The SOUTH CAROLINA Supreme Court unanimously abolishes common law marriage, the legal framework that allows longtime couples to be considered married even without a license. The new law applies only to future cases and does not apply to couples previously recognized under the old law (POST AND COURIER [CHARLESTON]).
NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signs HB 459, a bill that increases penalties for animal cruelty, including adding the imposition of a five-year ban on animal ownership for those convicted of the crime (NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO).
NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 5532b, which makes the Empire State the first to ban the declawing of cats. The measure takes effect immediately (ROCHESTERFIRST.COM).
Also in NEW YORK, Gov. Cuomo signs SB 6579, a bill that effectively doubles the amount of marijuana a person can possess without being charged with a crime (NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs SB 30, which allows opposite-sex couples to register as domestic partners. The law previously applied only to same-sex couples (CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs two immigration measures: HB 836, which ensures children are able to have short-term guardians if they have a parent detained or deported by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and House Bill 1553, which helps undocumented youth to obtain visas by aligning state laws with existing federal laws (ABC 7 [CHICAGO]).
Saying they provide women with “no discernible medical benefit,” a federal judge temporarily blocks three ARKANSAS abortion laws from going into effect. The state is expected to appeal the ruling (ASSOCIATED PRESS).
NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 5054, a bill that allows Empire State firefighters and other emergency medical responders to remove animals in unattended motor vehicles under conditions that endanger their health or well-being (NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) signs SB 579, a bill that allows terminally ill Oregonians expected to die within 15 days to bypass the mandatory 48-hour waiting period for those seeking to have a physician help them to end their lives (OREGONIAN [PORTLAND]).
The Trump administration gives COLORADO approval for its health benefits exchange reinsurance program, allowing the plan to go into effect right away (COLORADO SUN [DENVER]).
The MASSACHUSETTS House unanimously approves HB 4012, a wide-ranging bill that would, among many things, reserve in statute an existing practice to allow foster children to remain covered by the state Medicaid program until they turn 26. The measure, which would also require Bay State insurance carriers to review their provider directories and ensure that the information is both publicly available and accurate, moves to the Senate (STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE [BOSTON]).
ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs SB 9, a bill that, among several things, prohibits coal ash discharge into the environment and directs state regulators to propose new rules around the regulation of coal ash (ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
DELAWARE Gov. John Carney (D) signs SB 130, a bill that bans plastic bags from stores with more than 7,000 square feet of retail space and chain stores with three or more locations of at least 3,000 square feet each. The bill takes effect on Jan. 1, 2021 (WHYY [PHILADELPHIA]).
CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs AB 756, which makes the Golden State the first to require water suppliers who monitor a broad class of toxic PFAS chemicals – also known as “forever chemicals” for their failure to break down in the environment or in human bodies – to notify customers if they are present in drinking water (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
COLORADO officials announce they have reached a deal on the state’s plan to adopt CALIFORNIA’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) requirements. The agreement comes slightly more than a week after California reached a deal with Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen of America, Honda and BMW that allows the companies to meet less restrictive emissions standards than under the Obama administration, but which can still apply to vehicles sold nationwide (REUTERS, NEW YORK TIMES).
NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 101a, which bars school districts from arming teachers. The law still allows a school resource officer, law enforcement officer or security guard to carry a firearm on school grounds (WKBW [BUFFALO]).
CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs AB 1, which limits full contact practices for youth football teams to no more than 30 minutes per day for two days per week. The measure bars all full-contact practices for youth football teams during the offseason (ASSOCIATED PRESS).
ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs HB 88, a bill that caps interest rates at 5 percent on consumer debt of less than $25,000 following a court judgment, down from the current limit of 9 percent. The law also limits the window during which creditors can collect on a judgment to 17 years, down from 26 years. The law takes effect immediately (CHICAGO TRIBUNE).
Also in ILLINOIS, Gov. Pritzker signs HB 834, legislation that bars Prairie State employers from asking job applicants or their previous employers about salary history. The law takes effect in late September (CHICAGO TRIBUNE).
NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Roy Cooper (D) signs SB 290, a bill that allows pets to be brought into a Tar Heel State brewery provided the establishment does not prepare food on the premises. The measure also gives distilleries the same serving privileges as wineries and craft breweries and eases regulation on of out-of-state sales (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL).
NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 1414, a bill that criminalizes the manufacture, sale, transport and possession of so-called “ghost guns,” firearms that are undetectable by a metal detector, including 3D-printed guns. The law, which also expands on laws requiring firearms to remain safely stored when accessible by children, takes effect immediately (WKBW [BUFFALO], NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs AB 1428, which requires a business that offers a refund to a customer to provide at least one method of receiving the refund other than a prepaid debit card (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
OHIO Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signs SB 57, which legalizes the manufacture and sale of CBD and hemp products in the Buckeye State (CINCINNATI INQUIRER).
CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 200, legislation that authorizes the use of $130 million in funds initially targeted for greenhouse gas reduction to instead pay for a clean drinking water program. The funds, which will be drawn on over the next decade, were accumulated through the state’s cap-and-trade program. Bill supporters said the diversion of funds was appropriate because climate change has severely diminished traditional water sources that supply water to many low-income parts of the state. (LOS ANGELES TIMES, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
Saying health officials had identified lead-poisoned children “in every single county,” WISCONSIN Gov. Tony Evers (D) issued Executive Order No 36, which will install a coordinator in the Department of Health Services to help state agencies work together to address lead exposure. The order also directs the Department of Health Services to provide necessary staffing and resources to help local health departments and community organizations inform people of the risks of lead exposure. (WISCONSIN GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL [MADISON])
For the second time, OHIO Gov. Mike DeWine (R) delayed the scheduled execution of a convicted murderer, saying the state is having trouble finding a company to supply the drugs used in lethal injection cocktails. DeWine said he would confer with legislative leaders to determine if a different execution method would be viable. In the meantime, the execution of condemned murderer Warren Henness has been postponed until next year. (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, CINCINNATI ENQUIRER)
Following the deaths of two Prairie State troopers in roadside collisions, ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed two measures ratcheting up fines on drivers who don’t pull over or yield the right of way to emergency vehicles. The new law increases the fine for a first violation to $250 from $100, with subsequent violations warranting a minimum fine of $750. Violators will be charged an additional $250 fee to fund education and enforcement of the law. The new law went into effect upon signing. (CHICAGO TRIBUNE)
-- Compiled by RICH Ehisen
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) proposed new regulations on student loan servicing in the Empire State. Under the proposal, servicers would be barred from defrauding or misleading borrowers, engaging in any unfair, deceptive, abusive, or predatory act or practice, or misapplying borrowers’ payments. Specific mandates would include, among several things, requirements that servicers provide clear and complete information concerning fees, payments, and terms and conditions of loans, and inform borrowers of income-based repayment and loan forgiveness options.
The proposal is now in a 60-day period for public comments. That input will be reviewed by the state Department of Finance before any regulations are finalized. (NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, NEWSDAY)
Saying he is “determined to bring more accountability and transparency to Idaho’s rule-making processes,” Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) said he has ordered the state Office of the Administrative Rules Coordinator to make administrative rule-making easier to track and understand.
Little also announced a quartet of major changes to the state’s rulemaking process. For one, the Office of the Administrative Rules Coordinator will post notices and schedules for public hearings during the rulemaking process on its website. It will also produce a free online subscription newsletter that residents can sign up for to be notified when new rules are published. State agencies will also be required to provide a public explanation of any new rules they enact, with contact information for those who have questions. Agencies must also consolidate the chapters of rules they administer to make them easier for the public to understand.
Little’s office said that to date his administration has reduced or streamlined about 40 percent of the state’s regulatory code, with the goal of at least 60 percent before the end of the year. The governor, however, has cautioned agency heads against changing fundamental policies, a task reserved for lawmakers.
“I am thankful to the Legislature and agencies within my administration for helping me simplify rule making so the average Idahoan feels encouraged to participate in the formation of laws that affect them,” he said in a statement. (CAPITAL PRESS, BALLOTPEDIA)
Conservatives in COLORADO are pushing to recall Gov. Jared Polis (D) and two Democratic state senators. The recall effort comes after a legislative session in which Democrats who now control the state’s General Assembly pushed through oil and gas regulations and a gun control measure, among other things. (STATELINE)
MICHIGAN Republicans have filed a lawsuit to block a voter-approved constitutional amendment turning over the drawing of political districts from the Legislature to a redistricting commission beginning in 2021. The GOP lawmakers who currently control that process in the state allege that the amendment unconstitutionally bars recent candidates for local, state or federal office, state employees and others from serving as commissioners. (WXYZ [DETROIT])
A Democratic political activist in SOUTH DAKOTA has filed a federal lawsuit to block a bill passed in the last legislative session (HB 1094), imposing new requirements on groups that promote ballot measures, from taking effect in 2020. The activist, Cory Heidelberger, alleges the measure is aimed at eliminating one of the few means available for Democrats to shape policy in a state dominated by the GOP. (ARGUS LEADER)
-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK
Last week California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill (SB 27), passed on a straight party-line vote by the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature, that requires candidates for President of the United States and California Governor to disclose their federal income tax returns in order to appear on the state’s primary election ballot.
The measure was clearly directed at President Trump, who has resisted making his returns public.
“If he has nothing to hide, President Trump shouldn’t be afraid to give American voters what they want, a copy of his tax returns,” said Sen. Mike McGuire (D), who coauthored the bill with Sen. Scott Wiener (D). “We know that over 60 percent of Americans want the president to release his returns, just like every presidential candidate has done for the past 40 years.”
In signing the bill, Newsome said in a statement: “As one of the largest economies in the world and home to one in nine Americans eligible to vote, California has a special responsibility to require this information of presidential and gubernatorial candidates.”
The governor went on to say that the U.S. Constitution “grants states the authority to determine how their electors are chosen, and California is well within its constitutional right to include this requirement.” But there’s some disagreement among legal experts about whether that’s actually the case.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in U.S. Term Limits Inc. vs. Thornton (1995) that states can’t impose qualifications on congressional candidates that are stricter than those specified by the Constitution, and some say that decision could also apply to presidential candidates.
But Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley’s law school, said the state law at issue in the 1995 case completely denied ballot access to U.S. House candidates who had already served three terms and U.S. Senate candidates who had already served two terms, while California’s new law imposes a requirement for ballot access “that can be easily met.”
And Adam Winkler, a professor of constitutional law at the University of California, Los Angeles, said, “The Supreme Court has repeatedly and emphatically upheld disclosure requirements, saying the interest in having voters informed justifies the burden on candidates.”
Douglas W. Kmiec, professor emeritus at Pepperdine Law School, appeared inclined to agree about the California law’s constitutionality, “given the unqualified power of the state legislatures to determine the method by which electors to the electoral college are chosen.” But he also said it was difficult to predict how the court would ultimately rule, and the law’s prospects might be better if it didn’t take effect until after the 2020 election.
“Applying it beforehand gives it a rather distinct anti-Trump frame of reference that the court could find objectionable,” he said.
Others were more firmly in the SB 27-is-unconstitutional camp.
“California can’t come along and say to get on the ballot, you have to disclose your tax returns,” said Theodore B. Olson, an attorney who has frequently argued before the Supreme Court. “And then Iowa might say you have to disclose records of domestic [litigation] with an ex-wife, and Alabama might say you have to disclose whether you have any illegitimate children.”
Gene Schaerr, another lawyer who has argued before the high court, said federal law protects the confidentiality of income tax returns, and California can’t force candidates to waive their rights under that law.
Jan W. Baran, an attorney in Washington, D.C. who’s practiced law for over 40 years, said California can’t create tax disclosure requirements for candidates for federal office.
“We can amend the U.S. Constitution to require candidates for president to disclose their income tax returns, but you can’t do it by passing a single state law,” he said.
David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech, meanwhile, said President Trump could just run as a write-in candidate in California or skip the state altogether, since he’ll probably have enough electors to secure his party’s nomination without the support of California’s. (LOS ANGELES TIMES, GOVERNING, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, CALIFORNIA SENATE)
The MARYLAND Transit Administration says it is facing a $2 billion-plus funding shortfall over the next decade. The agency also said it will need to spend $5.7 billion between now and 2028 to address the state’s aging infrastructure and equipment. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Three WISCONSIN taxpayers, with support from the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn budget vetoes made by Gov. Tony Evers (D) in July. The suit alleges Evers exceeded his authority when he used his veto powers to enact new policies, something the state’s governors have been doing for decades. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL)
An audit of the KANSAS Job Creation Program Fund found that the state’s Department of Commerce, which administers the fund, sometimes awarded money without requiring an application, didn’t always require recipients to generate jobs and lacked formal policies for issuing such awards. The agency has issued $25.6 million in funds from the program in the past five years. (WICHITA EAGLE)
President Trump has sued NEW YORK State officials and the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, seeking to block the Democrat-led congressional committee from making use of a recently passed New York law allowing the panel to obtain his state tax returns. The Trump administration has already refused to comply with subpoenas from the committee to provide his federal tax information. (NEW YORK TIMES)
GEORGIA has finalized a plan to spend tax dollars on subsidies for providing high-speed internet in rural areas. State lawmakers are expected to consider how much of the public’s money to spend on those subsidies in next year’s legislative session. (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION)
--Compiled by KOREY CLARK
This year’s legislative session in Texas could turn out to be a costly one for the state’s major cities. One of the bills state lawmakers passed, SB 2, will require cities, counties and other taxing units to obtain voter approval before levying a property tax increase greater than 3.5 percent. Another enactment (SB 1152) prohibits cities from charging telecom companies right-of-way fees. And a third (HB 1631) bans the use of red-light cameras.
All of the state’s big cities won’t be impacted by all three laws. Houston and San Antonio don’t use red-light cameras. But it appears all of those cities will likely take fiscal hits of some kind, a few of which could be sizeable. For instance, the ban on right-of-way fees is expected to cost Houston between $17 million and $27 million a year. And Austin is projecting that the property tax reform will cause a shortfall of $52.6 million in its budget by the 2023-24 fiscal year.
“The 3.5 percent cap will make it more difficult for the city to fund the priorities of the Austin community,” said Ed Van Eenoo, the city’s deputy chief financial officer. “It will make it harder for us to hire additional police, fire and other personnel as the city continues to grow, and tougher to absorb annual cost increases in wages, rents and insurance premiums.” (TEXAS TRIBUNE [AUSTIN], LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
Equifax has agreed to pay at least $650 million to settle claims originating from its massive 2017 data breach.
A large chunk of that money, $300 million, will go toward claims from any of the 147 million-plus consumers - nearly half the U.S. population - impacted by the breach. Another $275 million will go toward fines to end investigations of the breach by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of 48 states. (Massachusetts and Indiana sued Equifax separately, and those cases remain unresolved.)
Equifax also agreed to provide free credit monitoring for all U.S. victims of the breach, a concession that could ultimately increase the size of the settlement significantly. The assumption is that only about 7 million people will sign up for credit monitoring services. But each additional million who do so will cost the Equifax another $16 million-plus, and if all 147 million breach victims sign up, the company would be on the hook for over $2 billion.
Once the settlement is finalized, it will be the largest ever in a data breach case in both dollars and number of victims. Still, $650 million is a little less than Equifax makes in a typical quarter, and some consumer advocates said the company’s punishment should have been more severe.
“The Equifax fine is grievously low, particularly given the scope of the identity problems they created,” said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum.
Christopher Peterson, a law professor at the University of Utah and a former enforcement attorney for the CFPB, said while the amount of the settlement was “not insignificant” and a quick settlement was probably better for consumers than years of litigation, “over the long term, it creates only a relatively mild incentive for the big credit reporting agencies to strengthen their data security.” (NEW YORK TIMES)
At least 26 states have introduced bills this session dealing with the collection and use of biometric information, such as fingerprints, speech patterns or gait, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net. Three of those states - Arkansas, New York and Washington - have enacted such biometric privacy measures.
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, LexisNexis State Net
At the start of this year, many observers believed states might be lining up to duplicate California’s tough new data privacy law, set to go into effect next year. That rush didn’t quite materialize, but that doesn’t mean lawmakers completely whiffed on data protection.
According to the LexisNexis State Net legislative database, at least 24 states and Congress this year considered measures to implement new or amend current data breach notification laws. At least nine so far have passed, with bills still pending in several states.
While many of those measure focus on notification requirements for companies or government agencies that suffer a breach, there has also been a growing emphasis on broadening what actually constitutes data that must be protected, and specifically consumers’ biometric data.
Biometric data consists of the identifying characteristics of a person’s body or mind, broken down into two main categories. Physiological biometrics pertain to the body, from DNA, retinal scans and fingerprints to something like the shape of a person’s hand or face or the sound of their voice. Behavioral biometrics encompass a person’s specific movements and actions – such as the gait of their walk – and even thought patterns, like how they solve complex analytical problems.
Prior to this year, only Illinois, Texas and Washington had comprehensive laws regarding the care of biometric data. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures – which uses LexisNexis State Net tracking tools - at least 26 states this year weighed bills that deal specifically with the collection, retention and use of biometric data. Measures in three of those states, Arkansas, New York and Washington, have been signed into law, with several bills still pending in California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Washington and Rhode Island (see Bird’s Eye View in this issue).
Cities have also started to take action on their own. This year, San Francisco became the first city in the country to ban the use of facial recognition programs by local governments. The law was quickly adopted across the Bay in Oakland and across the nation in Somerville, Massachusetts. Berkeley, California is also considering a ban.
In addition to imposing several new breach reporting requirements, the bill Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed in April (HB 1943) adds biometric data to the law’s definition of personally identifiable information (PII). The new rules go into effect on August 9. The following month, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) inked his signature on HB 1071, which amends the Evergreen State’s data breach law to include several new types of personal identifiable information, including biometric data.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) followed suit in late July, signing SB 5575, a measure that broadens the scope of information covered under the Empire State breach notification law to include biometric information and email addresses with their corresponding passwords or security questions and answers. The law also extends the mandate to report breaches to include any person or entity with private information of a New York resident, not just those who conduct business in the state. The bill takes effect next February.
Cuomo also signed AB 2374, a bill that will require consumer credit reporting agencies to offer identity theft prevention and mitigation services to consumers who have been the victim of a breach of that agency’s database. That bill becomes effective in September.
All of these measures come in the wake of the massive 2017 Equifax breach, which exposed the information of approximately 147 million Americans. Cuomo’s signing in fact came just days after the announcement of a settlement between Equifax and 48 state attorneys general and two federal agencies that could ultimately cost the credit agency as much as $700 million in fines and other costs related to the breach.
That figure, which must still be finalized, dwarfs the two largest previous financial penalties imposed on corporations for their role in breaches: the $115 million penalty imposed on health insurer Anthem, Inc. in 2018 after a breach saw 79 people have their information stolen in 2015, and the $148 million settlement forced upon rideshare company Uber that same year for a breach that impacted 57 million people around the world.
Details of the Equifax settlement include $175 million for the 48 states involved in the suit (Indiana and Massachusetts have filed separate litigation), a $100 million fine from the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and $300 million to compensate consumers for damages related to the breach. If that fund proves inadequate, Equifax must come up with another $125 million in restitution. The company has also agreed to provide up to 10 years of free credit monitoring services to all victims of the breach in the United States.
That last item could be particularly expensive. Equifax is paying Experian – a competitor – to handle the monitoring for the first four years of the deal. The settlement presumes only about 7 million consumers will partake of the offer, but if all 147 million people affected by the breach sign up it could run Equifax over $2 billion.
The Equifax settlement also provided California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) the opportunity to lobby for lawmakers to pass AB 1130, the biometrics bill his office sponsored earlier this year.
“As more companies start using biometric data like fingerprints or retinal scans or face identification systems,” he said at the press conference announcing the settlement, “it’s crucial that we make sure that data is protected. And that includes your biometric data.”
The measure would augment the impending California Consumer Protection Act by including coverage of biometric information contained in government-issued documents, such as driver’s licenses and passports.
“Those pieces of information need to be protected the same way our social security numbers and our credit cards numbers are,” he said.
The measure passed the Assembly in May and is currently in the Senate Committee on Appropriations. It is expected to be heard again soon after lawmakers return on August 12th. Another measure – AB 1281, which would require private businesses to clearly disclose they are using a facial recognition program – is also awaiting action in the Senate.
The New Hampshire bill, HB 536, has cleared the House and is awaiting action in the Senate Committee on Commerce. And Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is expected to sign SB 1624, which would require most “data collectors” to notify the state attorney general of a breach that involves more than 500 consumers.
Several of the other measures introduced this year have either failed (bills in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Connecticut, Texas, Oregon) or are stalled in committee.
But the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act – the original statewide biometric law, which became statute in 2008 - received a significant boost from the Prairie State Supreme Court, which ruled in January in the case of Rosenbach vs. Six Flags that a consumer doesn’t have to prove injury to sue over misuse of their biometric data.
Some legal observers say the ruling encourages more litigation over the law, a possibility lawmakers in many states will likely also be forced to consider as they weigh new data breach and biometrics measures in the future.
But with yet another massive data breach being reported last week – this time a breach of credit card company Capital One that could impact over 106 million people in the U.S. and Canada – efforts to continue strengthening data breach laws are not likely to slow down any time soon.
-- By RICH EHISEN
In the age of social media and instant gratification it is incredibly easy to edit photos to fit a specific ideal. The world is becoming increasingly more visual and consumers want content that tells a big story with a quick glance at a single photo. With so much content circulating so quickly it may not seem potentially problematic to alter photos to meet your goals. However, infamous cases have shown that this is simply not the case. With a constant stream of stories highlighting photo editing faux pas, consumers have developed a keen sense of smell when it comes to sniffing out highly altered or superficial photos.
To put your best foot forward, consider the ethical ramifications of photo editing, even though it may be all the rage. Keep these tips in mind the next time the digital airbrush calls your name.
Rule of Thumb: Don’t Change the Story.
If you are going to edit an image, ask yourself: What does this image portray? Will this edit change the story somehow? If so, don’t do it.
There are bigger issues that could come up as a result of your actions. In most cases photo editing fails are due to core ideas or messages from a photograph being manipulated. As the photo editor, you may think that you are clarifying the image. Others may see it as an attack on individuality and authenticity. It is best to keep the image as natural as possible to tell the complete truth rather than what the organization or individual may wish were the truth.
You’re Better Than That. Seriously.
Whether you are a photojournalist covering a massive story or an entry-level employee posting a picture from your latest staff meeting, there are understood do’s and don’ts when it comes to editing images.
Every professional has an ethical responsibility to the overall industry and their specific organization to tell the truth. Choosing to do otherwise damages the credibility of the individual, the organization and, in some cases, the industry at large. Truly, a single photo editing misjudgment can have an overwhelmingly negative impact.
Don’t be that guy, no one likes that guy.
What Would Others (Your Consumers) Think?
Your ultimate goal is to build trust between your business and your consumers. As story-telling professionals, trust is of your utmost concern. Without such trust, there would be no reason to tell any story—no one will believe it anyway! It’s critical that your consumers believe what you have to say and take it seriously. The photoshop fail will be found and will be the thing that people will remember about your brand. This will make you and your organization less credible and possibly irrelevant—damaging any attempt to form connections with new and existing customers.
Learn from Other People’s Mistakes: Infamous Mishaps
From hilarious mistakes to insulting dishonesty, there are so many cases to take note of and learn from. Check out the following examples:
1. Diversity Is the New Company Buzz Word, But the Tech Industry Completely Missed The Point.
2. Politics are Really Only Fun When Everyone Else Agrees with You … Right? See How Far This Photojournalist Was Willing to Go to Get His Political Agenda Across.
3. Who Approved This Photo of a Three-Legged Beauty?
The storytelling industry is everchanging; it’s understandable that these changes can be hard to follow. Don’t let that be a barrier to quality work that fosters trust. Do your organization (and yourself) a favor and follow your ethical gut. Be proud of the work that you put forth. Keep the trust and integrity in the storytelling industry alive.
California’s Orange County has been the ultimate GOP stronghold, so much so it long ago earned the moniker “the Orange Curtain.” But California’s Republicans are in a freefall, with their statewide popularity falling somewhere now between toe lint and an IRS audit. Proof? You want proof? Oh, I have your proof. As the Los Angeles Times reports, the OC now has more registered Democrats (547,458) than it does registered Republicans (547,369) something once considered absolutely unthinkable. And in the last Congressional mid-terms, Dems took all seven of the region’s House seats for the first time since the New Deal was a thing. Whether Dems hold those seats in the next elections remains to be seen. But given that a certain Republican president that Californians overwhelmingly despise will be on the ballot in 2020, Reeps ought to not be holding their breath.
-- By Rich Ehisen
As I mentioned already, nobody alive owns a stage more or better than Ms. Dolly Rebecca Parton of Sevier County, Tennessee. Among the gems from her talk with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee: attributing her large family growing up to the folks in her region just being “horny hillbillies” and, asked by Lee what she would want people to say about her 100 years from now, answering “‘golly, don’t she still look good for her age?’”
Legendary singer and songwriter Dolly Parton has always had a profound impact on the people around her. And it didn’t take long at last week’s opening event for the National Conference of State Legislatures Annual Summit in Nashville to see that, even at 73, the lovely Ms. Parton can still make men a little simple in the brain. The evidence came as Tennessee Rep. Mark White took the podium to introduce Gov. Bill Lee, who was coming on to do a sit-down with Dolly to talk about her Imagination Library, which supplies free books to kids around the world. So with great gusto, White asked the crowd to please welcome the governor of the great state of Tennessee...Gov. Bill Haslam! Uh, wait, that would be the previous governor. Alerted to his gaffe by the audible gasp from the crowd, a flustered White rushed back to correct himself. To his credit, Lee took it all with a laugh.
NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 231, a bill that allows BUFFALO to enforce speed limits in school zones using cameras that record speeding violations in real time without the need for a police officer at the scene. The city can then use this evidence to impose liability on the owner of the vehicle for the speeding violation (NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) signs HB 2001, a bill that makes the Beaver State the first requires cities with more than 10,000 residents to allow for the construction of some type of what’s known as “missing middle housing,” or housing types that are somewhere between high-rise apartments and single-family homes (ASSOCIATED PRESS).
-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
Acting NEW JERSEY Gov. Sheila Oliver (D) signs a trio of gun-related measures: SB 3301, which requires the Garden State Department of Health to establish a hospital-based violence intervention plan to lower the risk of re-injury or retaliatory violence; SB 3312, which requires Level One and Level Two trauma centers to provide hospital-based or hospital-linked violence intervention programs upon available funding; and SB 3323, which requires the state Victims of Crime Compensation Office counseling service to partner with trauma centers to refer certain victims to violence and intervention programs (ASSOCIATED PRESS, NJ.COM).
ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs SB 1321, which requires the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to set up a new claims clearinghouse to collect and analyze data about medical bills and to adjudicate claims. The measure further requires MCOs to pay claims within 30 days and to make expedited payments to providers that serve large numbers of Medicaid patients (COMMERCIAL-NEWS [DANVILLE]).
The FLORIDA Dept. of Education unveils a special database that grants specified “threat assessment teams” access to information about students’ personal mental health history, interactions with law enforcement, school discipline, and social media posts that contain “certain critical threat indicators” (TAMPA BAY TIMES).
Acting NEW JERSEY Gov. Sheila Oliver (D) signs SB 1790, a bill that imposes fines and possible jail time on employers found guilty of failing to pay workers the full wages owed to them. Employers who are found to owe a worker $5000 or more will also now be subject to a state audit. The law went into immediate effect (NJ.COM).
NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 4202, a bill that bars the manufacture, transport, shipment, and possession of knives and such weapons that are undetectable by a metal detector. Violators could face up to a year in jail (NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) signs HB 2005, a bill that requires employers to provide workers with up to 12 weeks of paid family leave per year. The measure further provides paid time off for victims of domestic violence and guarantees 100 percent of wages to low-income workers (OREGON GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
FLORIDA Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last week ordered a state criminal probe into the actions of Palm Beach sheriff Ric Bradshaw and former Palm Beach state attorney Barry Krischer for their handling of the 2008 underage sex trafficking case involving millionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein. In spite of being a convicted sex offender charged with molesting dozens of underage girls, Epstein was granted very lenient work release privileges. Both men have denied any wrongdoing. Epstein is now under criminal indictment for more sex abuse charges in New York. (MIAMI HERALD)
Saying “people should not be targeted because of who they are,” ARKANSAS Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) called on Razorback State lawmakers to pass a hate crimes law to address crimes based on religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. The governor said he is also willing to consider a so-called “red flag” law but has not yet seen a proposal he could support. (ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE [LITTLE ROCK])