DATES SET FOR VA HOUSE RECOUNTS: Recounts of three close VIRGINIA House races on Nov. 7, in the 40th, 94th and 68th districts, have been set for Dec. 13 and 14, 19, and 20, respectively. A preliminary hearing for a potential fourth recount in the 28th...
In 1998, a few years after Congress reformed the federal welfare system and created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, giving states billions of dollars each year to fight poverty, an average of 479,000 poor Texans were receiving...
According to Census Bureau data, there were about 7.5 million full-time equivalent state and local government employees, not including those who work in education, nationwide last year. That’s 3 percent fewer than there were before the Great Recession...
CONGRESS TEMPORARILY AVOIDS GOVT SHUTDOWN: Congress approved a short-term spending agreement last week that President Trump has indicated he will sign, forestalling a partial government shutdown until Dec. 22. The stoppage had been set to begin on...
As of Oct. 30 at least 43 states had introduced over 240 bills and resolutions related to cybersecurity this year, according to analysis of LexisNexis State Net data by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Twenty-seven of those states have enacted...
As SNCJ ’s Rich Ehisen reported last week, some of the issues likely to receive the most attention from state lawmakers next year are those that are already familiar, such as health care, the opioid epidemic and sexual harassment. Here are several...
As the year draws to a close, supermarket shelves are once again groaning with the weight of chocolates that will be sold and gifted in vast quantities globally. With December 9 being Anti-Corruption Day , however, now is the perfect time to ask, “Are...
Social media has changed the world of marketing forever. PR teams have the ability to connect with consumers in cyberspace like they never have before, between displaying relevant ads based on search metrics and jumping into a conversation on social media...
Fundraising and donations during the holidays are big business - it’s not called the Season of Giving for nothing! Extending out of old religious traditions of helping the poor at Christmas time and reaching into the 21st century, people still feel...
A war was started over fake news. Granted, what we now call ‘fake news’ was called ‘yellow journalism’ back in the 1890’s—and the Spanish-American War cannot be laid solely at the feet of media muckrakers. But following...
You make a lemon pie! At least that’s what you do if you want to make Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker a happy man. Yes, as MassLive reports , Baker visited a new outlet of the legendary Worcester pie shop Table Talk last week, where he revealed...
CA Supreme Court Upholds Farmers Contract Law The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court upholds a Golden State law allowing farmers to have a labor contract imposed on them if negotiations with a union fail to produce an agreement. The ruling overturned a lower...
Hoping to avoid what appears to be an imminent override, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said he would in January introduce an alternative version of a paid sick leave bill he vetoed last session. That measure ( 2017 HB 1 ) requires Old Line State...
As a 2015 survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Pew Charitable Trusts indicates, most state lawmakers are business owners, lawyers or professional politicians. That stands to reason since people who work in those professions...
It may not be their primary aim, but the federal tax code overhauls being pursued by Republicans in Congress are, in some ways, infrastructure bills, with provisions that could negatively impact state and local governments’ ability to pay for public...
At least 11 states will exhaust their Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funds before the end of the year, if Congress fails to extend federal funding for the program, according to a survey of state Medicaid officials by the Kaiser Family...
In this space last year we noted the key word in sussing out America’s legislative landscape in 2017 would be uncertainty, due primarily to questions and concerns over the incoming presidential administration and one party having control over Congress...
There’s an old joke that says the Lt. Governor’s only real job is to look in the paper every day to see if the governor is still alive. That’s an exaggeration to be sure, though it’s also fair to say the job isn’t exactly...
Education In CA The CALIFORNIA Governor’s Office of Planning and Research releases proposed changes to the state’s landmark California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that would require development projects to estimate the number of miles...
BAKER WILL SEEK SECOND TERM As expected, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has announced he will run for re-election next year. Baker made the announcement on his Twitter feed. (BOSTON HERALD) HOLCOMB ORDERS CBD OIL OFF SHELVES INDIANA Gov...
An effort in Michigan to strip lawmakers of the power to draw the state’s legislative and congressional districts and turn that task over to a nonpartisan commission is on track to collect over 400,000 signatures - 315,000 of which would need to...
In the 1990s Storey County was little more than an expanse of sparsely populated desert in Northern Nevada. Now it’s home to the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, billed as the world’s largest industrial park, with over 140 tenants, including...
The flirtation is over – Jerry Springer is taking a pass on running for the Ohio governor’s office next year. As Cleveland.com reports , Springer made the announcement on his weekly podcast , telling folks that at age 73 he wasn’t up...
WI Gov Signs SB 119 Gov. Scott Walker (R) signs SB 119 , which makes the Badger State one of more than 30 which allow farmers to grow industrial hemp (WMTV [MADISON]).
RECOUNTS LIKELY IN AT LEAST TWO VA HOUSE RACES With control of the VIRGINIA House of Delegates hanging in the balance, Democrats in the state have filed for recounts in two close November House races: in the 40th District, where Del. Tim Hugo (R) defeated...