25th February Government Town Hall

Note: A full town hall recording can be found at the bottom of the page.

Speaker of the Legislature Joanna Poole hosted the second town hall of the 9th Congress at Rockford Hills City Plaza on February 25, 2024 at 5pm EST. Stella Day of Weazel News recorded the meeting.

Ari’s Deli was outside and was providing catering that was paid for as part of the meeting. There is a restaurant catering every town hall. Reach out to the Legislature to be that restaurant as soon as possible. There are only 3 town halls remaining for the 9th Congress.

Shout News was also present and published an article covering the public outrage over police SOP’s. Give it a read to learn more.

Town Hall Updates:

Executive: Governor Damien Key provided a brief update. Lt. Governor Gracie McCoy has resigned and they are doing interviews. Audrey Storm vetoed the nomination on her ability to handle the job. They’re back to searching and interviewing. Secretary of State candidates are still being evaluated, but they have a person of interest. There is a possible incoming press release from the Executive covering open positions.

Legislative: There are 3 bills pending signatures from Governor Key with the 7-day mark tomorrow (2/26) ( H.R. 317, H.R. 318, and H.R. 319). H.R. 320 was put up for review today (2/25). Bills are upcoming from State Rep Poole. She’s going to reach out to law enforcement to continue working on improving the overall IA process and experience. Additionally, legislation around abuse of office charges are being re-worked after the US Marshal Service (USMS) made a request. Mask mandate bill in conjunction with the DOJ is being worked on.

Emilie is working with things with SAFA. Nothing new to share outside of that. Lucas is looking into traffic stop changes, but they haven’t been finalized according to Joanna. Nothin on Lilith and Artemis’ side and Lilith is keeping up with the treasurer job. State Rep Poole H.R. 320 is new and while Lucas isn’t here. The public is encouraged to reach out to the state reps with any problems and/or concerns.

Judiciary – Chief Justice Kylian Clarkson: The Judiciary’s internal procedures are being adjusted on warrants, some legislation being made to pass on, and all court cases have been kept under 20 days, per the speedy trial act. The courts have been going strong. Court Clerk Willow Holloway also added that a bunch of new clerks have been hired so continue to reach out for name changes and so on. Give them a call to ask any questions you may have.

Department of Justice (DOJ) – State Attorney Anthony Lankowski: The DOJ is still hiring for prosecutors and paralegals. They are working with USMS for the rehabilitation process with the Department of Human Services (DHS) for prosecution.

Public Defenders Office (PDO): Not Present

Los Santos Police Department (LSPD): Not Present

San Andreas Medical Services (SAMS): Not Present

San Andreas Fire Rescue (SAFR): Not Present

Department of Human Services (DHS): Not Present

Department of Commerce and Labor (DoCL) – Assistant Commissioner Wyatt Mckenzie: DoCL held their department specific town hall yesterday. There are currently 390 licensed businesses in the State of San Andreas with 312 active premises. An increase of 27 new business licenses and 16 premises licenses have been approved since February 1st. There’s a backlog but they’re doing well going thru. New trainees are being trained.

There is a new DoCL resource section now so its easier to find information for all things DoCL. The department is also working on the auditing and complaints process to improve their processing times. Lastly, the department hopes to open up restaurant scope in the next few weeks. New “DoCL Left Me Unread” shirts are available for public use. Reach out to DoCL with any questions you have.

San Andreas Flight Authority (SAFA): Not Present

Department of Corrections (DOC): Not Present

Department of Public Works – Director Erin Murphy: The director was present for Public Works. The department has deployed new fleet vehicles that hit the streets earlier this month. They retired 7 older vehicles and brought in 6 new ones. This major change has decreased the department’s overall fleet maintenance budget.