What We’re Reading: Top State Stories 10/12
US: Road fatalities involving teens drop over nine years
Car-crash deaths among people ages 15 to 20 declined 51 percent from 2005 to 2014, as fewer teens sought driver’s licenses and states imposed more restrictions on teenage driving, the Governors Highway Safety Association found.
DC: District of Columbia gives preliminary approval to youth justice overhaul
The District of Columbia City Council gave its initial approval to legislation that promotes rehabilitation of juveniles over incarceration by barring detention of those who commit minor offenses such as running away from home. It also would limit the use of solitary confinement of juveniles who are jailed.
VA: Virginia to give out prescription drug disposal kits
Officials in Virginia are handing out 80,000 “deactivation kits” so people can neutralize prescription opioids before throwing them away.
IA: Iowa interstate to be mapped for self-driving cars
In an effort to attract self-driving car researchers, the Iowa Department of Transportation has hired a tech company to create up-to-the-minute, detailed maps of road conditions on Interstate 380 in the eastern portion of the state.
KS: University of Kansas seeks to require holsters for guns on campus
Kansas’ biggest university is proposing that anyone carrying a concealed handgun into a building on campus must have the firearm in a holster with the safety on. The proposal comes as the state’s universities prepare to comply with a law that allows concealed handguns on campus starting next year.
FL: Florida businesses hurt by Hurricane Matthew can get emergency state loans
Republican Gov. Rick Scott activated an emergency loan program that gives short-term, interest-free loans of up to $25,000 to small businesses in Florida that lost business or had property damaged in last week’s storm.
US: Major rights groups urge decriminalizing use of all illicit drugs
Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union urged the decriminalization of possession and personal use of all illicit drugs, contending that enforcement of drug laws has unjustifiably ruined lives, torn families apart and fueled racial discrimination while failing to curtail rampant drug abuse.
TX: Texas will see lowest number of executions in 20 years
The seven men put to death in Texas this year are the fewest since 1996, when executions were halted amid legal challenges to a new law intended to hasten the death penalty appeals process. Only one more execution is scheduled for this year.
US: Police use surveillance tool to scan social media, the ACLU says
Police departments used location data, text, photos and videos gleaned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to track protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union that says some 500 departments have the location data tool.
MD, PA: U.S. Supreme Court lets Maryland, Pennsylvania keep tobacco settlement money
The U.S. Supreme Court let stand lower court rulings allowing Pennsylvania and Maryland to keep tens of millions of dollars in a dispute with tobacco companies involving the massive 1998 settlement over deceptive marketing and advertising of cigarettes.
DE: Delaware to investigate volunteer fire companies
The state has set up a task force to look into the financial management of Delaware’s 60 volunteer fire companies, some of which recently have had problems with fraud, mismanagement and embezzlement.
