Use of Forced Catheterizations by Police in South Dakota Called ‘Cruel and Barbaric’
Welcome to South Dakota! Michael Grass
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Missouri governor calls special session; Minnesota’s REAL ID Act compliance; and a New Jersey mayor’s sexting scandal.
LAW ENFORCEMENT | The American Civil Liberties Union in South Dakota is calling the use of forced catheterizations by law enforcement to obtain urine samples, including from a three-year-old boy in one case, “raises serious constitutional concerns.” Local police in Pierre wanted to obtain a urine sample from a three-year-old boy to see if he had traces of drugs in his system. “They just shoved it right up there, and he screamed so bad,” the boy’s mother said. “He’s still dealing with a staph infection, and we are still giving him medication.” Local police in Pierre and the state’s Department of Social Services have refused to comment. [Argus Leader]
STATE AND FEDERAL RELATIONS | Minnesota is officially the last state to comply with the federal REAL ID Act, ensuring residents can still travel through airports beginning January 2018 using secure driver’s licenses. “Whether it’s visiting a child at a military base or taking their family on vacation, Minnesotans deserve the peace-of-mind that with their normal driver’s licenses they are fully capable of going about their lives and work,” said Rep. Dennis Smith, the bill’s author. [MinnPost]
STATE LEGISLATURES | Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens intends to call a legislative special session focused on attracting a steel plant and aluminum smelter to the state with lower utility rates. The governor may also be interested in repealing a state prevailing wage law setting the minimum wage for public construction workers on a county-by-county basis and regulating public employee unions. [Kansas City Star]
A “fiber trading” bill supported by Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and aimed at boosting efforts to expand fiber-optic networks in the state got a boost on Wednesday when members of the Nevada Assembly unanimously approved it. [Las Vegas Review Journal]
Bipartisan legislation for equal pay passed the Oregon Senate on Wednesday. “Oregon is ground breaking in terms of this landmark legislation and so we are hopeful that it becomes the model for the nation,” said Republican state Sen. Tim Knopp. The legislation goes back to the House where Senate amendments will be reconciled. [KOBI-TV; Statesman Journal]
A proposal in the North Carolina Senate would slash the state’s Department of Public Instruction budget by 25 percent, a loss of about $13 million annually. Included in the cuts are eight positions, including an associate state school superintendent and a director of state board operations. [@NCCapitol / WRAL-TV]
A proposal by Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg to offer lottery products over the internet has lost steam in the legislature for this year. [State House News Service]
CITY HALLS | Leaders in Tacoma, Washington, selected the long-time city attorney, Elizabeth Pauli, to become the next city manager. Pauli had been serving in the role in an interim basis as a national search was conducted. But that search effort turned up short when city leaders decided to not select any of the finalists. [The News Tribune]
The Boise City Council gave the green light a downtown streetcar line on Tuesday to serve as a circulator throughout its urban core. Paying for the $111 million line is the next step, where a bus system would have only cost $23 million. Nine years ago Idaho’s capital tried for a rail-based public transit system and failed. [Idaho Statesman]
Facing a sexting scandal, the mayor of Bayonne, New Jersey, is facing calls to resign over the matter, accused of sending lewd texts to a woman the city fired last year which asked her to meet him in Atlantic City. "I didn't tarnish Jimmy's reputation. He did that himself," the woman, Stacie Parcella, said of Mayor Jimmy Davis.
Some citizens in Santa Fe, New Mexico, are irked over a proposal to set the salary range for the city’s mayor, which is now a full-time position, at $145,000-$175,000. [Santa Fe New Mexican]
NEXT STORY: West Virginia tracks sexual assault evidence