Blogs

Electronic scooters could return to Massachusetts if a new proposal from Gov. Charlie Baker (R) eventually becomes law. The rapidly growing e-scooter craze hit a roadblock in Massachusetts last year when several cities ordered scooter-sharing company...

After months of haggling, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and Garden State lawmakers reached a deal to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024. Under AB 15 , the wage would climb from the current $8.5 to $10 on July 1 and then to $11 on Jan 1,...

MILLS REJECTS ME MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS MAINE Gov. Janet Mills (D) sent a letter to federal officials rejecting new work requirements for Medicaid recipients that were requested by former Gov. Paul LePage (R) and approved by the Trump administration...

VA Senate Rejects SB 1200 The VIRGINIA Senate rejects SB 1200 , a proposal to raise the Old Dominion minimum wage to $15 per hour over a five-year period (WASHINGTON POST). MS House Approves HB 702 The MISSISSIPPI House approves HB 702 , which...

WV Senate Approves SB 1 The WEST VIRGINIA Senate approves SB 1 , which would allow Mountain State residents to attend community college or technical school for free provided they meet certain conditions, including passing regular drug tests and performing...

WI Assembly Approves AB 1 The WISCONSIN Assembly approves AB 1 , which would require Badger State health insurers to cover pre-existing health conditions and ban them from dropping coverage for those who exceed caps on lifetime or annual coverage amounts...

Supreme Court of United Stares Declines Case The Supreme Court of the United States declines to take up a case challenging a lower court’s ruling that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals...

IA Law Barring Abortion A state judge declares an IOWA law barring abortion procures as soon a fetal heartbeat is detected – as early as six weeks into a pregnancy - to be unconstitutional. Judge Michael Huppert said prohibiting abortions violates...

San Diego County Announces New Program The SAN DIEGO County District Attorney’s Office announces a new program to add education about human trafficking to the school curriculum in seven schools around “America’s Finest City”...

With wildfires having wreaked so much devastation in the last few years, more rural California towns are looking at warding off such blazes by clearing the brush and other fuels that feed them. One option gaining popularity is as old as time, and purely...

The Maine House of Representatives will have a family feel this year, at least in one row of the chamber. That’s where, as the Bangor Daily News reports , Rep. Amy Arata will sit next to Rep. Richard Bradstreet, also known as her dad. Thankfully...

Political folks are often accused of having their heads stuffed way up there...in the clouds. Fair enough. But Rhode Island Rep. Joseph M. McNamara is ready to take it a little further. As the Providence Journal reports , McNamara has introduced legislation...

The ongoing partial government shutdown is wreaking havoc on many Americans. It has also sadly led to some pretty abysmal behavior in our national parks, where the usual contingent of rangers and maintenance personnel remain furloughed. But some folks...

Even though teams are becoming more spread apart due to the growing global landscape, it’s more of a requirement that teams collaborate for the best results. As a researcher, what does this mean for you? No matter what your industry, the days of...

Global foreign direct investment is shrinking rapidly—that’s the finding of the Global Investment Trend Monitor, which was released on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. At the launch, governmental actors and leaders in business...

The World Economic Forum (WEF) brings together leaders of government and business in the Alpine town of Davos in Switzerland this week. They are discussing the latest trends in business and society. The participant list is revealing—this year, some...

It’s been 9 1/2 years since the last U.S. recession - the second-longest period between economic downturns on record. The economy still appears to be going strong. But there are signs trouble may not be far off. The good news for states is that...

As of September 2018, 23 states had enough rainy day and other reserve funds to weather a moderate recession, while 17 states lacked such reserves, according to Moody’s Analytics. The other 10 states had reserve balances that were within 5 percentage...

A federal judge issued a ruling last week blocking the U.S. Commerce Department from adding a question about citizenship to the 2020 census. Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr. had ordered the addition of the citizenship question nearly a year...

The U.S. Department of Justice dropped a bombshell on the online gambling industry last week when it announced a legal opinion it issued in November saying the federal Wire Act of 1961 - prohibiting the use of wire communication facilities to conduct...

As the partial closure of the federal government continues to drag on, states across the country are stepping up to assist the tens of thousands of their residents impacted by the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history. Brand new Govs. Gavin Newsom...

Despite having two state laws restricting abortion struck down in federal court in the past 15 months, Kentucky lawmakers are making another run at enacting an abortion ban. Senate Bill 9 , introduced earlier this month, would ban abortion as soon...

BIG TRANSPORTATION FUNDING PROBLEM IN OH OHIO has run out of money for major road projects. A coalition of local governments, chambers of commerce, contractors, engineers and truck drivers called Fix Our Roads Ohio has formed to push for solutions...

Saying it was “inevitable” that her state would soon be surrounded by states that have legalized recreational cannabis use, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) joined a growing number of her Democratic colleagues in proposing to follow suit...

Barely a week into his governorship, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is already dealing with two major crises: the bankruptcy of the nation’s largest public utility and a teacher strike in Los Angeles, the country’s second largest school...