On the surface Connecticut lawmakers Art Linares and Caroline Simmons don’t have a lot in common. He’s a Republican loved by the NRA who has done volunteer work for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; she’s a Democrat who worked on Barack Obama’s...
The unauthorized accessing of sensitive financial and personal information about 145.5 million consumers at Equifax, which the company made public last month , has prompted numerous lawsuits , congressional hearings , and investigations by federal agencies...
Resisting opposition from the pharmaceutical industry, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed legislation last week requiring drug makers to give the state more notice and justification before raising drug price increases. “Californians...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) announced a “first-in-the-nation set of educational core principles” he says will help ensure the Bay State’s more than 4,000 enrolled social work students are equipped with the skills needed to confront...
VT GOV ISSUES CYBER SECURITY ORDER Saying his state needed to do more to address cyber security, VERMONT Gov. Phil Scott (R) issued Executive Order 18-17 to create the Governor's Cyber Security Advisory Team, a group tasked with developing a plan...
At least five states have introduced legislation this year, or prefiled bills for next year, that appear to have been spurred by the recent data breach at Equifax, according to Lexis Nexis State Net’s legislative tracking system. Most of the measures...
California Signs SB 20 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 20 , which requires passengers on commercial busses equipped with seat belts to use those safety devices. The law further requires drivers of those busses to inform riders of the law ...
California Vetoes AB 1399 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoes AB 1399 , which would have required the state Department on Teacher Credentialing to develop program standards on teaching the subject of genocide and human rights. Brown said such programs...
Jerry Brown Signs A Dozen Bills In an effort to bolster the state’s market for zero- and near-zero emissions vehicles, CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs a dozen bills aimed at broadening their use in the Golden State. A sampling of the bills...
California Vetoes AB 715 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoes AB 715 , which would have created a new state working group tasked with determining best practices in prescribing opioid medications. Brown said such state-level work groups already exist...
Social Policy In Oklahoma An OKLAHOMA court strikes down a Sooner State law that required doctors prescribing abortion-inducing medications to follow a protocol established in 2000 rather than updated protocols offered by drug makers. District Judge...
This past weekend, up-and-coming young leaders from across the globe gathered together in Bogotá, Colombia for the One Young World Summit 2017. Since forming in 2009, the UK-based nonprofit has staged the annual Summit to bring together young talent...
According to social media usage statistics, approximately 350,000 tweets enter the Twittersphere every minute, of every day. For brands trying to keep up with what's being said—and join the conversations right when they're happening—...
The International Standards Organization has issued a new standard that organizations and companies can use to certify their anti-bribery and corruption compliance procedures. ISO 37001 has been agreed by standards bodies in 37 participating countries...
If you thought that steaming hot cup of delicious black goodness that gets us through the wretched, awful time of day we call morning would perhaps kill you, would you drink it anyway? California residents could soon face that question pending the outcome...
Every fall California Gov. Jerry Brown has to hunker down and sift through hundreds of bills that arrive on his desk at the end of the legislative session. Most are of great gravity to a nation state that likes to tell anyone who will listen it is the...
Utah legislators are pondering doing away with the Beehive State’s so-called “porn czar,” officially known as the “obscenity and pornography complaints ombudsman.” The state made big news in 2000 when it created the position...
Business In California The CALIFORNIA Public Utilities Commission opts to not require ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft to submit to the state fingerprints of their drivers. The agency did codify the need for the companies to submit proof annually...
California Signs AB 1178 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 1178 , which will require colleges to send students personalized reports detailing their cumulative loan amounts and the percentage of federal borrowing limits they have reached (LOS...
Environment In California And New Mexico A federal judge orders the Trump administration to immediately enforce restrictions on the release of potent methane emissions at oil and gas drilling operations on public land. The rules, which went into effect...
California Vetoes AB 1279 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoes AB 1279 , which would have required the state Department of Health to develop an outreach program to increase awareness of the disease Valley Fever. Brown said the agency already has...
Supreme Court Declines Case The Supreme Court of the United States declines to take on a case seeking to challenge the University of CALIFORNIA system’s decision to allow unauthorized immigrants to pay in-state tuition and receive financial aid...
Social Policy In Iowa A county judge in IOWA upholds the Hawkeye State’s new law imposing a 72-hour waiting period on women seeking an abortion. The plaintiffs in the case, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, filed an intention...
California Signs AB 562 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 562 , which makes it a misdemeanor crime for anyone to interfere with, obstruct or impede a State Auditor’s investigation, with violators facing a fine of up to $5,000 (LEXISNEXIS...
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed almost a dozen immigration-related bills last week, including a so-called “sanctuary state” measure ( SB 54 ) that will make the Golden State the only one to significantly limit how much local law enforcement...