News Jan 20, 2011 at 4:00 am

Sampling the Batch of New Laws Pitched in Salem

Comments

1
HB 2804 - Unnecessary. A state id or drivers' license is all that should be needed to register to vote. If you're "illegal", chances are you don't have either of these. Plus, it's unlikely that voting will be one of your priorities.

HB 2760 - Now i could've sworn that trafficking illegal immigrants was ALREADY A CRIME. You mean to tell me it's ok now?!

Chip Shields' proposed HB is a GREAT idea & [bill# or not] really should pass! As detailed in Michelle Alexander's 'The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness', racial "minorities" are disproportionately buggered by cops, arrested, & sentenced to waaay harsher prison terms than whites for committing the SAME crimes. In fact, hasn't there already been [at least] two studies in recent years showing that cops stop & search black motorists in the metro area waaay more than whites? This, despite the fact that black motorists are less likely to have drugs/weapons on them than whites? So yeah, this bill needs to pass. NO reason why it shouldn't... especially since it can't possibly cost that much money.

HB 2228 - What a ridiculous bill this was; i'm glad Greenlick backed down from this - & i don't even have kids. Looks like ACTIVISM really does work sometimes.
HB 2331 - Stupid, absurd bill - should go down in flames. Just another way for the state to EXTORT money from regular people.

HB 2769 - Well intentioned, but guaranteed to fail if made into law. Major problems with enforcement. Even if chronic drunks were prohibited from buying HA, sells in beer/wine/other will sky-rocket. When will folks learn - targeted prohibition does NOT work.

HB 2749 - Again, well intentioned - but doomed to fail. Enforcement issues. Gives way too much discretion to cops. Hard to prove in court. Plus, isn't there already a law against driving while "inhibited"?

The myth that classical music somehow "pacifies" criminals or deters homeless people seeking shelter is beyond stupid! I thought this was disproven years ago in much larger cities. Sure, it makes for lovely background noise. Otherwise, you won't see a drop in drug-dealing, assaults, graffiti, or piss-smelling MAX shelters.

HB 2891 - Nice idea, but will not pass. Too much money. Won't do a thing to reduce crime.
Chip Shields' bill to 'end prison-based gerrymandering' is also a great idea, is cheap, & should also pass! Will address a racket that sadly most people probably aren't aware of. Definitely explains why politicians who rep. rural districts (& are usually Republican) are always clamoring for prison construction. Also discussed in 'The New Jim Crow'. I wonder if Shields read the same book i have?

HB 2742 - Good bill, great cause, should be cheap if it costs anything. Unfortunately, neither politicians not cops give a shit about animals for the most part. Sooo, probably will fail.

SB 525 - The only people who [still] use phonebooks are old people & crazy hoarders. Otherwise, most of 'em either go directly into recycling/garbage, or end up soggy after being left on the porch form months. Only the phonebook/paper industry are against this bill. They'll argue that this bill will kill jobs. But if the only purpose to having a [particular] job is to create a mostly irrelevant product that almost noone uses & goes right into the trash, we should be able to put everyone to work tomorrow!
Plus, the paper & timber industries go hand 'n hand - for obvious reasons. Both are major players in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - which gives a shit-ton of money to Republicans. Shields is a Democrat, so expect alot of CONSERVATIVE resistance to this bill. Which would be ironic b/c SB 525 will result in the CONSERVATION of many trees.

2
Holy tiny taxes, Batman!

The proposed tax on soda isn't .005 cents per ounce - which would be five-one-thousandths of a cent per ounce, or one cent per 200 ounces, and one dollar per 20,000 ounces. It is one-half cent, or five-one-thousandths of a dollar, per ounce.
3
A crime driving drowsy?That will shut down the morning commute.
4
the elephant in the room here is right in the opening of this story. 1600 new laws. Let me say that again......SIXTEEN HUNDRED NEW LAWS!? we will never, I repeat, never see our way out of the quagmire of ineffective governance if the only solution our legislators can come up with is alway MOAR ROOLZ11!!!1

Especially if they are as blatantly unconstitutional as some of these appear. What most of this crap strikes me as is people trying to look busy and justify their pointless existence.
5
Agreed C.O. Though i don't think their existence is "pointless". It's just that they could be working on far more relevant issues other than bullshit like kids in bike trailers & "drowsy" driving. Chip Shields' bill proposals are very good ones for sure. I can't remember if i voted for him back in November. But if he keeps up this type of good work, i'll definately vote for him next time.
6
C.O. - there are 1600 bills. That's actually quite a bit fewer than most sessions, when there are about 4,000 bills introduced - most of which never become law, and many of which never get a hearing. I imagine 400 or so will be passed this session.

But that doesn't mean they're all new rules - they're often adjustments to existing laws, sometimes relaxing the rules. If they're not there to introduce changes to laws, are they only there to pass the budget? And many of these bills are introduced because citizens came to legislators and asked them to introduce them.

That said, I generally agree passing new laws is often not the best way to address the challenges we face.

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.