Gov. Rauner to sign SB 336 soon, which creates the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program. It will allow patients to have access to medical cannabis as an alternative to opioids. pic.twitter.com/6ZIDArgAF7
A measure that could dramatically expand access to medical marijuana in Illinois — making it available as an opioid painkiller replacement and easing the application process for all who qualify — is expected to become law on Tuesday.
The measure is a response to the epidemic of overdose deaths from narcotics, which killed almost 2,000 people in the state in 2016 and an estimated 72,000 people nationwide last year. It would allow doctors to authorize medical marijuana for any patient who has or would qualify for a prescription for opioids like OxyContin, Percocet or Vicodin.
But the measure is also noteworthy for removing some of the major restrictions on the medical marijuana program in Illinois.
No longer will any applicants have to be fingerprinted and undergo criminal background checks. And those who complete an online application with a doctor’s authorization will get a provisional registration to buy medical cannabis while they wait for state officials to make a final review of their request.
Kudos. This is an important bill.
* The Pritzker campaign, however, takes us through some Rauner history…
Mid 2018: Rauner refused to take a position on SB 336 and let it sit on his desk for almost two months despite its immediate effective date.
Early 2018: Rauner’s IDPH fought a court ruling requiring Illinois to include chronic pain in medical marijuana, even though a judge called their argument “clearly erroneous.”
Late 2017: One week after unveiling his opioid task force, Rauner announced he would slash funding to a critical behavioral health and substance abuse facility.
Early 2017: Rauner reportedly disbanded the state’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Board in exchange for adding two new conditions to the list of qualifying conditions.
Mid 2016: After a judge ordered the state to add PTSD to the medical marijuana program, Rauner signed legislation to comply after holding out for a year.
Early 2016: Rauner again refused to add eight conditions to the state’s medical marijuana program for the second time in five months. A military veteran told AP, “I’m flabbergasted…I think (Rauner) is intentionally stalling the program. … He’s putting politics before people.”
Late 2015: Rauner vetoed a bill to add a dozen conditions to and extend the state’s medical marijuana program.
Late 2015: Rauner vetoed the Heroin Crisis Act, calling funding for opioid treatment “a very costly mandate.” The legislature overrode Rauner’s veto, allowing police to have access to Narcan, a lifesaving drug that resulted in more than 11,000 overdose reversals since 2010.
“From vetoing the Heroin Crisis Act to stalling the state’s medical marijuana program, Bruce Rauner has been a repeated obstacle to solving our state’s opioid epidemic,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Lives have been on the line while this failed governor has ignored this epidemic for years, and no last-minute photo-op can change that.”
There’s an old saying that goes something like: When a politician changes positions away from you, he’s a flip-flopper. When he changes positions toward you, he’s a statesman.
Today, Rauner’s a statesman.
…Adding… He’s evolving slowly…
Rauner on why he's backing medical marijuana as opioid alternative, a switch from his previous stance; says he has and still is studying the issue. https://t.co/RkLjZhG6bz
* We’ve discussed much of this stuff before (click here and here for background), but Kristen McQueary’s new column is about the appointment of Helene Miller-Walsh to replace disgraced former Rep. Nick Sauer on the ballot…
Mark Shaw, Lake County GOP chairman and co-chair of the Illinois Republican Party, and Chris Geissler, Barrington Township GOP committeeman, interviewed nine candidates to replace Sauer, according to Shaw. They selected Helene Miller Walsh. She is now the representative of the 51st District and faces Democrat Mary Edly-Allen on the ballot. […]
So when Lake County Republicans announced that his wife secured the seat appointment, it took Democrats about five minutes on her Facebook page to find a series of strongly worded posts too — not the N-word but charged posts on Muslims, immigration and Chicago violence, to name a few. […]
For its part, the Illinois Republican Party shifted questions about her appointment to the “local committee” that made the decision to choose her. That committee was made up of two people. One of them is Shaw, co-chairman of the state party.
No, this is not a hands-off moment for Illinois GOP leadership. This belongs to them. It’s going to be a fiasco.
* So, why would Illinois Republican Party Co-Chairman and Lake County GOP Chairman Mark Shaw appoint Miller-Walsh? There are a lot of reasons, but one is that he may also be a fan of conspiracy theories. Check out this Lake County Republican Party Facebook post…
A day after a competitive video gamer shot and killed two people, wounding 10 others, at a Madden video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, a group of far-right news outlets announced that they had found the Reddit account used by the shooter, who they said used the pseudonym “Ravenchamps.”
But the groups were wrong.
“Ravenchamps” did not belong to the shooter, who the police say was a Baltimore resident named David Katz and who killed himself in the shooting. And the announcement caused considerable trouble for the real person who owned the account. […]
This is not the first time Gateway Pundit has misidentified someone who committed an attack or mass shooting. The site said the Charlottesville car attack was conducted by an “anti-Trump protester” who in reality was hundreds of miles away at the time of the attack. The site also named the wrong person in the Las Vegas mass shooting, and spun an elaborate conspiracy based on an anonymous Twitter post which identified the wrong person in a mass shooting at the airport in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in January 2017.
* And the original GP story’s headline has finally been changed to reflect reality with this little notation at the bottom…
UPDATE: An anonymous Reddit user was mis-identified in an earlier post.
…Adding… The Lake County GOP has removed the Facebook post.
If it hasn’t already, a flier will soon be arriving in the mailboxes of many of Illinois’ approximately 400,000 public school teachers, state employees and municipal workers (including police officers and firefighters) informing them that their “legal rights as a government employee have changed.” […]
The flier was sent by the Illinois Policy Institute, a self-described free-market think tank with links to billionaires like Dick Uihlein, who are bankrolling campaigns for conservative candidates in Illinois and elsewhere.
“We want to be a resource,” IPI spokesman Eric Kohn said. “About what Janus means, what was decided in the case. What their rights are – their constitutional rights were withheld from them for 40-some years. Now that they’ve been restored, we want to make sure they have all of the information that they need to make the best choice for themselves about whether or not they want to be a part of the union, whether they want to pay money to a union and support a union.” […]
“When you look at who funds IPI, it’s definitely about politics. Gov. Bruce Rauner gives them money. You can see that Dick Uihlein, who is a big conservative billionaire investor, gives them money as well. This is about privatizing public education and our members know that,” said Illinois Education Association spokeswoman Bridget Shanahan. “If they can take away our members voices, our teachers, our education support staff – if they can silence them and the voice they use to advocate for their students, then they are one step closer to privatizing education.”
Shanahan said the IPI flier is “misinformation” because of a section headlined “member money spent on politics” when in fact legally member dues cannot be spent on political activities.
Do you know where your news is coming from? Illinois' has a massive news propaganda machine at work. The groups behind that article you're reading, newscast you're watching or radio show you're listening to can be alarming. Help us spread the word.
*** UPDATE *** From Mailee Smith, staff attorney and labor expert for the Illinois Policy Institute…
“What we’ve seen since the Supreme Court ruled that forced union fees are unconstitutional is that workers are being bombarded with information. We are a resource to break down what the ruling truly means.
“Hundreds of workers across Illinois have already chosen to leave the unions at their workplace. We hear from folks all over the state who are grateful to be able to choose their own path. Meanwhile, dozens are reaching out to us for clarity about the ruling and how it affects them. Downstate, a ‘fair share’ payer was told by her union president that she was not allowed to opt out; in another instance, a union told their members they needed to opt out together as a group. Both of these are violations of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“We support our state and local workers — including teachers, police officers and government employees — and believe they deserve to have all of the information on the choices they have now, as well as how to exercise those options, available to them.”
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new TV ad titled “Moby Dick.”
The ad features Ron Wilson, a Vietnam veteran and proud Illinoisan, talking about the Madigan-Pritzker tax hike agenda. In the ad, Ron says, “Madigan’s been in since Moby Dick was a minnow. 47 years, he hasn’t fixed it.”
Ron, like many other Illinoisans, knows that giving Madigan total control by electing JB Pritzker means higher taxes and more corruption.
A friend suggested to me this morning that the “Moby Dick” thing kinda works in this case. Bruce Rauner is Captain Ahab and Madigan is his great white whale. But the book didn’t end too well for the Captain, she reminded me.
Truth is, Illinois is in trouble. It didn’t get here in just a decade. It didn’t get here in two decades. Madigan’s been in since Moby Dick was a minnow. 47 years, he hasn’t fixed it. And he’s got JB Pritzker in there. What makes you think one of his lackeys is going to change it. They want to tax and then spend more. He’s not going to hit you with just one tax. He’s going to hit you with two or three. It’s just not going to work. It will not work.
JB Pritzker and Mike Madigan. Higher Taxes. More Corruption.
…Adding… Four years ago, the Rauner campaign billed Ron Wilson as a former AFSCME local president who said in the spot of Gov. Pat Quinn: “Don’t attack Bruce, tell me what you got done”…
Bruce Rauner's campaign just released an ad featuring Ron Wilson, who also appeared in a commercial for Rauner's 2014 campaign.
— Illinois Working Together (@IllinoisWorking) August 28, 2018
…Adding… DGA…
Today, Governor Bruce Rauner launched a new ad that only served to remind voters of how little he’s accomplished in four years as Governor. The newest ad features Ron Wilson, who four years ago called out Rauner’s opponent for his negative ads and challenged him to “tell me what you got done. I see zero.”
Four years later, Rauner is using Wilson to attack his opponent instead of telling voters what he’s gotten done.
“Bruce Rauner has zero positive things to say about his failed record in office,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “If anything, Rauner’s failed leadership negatively affected Illinois families as his two-year budget crisis added billions of dollars of debt and slowed job creation in the state.”
“DuPage cancer risk linked to Rauner” has to rank right up there as one of the worst headlines the guy has ever received.
* The online story’s hed is less harsh, but still not great: “High cancer risk in southeast DuPage County linked to company co-owned by Rauner’s former firm.” From the piece…
Two low-slung industrial buildings, tucked behind a Target store in west suburban Willowbrook, are about as nondescript as they come. For years, they have been home to Sterigenics International, a company that has quietly gone about its business of fumigating medical instruments, pharmaceutical drugs and food to kill bacteria and pests.
But a new federal study is putting a bright spotlight on the company, finding that people living nearby face some the nation’s highest cancer risks from toxic air pollution.
A gas used by the company, ethylene oxide, is far more dangerous than previously thought, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In one census tract near the plant, the EPA estimates the risk of cancer is more than nine times the national average.
Another federal agency concluded the cancer risks could be significantly higher.
Federal officials began investigating Sterigenics last year after surrounding communities popped out on a national map of health hazards from breathing toxic chemicals.
You have to scroll six paragraphs down to find the first mention of the governor’s former firm.
* However, this is from the Willowbrook Village website…
The emissions of ethylene oxide from the Sterigenics International, Inc. facility in Willowbrook, IL are not an immediate threat to public health and are not considered to be an emergency situation. ATSDR recommended to U.S. EPA that actions be taken to reduce emissions of ethylene oxide from this facility to protect the public from long-term exposures that could harm their health. […]
The highest measured levels of ethylene oxide in those areas were about 1,000 times lower than levels associated with cancer risks in scientific studies of workers with industrial exposure to EtO.
Emphasis was in the original.
…Adding… Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove)…
“The residents of Willowbrook and I have deep concerns, and many questions, about the recently released toxicity report from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) regarding the air quality in our community. The health and well-being of our residents is my number one concern and priority. Therefore, I have demanded that Sterigenics and government agencies involved in this matter attend the public forum being held Wednesday night so we can have all our questions answered. I am pleased all parties have agreed to attend, and I would encourage residents with questions to attend as well. It is vital that we have all the information available so we can best mitigate this issue in order to reduce any long-term impact on our community. We cannot delay, we must act now.”
*** UPDATE *** The governor was asked about the story today…
.@govrauner on @scribeguy story of chemical used by a suburban company posing heighted risk: the federal government created a scare, cautions "this is not a public health crisis," we will work to monitor and manage risk https://t.co/u9GoqYpj7T
Today, legislative leaders will hold a press conference in Chicago on JB Pritzker’s plan to raise taxes on hardworking Illinoisans. Pritzker has called a graduated income tax hike the “theme of this campaign.” Despite his claims that this would only affect the wealthy, his tax hike would crush the middle class and be a disaster for the state.
JB Pritzker’s expensive campaign promises would dramatically increase the state’s spending, requiring massive tax hikes. For more information, read Rich Miller’s recent post on Capitol Fax.
Leaders Jim Durkin and Bill Brady will be joined by other area legislators at the press conference. They will give short remarks and will take questions from the press.
* From the event…
Leader Durkin says the GOP caucus will oppose every measure pushed by JB Pritzker to try to enact a progressive income tax. pic.twitter.com/2FftOBJTO5
GOP legislators are warning that the state income tax hike Democratic candidate JB Pritzker is pushing would hit every wage earner, not just the rich.
In the long-term, Pritzker wants to go to a graduated income tax – the more you make the bigger rate you pay – and in the short-term, raise the flat rate on the rich but protect the middle class with exemptions.
Jim Durkin, the Republican leader of the Illinois House says he’s never seen a Democrat so enthusiastic about wanting to raises taxes to spend more billions, noting “More Democrat spending, which is the root evil, the root problem causing all the issues we have in Springfield.”
Durkin’s solution to the states revenue needs is don’t raise taxes, but freeze spending and pass a pending pension reform bill.
* Raw audio…
At times, it almost sounded like the Republicans were viewing Pritzker’s election as a fait accompli. When Sen. Brady as asked about that, he said “On this issue alone, [Rauner] can win the election.”
…Adding… And this is the biggest reason why the last tax hike was needed…
moody's on NJ and ILL…..NJ had the weakest pension contribution ratio at 29.6%, and Illinois saw a 25% growth in ANPL with unfunded pension liabilities reaching $250B or 601% of state revenues in 2017, before the state's 2018 tax increase, an all-time high for any state.
*** UPDATE *** The governor’s campaign compiled some quotes…
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin:
“Mr. Pritzker has made raising taxes a central theme of his campaign. After the Mike Madigan 32% permanent income tax last year on all Illinoisans, including the middle class and low income workers. Pritzker now wants to raise the current rate against all Illinoisans until he can change the constitution so he could ram through what he has called the graduated tax system. Why? For more Democrat spending, which is the root evil and the root problem of all issues that we have in Springfield.”
Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady:
“I don’t even think Pat Quinn or Rod Blagojevich would have the gumption to talk about forcing a tax increase on the backs of Illinois families and businesses. We already have one of the highest property taxes in the nation if not the highest as JB Pritzker knows very well. It’s time to reduce the tax burden on families and businesses.
“…These calls by JB Pritzker and Mike Madigan and John Cullerton will not work to create opportunities for Illinois families. So candidate Pritzker, come clean with what your tax proposals truly are, but as you do that, you ought to reconsider Governor Rauner’s proposal which is reducing the tax burden on families and businesses.”
State Representative Grant Wehrli:
“JB Pritzker’s solution to Illinois’s fiscal woes could not be any more simplistic. It is simply a higher tax burden on all of us. It is an intellectually lazy approach to governance, there is nothing on the reform side, there is nothing on the cut side, there is nothing on the integration of technology to make our state government more productive. Intellectually lazy solution to our fiscal problems.”
State Representative Keith Wheeler:
“Small business owners don’t hide their money offshore, overseas accounts, they pay taxes and create jobs, and they do the little things in our communities that make a difference, like sponsor that baseball team or promote a dance recital, so if you’re a small business owner, or you work for a small business, pay close attention. JB Pritzker’s tax increase is going to hit you, and it’s going to hit you hard. And here’s why: when a small business moves to another state, closes its doors, it never even opens, because the entrepreneur can’t see a way to make ends meet because our taxes are too high and still going up. Well then that real life toll on the family in Illinois that loses that job or never gets that opportunity, that’s real impact, so make no mistake. The Pritzker-Madigan tax increase will crush Illinois small businesses and kill Illinois jobs.”
State Representative Deanne Mazzochi:
“JB Pritzker says that he won’t commit to the rates, that he’s going to take from our social service workers, our teachers, our farmers, truck drivers, doctors, business owners, and the rest of the middle class, because he needs to work with the legislature. And again, we know what that means—Pritzker puppet, Madigan master. JB’s commercials, that Madigan-Pritzker tax hike, is only going to hit the billionaire class, is a flat lie.”
State Representative David Olsen:
“I think that the critical point is that this math doesn’t work unless there is a tax increase on the middle class, and so JB Pritzker’s plan—oh we’re just going to focus on the billionaires, that he’s going to pay more, it sounds nice, except that means a tax increase on every working family in Illinois, and that is really something that we cannot afford.”
State Representative Peter Breen:
“JB Pritzker, as one of my colleagues declared he only made $15 million in income but had $120 million available to spend on his political campaign. So this guy is bad faith in a state where we have had enough bad faith we have had enough corruption. We need people, leaders, and policies that give people hope for the future and that’s something Governor Rauner is trying to bring to the state and we fully support him in terms of those policies that will turn around our state. Again, this is a tax cheat, pushing tax hikes. He is absolutely in bad faith and in the most corrupt and bankrupt state in the country and we can’t afford it.”
State Representative Steve Reick:
“What we’re going to be left with are a whole bunch of people making less and less money providing less and less revenue in an economy that continues to stagnate. So whatever JB Pritzker is selling, I’m not buying it, nor should you.
“…He’s wasting an awful lot of money on ads talking about taxing the rich. Let’s find out what he’s going to do about taxing the middle class, because that’s what’s going to happen.”
For years, Illinois universities have watched as thousands of the state’s best and brightest students headed elsewhere for college.
Lured by generous scholarship offers, and spooked by the state’s budget stalemate and rising tuitions, Illinois students have increasingly pursued their higher education in other states. Enrollment has slid, and Illinois is losing far more local students to other states than it is attracting nonresidents to attend college here.
Now, the University of Illinois and a bipartisan group of lawmakers want to change that.
On Monday, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is announcing a free tuition and fees program for admitted Illinoisans whose family income meets or falls below the state median.
But when you scroll down to the particulars and do the math yourself (because the Trib doesn’t do it for you), you’ll see that the program will pay tuition for 250 students, tops. That’s only about 3 percent of its total freshman enrollment.
So, while probably a good start and very consequential for those individual kids, it won’t make much of a dent in the state’s out-migration problem.
…Adding… From Sen. Pat McGuire…
Rich, hello. UIUC Chancellor Robert Jones explained to me that Illinois Commitment is last-dollar financial aid. Pell and MAP are first-dollar. Illinois Commitment then covers the gap between the sum of those two grants and tuition and fees.
Republican House hopeful Dan Caulkins believes true conservatives should support Gov. Bruce Rauner’s re-election effort despite their many disappointments in his first term.
“We had a primary election and the outcome of that means he’s the Republican candidate,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “It’s important that we come together as a party to send Republicans to Springfield.” […]
“We need to keep the Governor’s Mansion in Republican hands because that is the only person that can veto Madigan and Pritzker’s agenda,” he said. “That is the only way that Republicans will have a significant voice in the next remap that, in many ways, will shape this state.” […]
As for all the disappointment, some conservatives might still feel regarding Rauner’s first four years in office, which saw him sign off on abortion expansion with House Bill 40 and gay rights legislation, Caulkins said he has a feeling things may be vastly different this time around.
“By sending more Republicans to Springfield, I think we will help Rauner to be more conservative in the way he governs,” he said. “In the House, if we can chip away at the Democratic majority and pick up seats I think the other side will start to see a trend that tells them people really want change. With that, I think everyone will be more willing to work toward real solutions to our problems instead of marching in lockstep with Madigan and the Democratic machine.”
Seems reasonable. But the Chambana Sun is one of those Dan Proft papers, and even though Caulkins was a Proft guy in the primary, his current reasoning is diametrically opposed to the position of the GOP’s Ives/Proft/Uihlein wing, which is basically: Rauner needs to apologize to Ives for calling her a Madigan ally. Or something. I’m not quite sure.
*** UPDATE *** From Dan Proft…
Hey Trump
I don’t take any stories down. There is no anti-Rauner litmus test. People can take whatever position on Rsuber they so choose including the candidates supported by my PAC.
But nothing like concocting fake news agitprop to curry favor with the AFL-CIO Times and the rest of the groupthink brigade.
You may now resume you fact-free conspiracy theorizing.
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday vetoed legislation that would have increased from $100,000 to $2 million the maximum damage award families of veterans who died due to Legionnaire’s disease at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy could have sought from the state.
Rauner has come under fire over his administration’s handling of repeated annual outbreaks at the home that began in 2015 with the deaths of a dozen people and illnesses to scores more. Since then, at least two more deaths have been associated with the disease.
At least a dozen lawsuits have been filed since the initial outbreak, claiming negligence by the state. The Republican governor’s Democratic challenger, J.B. Pritzker, has accused Rauner of “fatal mismanagement” at the veterans home, which is now undergoing a reconstruction.
In its legal filings, the state has denied any negligence and Rauner has said the state has followed all recommendations of federal experts at the Quincy home. In April, Rauner’s veterans affairs director resigned.
* The Sun-Times’ headline was equally tough (”Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoes larger damages for Legionnaire’s victims”), but the story was a bit more accurate…
Gov. Bruce Rauner has vetoed legislation that would have boosted the maximum damage awards to people who sue the state, including survivors of veterans who died of Legionnaires’ disease at the Illinois Veterans’ Home in downstate Quincy.
This bill wasn’t just about Quincy. The bill covered just about everybody who sued the state. So, I think the governor was right that a $2 million cap was a bit much. The cap was originally set at $100,000 in 1971, which works out to about $600,000 in today’s money. Rauner used his AV to change the cap to $300,000. So, where the GA high-balled, he low-balled.
From the outset, the legislation put Rauner in a political trick box. Embracing the status quo, as Rauner did Friday, carried the risk of making the governor seem unsympathetic to the plight of the veterans’ families at Quincy. Accepting new limits could have been viewed as a tacit acknowledgment the state bungled its response to the outbreaks, something Rauner has never admitted.
Legislators were in the same trick box. It wasn’t easy voting against the bill because of the deceased veterans angle.
* JB Pritzker took full advantage in his own press release…
“I’m disgusted by Bruce Rauner’s callous dismissal of Veteran families in this veto,” said JB Pritzker. “These families lost loved ones because of Rauner’s fatal mismanagement of the Veterans’ home in Quincy. No amount of money will ever bring back a life taken too soon or soothe a family’s grief, but Rauner had the indecency to lower the reparations for those who have paid the ultimate price. It is unconscionable and a disgrace to our fallen heroes. I hope the legislature overrides this bipartisan, veto-proof bill that this failed governor refused to sign into law.”
* From the governor’s veto message…
When citizens are inadvertently harmed by the State of Illinois or State employees performing their duties, they are granted statutory recourse to address those harms through the Illinois Court of Claims. There are approximately eight thousand cases filed against the State of Illinois each year, two hundred of which are for torts. Currently, these tort claims are subject to a cap of $100,000.
I recognize that the current law is outdated and in need of adjustment. However, this adjustment should reflect regional and national averages in order to properly compensate those who, once properly adjudicated, were found harmed by the State of Illinois.
This legislation raises the cap on awards from $100,000 to $2,000,000, effectively ignoring the impact of vastly expanded future litigation on the fiscal position of the State and its taxpayers.
The increase stands out when compared to other large states across America. Among the largest states in the nation, the cap averages about $350,000 for individual claims. As proposed, SB 2481 would make Illinois an extreme outlier when compared to our surrounding states. Wisconsin and Michigan are almost entirely immune from tort liability. Kentucky caps claims at $250,000; Indiana at $700,000 and Missouri at $300,000. Iowa has essentially no cap on tort claims. Further, the increase proposed far outpaces what would be a reasonable increase based on growth statistics available from the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Finally, as proposed, this legislation could invite frivolous lawsuits and expose taxpayers to hundreds of millions of dollars of potential damages each year without adequate study or justification.
…Adding… And here comes ITLA, right on cue…
Following the Governor’s amendatory veto of a measure that would have allowed access to justice for all families whose loved ones are injured or die while under the care of the state, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association President Mark D. Prince issued the following statement:
“Senate Bill 2481 is meant to ensure access to adequate and fair compensation for victims and their families when the state is responsible for their injuries or death. Despite the support of strong, bi-partisan majorities in the House and Senate, the Governor’s amendatory veto creates yet another artificial legislative hurdle for our veterans and their families, and put vulnerable children, the elderly, and other future victims that are injured or killed under the state’s care into peril.”
