MA HIGH COURT UPHOLDS PRE-ELECTION DAY VOTER REGISTRATION BLACKOUT MASSACHUSETTS’ Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court, has upheld a state law barring voters who haven’t registered at least 20 days before Election Day...
MA Governor Signs HB 4670 MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signs HB 4670 , so-called “red flag” legislation that allows family or household members to petition the courts for a one-year renewable order suspending gun ownership rights...
MI Governor Signs HB 5638 MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signs HB 5638 , which streamlines the process for obtaining approval for large groundwater withdrawals. The new process gives the state Department of Environmental Quality 20 days to review submitted...
Federal Court Rules In MI A federal court rules that children in MICHIGAN do not have a fundamental right to being taught to read and write. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy III came in a suit against Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and a number...
A grassroots campaign has kicked off in Florida to open the state’s primary elections to all voters and advance the two top finishers, regardless of their party affiliation, to the general election. Last week, a group called Florida Fair and Open...
OH House Approves HB 263 The OHIO House gives final approval to HB 263 , which would allow dogs to accompany their owners on a restaurant patio if the eatery is okay with it. The measure is now with Gov. John Kasich (R) for consideration (SANDUSKY...
Thirty-nine percent of the 80 state judgeships in Hawaii are currently held by women, according to an analysis of online judicial data by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser . That rate is three percent higher than it was in 2004 but still well short of the...
U.S. HOUSE AND SENATE PASS FARM BILLS The U.S. Senate passed an $867 billion farm bill last month, a week after the House passed its own version. The two chambers will now have until Sept. 30 to resolve the points of contention between the two bills...
In January Kentucky became the first state to receive federal approval to impose a work requirement for Medicaid . But last month a federal judge blocked that plan, called Kentucky HEALTH. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services...
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that public-sector workers who aren’t union members don’t have to contribute to unions’ collective bargaining efforts. The 5-4 decision in Janus v. AFSCME will likely further erode union membership...
Add canvassing your constituents to the things an African American person might do that causes someone to freak out and call the police. As the Portland Oregonian reports , Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum was recently canvassing her district – knocking...
Think our current political climate is toxic? Well, it is. But the stain of incivility is hardly unique to us Yankees. Case in point comes from Japan, where lawmaker Yoichi Anami yelled “enough already!” at Kazuo Hasegawa, a 47-year-old non...
Warren, Michigan Mayor Jim Fouts likes to say he is available to the constituents of his Detroit suburb around the clock. Well, maybe not so much. As the AP reports , Fouts recently came under some heat for blowing off a constituent who tried to talk...
Things may be about to get awkward around the Quiroa home in Providence, Rhode Island. As the Associated Press reports , David Quiroa Sr. is running for a seat in the Ocean State Legislature. As is David Quiroa, Jr. Ah, like father, like son! Well, sort...
At least 20 bills dealing with the arming of teachers and other school employees have been introduced in 12 states since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, according to legislative information...
Since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, at least a dozen states have introduced bills dealing with the arming of teachers and other school employees, the majority of which have failed. The most...
Today’s information age has created a common misconception about research: you can find anything you want easily because information is everywhere. The problem, however, is that ever-present information can actually make it more challenging to...
The makers of Jim Beam whisky have paid $8 million to settle allegations of bribing government officials to enter the Indian market. The settlement is a timely reminder of the continued threat of FCPA enforcement action , and the particular risks posed...
As noted elsewhere in the issue, Maine Gov. Paul LePage managed for the seventh time last week to block the will of a majority of lawmakers and voters to expand Medicaid health coverage to an additional 70,000 poor Mainers. The matter is now in the courts...
It’s bad enough when someone else gets your name all wrong, but the needle goes to 11 when you screw it up yourself. Case in point comes from Connecticut, where the Connecticut Post reports that a banner on the website for U.S. Senate candidate...
To hear certain folks talk (cough, cough, everyone on Fox News), high earners can’t get out of California fast enough. They’re packing up and sprinting for the border – any border – as fast as their private fitness instructor-toned...
DUCEY DECRIES ‘RECKLESS’ CALLS TO ABOLISH ICE In an op-ed in USA Today last week, ARIZONA Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said calls from a growing number of Democratic officials to abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were “reckless”...
Maine lawmakers overturned 23 of Gov. Paul LePage’s (R) 43 vetoes, but failed to turn back his rejection of startup funding for voter-approved Medicaid expansion in the Pine Tree State. The successful veto marks the seventh time that LePage...
Citing the possibility of a highly-conservative U.S. Supreme Court overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) issued an executive order last week that directs state officials to take steps to ensure that women maintain...
BAN ON NON-CITIZEN VOTING POTENTIALLY HEADED FOR ND BALLOT Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment in NORTH DAKOTA to explicitly bar non-U.S. citizens from voting in the state’s elections have submitted more than 35,000 signatures, well...