Supreme Court Rejects Petitions The Supreme Court of the United States declines to review whether states can block Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from their Medicaid programs. The Court’s decision rejects a pair of petitions...
ME Rejects Plea to delay Medicaid expansion A MAINE court rejects a plea from the administration of Gov. Paul LePage (R) to delay the implementation of a voter-approved Medicaid expansion in the Pine Tree State. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy...
MI Legislature Approves HB 4205 The MICHIGAN Legislature approves HB 4205 , which would bar state agencies from adopting non-emergency rules more stringent than the applicable federal standard unless specifically authorized by state law or unless the...
CA Building Standards Commission Finalizes The CALIFORNIA Building Standards Commission finalizes new rules that make the Golden State the first in the nation to require new homes built in 2020 and beyond to be solar-powered (ASSOCIATED PRESS).
DC Superior Court Blocks A WASHINGTON D.C . Superior Court blocks an effort to force a new referendum on a law that would overhaul how servers, bartenders and other tipped workers are paid. District voters approved the original measure, Initiative...
WALKER LIKELY TO SIGN WI GOP POWER GRAB BILLS Outgoing WISCONSIN Gov. Scott Walker (R) signaled his intention to sign a package of bills passed by lawmakers in the lame duck session that are widely interpreted as a move by majority Republicans to limit...
A spokesperson for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said the governor will unveil a proposal early next year to legalize recreational marijuana use in the Empire State. It would presumably come after a new Democratic majority is sworn in to both legislative...
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) unveiled a $675 million proposal to dramatically reshape how patients in the Evergreen State’s mental health system are cared for. Inslee’s plan calls for hundreds of new community mental-health beds and...
FORMER FL SENATE PRESIDENT TAKES JOB WITH MAJOR DONOR Outgoing FLORIDA Senate president Joe Negron (R) has taken a job with private prison operator Geo Group. When Negron became Senate president in 2016, the company contributed $270,000 to a political...
In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that unions could no longer require public workers who choose not to join a union to pay union fees even if they benefit from union efforts. That ruling has adversely impacted union finances...
It’s going to be considerably harder to qualify initiatives and referendums for California’s ballot next year, thanks to the high voter turnout in the state for the Nov. 6 election. Signature requirements for ballot measures in California...
WILDFIRE CLEANUP COULD COST CA $3B Clearing away the debris from the 19,000 homes and businesses destroyed by last month’s wildfires could cost CALIFORNIA at least $3 billion, according to state and federal authorities. That sum is more than...
Congress has passed and President Trump is expected to sign an $867 billion farm bill that, among other things, will expand subsidies for farmers, provide permanent funding for local farmers markets and legalize hemp. The bill had bipartisan support in...
Conventional wisdom holds that cities need population growth to be economically healthy. But between 2000 and 2016 per-capita income in Pittsburgh rose 24 percent - well over the national average of 18 percent - while the city’s population shrunk...
Sustainable, or ESG, investing – choosing investments based on environmental, social and governance considerations – has been around for decades. But such investing has really taken off in recent years. According to global investment research...
As a result of the November elections, in 2019 Republicans will control both the legislature and the governor’s office in 23 states, three less than the number of states under unified GOP control this year. Democrats will control the legislative...
In the third and final of our annual three-part series looking ahead to the coming legislative year, SNCJ Senior Advisor Lou Cannon takes a look at some of the challenges and opportunities that await lawmakers in 2019. This is also our final issue...
Migration is a recurrent theme in human history. Whether seeking to escape violence, natural disasters or poverty, migrants express their determination for better lives through migration. On International Migrants Day, we look at a particular risk that...
Lloyds Bank has set an ambitious three-year strategy to “digitize” the group. In its strategic review for 2018-20, Lloyds intends to use technology like data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to gain new insights which can transform...
Are you nervous about the imminent Fourth Industrial Revolution? After all, each industrial revolution has resulted in the displacement of workers through automated or industrialized processes. But history shows that short-term displacements were balanced...
2018 has been a record year of penalties issued for breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Settlements totaling more than $2.96 billion were agreed by corporations found to be in breach of the Act. The year saw further indications of the...
January may be hot or cold, rainy or snowy—it just depends on where you live. But whether you sport a windbreaker or a parka when you head back to work after the holiday season, January is the same everywhere when it comes to making resolutions...
Regulatory technology (RegTech) refers to technology that assists companies to meet growing regulatory requirements. Banks are set to invest more in RegTech in 2019, because they see it as a cost-effective and efficient way to respond to growing regulatory...
If serious trivia seems like a contradiction, maybe you need to be more quizzical when it comes to anti-corruption compliance. January 4 is the one day of the year when there’s an excuse to be trivial—even in an area as serious as compliance...
The pharmaceutical sector is one of the most-at risk industries for bribery and corruption. In a new White Paper, we look at some of the recent bribery enforcement actions against pharma firms and strengthened anti-bribery legislation. And we suggest...