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  • Trump is proposing to make ideas tax-free. What would that indicate for employees?

    Trump is proposing to make ideas tax-free. What would that indicate for employees?

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Previous President Donald Trump’s brand-new proposition to leave out ideas from federal taxes is getting strong evaluations from some Republican legislators, though significant concerns stay about the effect of the policy and how it would work.

    What’s particular is that a modification in the tax of ideas would impact millions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Data approximates there are 2.24 million waiters and waitresses throughout the nation, with ideas comprising a big portion of their earnings.

    A take a look at what Trump’s proposing and the possible political and financial implications:

    TRUMP’S ELECTION-YEAR PITCH IN NEVADA

    Trump revealed his tax-free-tips prepare at a June 9 rally in Nevada, an essential battlefield state with 6 electoral votes in the race for the White Home. President Joe Biden won the state in 2020, however the Trump project wishes to put the state in play this fall.

    Nevada has the greatest concentration of tipped employees in the nation, with about 25.8 waiters and waitresses per 1,000 tasks, followed by Hawaii and Florida.

    “To those hotel employees and individuals who get ideas, you are going to be extremely delighted, due to the fact that when I get to workplace we are going to not charge taxes on ideas, individuals making ideas,” Trump stated at the rally. “… We’re going to do that right now, very first thing in workplace.”

    The pitch establishes a sharp political contrast in between Democrats and Republicans. While Trump presumes that a tax cut would assist employees, Democrats have actually typically backed efforts to increase per hour salaries — and it’s an open concern which approach resonates more with citizens.

    The Culinary Union, which represents 60,000 employees in Las Vegas and Reno and is backing Biden, dismissed Trump’s strategy as a stunt.

    “Relief is certainly required for idea earners, however Nevada employees are wise sufficient to understand the distinction in between genuine services and wild project guarantees from a founded guilty felon.” Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge stated in a declaration.

    Lael Brainard, director of the White Home National Economic Council, decreased to talk to the concept drifted by Trump due to the fact that, as a federal worker, she’s not expected to talk project politics.

    “What I can state is that President Biden has actually defended genuine services that really resolve employees’ genuine requirement for reasonable salaries, we believe, a lot more efficiently,” she stated, including that tipped employees in Nevada would get a $6,000 earnings increase from a greater base pay and the removal of the tipped base pay.

    HOW WOULD THE TAX EXEMPTION WORK?

    Trump has actually not defined whether he wishes to exempt ideas from simply earnings taxes or from the payroll tax too. The payroll tax funds Medicare and Social Security.

    For employees, a blanket exemption would indicate more take-home income. And for the federal government, it might indicate bigger deficit spending.

    The Committee for an Accountable Federal Spending plan, a nonpartisan financial guard dog group, has actually approximated that excusing ideas from both earnings and payroll taxes would decrease federal profits by $150 billion to $250 billion over the next years.

    The committee stated excusing ideas from tax would likewise lead companies and employees to reclassify salaries as ideas where possible. The more that takes place, the more that federal deficits would boost. A 10% increase in ideas, for instance, would bump up the committee’s forecast for lost federal income to a variety of $165 billion to $275 billion over the next years.

    Congress certainly would take a look at Trump’s proposition on ideas as it thinks about which parts of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are permitted to end after next year, consisting of the lower specific tax rates. Legislators are currently prepping for the job, though Trump’s proposition is something that lots of had actually not thought of till just recently.

    Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., a senior Home Ways and Way Committee member, stated legislators will need to think about the general expense of the ideas proposition and how to spend for it.

    “I wish to be delicate due to the fact that they strive, you can’t discover sufficient waiters, and undoubtedly a huge part of their profits is ideas,” Buchanan stated. “All these programs sound excellent. Everyone wants to pay less taxes, however we’ve got to foot the bill.”

    “I understand he’s attempting to ensure individuals at that earnings level have relief as much as possible. We may be able to do the exact same thing in making his tax cuts more irreversible and most likely to resolve lower-income individuals,” stated Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who likewise serves on the Ways and Way Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy.

    TRADE-OFFS OF NOT TAXING SUGGESTIONS

    Like lots of tax propositions, Trump’s push to exempt ideas might have unexpected repercussions.

    Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, a joint endeavor of the Urban Institute and Brookings Organization, argues that Trump’s proposition might really backfire for lots of tipped employees.

    For instance, some clients might react to tax-free ideas by lowering their gratuity. Second of all, it might take the steam out of efforts in some states to slowly increase the base pay for tipped employees so that their base pay remains in line with the base pay for other employees.

    “The lure of tax-free earnings might turn lots of employees versus the shift from ideas to salaries,” Gleckman composed in a post.

    Gleckman likewise questioned why a service employee must prevent paying taxes on ideas rather than a storage facility employee making the exact same quantity. He kept in mind that while Trump assured to reverse the tax on ideas right now, just Congress can reverse federal taxes, and “for factors of performance, fairness, and sound tax administration, let’s hope it doesn’t.”

    LOOKING AHEAD

    Democrats have actually mostly dismissed Trump’s proposition as a trick to win over citizens.

    Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a senior member of the Senate Financing Committee, noted she was a waitress in college, calling it “truly effort.” She chooses increasing the base pay for tipped employees to match the base pay for other employees.

    “From my viewpoint, I don’t believe (Trump’s) proposition is severe and I don’t believe it does enough to resolve low-wage working individuals,” Stabenow stated.

    Sen. Ron Wyden, the chairman of the Senate Financing Committee, stated Trump was “tossing out great deals of concepts as he goes,” however his record as president shows a focus on tax breaks for the rich and corporations.

    “All these things he throws away every day, I’ll think it when I see it,” Wyden stated.

    However Trump’s interest for the concept appears to be growing. The tax guarantee has actually given that ended up being a staple of Trump’s rallies and conferences, and he raised his proposition while meeting GOP legislators and magnate in Washington recently.

    “I believe it’s really a really wise concept. The guys and females who count on ideas for their profits, they are working their tails off,” stated Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. “That’s great, targeted tax reform right there.”

    Some legislators and allies have actually started tweeting pictures of their dining establishment costs with handwritten messages created to get the word out about Trump’s guarantee. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., composed “Vote Trump!” and “No Tax on ideas!” on his costs from a Milwaukee dining establishment.

    The artist Kid Rock, a popular Trump fan, shared a picture on X.

    “An elect Trump is a choose no tax on ideas!!” he composed on his invoice. He tipped $400 on a $1,143 costs at a costly steakhouse, according to the picture.

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    Associated Press author Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix added to this report.

  • Partisan gridlock avoids repairs to Pennsylvania’s ballot laws as governmental election looms

    Partisan gridlock avoids repairs to Pennsylvania’s ballot laws as governmental election looms

    HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is seeing great deals of action targeting spaces in its vote-by-mail laws. The issue is that it’s in the courtroom and not the legislature.

    That might make the most populated governmental swing state a hotbed of difficulties and conspiracy theories if the November election is close, as anticipated.

    The state likewise has a U.S. Senate contest in between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican politician opposition David McCormick that will assist figure out control of the chamber, increasing examination on election workplaces if legislators can’t break a partisan stalemate and vote-counting is slowed by sent by mail tallies.

    “Everybody simply actually feels how high the stakes remain in Pennsylvania, being the biggest swing state in the nation,” stated Lauren Cristella, president and CEO of the Committee of Seventy, a Philadelphia-based good-government group.

    Political gridlock in Pennsylvania over election laws dates to 2019, when a Republican-controlled legislature significantly broadened ballot by mail in a compromise with then-Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

    Within months, then-President Donald Trump started, without proof, demonizing ballot by mail as swarming with scams, turning Republican citizens versus it and leading Republican legislators to backtrack on their assistance. He has actually taken inconsistent positions this year — promoting mail ballot while likewise supporting suits versus it.

    The attacks on mail ballot have actually developed partisan fight lines around efforts to repair it in Pennsylvania.

    Democrats likewise wish to include early in-person ballot, a benefit currently embraced by many states, however it’s been a nonstarter for Republican politicians. Unlike some other states, Pennsylvanian citizens can’t alter their election laws since the state constitution does not enable residents to compose their own tally efforts.

    As an outcome, election-related suits are growing in state, federal and county courts, almost all targeting mail-in ballot.

    Throughout the nation, Republicans are attempting more than ever now to get their citizens to vote by mail, a striking modification for a celebration that magnified conspiracy theories about mail tallies in an effort to rationalize Trump’s 2020 loss.

    Still, ballot by mail stays mostly the province of Democrats. In Pennsylvania, approximately three-fourths of mail-in tallies tend to be cast by Democrats.

    Amongst the most crucial repairs to the state’s mail balloting law is one looked for by counties. It would enable regional election workplaces to start processing mail-in tallies before Election Day, something almost every other state with mail ballot permits. That would assist them produce outcomes faster on election night.

    Democrats likewise have actually looked for to fix a storm of lawsuits by clarifying the law so that mail-in tallies that do not have a handwritten date on the external envelope, a signature or an inner secrecy envelope can still be counted. Countless those tallies get tossed out, although Democratic-leaning counties generally attempt to assist citizens repair those mistakes, so their tallies will count.

    With no repairs in state law, Democrats anticipate a repeat in November of the mayhem around the 2020 election.

    Pennsylvania’s Democratic Celebration chair, Sharif Street, stated the state can having a reasonable and well-run election under its existing laws. However, he stated, Trump and his allies aren’t thinking about that.

    “He doesn’t desire a smooth procedure in Pennsylvania or anywhere, since he thinks that the mayhem advantages him both in the run-up to the election, since he can rally individuals around stating that ‘There is going to be a take,’ and after that post-election … (he can) indicate abnormalities to state that he is the rightful winner, when in reality he’s lost,” Street stated.

    Trump has actually been sowing doubts about this year’s election for months. At a rally last weekend, he stated just prevalent scams might avoid him from getting reelected. “The only method they can beat us is to cheat,” he informed advocates in Las Vegas.

    Unwarranted claims about scams filled the vacuum throughout Pennsylvania’s drawn-out post-election vote count in 2020.

    Charlie Gerow, a long time Republican politician activist and strategist in Pennsylvania, stated the GOP will be prepared to report and record scams in methods it wasn’t gotten ready for because year’s election. To be clear, citizen scams is incredibly unusual, generally includes simply a couple of tallies and even includes Republican citizens — a few of whom have actually cast additional tallies for Trump.

    An Associated Press examination in 2021 discovered less than 475 cases of possible citizen scams throughout the 6 states where Trump contested his loss, not almost sufficient to tip the election. In Pennsylvania alone, Biden beat Trump by more than 80,000 votes.

    When Democrats brought legislation to a Home vote looking for to let counties procedure sent by mail tallies before Election Day — called pre-canvassing — a Republican legislator cautioned it “might result in different types of abuse and scams.”

    Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt, a Republican politician, stated he hasn’t become aware of a single state where that sort of scams has actually happened.

    The legislation passed the Pennsylvania Home, which is directly managed by Democrats, however is stalled in the Senate, where bulk Republican politicians are requiring that your home initially pass a constitutional change to broaden citizen recognition requirements.

    “I am really concerned about public understanding and public issue that our procedure is not protect, and we require to find out chances to make that procedure more safe,” stated Senate Bulk Leader Joe Pittman, a Republican politician.

    Democratic Home Bulk Leader Matt Bradford stated he likewise is fretted by the legal stalemate and its possible effect in November.

    “We passed pre-canvassing to attempt to bring some form of certainty rapidly, to provide individuals a winner as rapidly and properly as possible,” Bradford stated. “That has actually continued to suffer.”

    On the other hand, battles over mail ballot in the state are accumulating in the courts.

    One suit by Republican legislators would require mail-in tallies to be counted in ballot locations, instead of county election workplaces. That would include “tremendous intricacy and problem to election administration,” county federal governments opposed to the suit stated in court files.

    Democrats and left-leaning groups are taking legal action against in state and federal courts over the practice of throwing away mail-in tallies with a missing out on or inaccurate handwritten date on the external envelope.

    And a minimum of 2 Republican-controlled counties are being taken legal action against over their rejection to assist citizens repair technical mistakes with mail-in tallies — such as a missing date or inner secrecy envelope — to prevent the tally getting threw out.

    An intense area is that counties are improving at counting mail-in tallies.

    Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, 2.6 million citizens — almost 40% of the overall in Pennsylvania — cast tallies by mail. That overwhelmed counties and needed practically 4 days of post-election vote-counting before a governmental winner might be stated, choosing the contest.

    Counties ever since have actually purchased more high-speed processing devices and fine-tuned their Election Day regimens to count more effectively.

    Allegheny County, that includes Pittsburgh, anticipates to produce outcomes on election night. In 2020, it required the majority of the next day.

    Philadelphia anticipates to conclude the majority of its counting this fall within approximately 24 hr after surveys close, a job that might be ended up by election night if provided the capability to process the tallies before Election Day.

    “That is an extremely regular practice that takes place all over the nation,” stated Seth Bluestein, a Republican election commissioner in Philadelphia. “The reality that we can’t do that in Pennsylvania is what will trigger us to not count all the tallies on election night. It is the only cause, and the Legislature might have repaired it.”

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    Follow Marc Levy: twitter.com/timelywriter

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    Follow the AP’s protection of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

  • Disney’s fight with DeSantis is over — and it’s contributing to Republicans once again

    Disney’s fight with DeSantis is over — and it’s contributing to Republicans once again

    • Disney is as soon as again contributing to political leaders — simply months after ending its fight with Ron DeSantis.

    • The Florida amusement park is even contributing to Republicans who chose the state’s so-called “Do not State Gay” expense.

    • Disney executives’ opposition of the expense stimulated a yearslong dispute with DeSantis.

    Given that ending its fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Disney has actually lost no time at all contributing to Republicans once again.

    The Walt Disney Co. offered more than $87,000 worth of in-kind contributions to political committees, consisting of Republican legislators, in the months of April and Might, the Orlando Guard reported.

    That’s an about-face for your house of Mouse, which had actually stopped briefly political contributions as it battled with DeSantis.

    The yearslong fight initially began in 2022 when Disney executives openly opposed DeSantis’ expense — which has actually given that been signed into law — that limits conversations of gender and sexual preference in class.

    Critics called the legislation the “Do not State Gay” expense.

    In reaction to their opposition, DeSantis got control of the board that supervises Disney World’s unique tax district, relabeling it the Central Florida Tourist Oversight District and changing all of its board members with his own.

    Disney, in turn, took legal action against, arguing it was being politically targeted; DeSantis’ board took legal action against right back.

    However the legal back-and-forth ended in March when DeSantis’ carefully picked board consented to settle the claim brought by Disney.

    Now, paradoxically, Disney is supplying advantages to Republican legislators who enacted favor of the so-called “Do not State Gay,” expense, the Guard reported.

    That consists of an in-kind contribution worth more than $16,000 to Florida Farmers and Ranchers United, a group connected with Republican Rep. Josie Tomkow, project financing records reveal. Tomkow chose the expense formally called the Adult Rights in Education Act.

    Disney likewise offered around $10,000 each to 2 committees connected with Republican politician state Sen. Jason Brodeur and Republican state Sen. Joe Gruters, project financing records reveal. Both state legislators likewise supported the questionable expense.

    Though Disney has actually resumed in-kind contributions, Florida Democratic Senator Geraldine Thompson has actually stated Disney head office has actually not yet authorized financial contributions, the Guard reported.

    Check out the initial short article on Organization Expert

  • Democrats say they will save Speaker Mike Johnson’s job if Republicans try to oust him

    Democrats say they will save Speaker Mike Johnson’s job if Republicans try to oust him

    WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats will vote to save Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s job should some of his fellow Republican lawmakers seek to remove him from the position, Democratic leaders said Tuesday, likely assuring for now that Johnson will avoid being ousted from office like his predecessor, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

    Johnson, R-La., has come under heavy criticism from some Republicans for moving forward with aid for Ukraine as part of a $95 billion emergency spending package that passed this month. It would take only a handful of Republicans to remove Johnson from the speakership if the Democratic caucus went along with the effort.

    But Democratic leaders took that possibility off the table.

    “At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction,” said a statement from the top three House Democrats, Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar. “We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”

    The announcement from Democrats ensures that Johnson will survive the most difficult stretch of his tenure so far, which saw him struggle through internal GOP divisions to pass government funding, the renewal of a key surveillance program and aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. To do so, Johnson was often forced to rely on votes from Democrats, creating an unusual governing coalition that has angered hard-right members who say their majority is being squandered.

    Greene, R-Ga., earlier this month filed a resolution with the House clerk — called a motion to vacate — that would remove Johnson from office if approved by the House. And while Greene did not force the resolution to be taken up immediately, she told reporters she was laying the groundwork for future consideration. She had two co-sponsors, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.

    Johnson was quick to distance himself from Democrats on the issue, saying he had no conversations with Jeffries or anyone else about saving his job.

    “I was laser-focused on getting the supplemental done,” Johnson said, referring to the aid package. “I’ve had colleagues from both parties come up to me on the floor, of course, and say we won’t stand for this. … I’ve not requested assistance from anyone. I’m not focused on that at all.”

    Many House Republicans are eager to move past the divisions that have tormented their ranks ever since taking the majority last January. At a closed-door session Tuesday morning, much of the discussion focused on how to create unity in the party heading into the November elections.

    Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., said Republicans heard from Michael Whatley, the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, who emphasized that Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, wants to unify the majority in the House. He said that’s a message that certainly helps Johnson.

    “What he wants is a unified Republican majority, so my message is singing from the same song sheet as President Trump,” Barr said.

    Still, Greene indicated she may still move forward with the effort to remove Johnson, tweeting on X that she believes in recorded votes to put “Congress on record.” She also called Johnson “officially the Democratic Speaker of the House” and questioned “what slimy deal” he made for Democratic support.

    “Americans deserve to see the Uniparty on full display. I’m about to give them their coming out party!” Greene tweeted. “Uniparty” is a derisive term some Republicans use to describe cooperation between some fellow Republicans and Democrats.

    The removal of McCarthy in October left the House adrift for nearly a month, unable to take up legislation as Republicans struggled to select a replacement. Republicans were anxious to avoid a repeat going into November.

    “It’s huge, it’s huge, especially for the presidential election but all of us up and down the ballot,” said Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla. “They don’t want another 30 days of a dysfunctional Congress, and that’s what you would get.”

    Many Democrats, even before Tuesday’s announcement, had said they would consider helping Johnson, but they were also looking for direction from their leadership and emphasized that in order for Johnson to gain their support, he would need to allow for the vote on an emergency aid package focused on Ukraine and Israel.

    Democrats were also wary of repeating the disorder that occurred during McCarthy’s removal. The Democratic leaders in their statement of opposition to Greene’s effort, emphasized their willingness to work across party lines on national priorities.

    “We’re not looking for chaos. We’re the adults in the room,” said Rep. Ann Kuster, D-N.H.

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  • Tennessee lawmakers pass bill to allow teachers to be armed

    Tennessee lawmakers pass bill to allow teachers to be armed

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Protesters chanted “Blood on your hands” at Tennessee House Republicans on Tuesday after they passed a bill that would allow some teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns on public school grounds, and bar parents and other teachers from knowing who was armed.

    The 68-28 vote in favor of the bill sent it to Republican Gov. Bill Lee for consideration. If he signs it into law, it would be the biggest expansion of gun access in the state since last year’s deadly shooting at a private elementary school in Nashville.

    Members of the public who oppose the bill harangued Republican lawmakers after the vote, leading House Speaker Cameron Sexton to order the galleries cleared.

    Four House Republicans and all Democrats opposed the bill, which the state Senate previously passed. The measure would bar disclosing which employees are carrying guns beyond school administrators and police, including to students’ parents and even other teachers. A principal, school district and law enforcement agency would have to agree to let staff carry guns.

    The proposal presents a starkly different response to The Covenant School shooting than Lee proposed last year. Republican legislators quickly cast aside his push to keep guns away from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.

    A veto by Lee appears unlikely, since it would be a first for him and lawmakers would only need a simple majority of each chamber’s members to override it.

    “What you’re doing is you’re creating a deterrent,” the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Ryan Williams, said before the vote. “Across our state, we have had challenges as it relates to shootings.”

    Republicans rejected a series of Democratic amendments, including parental consent requirements, notification when someone is armed, and the school district assuming civil liability for any injury, damage or death due to staff carrying guns.

    “My Republican colleagues continue to hold our state hostage, hold our state at gunpoint to appeal to their donors in the gun industry,” Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones said. “It is morally insane.”

    In the chaos after the vote, Democratic and Republican lawmakers accused each other of violating House rules, but only voted to reprimand Jones for recording on his phone. He was barred from speaking on the floor through Wednesday.

    It’s unclear if any school districts would take advantage if the bill becomes law. For example, a Metro Nashville Public Schools spokesperson, Sean Braisted, said the district believes “it is best and safest for only approved active-duty law enforcement to carry weapons on campus.”

    About half of the U.S. states in some form allow teachers or other employees with concealed carry permits to carry guns on school property, according to the Giffords Law Center, a gun control advocacy group. Iowa’s governor signed a bill that the Legislature passed last week creating a professional permit for trained school employees to carry at schools that protects them from criminal or civil liability for use of reasonable force.

    In Tennessee, a shooter indiscriminately opened fire in March 2023 at The Covenant School — a Christian school in Nashville — and killed three children and three adults before being killed by police.

    Despite subsequent coordinated campaigns urging significant gun control measures, lawmakers have largely refused. They dismissed gun control proposals by Democrats and even by Lee during regular annual sessions and a special session, even as parents of Covenant students shared accounts of the shooting and its lasting effects.

    Under the bill passed Tuesday, a worker who wants to carry a handgun would need to have a handgun carry permit and written authorization from the school’s principal and local law enforcement. They would also need to clear a background check and undergo 40 hours of handgun training. They couldn’t carry guns at school events at stadiums, gymnasiums or auditoriums.

    Tennessee passed a 2016 law allowing armed school workers in two rural counties, but it wasn’t implemented, according to WPLN-FM.

    Tennessee Republicans have regularly loosened gun laws, including a 2021 permit-less carry law for handguns backed by Lee.

    The original law allowed residents 21 and older to carry handguns in public without a permit. Two years later, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti struck a deal amid an ongoing lawsuit to extend eligibility to 18- to 20-year-olds.

    Meanwhile, shortly after the shooting last year, Tennessee Republicans passed a law bolstering protections against lawsuits involving gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers. Lawmakers and the governor this year have signed off on allowing private schools with pre-kindergarten classes to have guns on campus. Private schools without pre-K already were allowed to decide whether to let people bring guns on their grounds.

    They have advanced some narrow gun limitations. One awaiting the governor’s signature would involuntarily commit certain criminal defendants for inpatient treatment and temporarily remove their gun rights if they are ruled incompetent for trial due to intellectual disability or mental illness. Another bill that still needs Senate approval would remove the gun rights of juveniles deemed delinquent due to certain offenses, ranging from aggravated assault to threats of mass violence, until the age of 25.

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