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New Yorks Assembly Minority Conference urged an audit of the states legal cannabis program the same day that Gov. Kathy Hochuls office proposed a new bill targeting illicit stores.

Hochuls proposed legislation, announced yesterday, seeks to amend the tax law, the cannabis law, the penal law and the criminal procedure law to make technical corrections to adult-use cannabis taxes.

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It could lead to fines of $200,000 for illicit plants and $10,000 per day to illicit businesses, and give increased enforcement authority to the Office of Cannabis Management and the Department of Taxation and Finance (NY Cannabis Insider hasnt yet combed through the details of the 35-page bill).

The continued existence of illegal dispensaries is unacceptable, and we need additional enforcement tools to protect New Yorkers from dangerous products and support our equity initiatives, Gov. Hochul said in a press release on Wednesday.

Coincidentally, the Assembly letter also sent yesterday urged Gov. Hochuls administration and the Office of Cannabis Management to develop a comprehensive enforcement plan to stop the explosion of illegal operators.

They also took aim at the delayed and dysfunctional rollout, warning that before New York goes further down a road of inefficiency and potential fraud, the State Comptroller should conduct an audit to identify the inefficiencies that have contributed to the failures in the early stages.

The letter is signed by 46 members of the New York State Assembly.

Taking any action against the tidal wave of New Yorks illicit storefronts comes as welcome relief to leadership of the NY CAURD Coalition, which has more than 100 members with roughly a third representing different parts of the licensed statewide community dispensary owners, growers and processors.

Without gaining some level of control, its going to continue to smother us, said coalition CEO Britni Tantalo, who is also an applicant for a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary license as well as the co-owner of Flower City Dispensary.

And these are the steps that need to be taken. I am in support of that: Im in support of taking down the grey market and allowing NYs cannabis market to stabilize and come together as it should, Tantalo said.

The coalitions executive director, Jeremy Rivera, emphasized the public safety threat posed by the growing number of grey market shops throughout the five boroughs. In addition to targeting minors, he said, theyre easy targets, and are being robbed on a near-daily basis in New York City, putting community members at risk.

This isnt against legacy, Rivera said. These grey market stores are not legacy.

They sell soda, they sell gum what if there was a kid in there whos buying a pack of gum and now theyre in the middle of a robbery?

Rivera and Tantalo, along with coalition VP of Operation Jayson Tantalo, said they hadnt read through the details of Hochuls proposed bill. However, theyre in support of anything that addresses the root causes of New Yorks industry volatility.

Speaking as a legacy operator for 20 years of my life, Jayson said, Ive never seen things this low.

We are in the deepest recession that cannabis has ever seen in history, and were not just talking about New York, were talking about the whole country.

The delivery guys in New York City, the growers in upstate were not making one dollar.

The NYS Assembly letter is the second public assault in the last week on the OCMs rollout since its formation in October of 2021.

It comes on the heels of a lawsuit led by the states medical operators and filed last week that laid out a laundry list of grievances and state missteps, including a lack of adopted regulations, violations of state law, inducing growers without providing necessary infrastructure, failing to publish a social equity plan and over-promising state-subsidized real estate and loans.

The Assembly letter led off with: The passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) in 2021 was met with celebration and lofty promises by those who supported the measure. More than two years later, few, if any, of those promises have been met.

It points out that fewer than 10 stores have opened (there are currently five), DASNY hasnt raised its $150 million for conditional dispensaries, and illegal cannabis shops have proliferated to more than 1,500 at last count in New York City. Assembly members call this development predictable and are asking state officials to respond.

Two full years after marijuanas legalization in New York, far too many problems exist with no remedy in sight.

For all stakeholders involved, the programs current path is completely unsustainable and demands a significant course correction, the letter said.

The CAURD Coalition board members all agreed with the Assemblys call for an audit of the statewide process, citing transparency as a key component of good government.

Every state agency should be audited, said Rivera. And if it takes for Republicans to push for an audit to release it, I think they should be transparent and open the books.

Listen, the IRS audits me every other year, he said.

Continue reading here:
NY Governor and Republican Assembly address thriving illicit cannabis market - syracuse.com

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) Public safety still on the minds of many New Yorkers with decisions still to be made about bail reform as we approach the budget deadline. But there is another public safety law some say has been overlooked: Raise the Age which some lawmakers say needs to change.Raise the Age took effect in 2018 and changed the age a child can be prosecuted as an adult from 16 to 18-years old in criminal cases. Republican lawmakers want to change the law for those who commit violent felonies.

Sponsor of the bill Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said his conference is not against public safety reform, What we dont like is the way Bail Reform and Raise The Age were passed. They were rammed through the legislature in the budget, with no input from DAs, no input from law enforcement and frankly, I dont even know if they had input from public defenders.

According to the states flowchart, when a 16 or 17-year old commits a violent felony they will either be sent to family court or youth part.Im here to tell you that some things work, but a lot of it doesnt, said Saratoga County DA, Karen Heggen. She said the resources needed to redirect adolescent offenders are simply not there. Heggen pointed to the example of a minor who committed several offenses including breaking and entering, burglary, and holding someone at knife point. As a 17 year old, we attempted to make the case once it went to youth part- that there were, in fact, extraordinary circumstances and that that case should continue in the criminal justice system in the adult realm of things, she said. But that didnt happen. Heggen says three days after his 18th birthday, the same person committed a similar offense.

Lawmakers are proposing the following changes:

Our Capitol Correspondent, Amal Tlaige reached out to the Governor and leaders and both houses about the proposed changes, but has not heard back.

See the rest here:
Republicans propose Raise the Age reform - NEWS10 ABC

Idaho State Rep. Rod Furniss offered his fellow legislators a lesson in basic biology this week.

Boys and girls have two Ps: peeing and pooping, the Democrat from Ribgy said from the House floor on Monday as the co-sponsor of a bill to provide free menstrual products in public schools. We know that the proper role of government is to cover the two Ps. Well, surprise, we just figured out [in] 2023, that girls have three Ps: They have peeing and pooping, and period.

He proceeded with simple facts and common sense.

Now we can hold the first two Ps, peeing and pooping. We can take care of that. But the third P, the girls dont have a muscle down there. When that happens, it happens. Its an emergency every time that happens. Its a basic biological function. Is the proper role of government to cover a basic biological function? I submit to you that it is.

Among those who watched the proceedings online was Avrey Hendrix, a 35-year-old mother of four who had met with Furniss last spring as the founder of a nonprofit advocacy group called the Idaho Period Project. Hendrix lives in Furniss district. And a young woman on her organizations board has a friend in common with the legislators daughter.

We just kind of approached him and asked him if he would be interested, Hendrix later told The Daily Beast. And he said yes.

With Rep. Lori McCann as a co-sponsor, the simple one-page measure reached the House Education Committee last Thursday. Hendrix testified, citing a survey that found 75 percent of the girls in eighth grade and above had missed class and as much as a whole school day because menstrual products were not immediately available. She further noted the results of State of the Period 2021, a national study that found nearly a quarter of female students had difficulty affording menstrual items. She headed home to Rigby feeling the simple truth was on her side.

Knowledge is power, Hendrix later said.

House Bill 313 passed the committee and proceeded to the full House on Monday. Furniss seemed just a touch awkward while speaking about the three Ps, but Hendrix believed that his presence would make it clear that he was doing it only because he felt it was important.

I think he did do great, she later said. Even so, one of the female legislators took offense to a male presuming to champion this issue.

The P-word thats in my head right now is patronized, Rep. Julianne Young said.

Young, a Republican, put a conservative slant on her intimation that Furniss was being sexist.

As a woman, were capable of handling these things, she said. We look out for each other. I think its a stretch to say that we have to provide these products in order for women to be educated.

Young continued: Theres another P-word, and that P-word is parents. And if the schools get between the daughter and the parents, then there may be some important conversations that dont take place.

Hendrix, watching from home, noted to herselfand later to The Daily Beastthat not everybody has a reliable parent on hand for those important conversations.

Another female Republican legislator then sought to place a political label on the measure.

This bill is a very liberal policy, and its really turning Idaho into a bigger nanny state than ever, Rep. Heather Scott said. Its embarrassing not only because of the topic but because of the actual policy itself. So you dont have to be a woman to understand the absurdity of this policy. And you dont have to feel that youre insensitive to not address this.

Scott then took a classic far-right turn.

Whats gonna be next? Scott asked. Because, we have what? Toilet paper. We have paper towels. And the good gentleman says, Well, they cant help it, the women cant help having their periods.

Scott then proceeded into absurdity disguised as logic.

Well, what about sweat? she asked. We cant help but sweat. So are the schools now going to be providing deodorant for these kids?

Another female Republican, one-time basketball coach Rep. Barbara Ehardt, objected to the phraseology employed by some of those who voiced support for the bill. She cited in particular menstrual equity and period poverty.

These are woke terms, Ehardt said.

Hendrix immediately Googled the term woke. From what she could tell, it had something to do with racial justice.

Which is good for our world, she said.

But woke was not good for the bill. The final tally was a tie, 35 ayes and 35 nays. That meant HB 313 was dead.

Heartbreaking, Hendrix said.

To make it worse, 10 womenall Republicanshad voted against it.

Its so shocking because they know what its like to go into the bathroom and not have a tampon, Hendrix said.

She was left with a lesson that many of those who seek to do simple good are learning these days: that knowledge can lose its power in the face of willful ignorance.

Go here to see the original:
Idaho Republicans Deny Girls Free Tampons in School - The Daily Beast

Elliott Engen loves his job.

Engen, who is 24, took office in January in the Minnesota House of Representatives representing House district 36A, which includes Lino Lakes, Circle Pines, North Oaks, Centerville and White Bear Township in the northeast part of the metro area.

Its such a high learning curve, but every single day, you get to wake up and you get to help people, Engen said of his first month in office.

He took a step back from his job with an environmental conservation nonprofit to commit to legislating full-time, something he says he owes his constituency. Hes still figuring out the work-life balance like when to turn off the office lights and head home for dinner but hes steadily working towards the white picket fence life in Lino Lakes, Minn. with his wife Faith Engen and their dog, Finn.

What does that mean? The news, analysis and community conversation found here is funded by donations from individuals. Make a gift of any amount today to support this resource for everyone.

Engen is one of two Generation Z lawmakers stepping into the Minnesota Legislature this year. Engen is a Republican while the other, state Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, is a DFLer, making each the only legislator of their generation in their respective political parties in the state. Already, these young politicians are poised to shape the course of their parties.

The Pew Research Center defines Millennials as people born 1981 through 1996, and Gen Z after 1997 (an end year has yet to be defined).

These two generations will be a majority of potential voters by 2028, according to a report released last month from The Brookings Institution, which also noted that young voters overwhelmingly voted for Democratic congressional candidates in 2022, swinging elections in almost every battleground state.

Engen isnt fazed by that.

A lot of folks would characterize my generation as being more progressive in their leanings and that might be true, he told MPR News. But I do know that we dont always trust institutions that have quote-unquote power over us we dont always want helicopter parents.

We just want things to run smoothly, he adds. We want transparency, we want accountability. But we also want policies that care about people and we can do all of the above.

Engen sees an opportunity to change public perception of Republicans.

I think that we are compassionate. I don't think that conservatives are across the board heartless. Some of them for sure and some Democrats for sure. But I think overall we do want to do good by our constituents and for the state, but we havent been doing a good enough job of letting people know why it is what we believe. If we do that more, we can show people that we actually have a heart, Engen said.

As young people not only come of age but begin to start families and businesses, Engen wanted to get a head start on elevating their voices to find solutions to pressing issues.

Weve constantly heard politicians for forever say Were doing this for the next generation. Well, we are the next generation and maybe we should be at the table as well.

A few years ago, Engen was a passionate baseball player at Hamline University considering law school down the road. He said he got politically involved after feeling conversations on campus wouldnt lead to needed social change.

I just saw that percolating on campus was a sense of discourse that wasn't necessarily sustainable. In my eyes, it was a lot more of reciting the talking points of either Tucker Carlson or Rachel Maddow, just kind of the extremes talking at each other rather than talking with each other, Engen said.

So he founded a chapter of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA at Hamline where people with both liberal and conservative political beliefs would meet to debate ideas.

That he could bring affinity for discourse to the State Capitol did not occur to him until a chance encounter in December 2019 with Joe Mitchell, who at 21 became the youngest person in the Iowa Legislature in 2018.

Engen and his wife were in West Palm Beach, Fla. for the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit. They were discussing policy in a hot tub when Mitchell overheard and asked if he was a candidate or in office.

Engen recalls laughing at the idea. No way, he said he had responded. Im not older and don't have any individual wealth. So why would I be in office?

Mitchell said Engen asked him, Who's gonna vote for a 20 year old? And so I said, Well, you know, 6,800 people in Iowa's 84th district when I first ran when I was 20.

Engen said hearing about Mitchells success planted a seed.

Thats what got it into my mind that were not bound to be on the sidelines of politics until later in our lives, he said.

Engen quit his college baseball team to run for office, first in 2020, when he narrowly lost to the Democrat incumbent by 100 votes. He ran for state house again after redistricting and won in another tight race.

He said he is no longer affiliated with Turning Point USA, which has been criticized for targeting professors they identified as liberal and amplifying far-right extremists.

The orgs original stances aligned with my values of free markets, individualism and limited government. I no longer feel that those values are the identity of the organization, and therefore, I dont support it, he said. I have never, nor will ever, support extremism from the right. I aim to unify, not divide.

Mitchell started a nonprofit called Run GenZ in 2020 to recruit, empower and mentor young conservatives to run for office, ranging from school boards and city councils to state legislatures.

After their initial meeting, Mitchell said he was a resource for Engen throughout his campaigning, offering advice on messaging, developing an online presence and getting the party endorsement.

It's not rocket science, Mitchell said. It's pretty simple. It's about viability in that seat, making sure it's a viable seat to run in. Making sure that you can hold a conversation and that you can work hard and ask people for their vote at the doorstep.

Rep. Joe Mitchell, R-Wayland, center, takes the oath of office during the opening day of the Iowa Legislature on Jan. 14 at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa.

Charlie Neibergall | AP Photo 2019

In 2022, Mitchell reported Run GenZ had a 78 percent win rate, with 37 of 47 candidates under 30 years old taking office. He said while the country did not see a huge red wave, he thinks their programs candidate quality and campaign training helped.

Mitchell hopes to double their number of successful candidates in the next two years. He wants to both amplify young people with conservative values and counter the progressive faction of the Democratic Party, which he said offers young voters more representation with politicians like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost.

Frankly, I think the Democrat Party does a really good job of trying to put some of these young people that have been successful on a pedestal and showcase them to the world, he said. And not necessarily neglect them like the Republican Party or the conservative movement has done to a certain extent when young people try to get involved.

In January, Run GenZ held its annual candidate training workshop. Engen attended for the first time as a speaker and found people had the same questions he did: Am I ready to do this? How do people perceive my age? Will I be taken seriously?

Engen estimates 150 Gen Z-ers were there and are running for office across the country.

Engen said he told them, "Yes, you can. You need to quit seeing youth and quote unquote inexperience as something that's a detriment. It's a power, because you're able to come to this with a fresh perspective."

As state representatives debated HF 1, a bill to protect abortion rights in Minnesota, for hours in January, Engen shared the story of a 15-year-old pressured into an abortion clinic by an abusive boyfriend. An older woman intervened, letting her know she could choose to raise the child. That girl was his mother.

He voted against the bill, which ultimately passed and became law, calling it not reasonable and expressing concern around the lack of guardian consent.

I respect the stories that weve heard from the other side of the aisle and youre strong for telling em, Engen told Democrats. But what was needed, he said, was for legislators to help constituents find ways to actually speak to each other again.

Bringing people together and being responsive to constituents is at the heart Engens approach to his job.

On the campaign trail, he said he heard public safety, school safety and the general affordability of life were the top issues so its what he is prioritizing in his first term.

Recently, Engen voted against restoring voting rights for felons once theyre out of prison or jail. He also introduced the Safe Haven In Every Local District (SHIELD) Act, which would mandate and fund school security system improvements.

We have passion. We have energy. And we have ideas. Now, it's just time that they're brought to the table and implemented in our state's policy, he said.

See the original post:
Meet the first Gen Z Republican elected to the Minnesota Legislature - MPR News

Republicans

Line are drawn between the extremist wing and those who distance themselves from portraying the rioters as sightseers

Mon 13 Mar 2023 06.00 EDT

Some Republicans have rebuked efforts by Donald Trump and Fox News host Tucker Carlson to whitewash the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, underscoring a significant split in the party over attempts to downplay the events of the day.

Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House, turned over more than 40,000 hours of security footage from the Capitol to Carlson earlier this year. This week, Carlson aired selectively edited portions of that footage, falsely claiming the rioters were sightseers and not insurrectionists. At least 1,000 people have been arrested for their role in the January 6 attack. Five people died as a result of it.

More than 999 people have been arrested so far, according to the justice department. Around 518 people have pleaded guilty to federal crimes to date and 53 have been found guilty at trial.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, quickly distanced himself from Carlsons portrayal. It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way thats completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks, he said on Tuesday.

Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, was blunter in his critique. I think its bullshit, he said earlier this week.

I was here. I was down there, and I saw maybe a few tourists, a few people who got caught up in things, he said. But when you see police barricades breached, when you see police officers assaulted, all of that if you were just a tourist you shouldve probably lined up at the visitors center and came in on an orderly basis.

Mitt Romney, the junior Republican senator from Utah, told reporters that attempts to downplay the January 6 attack were dangerous.

Its a very dangerous thing to do, to suggest that attacking the Capitol of the United States is in any way acceptable and its anything other than a serious crime, against democracy and against our country, he said, according to NBC. And people saw that it was violent and destructive and should never happen again. But trying to normalize that behavior is dangerous and disgusting.

McCarthy has defended his decision to give Carlson the footage. I said at the very beginning: transparency. What I wanted to produce for everyone was exactly what I said so people could look at it and see what went on that day, he told reporters this week.

Trump, who is under investigation for his role in the January 6 attack, praised Carlson on Tuesday. GREAT JOB BY TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT, he wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. The Unselect Committee of political Hacks & Thugs has been totally discredited. They knowingly refused to show the Videos that mattered. They should be tried for Fraud and Treason, and those imprisoned and being persecuted should be exonerated and released, NOW!

LET THE JANUARY 6 PRISONERS GO. THEY WERE CONVICTED, OR ARE AWAITING TRIAL, BASED ON A GIANT LIE, A RADICAL LEFT CON JOB. THANK YOU TO TUCKER CARLSON AND SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE KEVIN McCARTHY FOR WHAT YOU BOTH HAVE DONE. NEW VIDEO FOOTAGE IS IRREFUTABLE!!! Trump posted on Truth Social earlier this week.

Trump recently recorded a single for charity with some of the people in prison for the January 6 attack.

The far-right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has long downplayed the January 6 attack. Andrew Clyde, a Georgia congressman, in 2021 compared the rioters to tourists at the Capitol.

But Dan Crenshaw, another conservative Republican congressman from Texas, said that continuing to downplay the attack would just be embarrassing to the party.

Its definitely stupid to keep talking about this So what is the purpose of continuing to bring it up unless youre trying to feed Democrat narratives even further? he told Politico.

I dont really have a problem with making it all public. But if your message is then to try and convince people that nothing bad happened, then its just gonna make us look silly.

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Read more from the original source:
Republican response to the January 6 Capitol attack divides party - The Guardian US