It's a Historic Day for Private Property Rights in New Mexico, but More Work Ahead is Ahead to Restore the Fifth Amendment
- by Jason Pye
As the second hand ticked closer to noon, the statutory deadline to take action on measures passed by the New Mexico Legislature, Gov. Susana Martinez signed a comprehensive bill to protect the property of innocent individuals by ending civil asset forfeiture in the Land of Enchantment.
HB 560, introduced by Rep. Zachary Cook (R-Ruidoso), prohibits civil asset forfeiture, a pernicious tool used by law enforcement that, too often, involves the taking of property believed to be used in a crime from innocent people. Read more here...
Thank You, Governor Martinez!
- by Logan Albright
A few hours ago, Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico signed groundbreaking legislation to strengthen the protection of individual rights in her state. The bill, H.B. 560, requires a criminal conviction in order for law enforcement to be able to use civil asset forfeiture to seize private property.
Civil asset forfeiture is the process by which government agents can take your property if you are suspected of a crime, but without formally filing charges. In effect, the government charges the property itself with a crime, and the burden is then on the citizen to prove his property’s innocence. Such broad powers for law enforcement clearly violate the Fifth Amendment right to due process. Law enforcement can all too easily abuse this procedure as a way to persecute innocent citizens or to self-fund their offices with forfeited assets. Read more here...
Matt Kibbe Thanks NM Governor Martinez and Activists
FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe thanked New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez for signing HB 560, which helps protect private property rights. He also thanks our nearly 5,000 FreedomWorks activists who took action and made this whole thing possible! Watch here...
How Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are Shaking Up the GOP Presidential Nomination Process
- by Matt Kibbe via Reason
Sen. Rand Paul's announcement today that he will seek the Republican Party's nomination for president punctuates a very real paradigm shift in the way the Grand Old Party will select its candidates for higher office.
For most of my adult life, Republican poobahs have decided for the rest of us, typically favoring the dusty candidate that has been standing in queue the longest. Think John McCain or Mitt Romney. Like a nightmare reinterpretation of the Bill Murray movieGroundhog Day, it seems that the GOP keeps nominating Bob Dole again and again, only to wake up the next morning to discover that their guy lost the election. Read more here...
Are We Stuck With Mandate Day Forever?
- by Nate Rusell
April 15th is just around the corner. This year’s Tax Day is extra special because it marks the first ever “Mandate Day,” when ObamaCare fines Americans who did not purchase government approved health insurance.
Mandate Day's penalties increase substantially each of the next two years: Read more here...
The No Child Left Behind Reauthorization is a Mixed Bag
- by Logan Albright
Sen. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Patty Murray have announced that they’ve reached a compromise on reauthorizing No Child Left Behind. When a moderate Republican and a not-so-moderate Democrat cooperate on legislation, there’s reason to be nervous, but in this case there may be a silver lining among the clouds.
First the bad news. The reauthorization, under the name of “The Every Child Achieves Act of 2015,” maintains testing requirements, and requires state standards that prevent more local control of education. Tests are required to be the same in every school in the state, and any plans submitted by the states for how to structure their education programs must be reviewed and approved by a panel representing a wide cross-section of states, rather than letting each state determine its own policies. Read more here...
Real Talk: The Patriot Act
The FCC Makes Internet Control Its 21st Century Agenda
- by Dr. Wayne Brough via Real Clear Markets
The Federal Communications Commission has been steadfast in its determination to reshape our digital world by expanding its authority to control the Internet. Remarkably, after the Obama White House weighed in, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler opted to unleash an outdated regulatory regime that attempts to shoehorn the Internet into the same public-utility structure designed to regulate the old telephone networks of almost a century ago.
While redefining the Internet as a common carrier may be the most visible action taken by the FCC, Wheeler has actually proposed a number of steps that place the FCC squarely at the crossroads of the Internet. Read more here...
Florida, Maryland are the Latest States Looking to Protect Property Through Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
- by Jason Pye
The tsunami of state-level civil asset forfeiture reforms continues to build as the Florida and Maryland legislatures are considering bills that would take small steps toward protecting innocent people's property from government overreach. The state legislatures that have passed or are considering civil asset forfeiture reforms include Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia.
Not all reform bills are equal, however. The legislation, HB 233, passed in Georgia doesn't go far enough to protect innocent people from overzealous law enforcement's use of civi asset forfeiture while the bill, HB 560, passed in New Mexico, and currently awaiting action from Gov. Susana Martinez, would end the practice entirely and take away the profit motive by directing proceeds from seized property into the state's general fund. Proposed legislation in Texas and Virginia are similar to what has passed in the Land of Enchantment. Read more here...
Matt Kibbe Talks 2016 on NewsmaxTV
Watch FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe on the Steve Malzberg Show discussing 2016 and Rand Paul's announcement HERE.
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Make freedom work,
Iris Somberg
Press Secretary, FreedomWorks
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