Sen. Les Ihara

Creates a temporary law enforcement working group to make recommendations to the legislature on establishing professional recruitment, hiring, and training standards for all state law enforcement officers who carry firearms and badges and who have the arrest authority. Prohibits a law enforcement officer who has been terminated for misconduct by a state or county department, agency, or office in the capacity of law enforcement from being hired by another state or county law enforcement department, agency, or office.

Requires public schools to obtain written caregiver consent before a student shall participate in dissection, vivisection, and other procedures harmful to animals. Allows public school students in grades K through 12 to decline participation in dissection, vivisection, and other procedures harmful to animals. Requires schools to make alternative educational projects available, and the board of education to develop rules and give notice to all schools.

Requires that any person appointed as State Sheriff by the Director of Public Safety shall have a minimum of five years of combined prior law enforcement experience.

Increases the excise tax imposed on large cigars from fifty to seventy per cent of the wholesale price of any large cigar sold by a wholesaler or dealer on and after January 1, 2018, whether or not sold at wholesale, or if not sold then at the same rate upon the use by the wholesaler or dealer.

Requires disclosure of albizia trees in a disclosure statement as part of the sale or transfer of real estate assets.

Prohibits enforced wage secrecy and retaliation or discrimination against employees who disclose, discuss, or inquire about their own or co-workers' wages.

Increases the minimum wage to $12.00 per hour beginning 1/1/2020 and $14.00 per hour beginning 1/1/2022.

Requires a purchaser or transferee to execute an oceanfront purchaser statement with every sale or transfer of oceanfront real estate. Requires the statement to be recorded with the bureau of conveyances. Establishes mandatory provisions for every oceanfront purchaser statement. Takes effect 11/1/17.

Requires the department of taxation to manage a public database of all registered transient accommodation and resort time share vacation plan businesses. Makes failure to register as a business of furnishing transient accommodations a class C felony rather than a misdemeanor. Requires filers of transient accommodations tax to include the amount of transient accommodations tax revenues collected by zip code on tax return form. Requires filers of transient accommodations tax to include certificate of registration number on annual tax return. Applies to taxable years beginning after 12/31/16.

Increases maximum fines for violations of the fireworks control law. Appropriates funds for the Department of Public Safety, Sheriff Division, in collaboration with the Department of Defense, Department of Transportation, and other federal and state agencies, to establish a shipping container inspection program to randomly inspect shipping containers for illegal fireworks and explosives using explosive-sniffing dogs and establishes requirements for the inspection program. Requires the Department of Transportation to assess a fee on all shipping containers to fund the program.