Democrats who control the ILLINOIS General Assembly failed to completely override Gov. Bruce Rauner's (R) vetoes of a new state budget last week. The state has been without a budget since the start of the new fiscal year on July 1 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE...
This was a doozy for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. After signing a so-called “religious freedom” bill that pretty much gave homophobic Hoosiers the official okie dokie to refuse to do business with anyone from the LGBT community, the gov seemed...
States becoming more 'hostile' to abortion: Twenty-two states enacted provisions restricting access to abortion in 2013, making the year second only to 2011 in the number of such enactments, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive...
Crime In AR The ARKANSAS Supreme Court upholds the Razorback State’s execution secrecy law, which keeps confidential information about lethal injection drugs and suppliers (WASHINGTON POST). MO Gov Signs HB 1562 MISSOURI Gov. Jay Nixon...
A proposed constitutional amendment has been submitted to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) that would classify any abortion performed in the state as murder. The ballot issue would define an “unborn human” as “an individual...
Most folks don’t associate dumpster diving with anything good, but then Philadelphia is a world all its own. As ClickOnDetroit.com reports , Philly city officials are asking residents not to swim in dumpsters some industrious folks have turned into...
Georgia Passes SB 185 The GEORGIA House passes SB 185, legislation that would legalize the use of cannabis oil for people with seizure disorders, cancer and seven other medical diagnoses. It moves to the House (BND.COM). Mississippi Approves HB...
At 10 a.m. on April 17, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in South Dakota v. Wayfair . The case revolves around a law passed in South Dakota in 2016 , requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases from customers located...
ME, KY, MS GOVS FILE WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION BRIEF MAINE Gov. Paul LePage (R), KENTUCKY Gov. Matt Bevin (R) and MISSISSIPPI Gov. Phil Bryant (R) join the attorneys general of 13 other states in an Aug. 23 brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule...
CA Approves Emergency Water Usage Cuts Faced with historic drought conditions, the CALIFORNIA Water Resources Control Board unanimously approves an emergency order mandating a 25 percent cut in urban water use, the first such cut in state history ...
Florida lawmakers returned to Tallahassee last week for a 12-day special session to draw new congressional districts in accordance with a state Supreme Court ruling that found previous maps drawn by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature...
All of Louisiana’s House and Senate seats are up for election this year. But the names of nearly half of the state’s sitting lawmakers won’t appear on the ballot on Oct. 24. That’s because 20 of the state’s 39 senators and...
CT Approves HB 5053 The CONNECTICUT House approves HB 5053 , which would limit most initial prescriptions for opioids to a seven-day supply and require first-responders to carry the anti-overdose drug naloxone. The bill, which would also require the...
In baseball terms, folks looking to recall Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) have started out in a deep slump. Last week, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers unanimously approved for circulation a petition seeking to recall Snyder for his 2015 decision...
Having really, really lousy ideas is one thing; using terrible grammar is even worse. So says Missouri Rep. Tracy McCreery, a St. Louis-area Democrat who recently filed a resolution ( HR 1220 ) urging her colleagues to stop using the word “physical”...
In a guest viewpoint appearing in The Register-Guard of Eugene, Oregon last week, retired teacher and counselor Gary Crum advocates for the adoption of a proper impeachment process in the state “to address serious transgressions by state officials...
On Nov. 3, legislative seats were contested in three states, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Mississippi, Republicans increased their majority in the House from 67 to 73, just...
Speaking of dogs, congrats to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the addition of a new member of the family. As Newsday reports, the gov last month held a presser to introduce Captain, a 14-week old Siberian and German shepherd mix with a “little Malamute...
VA Senate Approves SB 168 The VIRGINIA Senate approves SB 168 , legislation that allows Old Dominion prosecutors the option to charge minors who share nude or sexually explicit photos via a cell phone, or “sexting,” as a misdemeanor rather...
In case you doubt that California is the most diverse state in America, as many as 100 Capitol staffers recently came together to create what is believed to be the nation’s first LGBT staff caucus. As Capitol Weekly reports , the group got together...
EPA Violates Clean Air Act The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the Clean Air Act by failing to undertake a cost-benefit analysis in deciding whether to set limits on emissions of mercury and other toxic...
Immigration In NM The NEW MEXICO House gives final approval to HB 99, which would ensure the Land of Enchantment issues driver’s licenses compliant with the federal Real ID law. The measure would also continue to allow unauthorized immigrants...
Crime & Punishment in LA & PA The Supreme Court of the United States rules that people sentenced to life in prison as juveniles should be allowed to petition for a review of their sentence in order to seek parole. The High Court ruled that...
Pennsylvania’s General Assembly also passed a budget in the final hours of the fiscal year - sort of. What lawmakers sent to Gov. Tom Wolf (D) was a $31.5 billion general appropriations bill. A plan for how to pay for that spending has yet to be...
For its primary election last Tuesday, Maryland rolled out new voting machines that scan paper ballots cast by voters. The switch from electronic machines that didn’t leave a paper trail to the new scanning technology was a decade in coming and...