A federal judge greatly increases the number of drivers who may join a class action lawsuit against the CALIFORNIA -based ridesharing company Uber. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen’s ruling allows drivers who previously agreed to use arbitration...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) proposed legislation last week to return control over the issuance of liquor licenses to local governments. Under the current system, the number of liquor licenses in most locales is capped, with additional licenses...
And then there is Nevada Assemblymember Michele Fiore. As reported in the Las Vegas Sun , the aspiring Congressional candidate went all Trump-like last week, announcing she would like nothing more than to “fly to Paris and shoot ‘em in the...
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a Texas redistricting case that has the potential to significantly alter the way legislative districts across the country are calculated and shift political power away from cities, which tend to...
An ARKANSAS judge rules that Razorback State corrections officials must reveal their source for drugs used to execute condemned prisoners. Officials have appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court (DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE [LITTLE ROCK]).
Saying he was “satisfied with the laws that we have,” Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) said last week he does not support calls from some gun advocates to allow Hawkeye State teachers to be armed. “People have strong views on both...
Last week Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) unveiled his long-awaited plan to address the state’s multi-billion budget deficit, resulting from plunging oil prices and reduced oil production in the state. The proposal includes several measures that are...
Eight states introduced legislation this year aimed at imposing or tightening restrictions on “assault weapons” specifically, according to LexisNexis State Net’s legislative database. Four of those states also introduced legislation...
Last week, we took a look at several of the issues we expect to see a lot of activity in statehouses this year. Here are a few more, several of which are driven either by technological development, the upcoming presidential election or gun violence. ...
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a challenge to a ban on semiautomatic, high-capacity assault weapons imposed by Highland Park, Illinois. A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit had ruled that the ban was...
President Barack Obama signs the Every Student Succeeds Act, legislation that replaces the federal No Child Left Behind program. The new law allows each state to develop its own methods and standards for judging school quality. The measure also allows...
As Illinois entered its sixth month without a state budget last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) and Democrats who control the state’s General Assembly reached a rare agreement to free up $3.1 billion in state funds. The money will go to a host of needy...
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has had it with your silly climate change denial. In Paris along with a host of current Golden State officeholders for the big United Nations climate confab, “The Governator” took to Facebook to...
Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (D) said he will soon issue an executive order making the Constitution State the first to bar people on the federal no-fly list from buying guns. Malloy’s actions come barely a week after Congress rejected legislation...
National Effort to Lower Voting Age A national campaign to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 to spur civic engagement by younger Americans kicked off last week. Vote16USA is backed by a nonpartisan group based in NEW YORK called Generation Citizen...
Big Budget Surplus Sets Up Political Battle in MN MINNESOTA’s projected budget surplus for next year has doubled on strong economic growth to $1.9 billion. But that windfall sets up an election-year battle over how to spend the money, with Gov...
The U.S. House of Representatives approves HR 1321, a bill that would ban the use of microbeads, small bits of plastic found in a variety of personal products like soap and toothpaste. At least eight states, including ILLINOIS, COLORADO, CONNECTICUT,...
Saying “New Mexico families deserve to be safe from drunk drivers,” Gov. Susana Martinez (R) announced a series of executive actions last week aimed at getting those drivers off the road and monitoring judges she says have routinely gone easy...
Health & Science In NJ The NEW JERSEY Assembly fails to override Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) veto of SB 2360, a bill that would have required local police to be notified if a person who had once been involuntarily committed for psychiatric...
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard became the latest GOP governor to propose expanding Medicaid as laid out under the Affordable Care Act. Daugaard pitched the expansion as part of his $4.8 billion 2016 budget proposal, noting it would provide health care...
Beshear Issues Pardons In his final act in office, outgoing KENTUCKY Gov. Steve Beshear (D) commuted six sentences and issued 201 pardons last week. Ten of the pardons or commutations were granted to women who had been victims of domestic violence...
Donald Trump is not known for mincing words. In the wake of the San Bernardino shooting, Trump suggested the U.S. enact a travel ban for all Muslims, and media coverage exploded. Naturally, we decided to monitor the media to see what we could learn. Here...
A federal judge rejects a plea from TEXAS officials seeking to bar the settlement of Syrian refugees in the Lone Star State. Judge David C. Godbey rejected a claim by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission that “terrorists could have infiltrated...
The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear a challenge to an ILLINOIS city’s ban on semiautomatic, high-capacity assault weapons. The city, Highland Park, is a suburb of Chicago. Seven states — MARYLAND, CALIFORNIA, CONNECTICUT, HAWAII, MASSACHUSETTS...
With the current U.S. presidential campaign trail heating up, we thought it would be interesting to see how some popular—and some not-so-popular—past presidents fared in the media after they were no longer residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue...