The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday afternoon to discuss bills on illegal ballots and tourism development.
Senate Bill 61 would prohibit the acceptance of ballots that are cast illegally in any election. The purpose of the bill is to ensure that only valid, lawful votes are counted and to help protect the integrity of the election process.
The bill would require that any person including Clerks and Poll Workers that counts and includes an absentee ballot that does not comply with the state requirements will be guilty of a felony and fined no less than $10,000 and no more than $20,000 or imprisoned for no less than a year and no more than 5 years or both fined and imprisoned.
Following this, the body discussed Senate Bill 374, which sets guidelines for tourism development districts and how they are created and managed.
Some of the rules address hunting and related activities, including, small arms hunting, bird hunting, and deer hunting.
These rules would be intended to provide clear standards for managing projects, protecting wildlife, and supporting local economic growth through tourism.
Both bills were reported to the full Senate with the recommendation of passage.
