Photo: Flickr , CC Part of the State’s 25% Renewables by 2025 Plan Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed two bills into law yesterday (House Bill 6202 and 5429)) that will mandate the state’s utility companies to buy more solar power and protect the right of homeowners to set up solar panels on their homes, provided “certain guidelines” are followed. Read on for more details…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Illinois Mandates Utilities to Buy More Solar Power
Posted in Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged Hollywood, homes, house-bill, illinois, panels-on-their, solar power
By Steve Elliott in Toke of the Town For the first time ever, the Washington Legislature looked at not one, but two bills to reform marijuana laws in the state. And although both were voted down in committee, advocates say marijuana legalization is still alive, with an initiative campaign trying to get a measure on the ballot in November, reports Matt Phelps of the Kirkland Reporter . “My motivation was to get the criminals out of the business and stop the harm that the current prohibition is doing,” said Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland), who cosponsored House Bill 2401 with Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle). “Many polls in Washington and nationwide show a favorability toward decriminalization,” Goodman said. HB 2401 would have legalized and regulated marijuana in Washington, but it failed to get out of the House Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness Committee on a 6-2 vote. Photo: www.leg.wa.gov Rep. Roger Goodman: “Some politicians are of the old generation on this” ”Some politicians are of the old generation on this,” Goodman said. “They don’t understand the purpose of regulating it.” Goodman’s bill would have put marijuana for sale — with a heavy tax — in state liquor stores. According to the lawmaker, legalization would make it easier to control marijuana. “Why wouldn’t you want to get criminals out of business?” asked Goodman. House Bill 1177, which would have reduced penalties for marijuana possession, known as “decriminalization.” It was also voted down in committee, 5-3. Goodman said that legalizing marijuana could raise as much as $300 million a year for the state. The issue of legalizing and regulating marijuana in Washington remains alive with the Sensible Washington initiative, which needs more than 241,000 signatures to be on the ballot in November. “It will be very easy to get those signatures,” Goodman said. Photo: Douglas Hiatt Activist/attorney Douglas Hiatt: “Volunteers are lining up” Douglas Hiatt, a Seattle lawyer and marijuana activist who is sponsoring the legalization initiative, said volunteers are lining up to collect signatures. Former state representative Toby Nixon, now a commissioner for King County Fire Protection District 41, is one Republican who supports legalization. “I think it is unfortunate that the state legislature is so clearly behind the opinion of the state,” Nixon said. “Most people I talk to share my opinion.” “Very few people I talk to, including strong conservatives, tell me I am flat out wrong,” Nixon said. “I think people understand it is a better way to control the problem. But the initiative that is circulating will show us exactly how people feel.” A recent poll on the Kirkland Reporter website showed more than 70 percent of respondents favoring the legalization of pot.
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WA: ‘Old Generation’ Kills Pot Legalization Bills; Measure May Let Voters Decide
Posted in Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff
Tagged bennyhollywood, business, douglas-hiatt, goodman, Hollywood, House, house-bill, legalization, reporter, roger-goodman, safety, state
By Steve Elliott in Toke of the Town Graphic: The Seattle Times The Legislature in Washington state displayed a trait Wednesday for which they are becoming well known: spinelessness, especially when it comes to marijuana law reform. Despite the fact that a majority of state voters favor legalizing pot, cowardly politicians in the State House voted down a pair of bills aimed at changing Washington’s failed marijuana laws. House Bill 2401 would have legalized and regulated the adult production, use and distribution of marijuana, in a manner similar to the regulation of alcohol. The roll call vote on HB 2401, to legalize marijuana, went like this: Hurst (D) Chair – N O’Brien (D) Vice Chair – N Pearson (R) – N Klippert (R) – N Appleton (D) – Y Goodman (D) – Y Kirby (D) – N Ross (R) – N House Bill 1177 was a more limited piece of legislation. It would have reclassified minor marijuana possession cases (less than 40 grams) from a criminal misdemeanor to a fine-only civil infraction. This policy, known as decriminalization, is already the law in more than a dozen states. The roll call vote on HB 1177, to decriminalize marijuana: Hurst (D) Chair – N O’Brien (D) Vice Chair – Y Pearson (R) – N Klippert (R) – N Appleton (D) – Y Goodman (D) – Y Kirby (D) – N Ross (R) – N The legislative defeats for HB 2401 and HB 1177 came despite nearly two hours of public testimony, nearly all of which was in support of one or both bills. One light shining brightly in the darkness was Democrat Rep. Roger Goodman, who showed the kind of leadership that seems all too rare in the Washington Legislature these days. “A ‘no’ vote… is a vote for prohibition and the illegal markets that it spawns,” Goodman said. “A ‘yes’ vote is a vote for control… A ‘no’ vote is a vote for continued chaos.” Photo: NORML NORML’s Paul Armentano: “They say that the will of politicians often lags behind the sentiment of the public. Nowhere is this adage more clear than when it comes to marijuana law reform.” Courtesy of Paul Armentano , deputy director at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), here are some of the lame excuses legislators gave for voting “no” to marijuana reforms. Democrat Chris Hurst, committee chair, claimed that as a state lawmaker he is sworn to uphold both state and federal law. Ex-cop Hurst claimed that both proposals would be in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act. (As pointed out by Armentano , neighboring Oregon was the first state to decriminalize marijuana, in 1973, and has never run afoul of federal law. Additionally, the governments of New Mexico, Rhode Island, Maine and now New Jersey have licensed, or will soon license, the production and distribution of medical marijuana without incident.) “As a law enforcement officer… on countless occasions I’ve seen the negative effects of marijuana on people’s lives,” Republican Brad Klippert said. I would imagine he has, as a law enforcement officer busting people for pot. That’s a negative effect of the marijuana laws, though, Brad, not of marijuana itself. (And as Armentano points out, Klippert’s “logic” could also be used to outlaw alcohol, tobacco, and fatty foods.) Republican Kirk Pearson claimed that just by talking about the bills, they were encouraging teens to try marijuana (who knew the Legislature had such influence?). “I don’t want to do anything today that would make drug use seem safer to teenagers,” Pearson said. (Oh, like telling the truth about marijuana? That wouldn’t do, now would it? Additionally, as Armentano points out, by Pearson’s own logic he should just shut the hell up.) Democrat Steve Kirby claimed he really, truly does support the reforms, in theory, but then, weirdly and inexplicably, claimed that such changes in policy “require a vote of the public,” not action by the Legislature. (As Armentano reasonably points out, marijuana prohibition was not enacted by a vote of the public.) Ultimately, though, that public vote on marijuana may take place this November in Washington. NORML Legal Committee member, activist/lawyer Douglas Hiatt of Seattle has filed a voter initiative to legalize cannabis in the state. If Sensible Washington’s petition signature drive is successful, Washingtonians will get a chance to vote on legalization on the November 2010 ballot. A recent statewide poll shows that if the election were held today, pot would be legalized, with 56 percent of the vote.
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Washington Legislature Says No To Pot, Yes To ‘Continued Chaos’
By Steve Elliott in Toke of the Town If marijuana is going to be legalized in Washington this year, it will have to be the voters who do it — because the Legislature won’t. The House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee is expected to vote down bills dealing with legalization and decriminalization of marijuana, reports Jerry Cornfield at the Everett Herald Net . Rep. Chris Hurst, chairman of the public safety panel, told Cornfield there aren’t enough votes to move either bill out of committee. While amendments to either bill or both could be proposed Wednesday, Hurst said he doesn’t believe enough minds will change to alter the outcome. With five Democrats and three Republicans on the committee — and two of the Democrats (Hurst and Rep. Al O’Brien, D-Mountalke Terrace) being former cops, with both saying they will oppose the bills — neither will likely make it out of committee. Hurst said votes could have been taken last week at the end of a two-hour hearing on the legislation. Sponsors of the bills asked for time to consider possible changes, in response to criticisms raised in the hearing. Hurst claims he’s pushing to get the matter resolved (as in, hurry up and get these bills killed) to give backers of a voter initiative for marijuana legalization “a clear field” on which to wage their battle. Many observers of the Washington state political scene believe that blame for the marijuana bills are once again dying in the Legislature due may be rightly placed on Speaker of the House Frank Chopp . According to multiple, well-placed sources (both inside the Legislature and those observing), Chopp, through a lack of political will and leadership, is the legislator most responsible for the death of marijuana decrim in the last session as well. A reliable inside source, in a position to know, tells Toke of the Town Chopp doesn’t want to force a “controversial” marijuana decrim vote by the entire Legislature, because he doesn’t want to force fellow Democrats (in the majority) to vote on pot any time before the 2010 elections. Chopp’s leadership style, or lack thereof, has been a growing source of controversy within progressive Democrats for some time now. Over and over, you see Chopp described as “the most powerful politician in the state,” but you’d never guess it from his unwillingness to go out on a limb , to take a stand, to have a backbone. A Washington State Senate bill decriminalizing marijuana is still alive, though no hearings on it have been scheduled as of Tuesday morning.
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Washington Lawmakers Snuff Out Marijuana Legalization Bill
Posted in Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff
Tagged before-the-2010, election, emergency, everett, goodman, hearing, Hollywood, House, house-bill, legislation, legislature, oregon, rights, ruling, safety
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