The Legislative Graveyard
Welcome to the Legislative Graveyard, where bills that did not become law come to rest –— though rarely in peace. The vast majority of bills we followed this session died, for better or worse. We can’t list them all, but we’ll give you the highlights. Each bill is listed with its original “good,” “bad” or “stupid” designation.
Good: SB 740 and SB 741 — dealt with digitally manipulated images to create child pornography: SB 740 forbade altering images to make it appear a real child was engaged in sexually explicit conduct, while SB 741 made it illegal to create or distribute generated images that appeared to show a minor (even if not a real one) engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Both bills had a good run, but failed to cross the finish line.
Bad: HB 4654 — to restore criminal liability to libraries and museums for displaying or making accessible “obscene” material. This bill couldn’t garner enough support to pass on its own, so it was amended into SB 741. We can’t say for sure, but we’re pretty sure that’s what killed the child pornography bills.
Stupid: SB 152 — to require the display of the national motto “In God We Trust” in schools. After much time wasted debating it, this bill also failed to pass before the session ended.
Good: HB 4491 — “Raylee’s Law” — to prohibit children from being homeschooled if the parent/guardian/instructor is being investigated for child abuse or domestic violence. Raylee’s Law was amended into a microschool/learning pod bill (HB 5180), but then that bill died.
Bad: SB 468 — “Baby Olivia Act” — would have required students in grades 8 and 10 to watch the anti-abortion propaganda video “Meet Baby Olivia.” Even the Republican doctors in the Legislature couldn’t get behind this bill because the video is filled with inaccuracies.
Good: SB 496 — the “CROWN Act” — to prohibit discrimination based on hair textures and protective hairstyles historically associated with a particular race. Senate Finance killed this bill, with Sen. Eric Tarr claiming it would cost the state a “pretty extraordinary” amount. The amount: $10,000 initially, and possibly $5,000 annually if the attorney general’s Civil Rights Division has to litigate discrimination lawsuits. To illustrate the absurdity of Tarr’s “controlling expenses” excuse, a group of Black women-led organizations raised $5,500 in a matter of hours.
Bad: SB 601 and HB 5243 — the “Women’s Bill of Rights” that had nothing to do with women and everything to do with setting sex and gender binaries into law and giving legal permission to exclude transgender people from certain spaces.
Good: SB 419 (same as HB 4730) and SB 569 — to adjust the funding formula to take usage and population growth, not just number of miles, into consideration; and to allow municipalities to maintain roads, then be reimbursed for the work. These bills would have done wonders for improving our roads, and all died on Crossover Day when they failed to leave their chambers of origin.
Bad: HB 5159 — to lower the requirements for 14- and 15-year-olds to work. Child labor laws exist for a reason — to protect children.
Other good bills that died: SB 293, the “Glucagon in Schools Act”; SB 292, the “Hunger-Free Campus Act”; SB 175, to prohibit “sextortion” — demanding sexual acts in exchange for something needed or threatening to post explicit photos if certain demands are not met; SB 144, to require open and public school board meetings; HB 5553, to require courses on personal finance and computer science before graduation; and HB 4428/SB 157, to require political candidates to live in the area they want to represent.
