The other 49
Mary Jane and the Saw
The states of California and
Colorado have joined Alaska, Maine,
and Oregon in making the possession of
small amounts of marijuana punishable by a fine rather than a jail term.
Communists may be workers
Under a recent ruling of the Arkansas Supreme Court, Communists may
no longer be barred from working for
the state. In issuing its ruling the court
declared unconstitutional a 1941 law
which had set the state policy.
For the sake of simplicity
The state of Missouri recently moved
to make it easier for an individual to
make a gift of all or part of one's body.
Under an amendment to the Uniform
Anatomical Gift Act this can now be
accomplished by means of a statement
to that effect on one's driver's license.
Politics as usual
A special three-judge federal district court in New York recently nullified a
number of major provisions in that
state's recently enacted Fair Campaign
Code. The court struck down the code's
ban against candidates attacking any
political candidate's race, sex, religion
or ethnic background.
Copping a plea to end
The governor of Alaska recently announced that the practice of plea
bargaining in criminal prosecutions
would end. Under new policy, even
though district attorneys may recommend specific sentences, actual sentences will be left up to the courts.
State continues winning streak
The state of Nevada's revenues from
a tax on gambling increased by 11 per
cent over the previous fiscal year according to the State Gaming Control
Board. The actual amount of money
taken in was $82.5 million.
Dial your lawmaker
Nebraska and North Dakota are now
among those states operating toll-free
telephone lines for their citizens seeking legislative information. The
program has been termed a "success"
with thousands of calls being made.
Good Friday no longer good
California Court of Appeals ruled
earlier this year that giving state
employees three hours off with pay on
Good Friday was unconstitutional. The
court argued that such a practice violated the First Amendment ban against an "establishment of religion."
Saving the waste for savings
Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm has
ordered his state employees to save
waste paper so that it might be returned to the company which supplies
it. The return of the used computer
printout paper will earn the state $38 a ton.
Miss? Ms? Mrs?
The Attorney General of the State of New Jersey ruled in August of this year
that a married woman may retain her
maiden name when she marries.
Asps no longer holy
The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled
in September that snake handling and
the imbibing of deadly poisons does not
fall under the constitutional blanket of
protection afforded by the First
Amendment's freedom of religion
clause, and is therefore illegal.
Putting out fire ants
The State of Georgia will attempt to
go it alone in its campaign to rid itself
of fire ants which inflict quite painful
bites and cause damage to farm equipment because of their mounds. Federal
assistance was terminated due to a clash
over Environmental Protection Agency
policy on the banning of a specific
pesticide. /C.P.R..
December 1975 / Illinois Issues / 375