For most drivers, gassing up the car is as noteworthy as tying our shoes. But many Oregonians look at putting the nozzle to their fill pipe the way I would at attempting to decipher quantum physics. At issue is a new state law allowing - but NOT requiring...
In 1991 Illinois went 18 days without a state budget. Then-Gov. Jim Edgar (R) said at the time that the state had never experienced a budget delay like it. That delay doesn’t seem quite so shocking now that the state has just become the first...
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) and legislative leaders laid the groundwork for a post-election special session aimed at helping Gopher State residents deal with dramatic health insurance premium hikes set to go into effect in January. Dayton met privately...
Court Rejects Blago Bid U.S. District Judge James Zagel rejected a request from former ILLINOIS Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) to release him from a COLORADO prison, instead reinstating his 14-year sentence on his 2011 conviction on numerous corruption charges...
An unusual public auction was held recently at the Larimer County Fairgrounds in Loveland, Colorado. Up for bid was about 400 acres of farmland located near Denver. But the real draw was the hundreds of units of Colorado Big Thompson water - part of a...
As SNCJ reported last week , more women are running for political office this year, after being energized by the election of President Trump and movements like the Women’s March. That enthusiasm appears to have trickled down to the local level in...
A layoff notice right before Christmas is about as Grinch-like as it gets. That’s certainly how it felt to the small number of motor pool workers employed by the California Department of General Services in Sacramento who recently received a letter...
IL Gov Calls Special Budget Session ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) has called a special session to try to end the state’s unprecedented budget impasse that has already drug on for two years and will enter its third on July 1. The special session...
A federal judge ruled last month that Ohio Secretary of State John Husted (R) had the authority to purge thousands of inactive voters from the state’s voter rolls. The American Civil Liberties Union had alleged that Husted’s policy of removing...
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) said the state will cover Flint residents’ water bills throughout this month to encourage them to flush out water pipes in an effort to return water quality to normal faster. “The state will cover 100 percent...
For those people constantly threatening to move to Canada if [Fill in the blank] is elected, not so fast. Allow me to introduce Canadian Parliament candidate Wyatt Scott, who has made the goofball political commercial into an art form. As the curious...
The MICHIGAN Senate gives final approval to SB 103, which requires school districts and charter schools to base at least 25 percent of a teacher’s evaluation on assessment and student growth data, half of what would have been required under current...
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) proposed a new “all of the above” state energy policy last week she said would utilize renewable energy sources like wind and solar, traditional fossil fuels like oil and gas and even nuclear power. ...
A lot of sports fans hate former Duke hoopster Christian Laettner. His detractors cite his perceived arrogance, etc., but folks in Kentucky have their own special reason to loathe Laettner – the amazing shot he hit to eliminate the Kentucky Wildcats...
Judge Orders Acceptance of 18,000 Pending Voter Registrations A federal judge has ordered KANSAS officials to register thousands of prospective voters whose applications at the state’s motor vehicle offices have been derailed by the state’s...
NC Approves SB 734 The NORTH CAROLINA Senate approves SB 734 , which allows the state’s Health Director to issue a statewide standing order making the anti-overdose drug Naloxone and other “opiod antagonists” available in drug stores...
LA Gov Signs SB 357 & SB 180 LOUISIANA Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) signs SB 357 , which requires local municipalities to post clear signs that indicate an intersection red light camera within 500 feet of each camera. It will take effect Aug. 1 (TIMES...
Education In RI The RHODE ISLAND Senate approves legislation which makes clear that schools are required to report suspected child abuse to child welfare authorities. It is now in the House (ASSOCIATED PRESS). NY Approves AB 4311 The NEW YORK...
The GEORGIA House approves HB 34, so-called “right-to-try” legislation that would allow Peach State doctors to prescribe experimental medications that have not yet received federal approval to terminally ill patients. The bill moves to the...
Business In Missouri A MISSOURI court rules that electric automaker Tesla cannot bypass having dealerships to sell its cars directly to consumers. Cole County Judge Daniel Green ruled that Show Me State officials erred by allowing Tesla to sell cars...
Illinois Signs HB 1805 ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs HB 1805 , which allows 16- and 17-year olds to sign up with the First Person Consent Organ and Tissue donor registry when they receive their driver's licenses or state ID cards. Parents...
Texas Rep. Victoria Neave got to experience a bit of Lone Star State tradition last week. As she introduced a piece of legislation, Rep. Jim Murphy interrupted, saying “I’m having trouble finding the representative” and asking if the...
Earlier this year South Dakota passed a law requiring out-of-state sellers with in-state sales over $100,000 or 200 individual transactions per year to collect and remit sales taxes to the state. The law was part of an effort by multiple states - including...
Last month Republican attorneys general of 15 states sent a letter to U.S. House and Senate majority and minority leaders Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), Nancy Pelosi (D-California), Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Harry Reid (D-Nevada) expressing their concern...
Grass is all the talk around the Washington statehouse these days. Yes, the Evergreen State is one of the handful that have legalized recreational pot use, but we’re not talking about that kind of grass. As Governing magazine reports , groundskeepers...