Blogs

OR Senate SB 608 The OREGON Senate approves SB 608 , which would impose the nation’s first statewide rent control regulation. Under the proposal, landlords could raise rent no more than 7 percent per year, plus the annual change in the consumer...

AZ House Endorses SB 1014 The ARIZONA House endorses SB 1014 , which would decrease the required English instruction time for English language learners from the current standard of four hours per day to about two hours per day. The measure is now with...

GA House Approves HB 23 The GEORGIA House unanimously approves HB 23 , which would allow Peach State electricity cooperatives to also sell high speed internet service. The measure moves to the Senate (ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION).

UT Governor Signs SB 96 UTAH Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signs SB 96 , which implements only a partial expansion of Medicaid, a lesser expansion than what voters endorsed via ballot measure in Nov. 2018. See Governors in this issue for more details (SALT...

OK House Approves HB 2591 The OKLAHOMA House approves HB 2591 , which would strip Medicaid eligibility from providers of “services relating to pregnancy or termination of pregnancy” who do not report evidence of the rape of a minor. It...

Los Angeles City Council Unanimously Approves Statute The LOS ANGELES City Council unanimously approves a statute that makes the City of Angeles the first to require companies that have contracts with the city to disclose under affidavit any contracts...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave an expansive State of the State speech last Tuesday. It covered a little of everything, from the oft-troubled high speed rail system to the endlessly-troubled plan to send Northern California water to Southern California...

Some traditions never die...no matter how much they probably should. Case in point comes from Idaho, where last month a trio of freshman lawmakers introduced their first-ever bills to the full House of Representatives. As the Idaho State Journal reports...

We’re pretty sure that once upon a time former Arkansas Gov. James P. Clarke and attorney Uriah Rose were big deals in the Razorback State. They must have been because, after all, their accomplishments were recognized with statues at the state Capitol...

Speaking of dysfunction - Wisconsin! We could stop there, but let’s wade a tad further into the shallow end of the pool. From the moment voters gave sleepy-eyed Gov. Scott Walker his walking papers last November, Republicans have done everything...

The Valentine’s Day pressure is on. What gift will you choose to express your love to your sweetheart? Chocolate, roses and jewelry usually top the list of options—and the National Retail Federation projects that spending for Valentine's...

When the sun went down on 2018, a half dozen states and the District of Columbia had laws in place ensuring workers could take paid time off to deal with family illnesses or the birth of a child. When the calendar closes on 2019, several more may have...

As of late January, legislation dealing with paid time off for workers to care for a newborn or ill family member was pending in at least 26 states, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net . Since...

Massachusetts voters legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2016. But over two years later, most pot sales in the state still take place on the black market. The main reason for that is the slow rollout of state-licensed pot shops, with only...

As a result of last year’s elections, Democrats or Republicans hold a trifecta -- control of both legislative chambers and the governor’s office -- in all but 13 states. While Republicans still hold most of those trifectas, 23, Democrats picked...

UT HOUSE SPEAKER CALLS FOR RECORD TAX CUT UTAH House Speaker Brad Wilson (R) kicked off the state’s 2019 session by calling for a tax cut of at least $225 million. According to the Utah Taxpayers Association, that would be the state’s largest...

Since 1972, Iowans have been the first to cast votes in the presidential nominating process. But California will hold its presidential primary on March 3rd next year. And while that’s still a full month after Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses...

After picking up over 200 state legislative seats in the 2018 midterm elections, women now hold 2,112 legislative seats nationwide, nearly 29 percent of the 7,383 total, a record high, according to data from the Center for American Women and Politics...

TX FLAGS 95,000 VOTERS FOR CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION The TEXAS secretary of state’s office announced last month that it had flagged 95,000 registered voters for citizenship checks. The individuals were flagged because they had provided a form of...

As of this writing, Democrats Ralph Northam, Justin Fairfax and Mark Herring are, respectively, the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general for the state of Virginia. Whether any of them are in those positions by this time next week is an open...

Saying “we need to be laser-focused on cleaning up water in our state,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) announced a reorganization of the Wolverine State’s Department of Environmental Quality, which drew intense criticism over its...

BAKER REFILES MA CYBERBULLYING BILL Responding to a study that showed growth in cyberbullying in Bay State schools, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) refiled a bill that would require schools to teach kids about the dangers of taking and sharing...

NJ Senate and Assembly Endorse AB 3975 The NEW JERSEY Senate and Assembly endorse AB 3975 , which would increase from six to 12 weeks the time Garden State workers may take off from work with pay after the birth or adoption of a child or to care for...

NY Assembly and Senate Approve AB 2572 The NEW YORK Assembly and Senate approve AB 2572 , which would bar the state from granting permits for drilling or oil or gas exploration in offshore areas controlled by the state. It moves to Gov. Andrew Cuomo...

AR House Approves HB 1176 The ARKANSAS House approves HB 1176 , which would set minimum standards for breast milk sharing programs and encourage nonprofits to launch depositories and banks for human breast milk. It moves to the Senate (ARKANSAS GAZETTE...