Social Policy In AL The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously reverses an ALABAMA Supreme Court ruling that denied parental rights to a lesbian adoptive mother who had split with her partner. Social Policy In GA The couple legally adopted...
NEW MEXICO Gov. Susana Martinez (R) signs SB 171, which bars truck drivers and drivers of other commercial vehicles from using cellphones while at the wheel, except in emergency situations (ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL). -- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
Knowledge management expert Karl M. Wiig once said that “Knowledge is the fundamental factor—the major enabler—of enterprise performance.” Talk about pressure. But recognizing the important role that an information professional...
Super Tuesday was a pretty good night for reality show goofball/presidential aspirant Donald Trump. It was far less so for his newfound caddy, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Unless you’ve been under a rock of late you know the tough talking Garden...
Business In VA The VIRGINIA General Assembly endorses SB 646, which would make the Old Dominion the first state to legislatively adopt regulations on the fast growing daily fantasy sports industry. Under the measure, fantasy operators would have to...
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) vetoed a bill (HB 1008) last week that would have made the Coyote State the first to require transgender students to use the bathrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms based on their biological sex. The bill had drawn...
Acting state Attorney General John Hoffman resigned this week to take a job at Rutgers University. The school announced Hoffman’s hiring on Thursday. Hoffman, 50, said he would step down in six weeks and would become the New Jersey flagship state...
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) announced plans for a 3 percent immediate cut to the state university system after tax collections came in well below projections last month. The $17 million reduction will be spread across the six state universities,...
States have enacted numerous laws to combat the epidemic of opioid-related deaths plaguing much of the United States. Most common are so-called “Good Samaritan” laws that generally give a person civil or criminal immunity for seeking help...
When Joanne Peterson and a friend were involved in a car accident in 2014 that sent them to the emergency room, she was shocked when a doctor tried to prescribe them the pain medication oxycodone. Sold under a variety of brand names, oxycodone is an opioid...
Crime In VT The VERMONT Senate approves SB 241, which would make the Green Mountain State the first to legislatively legalize the sale and possession of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. The measure, which would allow residents 21 and...
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) issued an executive order (EO 2016-03) on Feb 24 making the Sooner State the 20th to “ban the box” by requiring state agencies to eliminate questions about felony convictions from employment applications. ...
While Chris Christie might have succumbed to the dark side, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has not. No fan of Mr. Trump, Haley has endorsed the presidential candidacy of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. She has also called on Trump to release his tax returns...
Public universities in Illinois are facing financial crisis with the state in the ninth month of disagreement between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled legislature over the state’s budget. None of the 57 public universities...
NH House Panel Considers Voting Laws The NEW HAMPSHIRE House Election Committee this week reviewed a measure that would ask voters to require residents to actually live in the state for 10 days before being eligible to vote. State law currently requires...
Much has been made of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s practice of not asking questions during SCOTUS hearings. So imagine the shock when, as the Atlantic reports , he did. Let’s set the scene. Assistant U.S. Solicitor General Ilana...
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed legislation this week to expand a tax on health insurers to avoid a loss of federal money that would have made a huge hole in the state’s Medi-Cal budget. Brown signed a package of bills on Tuesday -...
Folks in Tennessee who want to own a pet skunk got some bad news last week when the House rejected a measure that would have legalized owning the odiferous critters. Now you might reasonably ask why anyone would want to have a skunk as a pet, particularly...
Malloy Cancels State Worker Pay Raises CONNECTICUT Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) is cancelling previously-scheduled pay raises for nearly 2,000 non-union state government workers in management positions because of the state’s ongoing budget woes. Malloy’s...
VIRGINIA Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) vetoes SB 612 and HB 131, bills that would prohibit Old Dominion public schools from joining interscholastic organizations that don’t allow home-schoolers from participating in athletics. The House failed in its...
Energy In OR The OREGON House approves SB 1547, which would require Beaver State utilities, by 2040, to serve half their customers’ demand with renewable power sources such as wind and solar. The measure returns to the House (OREGONLIVE.COM)...
Wolf Battling Cancer PENNSYLVANIA Gov. Tom Wolf (D) revealed last month he is suffering from prostate cancer. Wolf, 67, did not specify what his treatment plan would be but said it would not include chemotherapy. “What I’m going through...
The MARYLAND Senate approves SB 323, which would require the Old Line State to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent from 2006 levels by 2040. The bill has moved to the House (BALTIMORE SUN).
Health & Science In WY The WYOMING Legislature rejects several proposals to expand Medicaid to cover around 20,000 low-income Equality State residents. All were offered as amendments to the state’s main budget bill (WYOMING TRIBUNE EAGLE...
The GEORGIA Senate approves SB 6, legislation that states children brought to the U.S. as children who have been permitted to stay under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, could only receive drivers’ licenses...