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...
Four governors – two outgoing, two newly-sworn in – issued executive orders barring discrimination against LGBTQ state employees. Before leaving office in December, then-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) issued an order barring discrimination...
In the immediate aftermath of blusterous reality TV star Donald Trump’s upset victory in the presidential race, pundits were quick to say his opponents always took his seemingly over-the-top campaign pitches too literally while not taking the whole...
We’re all familiar with the analogy of the legislative process being akin to sausage making. But a bipartisan group of Montana lawmakers recently took it from the grammar books to the kitchen by getting together at the home of Chief Deputy Attorney...
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...
This month Pennsylvania’s top Republican lawmakers, House Speaker Mike Turzai and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, submitted a new congressional district map for approval by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. The map was drawn in accordance with...
Incidents of sexual harassment or sexual assault involving female state lawmakers, legislative staff or lobbyists have been reported recently in at least 16 states. The legislatures in all of those states have training programs or policies in place to...
In November, Missouri Republican Josh Hawley, then the state’s attorney general, carried all but four of the state’s 114 counties in claiming the U.S. Senate seat held by Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri). The GOP also maintained its supermajorities...
This tax season, as part of an effort to attract blockchain-based companies to the state, Ohio gave businesses that operate there the option of paying their taxes with bitcoin. Home furnishings company Overstock was one company that took the state...
A powerful Republican state senator said he will propose legislation to keep Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) from forcing Keystone State counties to buy new voting machines. Wolf and Democratic lawmakers say getting new machines online before the...
The usual next step up the ladder for state legislators is statewide office or Congress. But some are now heading in the opposite direction and running for mayor. One attraction is that the job generally pays better than most part-time legislatures...
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...
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...
CT GOV PROPOSES SODA TAX CONNECTICUT Gov. Ned Lamont (D) unveiled a budget proposal last week calling for a new 1.5 cents per ounce tax on sodas and other sugar-sweetened drinks that would generate an estimated $163 million in new revenue next fiscal...
FEDERAL GRAND JURY CONSIDERING CHARGES IN NC CONGRESSIONAL RACE A federal grand jury in NORTH CAROLINA is considering whether to recommend criminal charges in connection with the state’s 9th Congressional District race in November. Republican...
TIT FOR TAT ON NYC TRAFFIC TOLLS U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D- NEW JERSEY ) said he intends to introduce legislation potentially cutting federal funding for NEW YORK or its transportation authority if the congestion pricing plan just approved for Manhattan...
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,...
California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley has big ambitions, beginning with beating out fellow Republican Brian Dahle for a currently-vacant Senate seat. That race is TBD, but Kiley has a little extra motivation to move on – he’s been relocated to...
Which is exactly what new Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont did during his inaugural party. As reported in The Hill , Lamont seriously cut loose on the dance floor. And we do mean “loose.” Lamont legislative affairs director Chris Soto lauded his...
These days, any sentence that includes the words “Florida man” is usually ends in a tale of someone doing something ignorant, criminal or both. So kudos to Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters for flipping that narrative around. As the Tampa Bay...
CT ON PACE FOR FISCAL YEAR-END SURPLUS Higher-than-forecast income tax receipts leave CONNECTICUT on pace for a nearly $250 million budget surplus, state comptroller Kevin P. Lembo said this week in a regular monthly forecast . Lembo projected the...
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed legislation last week to significantly amend a voter-approved measure that legalized medicinal marijuana use in the Beehive State. The Utah Medical Cannabis Act came out of a one-day session last Monday called specifically...
NORTHAM RESTORES VA FELON VOTING RIGHTS Embattled VIRGINIA Gov, Ralph Northam (D) said in a statement released last week that 10,992 Old Dominion residents with felony convictions have had their voting rights restored since he took office last year...
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...
Gov.-elect Tony Evers (D) said he will make a personal appeal to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) to veto legislation the GOP-controlled legislature passed to transfer key powers from the governor to lawmakers. If that fails, Evers says he will likely...