Kansas’ Republican Secretary of State Ron Estes defeated Democratic Wichita civil rights attorney James Thompson in a special election last Tuesday to fill the Fourth Congressional District seat vacated by Republican Mike Pompeo, who was appointed...
MA Gov. Baker Most Popular; NJ’s Christie Not So Much A new poll by Morning Consult shows MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) remains the most popular chief executive in the country, with 75 percent of Bay State residents approving of the job...
With the sudden resignation of Robert Bentley last Monday, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey (R) became Alabama’s second female governor last week. After resisting calls for him to quit for more than a year over accusations he had misused public funds to...
Lending credence to the adage that the third time’s the charm, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) wrapped up his third and by far most successful legislative session last week. After two years of struggles with the Democrat-controlled General Assembly...
Iowa Approves SF 499 The IOWA Senate approves SF 499 , which would bar the use of video cameras in bathrooms and locker rooms in state and local government buildings. It moves to the House (DES MOINES REGISTER). -- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
Texas Approves SB 522 The TEXAS Senate approves SB 522 , which would allow county clerks to recuse themselves from signing marriage licenses for same-sex couples because of religious objections. It moves now to the House (TEXAS TRIBUNE).
North Dakota Signs HB 1427 NORTH DAKOTA Gov. Doug Burgum (R) signs HB 1427 , which requests a legislative study of various aspects of refugee resettlement in North Dakota, including the effect refugees have on wages or working conditions, law enforcement...
Maryland Signs HB 631 MARYLAND Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signs HB 631 , which allows Old Line State officials to force drug manufacturers whose products are incorporated in state-run health programs to explain and justify dramatic price increases. The measure...
Florida Approves SB 10 The FLORIDA Senate approves SB 10 , which authorizes the use of state and federal funds to build a deep-water reservoir to store and clean water before it is released into the Everglades and to avoid toxic discharges into the...
Indiana Approves SB 423 The INDIANA Senate gives final approval to SB 423 , so-called “sanctuary city” legislation that would mandate that Hoosier State public and private colleges comply with the enforcement of federal immigration laws...
Texas Approves HB 281 The TEXAS House approves HB 281 , which would create a statewide database for DNA evidence from sexual assault. It moves to the Senate (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN). Iowa Approves SB 444 The IOWA Senate gives final approval...
West Virginia Approves HB 3093 The WEST VIRGINIA House gives final approval to HB 3093 , which would allow communities to form ”internet co-ops” that would work together with a service provider to become their community’s own provider...
There is clearly no issue on which Maine Gov. Paul LePage won’t weigh in. This week’s example involves a Husky mix named Dakota that twice in the last year has got out of her yard and attacked a neighbor’s dogs, killing one and injuring...
Folks who hate paying their taxes are rarely shy about letting everyone and anyone within earshot hear all about it. But one Montana man may have found a way around his annual tax bill: putting something obnoxious on his check! Yes, as the Billings Gazette...
If you darned people aren’t going to cast enough votes then by golly we’ll just decide this election with the flip of a coin! That is the message clearly being sent by the tiny hamlet of Colp, Illinois to residents after two candidates for...
Crisis management is the kind of PR skill where companies learn more from bad examples than good ones. Your department or agency should, therefore, be taking notes concerning United Airlines and the way it handled the forcible removal of a passenger from...
Living in a “Post-Truth” World The era of “post-truth” is on the rise. An adjective meaning “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to...
To anyone who has watched the national political culture split into two poles over the last decade or so, it should be little surprise that the country is moving in opposite directions on so-called sanctuary cities, those which bar local officials from...
Legislation prohibiting or otherwise opposing local government adoption of policies restricting cooperation with federal immigration authorities has been introduced in at least 22 mostly Republican-controlled state legislatures this session. Three of...
AK HOUSE PASSES INCOME TAX ALASKA’s House, run by a coalition of 17 Democrats, three Republicans and two independents, passed a bill ( HB 115 ) that would institute an income tax on the state’s highest earners as part of a plan to address...
North Carolina’s Republican-controlled Senate has proposed a tax cut plan ( SB 325 ) that would increase the state’s standard income tax deduction and reduce the individual tax rate from 5.499 percent to 5.35 percent, as well as reduce the...
Last month, New Mexico’s Democrat-controlled Legislature approved a $6.1 billion budget slightly boosting spending and increasing several taxes to bolster faltering revenues tied to a downturn in the energy industry and the state’s high unemployment...
Facing a $3 billion budget shortfall through next summer, Pennsylvania, the nation’s second biggest commercial casino state after Nevada, is considering a host of gambling expansion ideas, including becoming the first state to take both its casino...
AL SENATE VOTES TO LET CHURCH CREATE OWN POLICE FORCE The ALABAMA Senate passed a bill ( SB 193 ) that would allow the Briarwood Presbyterian Church, located in the suburbs of Birmingham, to establish its own police force. The measure on behalf of...
Jon Ossoff, a Democrat and first-time political candidate, narrowly missed winning a crowded special election last month to fill the U.S. House seat in Georgia’s heavily conservative Sixth District vacated by President Donald Trump’s appointment...