The federal transportation bill approved by Congress in December “provides far too little money to repair and upgrade America’s crumbling transportation system,” and federal lawmakers are too “fearful of raising taxes ahead of...
MD Lawmakers Overturn Hotel Tax Change MARYLAND’s Democrat-controlled General Assembly overturned five of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s vetoes from last year, including two measures requiring online hotel booking services like Travelocity...
North Carolina’s 2013 voter ID law returned to federal court last week in a case that could have ramifications across the country. The law - passed by the state’s GOP-led General Assembly six weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court, in Shelby County...
The Pennsylvania Senate gave preliminary approval last week to change the state’s Constitution to reduce the size of the House from 203 seats to 151. The House passed a resolution last May allowing that change. But while the Senate embraced the...
ND Tribe Challenges voter ID Laws Seven members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa have filed a lawsuit against North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger (R) alleging that recent changes to the state's voter ID laws infringe on their right...
Saying it was time to address the “unintended consequences” of the state’s determinate sentencing law, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) proposed a measure for the November ballot that would allow non-violent offenders a better chance...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) unveiled a plan last Thursday to spend almost $918 million in state funds over the next five years on economic development, housing and job training in the Bay State. He will further seek to bolster the state’s...
Saying that for too long a competitive two-party system has been “nearly impossible” in the Old Line State, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) last Tuesday proposed having a nonpartisan panel draw legislative and Congressional districts. Such a...
Engulfed in a scandal that has some observers calling for his resignation, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) appointed a 17-person committee comprised of government officials, health and other experts to implement a long-term plan for fixing Flint’s...
Ige Pledges a Cool Down HAWAII Gov. David Ige (D) used his State of the State speech last week to pledge to ensure that 1,000 public school classrooms received air conditioning units by the end of the year. He also vowed to launch an initiative to...
Business in WV The WEST VIRGINIA Senate approves SB 1, so-called “right-to-work” legislation that would allow employees in unionized workplaces to opt out of paying union dues while still requiring a union to represent all workers. The...
Crime & Punishment in LA & PA The Supreme Court of the United States rules that people sentenced to life in prison as juveniles should be allowed to petition for a review of their sentence in order to seek parole. The High Court ruled that...
The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not exceed its authority by implementing a “demand response” rule that requires electric utilities to give customers fiscal incentives to...
The MASSACHUSETTS Senate approves SB 2092, legislation that would require the Bay State to develop a climate change mitigation plan and adopt new emissions caps of 35-45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 55-65 percent below 1990 levels by 2040. The...
Health & Science in CA The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 21, a bill that would remove a March 1 deadline for cities and counties to adopt regulations under the state’s new medical marijuana regulatory framework. Under the law, the state could...
The KANSAS Court of Appeals upholds a lower court’s decision that blocks a state law banning a common abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation. The vote was 7-7, but ties result in a validation of the lower court’s ruling. Attorney...
The INDIANA Senate approves SB 91, legislation that would overturn a Hoosier State law that sealed adoption records that did not contain a disclosure consent form. Under the bill, adoption records for people born between 1941 and 1994 would become available...
You have to hand it to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper: he’s pretty hip for a 63-year-old. As the Colorado Springs Gazette reports , the gov often referred to as “Hick” took some time for levity during his recent State of the State address...
Hard as it might be to fathom in the year 2016, adultery is still illegal in over a dozen states. This includes Virginia, where the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that lawmakers last week killed legislation to decriminalize infidelity. The bill’s...
Cheating isn’t the only behavioral vice Old Dominion lawmakers aren’t ready to let slide. As reported by the Galax Gazette, a House subcommittee last week rejected a proposal to get rid of a law making public cursing a Class 4 misdemeanor...
Quick question: when is a sex party not a sex party? Answer: when it’s the Australian Sex Party, a legitimate Aussie political party kinda sorta like when we used to call libertarians in America pre-Tea Party. As the Sacramento Bee reports , Party...
Poor Alice. She followed a white rabbit (in a waistcoat, no less) down a hole and finds herself lost. For some reason, the story reminds me of research on the open Web. It begins with a question—usually from your boss—like, “How can...
Pharmaceutical, Life Sciences, Bio-Technology—all of these industries face great challenges when it comes to proactively mitigating risk. When PwC interviewed Horizon Pharma president and CEO Timothy P. Walbert for its annual CEO Survey, Walbert...
This Sunday, football fans will be gathering—at the stadium as well as in living rooms and sports bars across the country—to watch the Super Bowl. And it’s not just the sports fans who will tune in. Despite the fact that many consumers...
Iowa isn’t in the media spotlight often, but when it is … watch out! On Monday, Iowans headed out to high school gymnasiums, private homes and other venues to participate in the first primary event of this long presidential election season...