New Date Set For Terry Bean Trial

The Oregonian reports:

A Lane County judge agreed Friday to reschedule the trial of prominent gay activist Terry Bean to allow the state more time to find its elusive star witness. Bean, 66, and his former boyfriend, Kiah Loy Lawson, 25, are accused of having sex with the boy at a Eugene hotel in 2013. Each is charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy, a felony, and third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor. The trial was scheduled to start Tuesday in Lane County Circuit Court, but the boy, now 17, is nowhere to be found and the trial cannot proceed without him. Circuit Judge Jay McAlpin ruled Friday that there was good reason for a delay and reset the trial to Sept. 1 over the opposition of attorneys representing Bean and the boy.

Last week prosecutors accused the alleged victim and his mother of engaging in an elaborate series of ruses in order to avoid being served with a subpoena before the trial deadline. The state says it may now take the teen into custody as a material witness and hold him until the new trial date. If they ever find him.

OREGON: Alleged Victim In Terry Bean Case Accused Of Evading Subpoena

Earlier this week I reported that the teenage alleged victim in the Terry Bean sexual abuse case had vanished and that the trial might be called off without him. Yesterday prosecutors accused the unnamed youth and his mother of engaging in an elaborate series of ruses to avoid being served with a subpoena which orders him to appear for next week's trial.

Oregon law enforcement, along with investigators in California, attempted to serve the teen in San Diego County on July 26 after a judge in Lane County rejected a defense plan to dismiss the case. Once in California, however, detectives learned that the teen had quit both of his jobs in the days that followed the judge’s decision and had disappeared with his mother, who had flown from her home in Oregon to meet the youth in California on July 18 as the trial date approached. The pair then took an Amtrak train back to Eugene with tickets purchased by a friend of the boy’s mother, the document states. Officers returned to Oregon, determined who had bought the tickets and interviewed that person. That individual told police she bought the tickets, picked the two up from the train station when they arrived in Eugene and allowed them to stay in her home in Cottage Grove. The boy’s mother paid her friend in cash for the train tickets and later asked her to rent a car for them. During this time, the teen and his mother had turned off both of their cellphones and were using a “burner,” or untraceable prepaid phone, to communicate to avoid police detection. They also avoided using any credit cards to keep their activities secret from police, prosecutors said.

The now 17 year-old, who reportedly hooked up with HRC co-founder Bean and his then-boyfriend on Grindr in 2013, has said that the sex was consensual and that he doesn't want to press charges. Last month an Oregon judge rejected Bean's attempt to settle the case with a payment to the alleged victim. The amount of the proposed settlement was not disclosed. Citing the alleged victim's evasion tactics, yesterday the lead prosecutor requested a continuance in the case. Earlier this week the judge had warned him that trial schedule was to be strictly adhered to. Should the alleged victim be served with the subpoena in time, he faces contempt of court charges if he fails to appear.

OREGON: Alleged Victim In Terry Bean Case Vanishes, Trial May Not Proceed

Oregon Live reports:

The prosecutor handling the sex crimes case against Terry Bean, a prominent gay activist, told a judge Friday that his investigators have been unable to find the alleged victim in the case. Without the teenager's testimony, the case will have to be dismissed or the trial rescheduled, the prosecutor acknowledged. The boy, now 17, doesn't want to testify at the trial, his attorney said at an earlier hearing. Meanwhile, the search for the boy goes on. "We continue to put all available resources toward that issue," prosecutor Scott Healy said after a hearing before Lane County Circuit Judge Jay McAlpin. Bean, 66, and his former boyfriend, Kiah Loy Lawson, 25, are accused of having sex with the then-15-year-old boy at a Eugene hotel in 2013. They each are charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy, a felony, and third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Bean, a co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign, allegedly met the teen on Grindr. Last month Judge McAplin rejected Bean's attempt to settle the case with a payment to the alleged victim. The amount of the settlement offer was not disclosed. After Friday's development, the lead prosecutor in the case said he might request a continuance, but the judge smacked him down, saying that in his court "we set dates and we expect them to be met." The trial is scheduled to begin next week.

Sweet Equality Cakes

From the fundraising page:

The anti-LGBTQ movement, led by anti-gay villain the Family Research Council, has raised over $500,000 dollars and counting for Sweet Cakes by Melissa, the anti-LGBTQ bakery that refused to bake a cake for the wedding of Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer. This incident sparked the dialogue about businesses refusing services to the LGBTQ community. We find the idea of rewarding bigotry silly and shameful, so in response Planting Peace, in partnership with Rachel and Laurel, is going to turn this negative message into something Sweet for LGBTQ homeless youth. Planting Peace invites you to buy a virtual cupcake. All funds raised will go toward creating a "Sweet Equality Cakes' bakery in the same area where Sweet Cakes by Melissa was located. Sweet Equality Cakes will use the bakery to provide job training for homeless LGBTQ youth.

Just over $4100 has been raised at this writing.

OREGON: Judge Denies Settlement Offer To Alleged Victim Of Activist Terry Bean

An Oregon county judge has refused to allow HRC co-founder Terry Bean to make a financial settlement with the underage boy Bean and his former boyfriend are alleged to have hooked-up with on Grindr in 2013.

Bean, who lives in Portland and is a prominent political fundraiser, proposed a civil compromise that could result in the dismissal of the criminal charges. Had the request been granted, the criminal charges against Bean would have been dismissed. Circuit Judge Charles Zennaché said he was unaware of another child sex abuse case that has been settled by civil compromise. In Oregon, judges have discretion to accept or deny a civil compromise. In the Bean case, the alleged victim, now 17, supports the settlement and does not want to testify, said attorney Lori Deveny, who represents the boy. "He has been as vocal as he can be and his voice still isn't being heard," Deveny said. "There are certain social mores that we, as a society say, 'We are not going to let this happen,'" Zennaché said. "I think it's bad public policy ... (and bad) from a public safety perspective," Zennaché said.

The terms of the settlement offer were not disclosed.

RELATED: Ex-boyfriend Kiah Lawson was sentenced yesterday in an unrelated drug case.

Junction City resident Kiah Loy Lawson was placed on probation and issued a 20-day jail sentence after being convicted in Lane County Circuit Court of methamphetamine possession and supplying contraband, in connection with an arrest last year in Eugene. Lawson, 26, was given credit for time he has already served in jail and was expected to be promptly transported from Eugene to Washington County, where he faces sexual abuse allegations. That case is scheduled to be resolved before the Aug. 11 trial in Lane County set for both Lawson and Bean. They are charged with sexual abuse and sodomy for an alleged encounter with a 15-year-old boy in a Eugene hotel room in September 2013.

Anti-Gay Oregon Bakers Reap $352,000 From Christian Crowdfunding Site

Via the Washington Times:

A crowdfunding campaign for the Oregon bakery Sweet Cakes by Melissa has set a site record by raising $352,500 in about two months after being kicked off the GoFundMe website, far exceeding the initial goal of $150,000. Jesse Wellhoefer, founder of Continue to Give, said the Sweet Cakes effort has raised more than any previous campaign on behalf of individuals in the three-year-old crowdfunding website’s history. Mr. Wellhoefer said his company had received “lots and lots” of complaints about the Sweet Cakes crowdfunding campaign, but that he has refused to remove it. “Lots of people have been asking us to take it off,” Mr. Wellhoefer said. “Our response has been, ‘Thank you for your concern, have a great day and God bless you.’” Launched May 5, the Sweet Cakes crowdfunding campaign has received 7,651 donations and thousands of messages of support such as, “Keep on fighting,” “God bless you,” and “Don’t back down!! We are standing with you.”

The amount raised is nearly triple the fine. Plus it appears the Kleins get to keep the $110K raised before GoFundMe pulled the plug. (Tipped by JMG reader Blair)

Headline Of The Day

Details. (Tipped by JMG reader Brandon)

OREGON: Prosecutors Reveal Additional Sex Abuse Allegations Against Terry Bean

Via Williamette Week:

Prosecutors say Portland real-estate developer and Democratic Party activist Terry Bean engaged in sex with an underaged boy in 1979, providing the 16-year-old with alcohol and drugs. The teenager later tried to kill himself after Bean broke off the relationship, court records say. The records were filed by prosecutors late Thursday in Lane County Circuit Court as part of an ongoing criminal case against Bean. Bean in November 2014 was charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy, a felony, and one count of sexual abuse in the third degree, a misdemeanor, allegedly involving a 15-year-old boy. Prosecutors say they wanted to introduce evidence of Bean's "prior bad acts" dating back to 1979 into the current case to establish a pattern of sexual abuse by Bean. The events described in the filing are beyond the statue of limitations.

Bean is a co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign and was the largest Oregon fundraiser for both Obama presidential campaigns. Last week the attorney for Bean requested the dismissal of the original charges after Bean reportedly reached a civil settlement with the alleged victim, whom he met on Grindr. Prosecutors are opposing the dismissal motion. From Bean's attorney:

A civil compromise was filed on July 2 with a statement by the “alleged victim” that he has no interest in prosecuting this case and never did. A civil compromise represents a resolution of criminal charges that satisfies both parties. There is a hearing on this compromise on Thursday, July 16. The law allows a civil compromise in this case. However, the special prosecutor is objecting for dubious reasons. For almost two years, Terry Bean has been the victim of Kiah Lawson’s schemes and lies which have led law enforcement to harass Mr. Bean’s friends, seek out old acquaintances and threaten him with further prosecution unless he admits to events that did not occur.

World Net Daily is thrilled with the latest developments:

The Eugene paper noted Bean was first recognized for his activism in the 1970s when he helped persuade the Eugene City Council to pass an ordinance barring discrimination based on sexual orientation. Scott Lively, known for his opposition to the “gay” rights agenda, was communications director for an activist group that proposed ballot measures in the early 1990s to defend against the homosexual movement. He told WND in an interview the Bean case fits a pattern. “This is very common,” he said. “We see gay-activist leaders, one after another, being accused, sometimes charged, with pederasty – adult male homosexuality with teenage boys.” Oregon voters, Lively said, could have “stopped the LGBT agenda dead in its tracks” in 1992 by supporting the ballot measures he promoted. He pointed out that prosecutors allege regarding the 2013 charge that Bean paid the victim $40 after the encounter and encouraged the boy to join a support group for “gay” youths. “I have alleged for many years that these LGBT youth groups are really not much more than grooming center for predators, and this supports that allegation,” Lively told WND.

Regarding the original charges, Bean contends that he is the victim of an "extortion ring" that included ex-boyfriend Kiah Lawson, who claims to have discovered that Bean secretly videotaped sexual encounters with Lawson and other men in Bean's bedroom. It was Bean who first went to police in June 2014 to charge that Lawson and others were demanding money in exchange for remaining silent about the videotaping. In March 2014, Bean filed for a restraining order against Lawson, claiming domestic physical abuse. In that petition, Bean claimed that Lawson is a crystal meth addict who had burglarizing his home and charged $15K on stolen credit cards. He also accused Lawson of dealing meth out of Bean's second home, a condo where Lawson lived at that time. Bean claims that police characterized his accusations as a civil dispute between landlord and tenant.

RELATED:  In August 2014, a New Jersey man filed a federal lawsuit against Grindr, alleging that the hook-up app's "lax age verification standards" led him to be arrested for having sex with a 13 year-old boy who had been allowed to be a paying member of the site. Grindr's motion to dismiss cited the Communications Decency Act, which they claim immunizes companies from bad acts resulting from misinformation provided by other parties. They additionally claimed that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that it is "not feasible" for web publishers to verify the age of users. The lawsuit was dismissed in March of this year.

Another Money Beg For Oregon Bakers

First there was the GoFundMe drive, which generated $110K before it was pulled due to rules about raising money for those accused of breaking the law. Per the rules at that time, it appeared that the Kleins could keep what had been raised. Then Franklin Graham stepped in with Samaritan's Purse, a site that does not disclose amounts. And launched last night was a money beg on Continue To Give, "a faith-based giving platform." So far about $30K has been raised at Continue To Give.

OREGON: Final Ruling Says Anti-Gay Bakers Must Pay $135K To Gay Couple

Via Oregon Live:

Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian on Thursday ordered the owners of a former Gresham bakery to pay $135,000 in damages to a lesbian couple for refusing to make them a wedding cake. Avakian's ruling upheld a preliminary finding earlier this year that the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa had discriminated against the women on the basis of their sexual orientation.

Bakery owners Melissa and Aaron Klein cited their Christian beliefs against same-sex marriage in denying service. The case ignited a long-running skirmish in the nation's culture wars, pitting civil rights advocates against religious freedom proponents who argued business owners should have the right to refuse services for gay and lesbian weddings.

Avakian's final order makes clear that serving potential customers equally trumps the Kleins' religious beliefs. Under Oregon law, businesses cannot discriminate or refuse service based on sexual orientation, just as they cannot turn customers away because of race, sex, disability, age or religion, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries said in a news release.

The Klein's say they will appeal. But they'll likely never have to pay a penny due to a GoFundMe-style campaign launched by Franklin Graham.

OREGON: Teen Confronts Anti-Gay Haters

When high school junior Makaila Ragan noticed two men waving anti-gay signs outside her mother's Oregon workplace, she decided to do something about it.

"I was so irritated because I see them all around town and all they ever do is make people feel like crap about themselves,” said Ragan, a junior at Tillamook High School. The men were standing outside Eyes of Oregon, on 1st Street and Main Avenue, where her mother works. “I went inside and asked her and her boss if it would be all right if I made a poster that stands up for what I believe in,” she said. “They were totally all for it. So I made a sign that said, ‘I love Gays.’” The two men, said Makaila, began insulting her personally. “They were calling me names, and asking my mom questions, like, ‘How many times did you have to get an abortion before you were able to have your daughter?’ and saying, ‘You’re going to burn in hell right along with your daughter.’ The things they were saying were just awful, but I didn’t let them faze me.”

Makaila's one-person counter-protest was soon joined by many others and eventually more than 40 supporters had shown up to stand next to her with signs of their own. After more than six hours, the haters finally went home. Over on Facebook, Makaila has vowed to return. Her mom says, "Makaila stood up. Boy, did she ever! Look what she did – wow! I’m so, so proud of her." 

(Tipped by JMG reader Jay)

BREAKING: Oregon Bans "Ex-Gay" Torture

Via press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights:

Today, the Oregon State Senate passed HB 2307, a bill that will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth from the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy. The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the State House on March 17 and is now heading to the desk of Governor Kate Brown who is expected to sign it into law. When signed into law, Oregon will become the fourth jurisdiction—behind California, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia—to pass legislation protecting LGBT youth from the serious harms caused by these practices, which have been linked to substance abuse, serious depression, and even suicide.

HRC and NCLR have partnered with state equality groups across the nation to pass state legislation to end this dangerous practice, including laws passed in California, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia. In August of 2013, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California’s ban which was signed into law by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown in 2012. On Monday May 4, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to upheld New Jersey’s ban which was signed into law by Republican Governor Chris Christie in August of 2013. NCLR attorneys have assisted in the defense of every state bill to date.

Time for another round of losses for the Liberty Counsel!

GoFundMe Clarifies Policy: You Can't Raise Money In Defense Of Discriminatory Acts

Last week GoFundMe yanked the fundraising page for Oregon's Sweet Cakes bakery after complaints that the money beg was in violation of their posted ban on "campaigns in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual acts." The cancellation spawned immediately outrage across Teabagistan and many calls for a boycott of GoFundMe. Today the crowdfunding site clarifies its policy to explicitly ban campaigns to support those charged with "discriminatory acts."

Today we’re updating our terms to help address some confusion around how GoFundMe goes about reviewing campaigns and deciding what will be permitted on our platform. Specifically, we would like to clarify that GoFundMe relies on information from law enforcement and government agencies to help determine what actions our team will take regarding questionable campaigns. We would also like to acknowledge that while we cannot conduct in-depth investigations on every campaign that is created, we do reserve the right to act on pertinent information as it becomes available to us. GoFundMe will not allow campaigns that benefit individuals or groups facing formal charges or claims of serious violations of the law. The amended term can be found under the ‘What’s Not Allowed’ section of our terms. We are also informing users that GoFundMe reserves the right to share the content from a deleted campaign with law enforcement, donors or stated beneficiaries who wish to file a police report about any misuse of fundraising proceeds.

The new banning language: "Campaigns in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts." The Heritage Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom are ever so pissed:

The difference in the wording of the policy is significant because neither the Christian bakers—Aaron and Melissa Klein—nor the Washington florist who also had her account shut down broke any criminal laws. Instead, both businesses were found guilty of violating civil anti-discrimination laws. “GoFundMe has the freedom to make their own policies and do business with whom they choose. That’s what makes it so ironic and hypocritical that GoFundMe has done the bidding of a movement that wages war against this same freedom,” Greg Scott, a spokesman for Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal organization that assists in cases like the Kleins, told The Daily Signal. "GoFundMe has facilitated fundraising for inane things like sending a man to a stranger’s bachelor party, but have now cut off families who face financial ruin and who’ve had their fundamental freedoms obliterated by unjust government action. If there is a better example of a company and culture with its priorities and loyalties completely upside down, I can’t think of it."

Before the page was yanked supporters of Sweet Cakes had raised $114K. It appears that the bakery will still get that money.

Heritage Foundation Vs GoFundMe

Yesterday the Heritage Foundation questioned demonstrators outside the Supreme Court, asking their opinion about GoFundMe's cancellation of the fundraising page of the Oregon bakers. They write:

Why does GoFundMe, a crowdsourcing website that raises money for a variety of personal causes and life events, get to choose who they do business with, but the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa do not? After GoFundMe shut down a campaign set up for Aaron and Melissa Klein, bakery owners who were fined $135,000 by the state of Oregon for refusing to make a cake for a lesbian wedding, The Daily Signal posed that question to people in the nation’s capitol. Standing outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the nine justices heard oral arguments over a high-stakes gay marriage case, advocates on both sides of the debate reacted to GoFundMe’s controversial decision.

Nobody gets the answer right.

Heritage Foundation On Oregon Bakers

Following last week's recommended $135K fine by an Oregon administrative agency, the Heritage Foundation has rushed out the below sob story of the Oregon bakers. At the end of the clip you'll see man-on-the-street interviews which include some who support the fine.

Haters Have The GoFundMe Sadz

Todd Starnes writes at Fox News:

Within hours of the ruling, the Family Research Council facilitated the establishment of a GoFundMe account to help the Kleins raise the money the need. In less than eight hours, more than $100,000 was raised. However, late Friday GoFundMe pulled the plug — sending this message to would-be donors: “After careful review by our team, we have found the ‘Support Sweet Cakes By Melissa’ campaign to be in violation of our Terms and Conditions,” the message read. “The money raised thus far will still be made available for withdrawal.” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins blasted the harsh penalty levied against the Kleins. “The state of Oregon has given a new meaning to shotgun weddings,” Perkins said. “You will be forced to participate in same-sex weddings and violate your beliefs.”

It’s not exactly clear what led GoFundMe to drop the fundraising drive - but Perkins blamed it on gay activists. “This reveals two very important aspects of the redefinition of marriage, Americans are not going along with it and two - the intolerance of those trying to redefine marriage is historically unprecedented,” Perkins said. Samaritan's Purse, a Christian ministry run by Franklin Graham, has stepped up and offered to raise funds for the embattled Christian couple. Aaron Klein told me they will appeal the judge’s recommended fine. “All Americans should be free to live and work by their faith without the fear of the government punishing them,” he told me. Klein told me the gay rights activists won’t be satisfied until her family is living in a homeless shelter.

The Samaritan's Purse fundraising page does not show amounts.

GoFundMe Cancels Money Beg For Bakers

According the Family Research Council, late last night GoFundMe deleted the money beg for the Oregon bakers who yesterday were hit with a recommended $135K fine for refusing to serve a lesbian couple. Top conservative figures including Erick Erickson, Rick Santorum, and Tony Perkins had promoted the money beg to their followers. Apparently GoFundMe's terms of service do not allow raising money for those convicted of crimes.

UPDATE: GoFundMe has issued a statement.

"After careful review by our team, we have found the "Support Sweet Cakes By Melissa" campaign to be in violation of our Terms and Conditions. The money raised thus far will still be made available for withdrawal. While a different campaign was recently permitted for a pizzeria in Indiana, no laws were violated and the campaign remained live. However, the subjects of the "Support Sweet Cakes By Melissa" campaign have been formally charged by local authorities and found to be in violation of Oregon state law concerning discriminatory acts. Accordingly, the campaign has been disabled."

So it looks like they'll still get the $110K.

OREGON: Hearing Officer Suggests $135K Fine For Anti-Gay Bakery Couple

Via Oregon Live:

The lesbian couple turned away by a Gresham bakery that refused to make them a wedding cake for religious reasons should receive $135,000 in damages for their emotional suffering, a state hearings officer says. Rachel Bowman-Cryer should collect $75,000 and her wife, Laurel Bowman-Cryer, $60,000 from the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, an administrative law judge for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries said in a proposed order released Friday, April 24. Bureau prosecutors sought $75,000 for each woman -- $150,000 total -- during a hearing on damages in March. The amounts recommended by law judge Alan McCullough, coming after four days of testimony, are not final. State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian has the final authority to raise, lower or leave the proposed damages as is.

Tony Perkins is going apeshit:

An Oregon judge made clear in no uncertain terms to the Kleins and all Oregonians that the state has the right to demand that citizens engage in activities that violate their beliefs and if they refuse, they will lose their ability to make a living. In a free country, this is a ruling that cannot and must not stand. In the State of Oregon's view, the Kleins need to be 'rehabilitated' and 'reeducated' - terms actually used by the Oregon Attorney General - regarding their religious views on the nature of marriage. Needless to say, government re-education regimes are more reminiscent of fascism than democracy. A government able to bankrupt people for standing by their deepest beliefs is a government of unbridled power and a threat to everyone's freedom. Our prayer and hope is that these fines will be overturned by a judge who remains committed to constitutional freedoms and that individual liberty will triumph over intrusive over reaching government. The heavy hand of the state must not be used to punish and fine people for merely seeking to live according to their beliefs.

The couple has already launched a GoFundMe page.

SCOTUS Denies NOM's Last Attempt To Repeal Same-Sex Marriage In Oregon

Via Oregon Live:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear one last legal attempt by the National Organization for Marriage to overturn a federal judge's ruling allowing gays and lesbians to marry in Oregon. The high court's action came nearly a year after U.S. District Judge Michael McShane of Eugene on May 19, 2014, struck down Oregon's voter-approved constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage. "It's a good day," said Portland attorney Lake Perriguey, who brought one of the two lawsuits that led to McShane's ruling. "It's a distraction we don't have to worry about anymore." Tom Johnson, a Portland attorney involved in the other lawsuit, said he was confident that the Supreme Court would deny the National Organization for Marriage's last-ditch legal appeal. But until the court ruled, there was "that tiny, little bit of uncertainty," he said.

What a perfect way to set the stage for next week's hearings!

OREGON: House Votes Overwhelmingly To Ban "Ex-Gay" Torture Of Minors

Via the Associated Press:

The Oregon House has voted to outlaw a therapy that purports to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of young people. The bill would make it illegal for social workers or licensed mental health professionals such as psychologists or psychiatrists to practice what's called conversion therapy on children younger than 18. Laws banning the therapy have passed in New Jersey, California and Washington, D.C. Advocates say bills have been introduced in about two dozen more states. Rep. Rob Nosse, a Portland Democrat, said the therapy has been widely discredited. He said the therapy can often lead to depression or anxiety in youths. The vote Tuesday was 41-18. Opponents questioned whether the legislation would protect religious exemptions or free speech rights.

The bill now moves to the state Senate where Democrats hold an 18-12 majority.