Decrying a lack of federal action, several Northeastern governors have formed a multi-state partnership to address gun violence. The “States for Gun Safety” coalition is the brainchild of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who was joined by...
As of last November, 15 states had enacted motor vehicle event data recorder (EDR), or “black box,” privacy laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. All of the laws prohibit the downloading of information from a motor...
Twenty-four states have a process allowing citizens to propose and submit statutes and/or constitutional amendments for approval by the electorate or legislature, according to the Initiative & Referendum Institute. Republicans control the legislature...
Business In WV WEST VIRGINIA Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) signs HB 4228, which legalizes ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft to operate in the Mountain State. The new law requires those companies to obtain a Division of Motor Vehicles permit, sets...
Christie Rolls Out Budget Proposal Gov. Chris Christie (R) returned to NEW JERSEY from the presidential campaign trail on Wednesday to propose a $34.8 billion budget for the coming fiscal year. That marks a $1 billion, or 3.1 percent, increase in spending...
On Nov. 7 Virginia will hold a governor’s race that the Washington Post described as “a harbinger of the 2018 midterms and a test of politics in the era of President Trump.” The state’s voters will also decide contests for lieutenant...
Unified control of Congress and the White House under a single party this year has done little to end the partisan gridlock in Washington. Congress’ repeated failure to come up with the votes to repeal Obamacare has been particularly frustrating...
In the wake of the violent clashes between white-nationalist demonstrators and counter-protesters that left a 32-year-old woman dead in Charlottesville, Virginia this month, city and state officials across the country are taking steps to try to avoid...
Massachusetts had the lowest percentage of residents without health insurance last year, 3.3 percent, according to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Texas had the highest percentage of such residents, at 19.1 percent. All five of the states...
Republicans have controlled the Wisconsin Legislature for the last six years straight, but next year they’ll be more dominant than at any time in the last few decades. It looks as though this month’s election will leave them with a 20-12 majority...
Western States Ponder Secession Days after the election of Donald Trump as president, two Oregonians submitted a petition for a 2018 ballot initiative providing for OREGON’s secession from the United States. A number of Californians have voiced...
Democrat Conor Lamb appears to have eked out a razor-thin victory - with a roughly 600-vote margin out of more than 230,000 votes cast, at the time of this writing - over Republican Rick Saccone in a special election in Pennsylvnia’s 18th Congressional...
As of October 17, there have been 15 weather- or climate-related disaster events this year that have caused over $1 billion in damage in a single state or group of states, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s...
Business In Wisconsin A federal appeals court upholds WISCONSIN’s so-called “right to work” law that bars collective bargaining agreements requiring workers to pay union fees (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL). Rhode Island Signs SB...
Business In Arizona The ARIZONA Supreme Court unanimously upholds a voter-approved law that raises the Grand Canyon State minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2020. The court rejected a claim by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce that the law was unconstitutional...
Twenty-three states enacted 51 bills last year dealing with sentencing and criminal penalties, according to the State Sentencing and Corrections Legislation database provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Pew Charitable Trusts’...
In March, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued revised guidance for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s (FCPA) Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) concerning the adoption of rules and regulations around the use of ephemeral messaging platforms...
The Florida League of Cities, which represents more than 400 municipal governments in that state, has filed a legal brief with the Florida Supreme Court urging it to reject a citizens’ initiative bound for the state’s November 2016 ballot...
Coming off a session that saw lawmakers adopt the bulk of his agenda, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) is pondering a run at the U.S. Senate seat currently held by retiring Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada). Sandoval has said many times in the past he has...
MARTINEZ SIGNS NM BUDGET: NEW MEXICO Gov. Susana Martinez (R) signed off on a $6.3 billion budget that includes pay raises for teachers, some state employees, judges, police and increases overall spending by about 4 percent. (SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN)...
Scott Creates First VT Ethics Commission VERMONT Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed legislation last week that will create a five-member commission to review cases of unethical behavior and potentially forward appropriate cases to the attorney general’s...
Illinois Signs HB 2663 ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs HB 2663 , legislation that prohibits the expulsion of students from preschool education and early childhood programs that are funded through the Illinois State Board of Education (ABC7CHICAGO...
Business in KY KENTUCKY Gov. Matt Bevin (R) signs a trio of anti-labor measures: HB 1 , so-called “right-to-work” legislation that bars union membership as a requirement for employment; SB 6 , which requires workers to “opt in”...
Speaking of moral dilemmas, New York lawmakers can forget about getting a pay raise any time soon. As the New York Times reports, the state commission on such matters has declined to endorse a proposal to give Empire State pols their first pay hike in...
AL Approves $1B BP Settlement Spending Plan ALABAMA lawmakers approved a plan last week to spend most of a $1 billion settlement with BP over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill on debt repayments, Medicaid and highway projects in Baldwin and Mobile...