OK Gov Signs HB 2797 OKLAHOMA Gov. Mary Fallin (R) signs HB 2797 , which requires Sooner State education officials “to establish, operate and maintain a public information program to educate the public about the humanity of a child in utero”...
In an effort to combat air pollution in southern OREGON, Gov. Kate Brown (D) announced she will authorize the use of state funds to pay for residents in two downstate counties to swap out their old woodstoves and fireplaces for newer, more efficient models...
MASSACHUSETTS Secretary of State William F. Galvin (D) warned last week that if the cuts to his office in Gov. Charlie Baker’s (R) proposed budget are approved the state will not be able to hold its 2016 presidential primary on March 1 as planned...
Saying it will save the state $6 million dollars a year, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) announced plans to expand Medicaid coverage to around 41,000 more Last Frontier State residents. Walker said doing so would do good well beyond helping the state’s...
With voter apathy at an all-time high, Rhode Island officials may have hit on the ultimate enticement to get folks to actually participate in their own governance: baked goods! That’s right, as the Providence Journal reports, the Ocean State Senate...
ID Approves SB 1146 The IDAHO House approves SB 1146, a bill that allows the use of cannabis oil to treat children suffering from seizure disorders. The measure is now with Gov. Butch Otter (R) for review (BOISE WEEKLY). SC Approves SB 426 The...
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) joined with legislative leaders last week on legislation (SB 3) to raise the Golden State minimum wage to $15.00 by 2022 for larger companies and 2023 for smaller businesses. And he thinks other states will follow their...
For the past couple of years, taxes on sodas and other sugary drinks have been on a roll. In November 2014 Berkeley, California became the first city to pass such a tax. And that levy’s dual benefit of raising new revenue while reducing the consumption...
California pharmacists unfamiliar with the high and low points of medicinal marijuana can take heart: help is on the way. As KCBS in San Francisco reports , Sacramento resident Shayna Schonouer has been certified by the state as the nation’s very...
MURPHY ORDERS NJ MEDICAL WEED REVIEW : Calling the Garden State’s medical marijuana system “constrained,” NEW JERSEY Gov. Phil Murphy (D) issued Executive Order No. 6 , which mandates a 60-day review of the program. Murphy said he...
Social Policy In Deleware The DELAWARE House approves legislation that codifies the right of women to obtain an abortion. It moves to Gov. John Carney (D), who has said he will sign it into law (NEWS JOURNAL [WILMINGTON]). Oregon Signs HB 2673 ...
Education in SD The SOUTH DAKOTA House approves HB 1008, a bill that would bar transgender students from using bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities of the gender with which they identify if those facilities don’t correspond with their...
MA Approves SB 735 The MASSACHUSETTS Senate approves SB 735 , a bill that would ban discrimination in public accommodations or businesses. The measure moves to the House (STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE [BOSTON]). CA Approves AB 1732 The CALIFORNIA...
Environment in HI - SB 2647 The HAWAII House endorses SB 2647 , which would ban almost all sales of products made from endangered animals such as elephants, whales, walruses and sharks. The measure, which makes exceptions for sales of products that...
Health In Virginia In an effort to combat an epidemic of opioid addiction and overdoses, VIRGINIA Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) announces the Old Dominion will distribute about 50,000 drug disposal kits statewide to help residents safely do...
Education in California The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court declines to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling ( Vergara v. California ) that rejected a challenge to the Golden State’s teacher dismissal, tenure and layoff laws (EDSOURCE).
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is sporting a new look these days. As Statehouse News Service reports, Baker joined hundreds of others last week in getting a serious buzz cut as part of a fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Quincy. The...
NY Approves AB 7060 The NEW YORK Assembly approves AB 7060, which would allow emergency access to medical marijuana for patients with illnesses like epilepsy. It is now in the Senate (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE). FL Signs HB 751 FLORIDA...
CA District Court A CALIFORNIA appeals court strikes down a Golden State law requiring prosecutors, rather than secret grand juries, to decide whether a police officer who kills someone should be charged with a crime. The Third District Court of Appeal...
In the prospectus for its $550 million bond sale scheduled for June 16, Illinois warned potential buyers for the first time that if it missed a payment - something else it has never done - they might not be able to immediately collect on their investment...
Constitutional Income Tax Cap Advances in NC NORTH CAROLINA’s Senate Finance Committee advanced a proposed constitutional amendment ( SB 817 ) last week that would cap state income taxes at 5.5 percent. If approved by the General Assembly the...
Stymied by lawmakers in his effort to raise the statewide minimum wage, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he will instead seek to raise the wage specifically for Empire State fast food workers. In an op-ed in the New York Times last Thursday, Cuomo...
OR Approves SB 941 The OREGON House approves SB 941, which requires that a background check be conducted on a buyer who is purchasing guns from a private party. The bill, which requires private sellers to conduct transactions through a registered gun...
Ks and TX Friends of the Court In Florida Support Governors in KANSAS and TEXAS said they would file amicus briefs in support of FLORIDA Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) lawsuit against the Obama administration alleging the government is illegally coercing...
After years of positive reports about Colorado’s economy as it surged out of the Great Recession, the General Assembly’s economist warned last month that the state could be headed for a recession. Legislative Council economist Larson...