Washington Judge Strikes Part of Minimum Wage Hike Measure

A Washington state judge has struck part of the voter-approved $ 15 an hour minimum wage measure for airport workers in SeaTac.

King County Superior Court Judge Andrea Darvas says the measure applies to about 1,600 hotel and parking lot workers in the city of SeaTac, but does not apply to employees and contractors working within Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which is operated by the Port of Seattle.

Darvas said the state Legislature has given municipalities like the Port of Seattle “exclusive jurisdiction” over their operations.

Supporters of the measure say they will file an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Last month voters in the city of SeaTac narrowly approved the measure, which would apply to around 6,000 workers at the airport and related industries, like hotels and rental car companies.

© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Newsmax – America

Washington Judge Strikes Part of Minimum Wage Hike Measure

Reid Blocks Measure to Keep Tax Credits from Illegal Aliens

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Reid Blocks Measure to Keep Tax Credits from Illegal Aliens

House Democrats unveil immigration measure

October 3, 2013 12:00PM ET

GOP critics pan the bill, say it is unlikely to get a vote

Topics:

Immigration

U.S.

Customs and Border Protection

Members of the House Democratic conference including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Reps. James Clyburn, D-S.C., right, and Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., conduct a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on immigration reform, Wednesday.© 2013 CQ Roll Call

Hoping to revive the stalled debate over immigration reform, Democrats in the Republican-controlled House unveiled a bill Wednesday that would overhaul U.S. immigration laws by tightening border security and providing a path to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Amid the grips of a government shutdown, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and more than a dozen Democrats announced the measure at a news conference on Capitol Hill, saying their Republican colleagues should put a comprehensive immigration bill up for vote before the end of the year.

“Republicans like Ronald Reagan and George Bush to John McCain championed immigration reform,” Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., told reporters at the news conference. “There is no reason why our Republican colleagues cannot follow their lead and their footsteps to pass a comprehensive immigration bill.”

But GOP critics immediately panned the bill — no House Republicans have backed it yet — and said it was unlikely to get a vote, especially as Capitol Hill legislators remain deadlocked over the federal budget. The measure “is basically the Senate bill,” Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., told USA Today, referring to the comprehensive immigration measure approved in July. “I strongly oppose the Senate bill.”

The House Democrats’ plan mirrors the Senate measure in many ways. It would permit undocumented immigrants to obtain temporary legal status within six months and apply for U.S. citizenship within 13 years. And like the Senate bill, the House version would require employers to use a new version of E-Verify, the online system that checks the citizen status of potential employees — a system blasted by immigration advocates for often incorrectly flagging authorized workers and failing to identify fraud.

But the House version varies from the Senate measure in one significant way. It drops the $ 46 billion border security plan introduced by the Senate, which would double the number of federal border agents to 40,000 and complete 700 miles of fencing along the Mexico-U.S. border. Instead, the House bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to develop a strategy to gain operational control of the border within five years and stop 90 percent of people trying to enter the U.S. The measure also calls on the Government Accountability Office to oversee the border security plan.

Immigration advocates praised the House plan as an attempt to mobilize the immigration debate in Congress.

“Clearly, both Democrats and Republicans are hearing the call for broad immigration reform,” Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, said in a statement. “This call is coming from constituents across the political spectrum. Today’s announcement continues the conversation in Congress.”

Yesterday’s measure comes amid signs that Hispanics are increasingly aligning themselves with the Democratic Party. A poll released last week shows that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Latinos feel closer to the Democratic Party than they did in the past. Less than 3-in-10 (29 percent) of Hispanics feel the same way about the Republican Party. The survey also finds that Democrats have a sizeable perception advantage over Republicans. Forty-three percent of Hispanics, for example, say the phrase “cares about people like you” better describes the Democratic Party, while 12 percent the phrase better describes the GOP.

Immigration advocates, meanwhile, plan a series of marches Saturday across roughly 90 cities. They hope the so-called National Day of Action will spur congressional leaders to pass comprehensive immigration legislation. Those marches will be followed by an immigration rally and concert next Tuesday on the National Mall in Washington D.C. If the federal government remains shut down next week, the rally will take place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, organizers said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Al Jazeera America

House Democrats unveil immigration measure

After divisive debate, Texas Senate OKs restrictive abortion measure

• It originally failed to gain approval because of a filibuster by Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis


• Republican Gov. Rick Perry is expected to sign the bill after passage


• Critics of the measure say it would shut down most abortion clinics in Texas

Austin, Texas (CNN) — A bill that places new restrictions on abortion passed the Texas Senate on Friday after a weekslong debate that has galvanized activists nationwide.

It was the second attempt by the measure’s supporters to pass the bill in the Senate — it originally failed to gain approval because of a filibuster by Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis.

Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who supports the new abortion laws, called the state Legislature back into second special session to continue consideration of the bill, which passed the Texas House on Wednesday.

The measure bans abortions past 20 weeks of gestation, mandates abortion clinics become ambulatory surgical centers, tightens usage guidelines for the drug RU486 and requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic at which they’re providing such services.

Opinion: It’s the real Texans who count

Critics of the measure say it would shut down most abortion clinics in Texas — denying access to many in rural communities — and force women to seek dangerous back-alley abortions.

The Republican legislators who support it say the bill isn’t about banning abortions, but rather about protecting women’s health.

The special session was marked by loud protests and high-profile voices from both sides of the abortion debate.

Taking a swipe at former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, who came to Austin to support the bill, Democratic Sen. Kirk Watson made a final appeal to the Republicans to vote no, asking them to; “Take this chance to stop, take this chance to think, take this chance to stop listening to the partisans and failed presidential candidates.”

However, for supporters of the bill such as Sen. Jane Nelson, the bill’s measures are long overdue.

“There is a clear choice in this vote tonight,” she said. “Do we keep the lax standards, do we forgo safeguards, do we ignore the evidence that at 20 weeks we have a child who can feel? Or do we choose life?”

The roars of the crowd in the rotunda were audible throughout the Senate debate and at one point, abortion rights protesters disrupted the proceedings in the Senate gallery. One protester, singing quietly to the chamber, chained herself to a railing in the gallery and brought the session to a brief halt.

The bill now make its way to Gov. Rick Perry, who will sign it into law.

“Today the Texas Legislature took its final step in our historic effort to protect life,” Perry said after the bill’s passage. “This legislation builds on the strong and unwavering commitment we have made to defend life and protect women’s health. I am proud of our lawmakers, and citizens who tirelessly defended our smallest and most vulnerable Texans and future Texans.”

CNN.com Recently Published/Updated

After divisive debate, Texas Senate OKs restrictive abortion measure