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88th Legislative Session: Which bills died?

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- During Texas legislative sessions, thousands of bills are considered, but only a few survive to become law. As of Wednesday, only 10.1% of the bills filed during the session passed. Which bills made it to the governor’s desk? Due to the volume of bills, many never even receive a vote.House Bills 521 and 1744, which would have permitted pregnant women to use the high-occupancy vehicle lane, did not receive floor consideration in the House. Pregnant woman cited for HOV violation says fetus should count as passenger in Texas Bills can die at many other stages in the process. Some of the unsuccessful bills would have:Given a raise to state employees and retirees (HB 136)Reduced penalties for low-level marijuana possession (HB 218)Expanded medical marijuana access (HB 1805)Increased the legal age to buy assault rifles to 21 (HB 2744)Amendment the Texas Constitution to allow wagering on sports (HJR 102)Required public school classrooms to display the 10 commandments ...

Malloy Basin drainage project facing funding deficit

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsLethbridge County council has approved Coaldale’s request for a letter of support to move forward their Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund Application (DMAF) to resolve the current funding deficit related to the Malloy Basin drainage projects.The Malloy Drain Implementation plan involves the Town of Coaldale, Lethbridge County, and the St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID), which have been working for several years to address stormwater drainage issues within and surrounding the town of Coaldale.As discussed during the County’s May 18 council meeting, to date, Phases 1 and 2a have been completed. Although Phase 2b was approved in the budget, Director of Infrastructure at Lethbridge County, Devon Thiele told council, “there have been delays to the project beyond the County’s control, and due to inflation, we now have a project funding deficit.”The Town of Coaldale had previously signed on to do the engineering on the project with one of their...

Brent Ginther Candidate Questionnaire

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

Southern Alberta Newspapers reached out to each candidate in Taber-Warner and asked a series of questions about issues of interest in the provincial election. Editor’s Note: We did not receive responses from Paul Hinman (Wildrose Loyalty Coalition), Jazminn Hintz (NDP), Joel Hunt (Green Party) and Frank Kast (Independence Party of Alberta).Brent GintherSolidarity Movement of Alberta1) What are the top issues in the local riding, and what would you and your party do to try to address those issues?The top issues in my riding are the fact that it is becoming unaffordable to raise a family in the richest province in the country and that no mainstream political party is responsive to the will of the voters they claim to represent. Our governments both federal and provincial continue to sign our country and province into agreements that nobody has ever consulted us about. As a candidate for The Solidarity Movement of Alberta, I am free to represent the interests of my constituents because...

Grant Hunter Candidate Questionnaire

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

Southern Alberta Newspapers reached out to each candidate in Taber-Warner and asked a series of questions about issues of interest in the provincial election. Editor’s Note: We did not receive responses from Paul Hinman (Wildrose Loyalty Coalition), Jazminn Hintz (NDP), Joel Hunt (Green Party) and Frank Kast (Independence Party of Alberta).Grant Hunter, UCP1) What are the top issues in the local riding, and what would you and your party do to try to address those issues?The top issue for most families is the high cost of living. The best way to help Albertans pay for their groceries and make their mortgage payments is by ensuring they keep more money in their pockets. The United Conservative Party is committed to making life more affordable by cutting taxes for all Albertans starting with personal income taxes.A re-elected UCP government will create a new 8% bracket on income under $60,000. This means every Alberta earning $60,000 or more will save $760 – that’s over $1,500 per fami...

Hunter hits the hustings as Taber-Warner incumbent

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

Incumbent Grant Hunter is seeking re-election as the MLA for Taber-Warner for the United Conservative Party.Hunter was first elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019, and has a Bachelor of Science degree and a Masters of Business degree. Hunter has been an entrepreneur most of his life and so he knows what small businesses have to deal with.In 2019 Grant was tasked with setting up Alberta’s Red Tape Reduction strategy. He was a member of cabinet for two and a half years as an associate minister while he took Alberta from a grade of F to a grade of A on the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ Red Tape Report Card. This was the first time that Alberta had ever received a grade higher than a D.Hunter has been working for the past two years on building a super-cluster of agri-food processors in southern Alberta. He was instrumental in the Highway 3 twinning, the 230,000 acre irrigation expansion, and the Lethbridge Exhibition Centre expansion.Hunter is running again to finish the...

Green Party candidate has background in construction and engineering

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

Seeking the favour of voters for the Green Party of Alberta, Joel Hunt has thrown his hat into the ring for Taber-Warner.Hunt is a resident of Bow Island, Alta., where he moved after growing up in the Fraser Valley in BC. He has a diploma in Building Engineering Technology from the BC Institute of Technology, and has spent 30 years in construction, architecture, and engineering fields, having built everything from houses to government to agricultural buildings.Joel recently became a LEED Green Associate because of his concern about the effect of the construction industry on our environment. His hope is for governments to step up their reactions to climate change, believing it a moral duty to act when we knew back in the 1970’s burning fossil fuels was going to lead to catastrophe.Hunt did not respond to requests for an election profile interview.

Frank Kast – Independence Party of Alberta

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

The Independence Party of Alberta has no biographical information, and Kast did not respond to a request for an election profile feature.

Former journalist challenging for NDP

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

On the left side of the spectrum, Jazminn Hintz has taken up the flag for the NDP in the Taber-Warner riding.Hintz is a former journalist who grew up on her family farm and understands the importance of agriculture in building a strong, diversified economy.Hintz is committed to expanding high-speed internet in rural Alberta and ensuring one million more Albertans have access to a family doctor. She intends to work to make life more affordable for families by freezing personal taxes and implementing a cap on utility bills.Hintz did not respond to requests for an election profile interview.

Coaldale teacher on the campaign trail for the Solidarity Movement

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

By Trevor BuschSunny South [email protected] the campaign for the Solidarity Movement of Alberta for the Taber-Warner riding, Brent Ginther stands for common sense principles.“The Solidarity Movement is led by Artur Pawlowski, the pastor from Calgary who keeps getting thrown in jail for when he went down to Coutts there, and giving his sermon. The party stands for a lot of common sense, conservative principles.”Ginther said he got involved with the Solidarity Movement of Alberta after a purge of the Independence Party of Alberta rescinded the membership of Pawlowski.He believes the UCP have a lot to answer for in their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.“The main reason I got into this was because Grant Hunter (Taber-Warner UCP) didn’t do the right things during COVID, and go against his party. And so I could not look myself in the mirror and do the exact same thing. He did go along with a party that I knew was doing the wrong thing. So I left them. Art needed 44 ...

Terry Wolsey answers Candidate Questionnaire

Published Sat, 08 Feb 2025 11:22:13 GMT

Terry Wolsey of the Independence Party is running in the Cardston-Siksika riding. He provided the following answers to SSN’s candidate questionnaire:1) What are the top issues in the Cardston-Siksika riding and what would you and your party do to try to address those issues?Wolsey: The top issue is our MLA supported every mandate imposed on us by his party .  He needs to be held accountable for doing that.  We cannot enable this behavior as the result will not improve.2) Should Alberta implement a provincial police force or retain the RCMP? What about CPP versus a provincial pension plan?Wolsey: It is up to the voter to decide on these issues surrounding the RCMP.  The Independence Party’s (TIP) policy is the voter is the deciding factor for implementation of such policy we call that Direct Democracy.3) With a global national push for more green energy how does Alberta integrate and promote the virtues of its oil and gas industry?Wolsey: TIP supports responsibility and balance for a...