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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Bills Aim to Prevent Assaults on Michiganders with Disabilities

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Thursday, June 9, 2016   

LANSING, Mich. – There are new efforts in Michigan to crack down on those who hurt people with special needs.

Rep. Frank Liberati, a Democrat, and Sen. Rick Jones, a Republican, have sponsored bills that would increase penalties for assaulting a person with a developmental disability.

Jones says people with disabilities can often have difficulty caring for themselves and protecting themselves. And he contends all Michiganders deserve to live with respect and dignity.

"I, myself, had a son who was born with some disability and I watched him be bullied several times,” he relates. “So beyond bullying there are occasionally people who are assaulted and we want to make sure that we send a strong message that it's not going to be allowed in Michigan."

House bills 5728 and 5729 and Senate bills 1017 and 1018 were introduced this week.

According to the American Community Survey, more than 6 percent of non-institutionalized Michiganders reported a cognitive disability in 2014.

Jones says the legislation will help elevate the voices of those with disabilities by creating a harsher punishment for those who hurt them.

"If you knowingly assault somebody with learning disabilities you could serve up to a year in jail and $1,000 fine,” he states. “If you do it a second time, we want to really get tough: five years, $5,000 fine."

Earlier this year, Jones and Liberati formed the Disabilities Awareness Caucus to focus on policy issues impacting those with a disability.





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