Three weeks remain in the 2023 Texas legislative session with a bill under consideration that could ultimately throw out future election results in the state s most populated county. Harris County, home of Houston and almost 5 million residents, is the target of two Senate bills that would eliminate the elections administrator position there and return all election duties to the county tax assessor-collector and county clerk. It comes on the heels of S.B. .
New lawsuits are likely coming in Texas as LGBTQ+ people working for the state are now being targeted in dress code regulations. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has issued an order to his employees to dress "in a manner consistent with their biological gender" as part of a dress code and grooming policy. Brian Klosterboer, attorney for the ACLU of Texas, said the new policy violates Title Seven, which bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, as well the First Amendment s right to free expression and the Equal Protection Clause. .
Massachusetts lawmakers in Congress have reintroduced legislation which would allow people to sue police officers and other state and local government officials. The Ending Qualified Immunity Act would eliminate the doctrine created by the Supreme Court, which protects police officers from individual liability for violating a person s constitutional rights. Rep. .
Connecticut advocates are calling on the General Assembly to pass the state s Voting Rights Act. The bill would enshrine the protections of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, and eliminate certain barriers to voting specific to Connecticut. The bill would provide new legal tools to fight discriminatory voting rules, expand language assistance for voters with limited English, and adopt strong protections against voter intimidation. .