A State Bill to Ban the B-Word

An odd proposal introduced into the Massachusetts legislature this week would ban use of the word “bitch,” resulting in fines up to $200 and up to six months in jail for violations. Rep. Daniel Hunt, a Democrat, said that he was obligated to introduce the bill even if it were almost certainly struck down by a First Amendment challenge if it became law. Massachusetts has a “right to free petition” statute that allows citizens to file proposed bills directly through a representative, which is what happened here with one of Hunt’s constituents. “It’s important whether you agree or disagree with the legislation being proposed that you honor the duty to represent your constituents and have their voices heard,” he said. According to the bill text, “a person who uses the word ‘bitch’ directed at another person to accost, annoy, degrade or demean the other person shall be considered to be a disorderly person. A violation of this subsection may be reported by the person to whom the offensive language was directed at or by any witness to such incident.” Hunt is facing pushback and the bill has sparked a social media uproar from people on the left and the right. “While I detest the use of the B-word and the N-word and the word fag, etc, I love the Constitution more and question the constitutionality of bills like this. The concern is specifically about the right to free speech, including speech that I hate,” said Arline Isaacson, co-chairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. Republicans, including conservative political consultant Chip Jones, said that the bill would take away individual liberty. “It’s a very, very slippery slope and at the end of the slippery slope is the anti-Websters, the dictionary of words we can never use,” he said. Michael Meltsner, a professor of law at Northeastern University, said that people shouldn’t be worried. “This would last about 10 seconds in a court of law. It’s preposterous that any elected official would think they could do this,” he said. But Hunt said it was his duty to bring the bill to the floor because of the right to free petition law. “Once you start picking and choosing, it eats away at the original intent of the framers, which is to give access to government to all of our citizens. In general, having people involved and trying to understand government is a good thing,” he said. [Washington Post; Boston Herald; Boston Magazine]

TERM LIMITS | A bipartisan group of Michigan legislators and activists is creating a package of good governance bills that features a key component to relax term limits on state legislators. Michigan passed term limits in 1992, and is one of only 15 states with legislative term limits. Elected officials are limited to three two-year terms in the House and two four-year terms in the Senate, for a total of 14 years. Michigan Chamber of Commerce CEO Rich Studley said that term limits make it hard for new legislators to become legislative experts. “Having the most severe term limits in the country, especially in the House, can make it really tough for newly elected lawmakers to get to know their colleagues, understand the process, then come up to speed on an issue and identify a solution,” he said. But Patrick Anderson, who helped author the 1992 term limits amendment, said that Michigan has a more diverse government now, noting that the state elected the first woman governor, attorney general, and secretary of state since the amendment was put in place. “One of the reasons we wanted to have term limits in Michigan was to open the door for people who traditionally had a very difficult time getting a shot at running in an open seat. And on this one criteria, term limits has been a smashing success. We clearly opened a door,” he said. [Bridge MI; WWMT]

COLORADO BORDER WALL | In a speech on Wednesday, President Trump said that the U.S. is building a wall in Colorado, saying it would be “a big one that really works—that you can't get over, you can't get under." Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, posted on Facebook that building a wall in Colorado was nonsensical. “Well this is awkward...Colorado doesn't border Mexico. Good thing Colorado now offers free full day kindergarten so our kids can learn basic geography," he said. Former Gov. John Hickenlooper took to Twitter, tagging U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall. "Hey @TeamHeinrich & @tomudall do one of you want to break it to @realDonaldTrump that Colorado's border is with New Mexico, not Mexico...or should I?" he posted. Trump later posted on Twitter that he was “kidding” and meant that people from Colorado will see the benefit of a border wall with Mexico. [Business Insider; CBS Denver]

SEXUAL HARASSMENT | A judge ruled that Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration has 30 more days to turn over public records related to alleged sexual harassment by a former staffer. The request was filed in August by Juanita Washington and the group Truth in Politics, which is campaigning against Edwards in the November election. Washington has alleged sexual harassment by former Edwards’ deputy chief of staff Johnny Anderson, who was asked to resign in 2017. Washington and Anderson settled out of court, with neither party admitting wrongdoing. The public records request asks for texts and emails between certain Edwards staffers, but specifies no time period or topic, which Matthew Block, the administration’s executive legal counsel, said means that two attorneys now have to sift through thousands of documents. “We have other responsibilities other than public records requests that take up a significant amount of our time. It’s clear that this is about the election and they are essentially weaponizing the public records request law so they can use public taxpayer dollars to do political research,” he said. Washington said that the governor’s office hasn’t used all of their options. “There are several other lawyers in the governor’s office. I believe that this is a deliberate attempt to withhold my truth,” she said. [WAFB; BRProud]

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MANSION | The Pennsylvania state senate voted unanimously to transfer control of lieutenant governor’s mansion to the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, with the intention of using the property to support veterans’ programs. Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, does not live at the mansion, choosing instead to rent an apartment in the state capitol. He opened the pool at the home to local children this summer, and said he looks forward to handing the property off. “Pennsylvania does not owe me or my family a staffed mansion to live in. The supreme honor and privilege of serving as your LG is many, many multiples more than enough,” he tweeted. [Associated Press; Trib Live]