California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said last week that the ongoing impacts of climate change could soon spark in the Americas the same kind of human mass migration currently underway in Europe, where hordes of refugees are fleeing to escape the civil war...
MI Right To Work The MICHIGAN Supreme Court rules that the Wolverine State’s so-called “right-to-work” law applies to both the public and private sectors. The court also upholds a 2011 law that requires state employees in a defined...
When former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger uttered “I’ll be back” in his first “Terminator” movie in 1984, little did we know it would serve as a descriptor of the rest of his career. Every time it seems the former...
ME Gov Vetoes Clean Election Fix MAINE Gov. Paul LePage (R) vetoed a bill approved by the Legislature last month that would have pumped $500,000 into the state’s Clean Election Fund, enough to support the clean election candidates already running...
On June 30, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced that he is considering pulling his state out of the Reciprocal Personal Income Tax Agreement with Pennsylvania, which since the 1970s has allowed individuals who live in one of those states and...
Leaner Sales Tax Holiday Season This Year Seventeen states are holding annual “back to school” sales tax holidays this year, but many of them are scaling back those events to reduce the revenue hit. FLORIDA is cutting the length of its...
One of the many talking points about the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide has been the speed at which that decision has come. As Bloomberg noted, in a little over a decade gay couples...
Drivers in southern states used their cell phones more than those in the rest of the country between April 2016 and March 2017, according to data collected on the 2.7 million car trips taken and 230 million miles driven by users of online insurance marketplace...
Illinois Approves SB 31 The ILLINOIS House approves SB 31 , a bill that would prohibit Prairie State law enforcement agencies from being able to stop, arrest or search people because of their citizenship status and ban officials from detaining someone...
Beshear Issues Pardons In his final act in office, outgoing KENTUCKY Gov. Steve Beshear (D) commuted six sentences and issued 201 pardons last week. Ten of the pardons or commutations were granted to women who had been victims of domestic violence...
MT Approves SB 66 The MONTANA House approves SB 66, which would bar the sale of electronic cigarettes and nicotine liquid to minors. It moves to Gov. Steve Bullock (D), who is expected to sign it into law (GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE). NM Vetoes SB 503...
OR Declares Drought Emergency Citing an ongoing lack of rainfall and snowpack, OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) declared a drought emergency in three southern and central Beaver State counties. Similar declarations have been made by governors in CALIFORNIA...
Changes Coming to NC Lottery Lottery officials and state lawmakers in NORTH CAROLINA said last week they are considering changes including making reselling tickets a crime. The news comes after an investigation by The Charlotte Observer revealed that...
Included in a budget bill under consideration in Pennsylvania is a proposal by Gov. Tom Wolf (D) that would charge natural gas producers in the state 5 percent of the market value of the gas they extract plus 4.7 cents per 1,000 cubic feet of extracted...
When Vermont Gov. Phil Scott talks about getting up on the wheel and getting ‘er done, it’s not always just an analogy for some legislative victory. You see, when not trading paint in the political arena Scott is one of the Green Mountain...
Most GOP governors chose to tread lightly in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program last week. The program, implemented by former President Barack Obama in 2012, grants temporary...
NJ Assemble Approves AB 457 The NEW JERSEY Assembly approves AB 457 , which would add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of ailments eligible to be treated with marijuana. It moves to the Senate (NORTHJERSEY.COM). CO Gov Signs HB 1436 ...
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) have each announced plans for greater efforts to combat lead poisoning in their states. Reacting to recent testing that shows elevated levels of lead in water supplies for some...
Education in California The CALIFORNIA Board of Education officially adopts a school evaluation policy that rates schools by multiple factors, including academics, graduation rates, college preparedness and the rates at which non-native speakers are...
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute request by the state of Michigan to allow its new ban on straight-party voting to be in effect for the November election. The state’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed that ban ( SB 13 ) in December...
NJ Signs SB 2484, SB 2377 Vetoes SB 1857 Amidst reports that student achievement is being harmed by a lack of sleep, NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie (R) signs SB 2484, which directs education officials to review the impact of delaying school starting...
NC Signs HB 607 NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Pat McCrory signs HB 607, which requires a credit card reporting agency to place a security freeze on a protected consumer’s credit report upon request of the protected consumer’s authorized representative...
CA Assembly Approves AB 30 The CALIFORNIA Assembly approves AB 30, which would bar Golden State schools from using the nickname “Redskins” after the 2016 school year. It moves to the Senate (LEXINEXIS STATE NET). NV Approves SB 504 ...
GOP Lawmakers Want Special Session on Campaign Finance in MT Ten Republican MONTANA lawmakers have taken the rare step of calling for a special session to address what they say are “defects” in state campaign finance law and close a “loophole”...
More than two weeks into the 2018 fiscal year, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signed a $39.43 billion budget on Monday that increases spending by 1.7 percent over last year. Baker also vetoed $320 million from the budget bill lawmakers sent him...