LA Approves HB 266 The LOUISIANA House approves, HB 266 so-called “ban the box” legislation that bars government job applications from requiring job seekers to disclose a felony conviction. Employers could still require that information...
CA Senate Approves SB 277 The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 277, a bill that would require all students but those with medical exemptions to be vaccinated in order to attend public schools in the Golden State. The bill, which would abolish the current...
CA Proposes SB 789 Drought-inspired legislation proposed in CALIFORNIA would authorize local water authorities to seek voter approval to impose 300 percent taxes on the bills of excessive water users. The bill (SB 789) needs a two-thirds majority in...
Tax collections from oil and natural gas companies in OKLAHOMA fell to $39.6 million in March, a 48 percent decline from March of last year and the lowest level since September 2002 (OKLAHOMAN [OKLAHOMA CITY]). * GEORGIA’s General Assembly passed...
APPEALS COURT ORDERS OH TO LET PURGED VOTERS CAST BALLOTS: The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered OHIO to allow voters purged from the state’s registration rolls for not voting over a six-year period to participate in the Nov. 6 election...
Political confabs are not everyone’s cup of tea. Dealing with politicos, their handlers and – when in D.C. – arrogant Beltway reporters can be exhausting. But there is a solution: dogs. Yes, hounds. Puppies. Canines. Man’s best...
OR Approves HB 2300 The OREGON House approves HB 2300, which would allow doctors to prescribe experimental medications not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to terminally ill patients with less than six months to live. It is now...
Social Policy In OH OHIO Gov. John Kasich (R) vetoes HB 493 , which would have made it a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to one year in prison, for a physician to perform an abortion without checking for a fetal heartbeat or performing the procedure...
Saying “Our children are dying,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) vowed during his last State of the State speech to focus his attention this year on battling drug addiction in the Garden State. Christie unveiled a number of proposals...
Social Policy In CO Authors of so-called “right to die” legislation in COLORADO pull HB 1054 from consideration, saying they lack the votes to get it passed. The Centennial State was vying to become the fifth state to adopt such legislation...
AL Lawmakers Set Up Impeachment Process ALABAMA lawmakers set up the process by which the House will attempt to impeach Gov. Robert Bentley (R). House lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a resolution that requires at least 21 signatures by House members...
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) revealed details of his proposal to overhaul how the Prairie State provides health care to its poorest residents through Medicaid. Tenets would include increasing the number of Medicaid recipients covered under managed care...
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s (R) economic advisory council is no longer compiling the quarterly review of economic markers handpicked by the administration as an accountability check for its economic policies. “A lot of people found them...
OK Approves HB 1007 and SB 788 The OKLAHOMA House and Senate each approve so-called “religious freedom” bills (HB 1007 and SB 788) that give civil liability protection to clergy members who refuse to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies...
A bill ( SB 269 ) introduced this month by Vermont Sen. Alison Clarkson (D) would let companies operate digital currency systems like bitcoin in the state and allow the state to tax them a penny per transaction. The companies would pay the tax in whatever...
Citing free speech concerns, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) last month became the first governor to veto a measure to combat so-called revenge porn, the posting online of sexual or nude images without the consent of the person involved. In a statement...
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) is exploring the possibility of outsourcing a wide breadth of facilities management jobs to a private sector company. If they come to fruition, those changes would impact workers at state-run prisons, universities, state...
OR House Approves HJR 203 The OREGON House approves HJR 203 , which would change the state constitution to ensure every citizen has the right to affordable health care. The measure moves to the Senate. If approved there it would need to be approved...
And speaking of motions not of this realm, the Asbury Park Press reports that last week lightning struck the New Jersey governor’s mansion. The governor wasn’t there and nobody was hurt, but you have to wonder just how many signals from on...
If you are already sick of all things Trump – and based on the president’s historically dismal approval ratings , many folks are – then you might want to skip to the next story. As the New York Post’s Page Six reports , Donald...
California lawmakers passed legislation this month ( SB 1 ) that will provide $52 billion in transportation funding over the next decade primarily by raising taxes on both gasoline and diesel fuel. Because of the tax provisions, a supermajority vote was...
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) has asked the Trump administration for a Medicaid waiver that would allow the Bluegrass State to require able-bodied adults without dependents to work at least 20 hours a week to qualify for coverage. The request is...
HEALTH & SCIENCE IN RI The city of Providence, RHODE ISLAND announces a plan to make the city’s 12 fire stations places where residents can go to be connected to substance abuse treatment and counseling. The plan is modeled after a similar...
Texas state Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R) said last week that the cost of responding to Hurricane Harvey, including dispatching first responders, repairing roads and aiding affected schools, could reach $2 billion in the current two-year budget cycle. ...
Don’t go away mad, just go away. This was the message TV chef Sandra Lee clearly sent to U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan during a recent appearance on the “Fox & Friends” cable news show. Lee was booked to give a cooking demo...