House members pre-filed 65 bills last week prior to the Jan. 12, 2016 opening of the General Assembly. Because of travel, we didn’t offer summaries of major new legislation, but bills you may be interested in include:
Juvenile justice. H. 4526 (Alexander) seeks a study commission to study the need to reform the state’s juvenile justice system, with several provisions.
Dam fund. H. 4527 (Bales) seeks a $25 million state revolving fund to operate a financial assistance program to help dam owners repair or replace dams. H. 4565 (Lucas) seeks more requirements for dams to protect public safety, with several provisions.
Debt-free education. H. 4529 (Cobb-Hunter) seeks a resolution to get Congress to enact legislation for debt-free college education, with several provisions.
School consolidation. H. 4530 (H.A. Crawford) seeks to require each county to have only one public school district, with several provisions.
Repeals. H. 4535 (Goldfinch) seeks to repeal several existing laws, including those related to challenges to fights, seduction, adultery, dance halls operating on Sundays, railroads and pinball.
Abortion. H. 4538 (Hicks) seeks to prohibit use of public funds for abortions, with several provisions.
Bus belts. H. 4543 (M.S. McLeod) seeks to require seat belts for school buses, with several provisions.
“Viagra” bill. H. 4544 (M.S. McLeod) seeks to establish requirements for prescriptions to treat symptoms of erectile dysfunction — a measure intended to make it as difficult for men to get Viagra as women to get an abortion, with several provisions.
Guns. H. 4551 (Brannon) would require criminal background checks to be complete before a gun sale can be completed, with several provisions. H. 4552 (Brannon) is similar. H. 4564 (Jefferson) seeks to require registration of all firearms bought or purchased in the state with the county sheriff’s department.
Right to work. H. 4555 (Cobb-Hunter) seeks to repeal the state’s right-to-work law.
Term limits. H. 4567 (M.S. McLeod) seems a constitutional amendment for term limits for House and Senate members to 12 years total, with several provisions.
Confederate flag. H. 4576 (Tinkler) seeks to create a commission to raise private funds to pay for the display of the Confederate flag. The measure essentially would keep state funds from being used to display it in the Confederate Relic Room.
Lieutenant governor. H. 4579 (Pope) seeks to change state law to allow the governor to appoint a lieutenant governor in case of a vacancy, with consent of the state Senate, with several provisions.
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