UT House Approves HB 472 The UTAH House approves HB 472 , which would expand Medicaid coverage through a managed health care plan for people making less than the federal poverty line — $12,060 a year for individuals and $24,600 for a family of...
UT ADVANCES BILL ALLOWING REMOVAL OF ELECTED OFFICIALS FOR MENTAL INCAPACITY: The UTAH Senate has passed a bill ( SB 38 ) that would establish a process for removing county elected officials from office for mental incapacity. The legislation was prompted...
LOTTERY REVENUES DOWN IN NM Lottery proceeds for the 2017 fiscal year in NEW MEXICO were down $8.5 million, or about 18 percent, from last fiscal year. The decline is believed to be due in part to a reduction in prize payouts resulting from legislative...
PUSH IN VA TO RATIFY ERA Advocates for the Equal Rights Amendment launched a campaign in VIRGINIA this month to make that state the 38th and final one to ratify the amendment guaranteeing equal rights for all Americans regardless of sex more than 40...
Speaking of silly politician tricks, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has apparently got out again. Taking a page from the playbook of another frequent fumbler (former Texas Gov. Rick Perry) Scott recently dropped in to California for a few days on a mission to...
FL Passes HB 1205 The FLORIDA House passes HB 1205, which would establish a regulatory framework for the oil and natural gas extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The rules include establishing a permitting process and allowing...
CA Senate Approves SB 350 The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 350, which sets the following renewable energy goals for 2030: cutting by 50 percent the state’s use of petroleum, having 50 percent of all utility power come from renewable energy sources...
U.S. multinational companies that adopt global codes of conduct in an effort to “do the right thing” may find those good intentions backfiring?with the results including civil or criminal liability. Read on for The Advisory’s exclusive...
High Court to Hear TX Abortion Case The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a legal challenge to the abortion restrictions passed in TEXAS in 2013 as part of HB 2. Those provisions require abortion facilities to meet hospital-like ambulatory surgery...
In 1998 California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 227, mandating that English learners in the state be taught only in English rather than in bilingual programs in which instruction is provided mainly in students’ native language until...
Crime In Oregon The OREGON Supreme Court rules that the practice of Beaver State police and postal authorities conducting warrantless searches of mail they suspect of containing illegal drugs is unconstitutional (EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD).
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) issued an executive order ( EO 16-09 ) earlier this month directing state agencies to devise a broad plan to combat opioid abuse in the Evergreen State. The order directs state agencies, tribal governments and private partners...
VA Senate Remains in GOP Control: Republicans maintained control of the VIRGINIA Senate after special elections last week to replace two members elected to Congress in November. Democrat Jennifer L. McClellan defeated Libertarian Corey Maurice Fauconier...
The MISSOURI Supreme Court rules that a Show Me state law barring undocumented immigrants from being granted bail is unconstitutional. The court noted that the state constitution guarantees that “all persons” not charged with capital offenses...
Health In Mississippi A federal judge in MISSISSIPPI temporarily blocks a new rule from the Obama administration that gives patients at federally funded nursing homes the right to settle disputes in court. The rule issued by the Centers for Medicare...
Suspicious Tax Credits in OR An independent audit of renewable-energy projects that received Business Energy Tax Credits in OREGON uncovered enough circumstantial evidence to refer 79 of the projects - one in four, representing $340 million of the...
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) ordered Sunshine State health officials to provide free Zika testing for all pregnant women. Scott directed county health departments statewide to conduct the test, and also said the state would provide additional lab services...
Missouri state employees are the lowest paid in the nation, according to a report from the office of Gov. Jay Nixon (D). The report revealed that the base salary for 37,906 Missouri prison guards, social service employees and other state workers is more...
The NBA followed through on a threat to move its 2017 All Star Game out of North Carolina, announcing last month it would relocate the game from its originally planned site in Charlotte. That change is likely to cost the city and state an estimated $100...
California Approves SB 1062 The CALIFORNIA Senate gives final approval to SB 1062 , which would ban the use of bull hooks, baseball bats and other instruments meant to cause pain in the training of elephants. Violators face fines up to $10,000. The...
You have to hand it to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper: he’s pretty hip for a 63-year-old. As the Colorado Springs Gazette reports , the gov often referred to as “Hick” took some time for levity during his recent State of the State address...
SC Expecting Big Budget Surplus SOUTH CAROLINA budget forecasters say the state will have an extra $1.2 billion to spend in the 2016-17 budget year. About $380 million of that sum will come from the state’s growing economy, with the rest coming...
CA Approves SB 185 The CALIFORNIA Assembly approves SB 185, which would require the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Retirement System (CalSTRS), the two largest public pension funds in the nation, to...
Obama Issues Sick Leave Order President Barack Obama issues an executive order requiring federal contractors to provide their employees with up to seven days of annual sick leave. The order takes effect in 2017 (NEW YORK TIMES). Business in CA ...
The Maryland legislative women’s caucus – officially the Women Legislators of Maryland – has always been open to male lawmakers. It’s just that none have ever wanted to join. At least until now. As the Washington Post reports,...