Posts Tagged ‘legislation’
Parental Rights Veto Override in North Carolina
It took a special session and a veto override vote in both houses of the legislature, but on August 16 North Carolina passed Senate Bill 49 (SB 49), the Parents’ Bill of Rights. The Senate voted 27-18 in favor of the override and the House voted 72-47 just 26 minutes later. In North Carolina, a…
Read MoreTexas-Sized Wins for Families
This legislative season, while we were supporting and encouraging fundamental parental rights legislation in more than a dozen states, including the ones passed in North Dakota, Iowa, and Alabama, allies were at work promoting some of our other models in the big state of Texas. And they came away with some real Texas-sized wins for…
Read MoreVictory in Iowa!
We want to share with you a tremendous victory: Iowa is poised to become the 16th state in the nation to protect parental rights as fundamental in state code. As of today, the bill has passed the legislature and awaits only the governor’s signature, which is expected at any time! It was the most unlikely…
Read MoreA Momentous Step Forward in Louisiana and for the Nation
On Monday, the Louisiana State House of Representatives’ Civil Law Committee unanimously approved a proposed parental rights amendment to the Louisiana State Constitution. I was privileged to attend the hearing and present testimony in support, along with parents and allied organizations. Constitutional law professor and Parental Rights Foundation board member William Wagner provided written testimony,…
Read MoreTeamwork Sees Virginia Governor Sign “Reasonable Independence” Law
We’re celebrating another victory! On Tuesday, March 28, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law Senate Bill 1367, Reasonable Independence for Kids. This law will take effect on July 1, protecting innocent parents and their ability to make age-appropriate decisions for their children from Virginia child protective services. It is not “neglect” to let mature…
Read MoreWatch: Why Pass Parental Rights State Laws?
Today fifteen states protect parental rights as fundamental rights in state law. So, it’s very exciting that almost fifteen more states (currently 12) have introduced or are expected to introduce similar measures this legislative session. If every one of those were to pass—a longshot, I know—we would nearly double the number of states protecting our…
Read MoreLegislatures are Heating Up for the 2023 Session
It’s the time of year when many state legislatures convene for their new session, and already parental rights are a prominent issue in proposed new legislation. Some are “reasonable independence” bills, which aim to exclude from the definition of “neglect” certain activities some parents may reasonably allow their children to do on their own as…
Read MoreCoordinated Efforts Came Together on “Banner Day”
October 18 was a banner day for the Parental Rights Foundation, as our team coordinated major legislative undertakings at the state and national level at the same time. First, we traveled north to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where Will Estrada testified before the Pennsylvania Senate’s State Government Committee. The subject was Senate Bill 996, the Parental Rights…
Read MoreProtecting Innocent Families from Rogue CPS Investigations
We recently shared with you about our work to introduce a model bill at the annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Atlanta. Our model was drafted to ensure that innocent families know their legal rights when a child welfare investigator shows up at their door. The bill would help level the…
Read MoreReasonable Independence
View the model as adopted by the American Legislative Exchange Council. A “Reasonable Independence” bill (formerly “Free Range Parenting”) is simple common sense. This model clearly excludes from a state’s definition of “neglect” a host of reasonable decisions any parent could make to allow their child to grow in independence and responsibility. Decisions like allowing…
Read More