August 26 th is a big day in women’s history—that day in 1920 that Congress certified the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote. When Congress passed the joint resolution 51 years later to commemorate the event with an annual...
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats—when you boil SWOT analysis down to the individual components, it sounds simple. Yet as anyone who has conducted a SWOT analysis knows, gathering the business intelligence you need represents one...
With Labor Day just around the corner, we took a look at the dark side—forced labor. Three years ago, the UN General Assembly introduced World Day against Trafficking in Persons in conjunction with its Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking...
California lawmakers last month cemented their commitment to dramatically reducing the state’s carbon emissions, passing a pair of bills ( SB 32 and AB 197 ) that collectively extend the program by a decade and give the Legislature more oversight...
Many states have joined multi-state efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage investment in clean energy and energy efficiency, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES). Nine states participate in the Regional Greenhouse...
Last month when prolonged rainfall had just begun submerging homes and businesses in southern Louisiana, the state spent about $12 million in under a week dealing with the flooding. Local National Guard troops cost the state $800,000 per day alone. ...
A recent audit of the University of California revealed that the prestigious public higher-education system has been giving preferential admissions treatment to out-of-state and foreign students, who pay higher tuition than residents of the state. But...
Nearly a decade ago, a stalled construction industry was one of the main byproducts of the Great Recession. Now that industry is helping drive the economies of many states. Adjusted for inflation, the construction industry’s contribution to...
TX DPS Wants $1B for Border Security The TEXAS Department of Public Safety is seeking an additional $320 million in the state’s next two-year budget - on top of its current funding base of $750 million - to beef up border security. (DALLAS MORNING...
With just a few months to go before the November presidential election, states are finding their election systems in the crosshairs of hackers. In June the Federal Bureau of Investigation informed Arizona officials that Russian hackers had initiated an...
A panel of federal judges issued a ruling last month that will have no bearing on the November election but could have major implications for future races. The judges simply ruled that a challenge to the congressional redistricting in Maryland after...
In a 4-4 decision last month a still shorthanded U.S. Supreme Court refused to suspend a lower court ruling in July striking down several parts of an election law passed by North Carolina’s GOP-controlled Legislature in 2013 on the grounds that...
Sometime this month California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) will weigh in on a measure ( AB 797 ) that would allow someone who encounters a dog or cat left in a hot car to bust the critter out without facing criminal or civil charges. If Brown signs it, he will...
Another week, another massive dose of heartburn for Maine lawmakers struggling to manage a professional relationship with Gov. Paul LePage (R). In the span of just over a few week the governor known as much for his pugnacious personality and confrontations...
MN Gov. Issues Bee EO MINNESOTA Gov. Mark Dayton (D) issued Executive Order 16-07 , which limits the use of pesticides that harm the Gopher State’s honeybee population. The governor’s order directs the state’s Department of Agriculture...
Engaging with pop culture in an intelligent way can be an irresistible PR tactic. It's only natural to want to position a brand alongside people and events that are drawing huge amounts of coverage to try and reap some of that excitement and buzz...
California Approves SB 1063 The CALIFORNIA Assembly approves SB 1063 , which bars employers from paying workers based on race or ethnicity. The bill moves to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) for consideration (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). California Gives Endorsement...
California Approves AB 2888 The CALIFORNIA Assembly gives final approval to AB 2888 , which would mandate that anyone convicted of rape in the Golden State must receive jail time. The law removes a loophole that allowed judges the discretion to sentence...
Education in California The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court declines to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling ( Vergara v. California ) that rejected a challenge to the Golden State’s teacher dismissal, tenure and layoff laws (EDSOURCE).
California Signs SB 1279 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 1279 , legislation that bars future state funding for any new project that would allow coal to be shipped or exported through the Golden State (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
California Approves AB 1668 The CALIFORNIA Legislature approves AB 1668 , so-called “right-to-try” legislation that would allow terminally ill patients to access medications not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The...
California Approves SB 1234 The CALIFORNIA Senate gives final approval to SB 1234 , which would create a state-sponsored retirement plan for workers employed by companies that don’t offer a retirement savings plan of their own. Employers would...
California Allows AB 2863 The CALIFORNIA Legislature opts to allow AB 2863 , a bill that would have legalized Internet poker in the Golden State, to die without a vote (LOS ANGELES TIMES). California Signs SB 1062 Also in CALIFORNIA, Gov. Jerry...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a good fish tail to tell this week. Or he did until he made the mistake of talking about it on social media. As AOL News reports , the governor and his brother Chris, an anchor with CNN, went fishing last weekend off of...
We all know someone – okay, lots of someones – who has bent our ear of late about what they see as truly terrible choices for the presidency of the United States this election year. If this is you, there is now hope. Let us present Duke, the...