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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.

Referendum Provision Draws Fire From Equality Advocates

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Wednesday, February 28, 2018   

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Fairness West Virginia says a troubling referendum provision in complex home-rule legislation could be used to overturn local non-discrimination laws. House Bill 4158 is extensive, and would set a number of rules for local governments.

Andrew Schneider, the executive director of Fairness, says one part would "empower the fringe" by letting them force a referendum on any city or town ordinance. Two years ago, a bill to block local LGBT non-discrimination laws failed. He says this provision aims at the same goal.

But, Schneider says it also would make West Virginia a place where local governments are hobbled by constant second-guessing.

"This would turn West Virginia into a California, and it would only make the process of adopting municipal laws that much more arduous," he laments. "If voters are not satisfied with their elected representatives, vote them out of office."

Without a statewide LGBT non-discrimination law, Fairness has campaigned for eleven local ordinances that cover about 10 percent of the state's population. Supporters of the referendum provision argue it would allow for more public input and direct democracy.

Under HB 4158, a petition signed by the equivalent of 30 percent of the last municipal election could force a public vote on any local ordinance. That may sound like a lot of signatures, but Schneider points out that local elections have notoriously low turnout. He says, for example, all it would take to force a referendum on a Charleston ordinance would be a petition signed by 1,800 people.

"If you want direct democracy, then what's the point of having representatives?" he asks. "Voters don't necessarily have the benefit and the time to gather that information that council members have the time to do. That's why we have representative democracy."

HB 4158 looks likely to pass the house soon. Schneider says they will press for the provision to be removed through an amendment.


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