Free Republic

Campaign donations of over a million dollars from a hospital trade association may have been behind NY Gov. Cuomo’s infamous nursing home order, resulting in thousands of Nursing Home deaths. Cuomo campaign donors In September 2020. In the Wall Street Journal, Bill Hammond reported that one trade association came up with and sold to Cuomo the idea for his March 25, 2020 order that caused the deaths of thousands of Seniors in nursing homes. “Look closely at a questionable Empire State health-care policy, and you’re liable to find the fingerprints of the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNHA), the hospital...

Standing alongside Democrats, a representative for the state’s powerful business lobby Tuesday denounced two proposed amendments to the state constitution aimed at bolstering protection for people acting on religious beliefs, which detractors say would legalize discrimination against gays and lesbians. “These amendments are bad for business,” Bill Hammond, chief executive of the Texas Association of Business, said at a press conference. “They would devastate economic development, tourism and the convention business.” It’s part of a larger debate taking place around the country, most notably in Indiana, where public backlash over a similar law forced the state’s governor to sign an...

AUSTIN -- The Texas Senate passed its second bill this session creating a two-year moratorium on privately funded toll roads Friday, a sharp rebuke of Gov. Rick Perry's plan to solve the state's transportation problems. Senators voted 27-4 to approve the bill, which would prevent the creation of toll roads made by public entities contracting with private companies. The Senate passed a similar bill earlier, but that version appears dead in the House. The version approved Friday easily passed the House this month by a vote of 137-2. The bill's Senate sponsor, Republican Tommy Williams of The Woodlands, said he...

Response to Perry’s ed plan lukewarm By APRIL CASTRO Associated Press Writer AUSTIN After debuting his long-awaited school finance plan, Gov. Rick Perry received a lukewarm reception from a potential key ally: state business leaders. While business leaders have applauded Perry for making the only formal proposal since the regular legislative session, they are slow to endorse an integral part of the proposal, a “constitutionally linked” property tax. Final passage of the plan in the Republican-controlled Legislature remains uncertain. “We’re studying it, we are looking at the constitutional linkage that Governor Perry is proposing,” said Jeff Clark, state director of...