Opponents of the Affordable Care Act are taking yet another run at the law, using the same Supreme Court ruling that previously upheld its constitutionality. In that 2012 decision the justices found that the ACA’s individual mandate, requiring...
Then why not the guy up on stage? So says the New Hampshire House, which passed a bill recently that would allow entertainers and dancers and the like performing in places that serve booze to have a few pops while doing their act. As New Hampshire Public...
JUDGE RULES TX VOTER ID LAW INTENTIONALY DISCRIMINATORY U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of TEXAS Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled that the state’s Republican controlled Legislature deliberately discriminated against minority voters when...
GA Signs SB 8 GEORGIA Gov. Nathan Deal (R) signs SB 8, which among several things allows the criminal justice system to treat minors forced into prostitution by human traffickers as victims rather than criminals (GWINNET DAILY POST). OK Signs HB...
ID Signs 189 IDAHO Gov. Butch Otter (R) signs HB 189, which requires doctors to be present when giving women abortion-inducing drugs. The measure effectively bars women from receiving those medications via telemedicine (IDAHO STATESMAN [BOISE]). ...
Speaking of critters, California First Dog Sutter, Gov. Jerry Brown’s incorrigible Welsh Pembroke Corgi, has some competition: the gov and First Lady Anne Gust Brown just got themselves a new puppy. As the Sacramento Bee reports, the announcement...
A quartet of former Kansas governors have waded into a bitter fight in Kansas over whether voters will opt to retain or remove four justices on the Sunflower State Supreme Court. Former Govs. Michael Hayden and Bill Graves, both Republicans, joining with...
Along with 156 statewide ballot measures that will be considered in 35 states on Nov. 8 (see Citizen Initiatives Push Ballot Measures Left This Year in the Oct. 14 issue), numerous local ballot measures will also be contested. Among the more notable of...
More than $14 million has been spent on state Supreme Court races this election cycle by individuals and groups acting independently of the candidates, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. That total has already surpassed the record $13.5 million...
Immigration In Arizona ARIZONA officials announce a settlement in a lawsuit challenging tenets of the Grand Canyon State’s 2010 SB 1070 immigration law. Under terms of the deal, officials have agreed to end to its practice of requiring police...
A panel of federal judges issued a ruling last month that will have no bearing on the November election but could have major implications for future races. The judges simply ruled that a challenge to the congressional redistricting in Maryland after...
MA Endorses SB 2407 A MASSACHUSETTS joint House-Senate committee endorses SB 2407 , a bill that would bar discrimination against transgender people in places of public accommodation and allow them to use the restroom or locker room facilities that...
Possible Digital Streaming Tax in AL The ALABAMA Department of Revenue is planning to issue a rule that would impose a four-percent rental tax on digital streaming services like Netflix. The state’s legislative leaders have asked revenue commissioner...
Virginia Gov Signs HB 1499 Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) signs HB 1499, which allows women to breastfeed their children in any public place in the Old Dominion. The measure takes effect on July 1 (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH). Mississippi Senate Approves...
Blagojevich's Rehearing Rejected The full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected former ILLINOIS Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) request to rehear the appeal of his corruption convictions. A three-judge panel of the court had previously...
AL special session ALABAMA Gov. Robert Bentley (R) said last month that he would call lawmakers into special session on Sept. 8 to deal with the state’s $200 million budget shortfall (MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). LA tax holiday...
OR Signs HB 2002 Gov. Kate Brown (D) signs HB 2002, which creates a system for citizens to report incidents of possible police profiling and requires law enforcement agencies to pass formal profiling bans by Jan. 1 of next year (PORTLAND OREGONIAN...
The late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead once said, “You don’t want to be the best of the best. You want to be the only one that does what you do.” California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom loves that quote – loves it! So much so that...
As we predicted in our legislative preview last month, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case from South Dakota revolving around a law passed there in 2016 requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases from customers located...
When San Francisco-based Lyft driver Roosevelt Thomas recently got a message from the company urging him to sign a petition opposing California Assembly Bill 5 – which would turn rideshare drivers from independent contractors into employees –...
Supreme Court Refuses NC Appeal The United Stated Supreme Court declines to hear an appeal from NORTH CAROLINA officials seeking to revive a Tar Heel State law that required doctors to perform ultrasounds, display the resulting sonograms and describe...
Education in WV The WEST VIRGINIA Board of Education endorses a repeal of the Common Core-based K-12 math and English language arts standards and replacement of them with standards developed by state education officials. The proposal is now in a 30...
OK Approves SB 1552 The OKLAHOMA Senate approves SB 1552 , legislation that would outlaw all abortions and subject providers to a loss of license and jail time. It moves to Gov. Mary Fallin (R) for consideration (OKLAHOMAN [OKLAHOMA CITY]). KS Gov...
Business in WV The WEST VIRGINIA Senate approves SB 1, so-called “right-to-work” legislation that would allow employees in unionized workplaces to opt out of paying union dues while still requiring a union to represent all workers. The...
Medical Marijuana Could Give Big Budget Boost to OH Annual medical marijuana sales in OHIO , legalized by Gov. John Kasich’s (R) signing of HB 523 in June, could reach $400 million in two or three years, making the state one of the nation’s...