The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee filed a new lawsuit against the State of Tennessee in a challenge to Public Chapter No. 471 – a law that requires online auctioneers to be licensed.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday that the implementation date for the identification has been extended to 2025.
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A new bill in the Ohio Senate, Senate Bill 361, aims to address the current teacher shortage by allowing veterans to become teachers without having a background in education provided they pass a particular set of criteria set forth in the bill.
State Senator Frank Hoagland (R-Mingo Junction) sponsored the bill, which allows a veteran to become an educator by completing four years of service, being honorably discharged, or receiving a medical separation.
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Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed legislation that would have allowed residents to carry a concealed firearm without a license, claiming the measure would exacerbate gun violence in the commonwealth.
“This legislation removes the requirement that an individual obtain a license, and with it, the ability of law enforcement to conduct a background investigation,” Wolf said. “Removal of the licensing background investigation will hinder the ability of law enforcement to prevent individuals who should not be able to carry a firearm concealed from doing so.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed three bills dealing with the consequences of a 15-months backlog at the Secretary of State’s office extending the validation of state driver’s licenses and ID cards.
“The pandemic was tough on all of us, and these bills put Michigan drivers first by giving Michiganders the flexibility they need to renew their drivers license and IDs,” Whitmer said in a statement. “It is crucial that we continue to offer services at our Secretary of State that fit the needs of all residents as we move forward.”
The three bills add 120 days of validity for the documents expired between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.
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The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission will pick six companies to start producing the plant for medical uses in the state.
Nearly 70 companies applied for licenses to grow marijuana and convert it to oil to treat various illnesses. Once the commission approves them, the companies could be looking at paying up to $200,000 in licensing fees to the state. They will have one year to get product to thousands of Georgians who have been waiting for more than five years.
Patients with a Low THC Oil Registry card legally can purchase up to 20 fluid ounces of the THC oil from licensed dispensaries or pharmacies under legislation signed into law by former Gov. Nathan Deal in 2015. However, without guidelines and a medical marijuana marketplace, the 14,000 registered patients in Georgia have no way of legally obtaining the oil.
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Residents of Hennepin County should not expect to renew their licenses, get a Real ID, or transfer a vehicle title anytime soon, as DMV branches across the county are experiencing long wait times for appointment bookings.
A calendar of available times for each branch and appointment type reveals that some branches don’t have open appointments until August.
For residents who go to the Ridgedale DMV branch, the earliest opening is currently August 2 for all services, including Real ID, enhanced license, state ID, vehicle title transfer, and license plate tab appointments.
On April 26, a source close to Alpha News scheduled an appointment at the Ridgedale DMV intending to update a home address on his driver’s license, and the earliest availability at the time was July 12.
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by Tim Pearce The D.C. Court of Appeals stripped Steven R. Donziger of his license to practice law in D.C. Sept. 14, leaving him unable to practice law anywhere in the U.S., Legal News Line reports. Donziger led a lawsuit against the oil and gas company Chevron for allegedly causing environmental and social harm to the Amazon region of Ecuador. Donziger previously lost his license to practice law in New York after the New York Supreme Court suspended it in July. He had only been licensed to practice law in New York and Washington, D.C., so he has effectively been banned from practicing law in the U.S., according to Legal News Line. “Because Judge [Lewis A. Kaplan’s] findings constitute uncontroverted evidence of serious professional misconduct which immediately threatens the public interest, respondent should be immediately suspended,” the New York Appellate Division of the Supreme Court wrote in its decision to suspend Donziger, Legal News Line reported. After an Ecuador court issued an $18 billion judgement against Chevron in February 2011, Donziger appeared that he would win the case. The judgement was later reduced to $9.5 billion, then a U.S. district court in New York nullified the judgement due to fraudulent and illegal activities by Donziger, according to…
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JC Bowman writes: “Teacher turnover will eventually lead to a teacher shortage, if the supply of new teachers via traditional or alternative routes cannot keep up with the demand. Research indicates that high rates of turnover harm student achievement in schools and districts.”
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by Elias Atienza The New Jersey state chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is helping West African immigrants lobby the New Jersey legislature to change cosmetology requirements. West African immigrants, usually women, operate hair-braiding businesses that are essentially illegal, since state regulations require these workers to get a license, WNYC reported Monday. That license is acquired from cosmetology school, which is often expensive, and degrees can cost up to $20,000. These hair braiders have been lobbying Trenton for two years to pass a bill that would exempt the cosmetology school credentials from the licensing requirement. They received guidance from AFP in order to do so. “Those guys came and said, ‘We are going to work you through this,’” said Anita Yeboah, a braider who works at J&C African Braids in Trenton, to WNYC. “All we can say to them is, God bless them for their time, for all they are doing.” Since hair braiders often work under the table, customers sometimes skip out on their bills and threaten to tell the state the braiders lack a license if they try to complain or call the police. This then causes some braiders in Newark to hire gang members for protection, who go out and collect…
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