Alabama Democrats plan to challenge Senator Tommy Tuberville's eligibility for the governor's race, citing his residency in Florida and questioning whether he meets the state's seven-year residency requirement, as he has owned property and voted in Florida while claiming a residence in Alabama. The party argues this could disqualify him and intends to pursue legal action, highlighting ongoing residency debates in Alabama politics.
A federal judge rejected an attempt to stop New York's cannabis licensing process, allowing the troubled rollout of the state's recreational weed market to continue despite legal challenges. The lawsuit argued that the licensing rules unfairly discriminate against out-of-state residents, but the judge concluded that halting the process would cause more harm to the state's adult-use cannabis industry. New York still faces additional legal hurdles as it grapples with illicit storefronts and a slow rollout of licensed dispensaries.
Vermont has become the first state to remove the residency requirement from its law on medically assisted death, allowing terminally ill people from out of state access to life-ending care. The law, which has permitted doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill people for a decade, was amended following a legal battle brought against the state by a 75-year-old resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Several other states and the District of Columbia allow terminally ill residents access to life-ending treatments, but most do not permit nonresidents to access their care.
Vermont has become the first state in the US to allow terminally ill people from out of state to take advantage of its medically assisted suicide law. The state's governor signed a bill that removes the residency requirement for the decades-old law. Vermont is one of 10 states that allow medically assisted suicide. Critics of such laws say without the residency requirements states risk becoming assisted suicide tourism destinations. Supporters of Vermont’s medically assisted suicide law say it has stringent safeguards.
