UPDATE 7/30/05
Both House and Senate Convened, stood At Ease for nearly 8 hours then Adjourned until Monday Afternoon. Senator Shapiro says she will offer a different version of the School Finance Bill to be taken up by the senate. No committee hearings have yet been set to hear the new version. Quite possibly this one will move by rule change without public input.
We’ll see what changes are being offered come Monday.
All Tax Bills must originate with the House and we can be relatively certain a new HB 3 will be introduced when they convene.
These next articles are posted for your information. Use them as you see fit – or not.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/073005dnbushelmets.21afbf19.htmlHELMETS FOR KIDS IN CARS Michael Fleming, amateur inventor and full-time Houston attorney, has filed a patent application for a new safety device for kids. It's called the Automobile Helmet. "The time has come for a helmet that protects children in autos," Mr. Fleming said. Actually the time is overdue. "Too many children are killed in car crashes from head injuries and too many who survive face a future filled with head injuries," Mr. Fleming said, citing government statistics that 2,500 children are killed and 294,000 injured annually in vehicle accidents. "A protective helmet must be produced to confront this problem," he said.
And how do parents who refuse to use seats belts persuade kids to not only belt up, but helmet up as well? Mr. Fleming thinks he has the answer: loading the helmet with electronics. "By building a helmet that allows a child to listen to music, watch a DVD movie or play a handheld game, I'm hoping they'll want to wear a helmet without complaint," Mr. Fleming said.
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Libertarians Propose Taking Breyer's Land
By ANNE SAUNDERS Associated Press Writer
(AP) - PLAINFIELD, N.H.-Libertarians upset about a Supreme Court ruling on land taking have proposed seizing a justice's vacation home and turning it into a park, echoing efforts aimed at another justice who lives in the state. Organizers are trying to collect enough signatures to go before the town next spring to ask to use Justice Stephen G. Breyer's 167-acre Plainfield property for a "Constitution Park" with stone monuments to commemorate the U.S. and New Hampshire constitutions.
"In the spirit of the ruling, we're recreating the same use of eminent domain," said John Babiarz, the Libertarian Party's state chairman. The plot mirrors the party's ongoing effort to get the town of Weare, about 45 miles to the southeast, to seize Justice David Souter's home. Souter's property is also the focus of a proposal by a California man who suggested the town turn the farmhouse into a "Lost Liberty Hotel."
Plainfield Town Administrator Steve Halleran said he didn't expect Plainfield voters to support the Breyer effort, but Logan Darrow Clements, of Los Angeles, said he's gotten support from thousands of people across the country for his Souter plan, and the town clerk in Weare said she had to return checks sent in by people wishing to donate to the Hotel Fund.
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The Senate passed S 397 to protect Manufacturers and Dealers from lawsuit if a person uses that weapon for illegal purposes.
On the gun legislation, Democrats offered a series of amendments but were beaten back, except in pressing for a measure that would permit lawsuits in cases in which a pistol lacked child-safety locks. Senator Craig said that change was acceptable to both the industry and the House since such locks were now virtually an industry standard.
Go to www://Thomas.loc.gov/ type in s397, click on s397ES and read section 5. That will allow you to see exactly what was added to the Bill. The NRA accepted this section planning to have it removed in conference committee.
Personal opinion:
Pretty risky plan that could backfire unless a lot of gun owners contact their Congressman. Ask them to pass their own gun Bill (currently introduced) and refuse to vote for a conference report that includes Section 5.
Congress is currently on a month vacation and can be reached in their home offices.
Don’t forget the District Advisor Meeting at the State office on Saturday August 13th at 1:00pm.
Sputnik
