Last week Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) signed into law the pension reform bill passed by the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly a week earlier. The bill ( SB 1 ) will shift state government workers hired on or after Jan. 1, 2019 and...
Wyoming, the Equality State, was the first U.S. territory to grant women the right to vote and the first state to elect a female governor. But only 13 percent of its current state lawmakers are women, the lowest rate of any state in the country, according...
Concealed In CA The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules that CALIFORNIA counties may restrict permits for carrying concealed firearms in public. The ruling overturns a 2014 decision that tossed out a Golden State requiring people to show cause...
Every state does periodic housekeeping on its voter rolls to keep them up to date. But only a few eliminate voters just for voting infrequently. And none of them is likely to have more of an impact on this year’s presidential election than Ohio...
Personal Data Breach in FL For the second time in 10 months, the administration of FLORIDA Gov. Rick Scott (R) acknowledged it inadvertently released personal data of private citizens, potentially exposing them to identity theft. State officials said...
Many a politician over the years has been caught up in the relentless pursuit of power. But for Virginia Del. Robert Krupicka Jr., there is an even more tantalizing pursuit: donuts. Yep, as the Washington Post reports, Krupicka has announced he will not...
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that Texas’ four-year-old voter ID law is not an unconstitutional “poll tax” as plaintiffs alleged but that it has a “discriminatory effect” that violates the federal...
Immigration In Massachusetts The MASSACHUSETTS Supreme Judicial Court rules that Bay State police do not have the legal authority to detain suspects solely to hold them for federal officials. The ruling rejects requests by the federal Immigration and...
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has been quietly working on a campaign to end the way legislative districts are drawn, but is now stepping up his advocacy into a more public campaign intended to try to get the partisanship out of the...
Hawaii Gov. David Ige and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy , both Democrats, became the latest governors to issue executive orders requiring internet providers to adhere to net neutrality if they want to be eligible for state contracts. The orders follow similar...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) proposed legislation last week that would allow Bay State authorities to detain certain unauthorized immigrants at the behest of federal officials. The legislation came in the wake of a recent state Supreme Judicial...
CA Approves SB 200 The CALIFORNIA Assembly unanimously approves SB 200, which would allow the children of live-in working parents to attend school in the district where those parents work. It moves to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) for consideration (LEXISNEXIS...
We’ve all seen road signs warning us to slow down, pay attention or just knock off whatever stupid thing we might be doing behind the wheel. Or better said we’ve ignored them. But now Utah officials are taking a new approach. As Governing...
Investigation Into Planned Parenthood At least four Republican governors have ordered state health officials to investigate the operations of Planned Parenthood clinics in their states after a video surreptitiously captured by an anti-abortion group...
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) said last week a monument to the Ten Commandments will remain in place on the Capitol grounds in Oklahoma City while state Attorney General Scott Pruitt appeals the state Supreme Court ruling ordering its removal. The Court...
Facing a class action lawsuit, a dozen recall efforts and at least one lawmaker calling for his resignation, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) activated the Wolverine State National Guard last Tuesday to assist in the state’s efforts to manage the ongoing...
Last month Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) proposed three options for closing his state’s projected $290 million budget hole: borrow against expected future proceeds from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, delay making a $100 million payment...
The OREGON House approves SB 460, which allows the Beaver State to begin selling recreational marijuana by Oct. 1, a year earlier than originally allowed under the measure that voters approved to legalize recreational weed use. It is now with Gov. Kate...
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) opted to settle a lawsuit brought forth by Planned Parenthood Southeast rather than appeal a federal judge’s order to reinstate a contract with the organization. Bentley also agreed that the state will pay over $51...
Business in TX The United State Supreme Court refuses to hear a challenge to a TEXAS law that requires veterinarians to examine an animal before offering advice or suggesting treatment. The law bars vets from giving advice online without first seeing...
A federal court strikes down an IDAHO law that banned documentation of animal abuse at livestock operations. U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill ruled that the law violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Gem State officials are considering...
California Rejects AB 378 The CALIFORNIA Assembly rejects AB 378 , a bill that would have extended the state’s cap-and-trade program – which limits the amount of greenhouse gas emissions businesses are allowed to emit and charges those...
NY Senate Signs SB 7848 The NEW YORK Senate approves SB 7848 , which would write into law a firm definition of sexual harassment that applies to both government and the private sector, ban secret settlements of harassment cases unless the accuser requested...
WV SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SPARED IMPEACHMENT After over an hour of deliberation, the WEST VIRGINIA Senate voted 32-1 not to impeach state Supreme Court Justice Beth Walker over her part in a court spending scandal. Three of the state’s other justices...
Nevada Signs SB 201 NEVADA Gov. Brian Sandoval(R) signs SB 201 , which makes it illegal for a physician or other health professional to perform so-called gay conversion therapy, which seeks to change the sexual orientation of patients, on individuals...