Gay Couple’s Marriage License Blocked Again in Kentucky; Pre-Determined Assisted Suicide in Colo.?
James Yates, right, speaks with reporters as his partner William Smith Jr. looks on at the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Ky., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. Timothy D. Easley / AP Photo
Also: Maryland's manure innovation grant and Connecticut ends homelessness for veterans.
Here's some of what we've been reading today ...
MOREHEAD, Kentucky: Sometimes, the third time’s the charm. But not in Rowan County in eastern Kentucky. James Yates and William Smith Jr., the gay couple blocked previously by Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis from getting a marriage license despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June green-lighting same-sex marriage, were denied a marriage license yet again on Thursday, The Courier-Journal reports. Davis opposes same-sex marriage because of her religious beliefs and has stopped issuing marriage licenses to straight couples, too. Davis’ refusal to grant marriage licenses has prompted legal challenges that are currently making their way through federal courts. [The Courier-Journal]
PARKER, Colorado: A man with Parkinson’s disease is pushing to get a ballot measure before Colorado voters in 2016 that would make doctor-assisted suicide legal in the Centennial State. But the proposed measure from Lance Wright differs from current state laws in Oregon, Washington state and Vermont where doctor-assisted suicide is legal, according to The Daily Sentinel:
<blockquote>Under his proposed measure, a person could designate years before they reach a stage where they want to die their wishes to be put to death, even if they aren’t able to say so at the time, such as being involved in an accident and are suddenly in a coma or mentally and physically incapacitated.
“This is a personal freedom,” Wright said. “That part of it shouldn’t be argued. What? We can’t control our own destiny? That’s un-American. The government is telling me that I can’t end my life, that I can’t be in control of it.”</blockquote> [The Daily Sentinel]
KATY, Texas: This Houston-area suburb is getting rid of its tax department and letting two county governments, Harris and Fort Bend, collect its taxes on its behalf, the Houston Chronicle reports. "Because of technology today, we can do this," Katy City Administrator Byron Hebert told the Chronicle. "We're hoping to save about $150,000 a year and make it more convenient for taxpayers. Now they will have multiple places to pay their taxes.” [Houston Chronicle]
WICOMICO COUNTY, Maryland: Maryland’s Eastern Shore is full of poultry manure—too much of it. This week, the Maryland Department of Agriculture, through its Animal Waste Technology Fund, has given an Alabama company a $1.2 million grant to try out technology it says can reduce manure volumes by 50 to 63 percent, according to DelmarvaNow. “This project is a great example of that commitment and a prime investment in new technology that seeks alternative uses for manure,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement. [DelmarvaNow]
NEWINGTON, Connecticut: State and federal officials on Thursday declared that chronic homelessness for veterans has come to an end in the Nutmeg State. As the Hartford Courant reports, advocates for the homeless counted 41 chronically homeless veterans around the state earlier in the year. Housing has now been found for all of them. “We are the first state in the nation to end chronic homelessness among our veterans,” said Gov. Dannel Malloy. [Hartford Courant]
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive’s Route Fifty.
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