MN, NC MAY BE IN RECESSION MINNESOTA and NORTH CAROLINA may be in a recession, according to research indicating that when a state’s unemployment rate rises by at least 0.4 percentage points above its lowest rate in the preceding 12 months, there’s...
It’s been 10 months since Hurricane Michael slammed Florida’s Panhandle in October 2018. But more than 20,000 insurance claims from residential property owners - about 14 percent of the total number filed - remain open. That rate is...
During the final week of this year’s legislative session in Arizona, state lawmakers passed a bill ( HB 2756 ) that, among other things, will require the state to calculate the additional state cost of any minimum wage increase above the state rate...
Lawmakers in at least three states have introduced legislation this year that would impose a tax on corporations that pay their chief executive officers far more than their average workers, according to Inequality.org, a project of the Washington, D.C...
It’s a good time to be a CEO in America. Various studies show that CEOs of major corporations made hundreds of times what their workers earned in average pay last year. According to data compiled by the Associated Press , average CEO compensation...
There isn’t anything in this universe that someone somewhere won’t try to package and sell. Case in point comes from California, where a company is leveraging the DMV’s notorious appointment backlog by offering expedited appointments...
A former North Dakota gubernatorial candidate has had it with the secrecy of his fellow lawmakers. Had, had, had it! Now, Rep. Marvin Nelson is going to do something about it. as the Bismarck Tribune reports , Nelson said he will livestream legislative...
The biggest question awaiting an answer in the annual rush to the end of the California legislative year doesn’t actually involve legislation. As the Capitol Morning Report notes, the race between Sen. Scott Wilk and Assemblymember Tom Lackey to...
Seattle City Council Approves Bike Lane Ordinance The SEATTLE City Council unanimously approves an ordinance requiring the city Department of Transportation to build protected bike lanes any time those lanes are included in the city’s long-term...
California Governor Signs SB 245 CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs SB 245 , which allows military veterans to have adoption fees waived for dogs and cats available at animal shelters (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). California Governor Signs SB 192...
California Senate Gives Final Approval to SB 276 The CALIFORNIA Senate gives final approval to SB 276 , which would allow the state Department of Public Health to review and potentially reject medical vaccine exemptions written by doctors who have...
California Senate Appropriations Committee Declines to Endorse AB 572 The CALIFORNIA Senate Appropriations Committee declines to endorse AB 572 , a bill that would have barred the state from doing business with companies whose products contributed...
California Senate Appropriations Committee Holds AB 376 The CALIFORNIA Senate Appropriations Committee holds AB 376 , a bill that would have established a student loan borrower’s bill of rights, hired a state borrower advocate to respond to consumer...
California Senate Appropriations Committee Kills AB 161 The CALIFORNIA Senate Appropriations Committee kills AB 161 , a bill that would have banned most paper receipts at large retailers unless customers requested one (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). ...
WA LEG SUES INSLEE The WASHINGTON Legislature filed suit against Gov. Jay Inslee (D), arguing the governor had violated the Evergreen State Constitution when he issued several partial vetoes of the 2019-21 transportation budget. Inslee acknowledged...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) was joined last week by six former top state housing officials from thee different gubernatorial administrations in urging Bay State lawmakers to pass a bill before the end of the year to stimulate housing production...
With the legislative session winding down, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has been steadily working behind the scenes to broker deals on a number of high-impact measures lawmakers are close to sending to his desk. After negotiating a deal between...
UNION MEMBERSHIP WAY DOWN IN WI An annual labor report from the University of WISCONSIN -Madison’s Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) indicates that union membership in the state has declined by 53.9 percent since 2011, three times the 14.9...
A three-judge panel consisting of two Democrats and one Republican unanimously ruled last week that legislative district maps drawn by North Carolina’s Republican-controlled General Assembly in 2017 - to replace maps drawn in 2011 that were struck...
A group called Voter Choice Massachusetts has proposed a ballot measure for the state’s 2020 election that would replace the state’s current winner-take-all election system with a ranked-choice system. Under a ranked-choice system, voters...
FEDERAL RULE COULD END FOOD ASSISTANCE FOR 33,000 IN CO A newly proposed federal rule would cut off food assistance for 33,000 COLORADO residents, including about 11,000 children. The state currently allows those earning up to twice the federal poverty...
Minnesota’s labor market is in pretty good shape right now. The state’s unemployment rate is hovering around 3.4 percent. And with nearly 70 percent of working-age residents employed or looking for jobs, employers have a decent labor pool...
At least 37 states have introduced legislation this year dealing with the cybersecurity of government agencies, 24 of which have enacted such measures, according to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net...
This year more than 70 state and local governments have been targeted by hackers that have locked up their computer systems and demanded ransoms to release them. A majority of states have taken legislative action in recent years to protect data held by...
Riders on the Boston subway might have done a double take last week at the site of the tall, distinguished guy who looked a lot like the governor. But why would he be on the T? Doesn’t he have a car and a driver to shuttle him about town? Yes, he...