Our state's priorities must be re-aligned. Ex-Governor Parnell's oil-tax giveaway is devastating our schools and teachers. This must be reconciled!

Philadelphia is about to begin a once-in-a-generation negotiation with our biggest corporate citizen, Comcast. This deal could define our access to communications, and Comcast’s accountability to our city, for the next 15 years.

Maryland’s Fair Campaign Financing Fund, our only state-wide program for public funding of elections, proved its worth in the last election – giving a voice to both Delegate Mizeur and Governor Hogan. But the tax check-off, which funded this program through the decades, has been eradicated. The fund now has just over $1 million available, which would not be sufficient to provide a qualifying candidate full grant funds in the 2018 elections.

There are now 32 state legislators who have been indicted or have left office due to criminal or ethical issues since 2000. Incremental change in the budget, negotiated in secrecy, is no substitute for real comprehensive ethics and campaign finance reform. Call on our leaders to tackle this crisis with real reform now.

We respectfully request that our Issaquah School District (ISD) Board and Superintendent follow the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics1 and move our middle school and high school start times to 8:30am or later. Specifically, we request that the ISD create a committee to determine how to make later start times happen. We do not need a committee to study the need; rather, we want a committee formed that will determine HOW we can make this happen, ideally to be implemented by the 2016/2017 school year. Petition Background Scientific research has proven that there is a shift in the circadian rhythm of adolescents. During this shift, it is hard for teens to fall asleep before 11pm or midnight, and they continue to produce melatonin well into the morning hours which makes it difficult to wake up. This shift coupled with early morning start times, results in chronic sleep deprivation which is bad for our kids on so many levels. When schools have delayed the start of the school day, communities have seen reduced tardiness, sleeping in class, and car crash rates, as well as improved attendance, graduation rates, and standardized test scores2. Some school districts have responded to the research and changed their start times. Since the discussion on school start times began more than a decade ago, not a single district that has made the change has decided to change back3. Saving money on transportation costs does not outweigh the damage done to the physiological and psychological functioning of middle and high school students. To improve the learning ability of students we call on the Issaquah School District Board and Superintendent to schedule transportation and start times so that no middle or high school in our district start earlier than 8:30 am. We can no longer continue to deprive our kids of adequate sleep. Please help make this very important change by signing this petition. Thank you! 1 American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement, August 25, 2014, School Start Times for Adolescents 2, 3 Los Angeles Times, August 23, 2010, Later School Start Times and ZZZs to A’s

This petition was created because legislation is needed to stop local businesses from taking advantage of a loophole that allows for unreasonable decreases in property taxes and is a violation of the state tax law. These tax cuts will result in budget cuts to publicly funded programs and services such as education, libraries, road maintenance and repair, search and rescue, senior services, veterans affairs and recreational facilities that are an essential part of our community.

The right to vote is the most fundamental freedom that we have as North Carolinians and it must be protected. Our elections should be free, fair and accessible for all citizens.

The Maryland House of Delegates is considering legislation that would restore voting rights to nearly 40,000 Marylanders.

I am a physician and have seen the broken, corrupt system from both ends of the Stethoscope, written a book describing the physician's perspective, and been a patient who was uninsurable in the previous system. I believe that health care is a civil rights issue and that discrimination in health care based on social status should be stopped.

We need this law so ALS patients who on average have 2-3 years to live after diagnosis can use the Internet, which becomes their contact to the outside world. The machines with Eye Gaze technology will give patients access to the Internet, their family, and the world. http://www.indystar.com/longform/sports/2015/03/31/doyel-als-patients/25010527/

In many states throughout the country, LGBTQ individuals are still denied basic legal protections on the statewide and federal level. It is legal in Indiana to eject an LGBTQ person from a hotel or restaurant, deny them housing, refuse to hire them, deny them a promotion in the workplace, and even terminate their employment solely on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Unfortunately, the lack of statewide protections create a patchwork of "safe" and "unsafe" states throughout the country. While LGBTQ individuals may be protected in their home state, that is not necessarily the case if they leave to visit a friend or relative. The introduction of Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) bills also compound the issue by threatening to allow religious extremists to ignore existing local ordinances that offer protections to the LGBTQ community. RFRA bills will also grant a "license to discriminate" that allows any person or business to deny service provided that they can proclaim a sincerely-held religious belief.

Pennsylvania must become a leader in ensuring that all LGBT persons enjoy full and equal civil rights. With this action, we stand by our LGBT family members, friends and colleagues to ensure that their rights are respected. The law in Indiana runs contrary to this mission.