At least 26 states have introduced bills this session dealing with the collection and use of biometric information, such as fingerprints, speech patterns or gait, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State...
Equifax has agreed to pay at least $650 million to settle claims originating from its massive 2017 data breach. A large chunk of that money, $300 million, will go toward claims from any of the 147 million-plus consumers - nearly half the U.S. population...
This year’s legislative session in Texas could turn out to be a costly one for the state’s major cities. One of the bills state lawmakers passed, SB 2 , will require cities, counties and other taxing units to obtain voter approval before levying...
MD TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION FACING BIG SHORTFALL The MARYLAND Transit Administration says it is facing a $2 billion-plus funding shortfall over the next decade. The agency also said it will need to spend $5.7 billion between now and 2028 to address the...
Last week California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill (SB 27 ), passed on a straight party-line vote by the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature, that requires candidates for President of the United States and California Governor to disclose...
CO CONSERVATIVES PUSH TO RECALL DEMOCRATIC GOV, LAWMAKERS Conservatives in COLORADO are pushing to recall Gov. Jared Polis (D) and two Democratic state senators. The recall effort comes after a legislative session in which Democrats who now control...
Saying he is “determined to bring more accountability and transparency to Idaho’s rule-making processes,” Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) said he has ordered the state Office of the Administrative Rules Coordinator to make administrative...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) proposed new regulations on student loan servicing in the Empire State. Under the proposal, servicers would be barred from defrauding or misleading borrowers, engaging in any unfair, deceptive, abusive, or predatory act...
NEWSOM SIGNS OFF ON CA CLEAN DRINKING WATER FUND CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 200 , legislation that authorizes the use of $130 million in funds initially targeted for greenhouse gas reduction to instead pay for a clean drinking water...
Illinois Governor Signs HB 88 ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs HB 88 , a bill that caps interest rates at 5 percent on consumer debt of less than $25,000 following a court judgment, down from the current limit of 9 percent. The law also limits...
New York Governor Signs SB 101A NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 101a , which bars school districts from arming teachers. The law still allows a school resource officer, law enforcement officer or security guard to carry a firearm on school...
Illinois Governor Signs SB 9 ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs SB 9 , a bill that, among several things, prohibits coal ash discharge into the environment and directs state regulators to propose new rules around the regulation of coal ash (ILLINOIS...
Federal Judge Blocks Three Arkansas Abortion Laws Saying they provide women with “no discernible medical benefit,” a federal judge temporarily blocks three ARKANSAS abortion laws from going into effect. The state is expected to appeal the...
ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs two immigration measures: HB 836 , which ensures children are able to have short-term guardians if they have a parent detained or deported by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and House Bill...
South Carolina Supreme Court Abolishes Common Law Marriage The SOUTH CAROLINA Supreme Court unanimously abolishes common law marriage, the legal framework that allows longtime couples to be considered married even without a license. The new law applies...
Cleveland City Council Approves New Regulations The CLEVELAND City Council approves new regulations that require landlords to pay for private inspections and obtain lead-safe certificates for rental units. Property owners will also be required to inform...
If you happen to be perusing the many fine things to see and do in Berkeley, California and come upon a street access point to the city’s sewer system...please don’t call it a manhole cover. As Curbed San Francisco reports, the City Council...
Things are certainly different for kids these days. As NBC News reports , Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill last month that allows students to take “mental health days” the same way they would for a case of the flu. Now hold your nasty...
By the time you are reading this, North Dakota’s blue laws, the most restrictive in the nation, will be no more. After years of slow but steady erosion, the Flickertail State Legislature this year passed a bill to eradicate them once and for all...
It used to be that getting caught in a lie was a bad thing. But with the patron saint of fibbery in the White House these days, lying is in vogue even when your lie can be easily disproved. Case in point comes from Arizona, where Gov. Doug Ducey last...
As the fate of the Accordable Care Act (ACA) hangs in the balance in a federal court, states are experimenting with myriad policies affecting health care coverage and insurance costs. In a hearing in New Orleans on July 9, two Republican-appointed...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved waivers allowing the imposition of work requirements for Medicaid enrollees in nine states, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy. Approved waivers have been blocked by legal...
This month California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced the state would be paying off $10.5 million in school loan debt for 40 dentists and $58.6 million in school loans for 247 doctors. The debt relief, provided through a loan repayment program established...
New York’s politically influential real estate industry suffered a surprising defeat last month when Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed SB 6458 , which among other things closed loopholes in the state’s rental laws that allowed building owners to...
NJ JOINS LAWSUIT AGAINST IRS NEW JERSEY has joined CONNECTICUT and NEW YORK in a lawsuit challenging a new IRS rule barring taxpayers from circumventing the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions imposed by the GOP-engineered federal tax overhaul...