2002 Liberty Index – Bills considered

 

HB 1291 – Pro-liberty - Elimination of straight party voting, and making presidential primaries optional for state parties instead of mandatory. This bill had wide support in both parties, but was vetoed by Gov. Keating.

 

HB 2215 – Anti-liberty - Bully Prevention Act. This new law aims to stamp out “any written or verbal expression, or physical act or gesture, or a pattern thereof, that is intended to cause distress.” It passed both the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor.

 

HB 2315 – Anti-liberty – A grant of a $9 million dollar transferable state tax credit to Great Plains Airline. The grant is bad enough, but due to it’s transferability it can be sold for cash, which is exactly what Great Plains did with a previous tax credit, pocketing $15 million. This $9 million dollar handout was passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by Gov. Keating.

 

SB 950 – Anti-liberty – Telemarketer Restriction Act. At individual request, the state will place a person on a list that telemarketers are prohibited from calling. This will put many telemarketers out of work, most of whom are minorities, single parents, or students, and nearly all of whom are in the lowest income brackets, the very people whom many of the lawmakers who voted for this bill so often claim to be serving. There were already a number of call screening services available from telephone companies, thus the legislature was ‘solving’ a problem that had already been solved by the free market. Both the House and Senate passed this bill, which was then approved by the Governor.

 

HB 2765 – Anti-liberty – Granting the state the power to “procure by condemnation or otherwise, any business or facility” involved in health and selected areas in a bioterrorism emergency. Also, it would allow the state to ration or otherwise implement a quota regarding food, fuel, clothing, or other commodities. The Senate passed this measure, but it failed in the House.

 

HB 2641 – Anti-liberty – Covenant Marriage. This bill creates a new class of marriage which requires counseling for the engaged couple and from which it is more difficult to obtain a divorce. Legislators seem to think they can pass a law and make people stay together. Mostly support for this bill comes from conservatives, but passage of one new class of marriage may set a precedent for other new classes of marriage, such as same-sex unions. Conservatives should know that by trying to use the law to shape society, they may reap consequences which they will not like. Differing versions of this bill passed the House and Senate, and the measure died in conference committee.

 

SB 37 – Anti-liberty – The ‘Nanny State’ bill to create a 29-member board to implement programs like universal daycare and preschool. Among other possible provisions would be a mandate for a social worker to visit the parents of every child born in the state within 48 hours of the child’s birth. The Senate passed this bill, but it failed in the House.

 

SB 816 – Pro-liberty – Sales Tax Holiday. This measure passed the House and the Senate, but in differing forms, and then died in the conference committee.

 

SB 987 – Anti-liberty – Chemical Castration for Rapists. This bill, introduced annually by Sen. Frank Shurden for the past several years, had become a bit of a joke at the Capitol. The punchline turned out to be not so funny as the measure passed both the House and Senate. Fortunately, Gov. Keating issued a veto.

 

SB 1553 – Anti-liberty – Further restrictions of smoking in public. This bill passed both the Senate and House and was signed into law by the Governor.