Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) issued an executive order last week raising the minimum wage to $10.10 for hundreds of state workers under the executive branch’s purview. The order (EO 2015-370) will impact about 800 workers and cost the state approximately...
Utah Approves HB 369 The UTAH House approves HB 369 , a bill that would make it a Class A misdemeanor for an HIV-positive individual to fail to disclose their status to a sexual partner. It is now in the Senate (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE). New Mexico Approves...
Saying it would “provide immediate relief to Oregonians struggling to keep up with rising rents and a tight rental market,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) signed legislation in February making her state the first to adopt a statewide rent control...
WA Approves HB 2136 The WASHINGTON House and Senate each approve HB 2136, which among several things directs the state to share marijuana sales revenue with local governments that allow sales in their jurisdictions, and allows them to adopt more flexible...
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a slew of bills last week. As is usually the case with such mass signings, the bills address a wide range of serious issues like the use of solitary confinement in prisons and economic development. Perhaps less notable...
CO Gov Signs HB 1404 COLORADO Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) signs HB 1404 , which requires large daily fantasy sports operators to be licensed by the state, with smaller operators required only to register with state officials. The bill’s other...
Amidst criticism he has not done enough to deal with the growing opioid abuse issue in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott (R) last week declared such abuse to be a public health emergency. The declaration allows the state to accept $54 million in federal grant...
Thousands of Ballots Tossed in KS Thousands of provisional ballots cast in KANSAS in November were thrown out by election officials because no registration could be found for the voters who cast them. But some local election officials are concerned...
Virginia Congressional candidate Mike Webb wasn’t happy about losing in the June primary for the Old Dominion’s 8 th Congressional District to GOP rival Matt Wavro. He was in fact quite ticked, feeling that Wavro had sabotaged him. But it...
Maine Overrides A Veto of SB 391 The MAINE House and Senate override a veto by Gov. Paul LePage (R) of SB 391 , which will raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21 (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD).
In defeating Republican Roy Moore in last Tuesday’s U.S. Senate race in Alabama – although Moore has refused to concede – Democrat Doug Jones did something no member of his party has done in the Deep South for 25 years. And while the...
RAIMONDO SIGNS RI VOTER REGISTRATION BILL RHODE ISLAND Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) signed legislation last week making the Ocean State the 9 th to allow automatic voter registration. The legislation will automatically register anyone doing business with...
In his State of the State address in January, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) warned local governments not to try to raise the minimum wage above the state rate, as cities across the nation have increasingly been doing , or they would risk losing state revenue...
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has been suspended and could be removed from his position after being charged with ethics violations for ordering probate judges in the state to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses earlier this year, after the U.S....
Scott Asks Feds to Speed Up Zika Funds FLORIDA Gov. Rick Scott (R) urged the Obama administration to expedite federal funds to help the Sunshine State battle the growth of the Zika virus. Congress approved $1.1 billion in emergency funds in September...
Late nights, lots of take-out food and a jam-packed schedule that often allows little time for exercise can leave capitol denizens packing extra pounds by the time things go to sine die. Which is why this year the South Carolina Hospital Association and...
School safety is rightfully a big issue these days. Count Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam among those who are very concerned about potential shootings on campus. So concerned in fact that he has put together a 16-person task force to devise ways to keep Volunteer...
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed legislation last Monday making the Evergreen State the first to implement a law restoring net-neutrality rules discarded by the Federal Communications Commission. The legislation ( HB 2282 ) forbids Internet providers...
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) ended a nine-day statewide teacher strike last week by signing legislation ( HB 4145 ) that grants Mountain State public workers and school personnel a 5 percent pay raise. Those pay hikes go into effect with the new...
You don’t have to be from Indiana to know that folks from there are called Hoosiers. Or at least you ought to know that, given the state’s nickname has been the Hoosier State for, well, forever. But as The Hill reports , it’s all totally...
Facebook Facilitates Voter Registration in WA A Facebook post reminding WASHINGTON state residents to register to vote and including a link by way of the U.S. government’s voter registration portal to the state’s online voter registration...
Rep. William Howell (R), speaker of the Virginia House for the last dozen years, opposes the Affordable Care Act and is a former chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council. But despite his conservative credentials, he’s facing a challenge...
Prim arily as a result of the November elections, Republicans now control both the governor's office and legislature in 23 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The GOP also holds the governor's office in Nebraska...
Education in MA The MASSACHUSETTS Senate endorses SB 2203 , legislation that would gradually lift the cap on the number of charter schools in the Bay State but tie that to increased funding for all public schools. The measure now moves to the House...
Health In GA The GEORGIA Senate approves HB 965, the so-called “Jimmy Carter bill,” which bars Peach State health insurers from forcing cancer patients to first fail to respond to other treatments before trying more advanced treatment programs...