -- The SB1 substitute Stealth Triggerlock bill has picked up steam and could come before the full Senate Judiciary Committee for a crucial vote on Wed. Feb. 26 at 2:30 pm. Over the weekend, gun owners across Georgia did an outstanding job in turning up the heat on Senate boss Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) for cutting a deal to advance the so-called SB1 "Child Endangerment" bill being pushed by Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor (D-Atlanta). If you assisted with this, give yourself a pat on the back for helping flush him out. CSG members reported several conflicting...

(Atlanta, Thursday, February 20) -- Good news: the HB197 Stealth Triggerlock bill is temporarily stalled in the Georgia House. In the face of relentless pressure from gun owners, to the amazement of many observers, the HB197 juggernaut ground to a halt this week. To everybody who helped resist this back door attack on your rights: you are great activists! Now the BAD NEWS: no sooner did gun owners gain the upper hand in the House, the so-called "Child Endangerment" coalition of anti-gunners, metro-area prosecutors, and "Hillary Clinton-clone" child-grabbers scurried across the Capitol to plead their case with State Senate boss...

(Atlanta, Friday, February 7) -- Georgia gun owners didn't get much time this week to enjoy their victory over the SB1 Substitute "Stealth Triggerlock" bill. Stymied in the State Senate, anti-gunners immediately introduced identical "Stealth Triggerlock" language in the Georgia House of Representatives as HB197. They quickly railroaded it through the House Judiciary Family Law Subcommittee on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The HB197 "Stealth Triggerlock" bill is a "Lock Away Your Gun" bill in disguise. It will force gun owners to lock away their guns so they're not ready for self-defense. If you don't lock up your guns so they're not...