WA House Approves SB 5497 The WASHINGTON House approves SB 5497 , a measure that would, among several things, require state agencies to provide services without considering a person’s citizenship or immigration status and to put in place secure...
MT Senate Endorses HB 658 The MONTANA Senate endorses HB 658 , which would extend the Treasure State’s Medicaid expansion, while also adding work requirements and a sunset date of 2025. The measure has returned to the Senate for consideration...
OR Senate Approves SB 80 The OREGON Senate approves SB 80 , which would bar restaurants and other food outlets from dispensing plastic straws unless a customer asks for one. It moves to the House (OREGONIAN [PORTLAND]).
NV Senate Unanimously Approves SB 358 The NEVADA Senate unanimously approves SB 358 , which would raise the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 50 percent by 2030. It moves to the Assembly (NEVADA INDEPENDENT).
NC House Approves HB 389 The NORTH CAROLINA House approves HB 389 , a bill that would authorize public colleges and universities to allow alcohol sales at stadiums, athletic facilities and arenas located on school property. It moves to the Senate ...
TX Supreme Court Rules The TEXAS Supreme Court rules that the state does not have to reveal the identity of the manufacturer of the drugs used to carry out executions. Doing so, the court ruled, “would create a substantial threat of physical...
MI GOV SIGNS STREAMLINED MEDICAL WEED OVERSIGHT BILL MICHIGAN Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed legislation ( SB 203 ) that requires only those with 10 percent or more of an ownership stake in a medical marijuana business to undergo the state’s...
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) decried Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) plans to renegotiate the state’s controversial deal to give Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group around $4 billion in tax breaks and other incentives, saying “the only thing...
Following through on one of his primary campaign promises, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed legislation ( SB 1474 ) that bars local governments from implementing their own “right to work” statutes, which bar union shops from requiring...
A report from a special “strike force” to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) says the Golden State should ease its strict liability laws for utilities found to have caused devastating wildfires. The report came in the wake of the bankruptcy...
FEDERAL GRAND JURY CONSIDERING CHARGES IN NC CONGRESSIONAL RACE A federal grand jury in NORTH CAROLINA is considering whether to recommend criminal charges in connection with the state’s 9th Congressional District race in November. Republican...
The usual next step up the ladder for state legislators is statewide office or Congress. But some are now heading in the opposite direction and running for mayor. One attraction is that the job generally pays better than most part-time legislatures...
TIT FOR TAT ON NYC TRAFFIC TOLLS U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D- NEW JERSEY ) said he intends to introduce legislation potentially cutting federal funding for NEW YORK or its transportation authority if the congestion pricing plan just approved for Manhattan...
This tax season, as part of an effort to attract blockchain-based companies to the state, Ohio gave businesses that operate there the option of paying their taxes with bitcoin. Home furnishings company Overstock was one company that took the state...
The Colorado House Finance Committee has unanimously approved legislation ( HB 1240 ) that would codify a controversial rule change announced last year by the state’s Department of Revenue establishing a destination-based sales tax system. ...
Nine states have received federal approval for waivers allowing them to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients. A federal judge has struck down the requirements in two of those states, Arkansas and Kentucky. But waivers are pending in another...
The Trump administration is plunging ahead with waivers that will encourage states to impose controversial work requirements on Medicaid recipients despite a federal judge’s ruling striking down such requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky. ...
Machine learning has become a buzzword in recent years, but the term dates to 1959 when AI-pioneer Arthur Samuel described machine learning as giving “computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed.” Decades later, having...
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a time to focus on issues that range from simple office practices (watch your posture) to slack attitudes or procedures that lead to devastating consequences on a massive scale. The International Labour...
Today is National Honesty Day. It’s an ironic ending to a month that begins with the mischief and mayhem of April Fool’s. But in an era marked by declining trust in institutions, honesty is a hot commodity. And while trust in government and...
In the information age, data serves as the ultimate currency. Advertisers pay for it, platforms build empires on top of it, and researchers devote significant resources to find it. Yet much like currency, not all data holds equal value. Instead of using...
Blame it on Blue Planet II. Since the nature documentary series began airing in early 2018, the blight of ocean plastics has come into focus for those who have watched it. Sir David Attenborough has become the Jiminy Cricket for this generation—a...
With apologies to Bob Dylan and James Brown, the times they are a changin’ and it’s no longer just a man’s world. While a lot of us already know this to be true, the word is just getting to a lot of states, or at least to the language...
Don’t like the high cost of burials? Against cremation? Not down with mummification? Well, Washington state lawmakers may have just given you another good option. Yes, as the Washington Post reports , Evergreen State pols have endorsed a measure...
Geez, don’t make California Assemblymember Melissa Melendez angry. Or at least make sure the sharp objects are out of her reach. As CalMatters reports , fellow Republican Chad Mayes once gave Melendez a basketball signed by members of her favorite...