N.J. Lawmakers Want to Exempt Garden State Drivers From Out-of-State Tickets
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STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Delaware’s opioid legislative package … a flotilla of boats vs. Fla.’s red tide … and a Wyo. county commissioner rescued from mountain.
Good morning, it’s Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018. Leading Route Fifty’s state and local news roundup are lead-footed New Jersey motorists, but scroll down for more from places like Rabbit Hash, Kentucky; Dover Delaware; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
STATE GOVERNMENT | Some state lawmakers in New Jersey are seeking ways to exempt Garden State drivers from out-of-state tickets issued by automated speed enforcement cameras. While those cameras are banned in New Jersey, the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission currently complies with requests by out-of-state jurisdictions seeking information about speeding drivers so tickets can be issued. South Dakota is the only state that currently denies such requests. [The Inquirer / Philly.com]
- Dover, Delaware: Gov. John Carney signed three bills into law on Monday aimed at easing the opioid abuse crisis in the state. “The package of legislation addresses critical gaps identified by Delaware’s Behavioral Health Consortium which will tackle a range of issues including the creation of the nation’s first Overdose System of Care model to better transition individuals after an overdose or crisis from an emergency room setting to more comprehensive treatment for their addiction. Additional legislation also creates better access and education to alternative therapies to opioids and improved data sharing of health information between agencies to better assess and analyze prescribing patterns.” [Office of Delaware Gov. Carney]
- Oakwood, Illinois: Instead of removing toxic coal ash that sits adjacent to the environmentally sensitive Middle Fork of the Vermillion River, the Texas-based owner of the ash disposal pits has proposed building “an even bigger wall of rocks to armor a portion of riverbank more than six football fields long.” [Chicago Tribune]
- Mount Desert Island, Maine: A potentially toxic algae not seen in Maine’s coastal waters until 2016 has prompted the Maine Department of Marine Resources to close certain shellfishing areas for a third year in a row. [Maine Public]
- Bismarck, North Dakota: The North Dakota Department of Transportation’s implementation of REAL ID Act compliant driver’s licenses, which started in May, has gone mostly according to plan. [Fargo Forum]
LOCAL GOVERNMENT | Florida’s red tide algae crisis continues and there’s no end in sight. In Pinellas County, local officials “dispatched a flotilla of boats,” including two shrimp boats, to scoop up dead fish before they reached shore. This weekend, more than 17 tons of dead fish had been deposited at the county landfill. [Tampa Bay Times]
- Los Angeles County, California: The L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a temporary measure that would limit rent increases to 3 percent in unincorporated parts of the county as it considers permanent rules. [Los Angeles Times]
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Mayor Paul TenHaken has named Jason Reisdorfer as the city’s new director of technology and innovation, a new position that will lead a rebranded municpal agency formerly known as Central Services. [KELO]
- Park County, Wyoming: County Commissioner John Charles "Jake" Fulkerson was rescued from a mountain slope on Sunday after he was hiking alone and dislodged a rock weighing hundreds of pounds fell on his foot trapping him. [Billings Gazette]
- Rabbit Hash, Kentucky: Former dog mayor Lucy Lou, the popular “red and white border collie who served in office from 2008 to 2016,” has died. [Enquirer / Cincinnati.com]
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Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive's Route Fifty and is based in Seattle.
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