Seventeen months ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Democrats allied with Hillary Rodham Clinton have launched a nationwide legal effort aimed at overturning Republican-backed restrictions on voter access that could be decisive in a close race....
CA Senate Approves SB 350 The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 350, which sets the following renewable energy goals for 2030: cutting by 50 percent the state’s use of petroleum, having 50 percent of all utility power come from renewable energy sources...
CA Senate Approves SB 151 The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 151, a bill that would raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21. It moves to the Assembly (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 140, a bill that would regulate electronic...
The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 674, which would require local and state law enforcement agencies to sign certifications for qualified immigrant crime victims when they have been helpful to the investigation of a crime like sexual assault and domestic...
CA Senate Approves SB 23 The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 23, which would repeal a state law that bars women from receiving additional welfare benefits if they become pregnant while on public assistance. It moves to the Assembly (LEXISNEXIS STATE...
TX Legislature Approves HB 910 The TEXAS Legislature gives final approval to HB 910, a bill that will allow certain Lone Star State residents to openly carry handguns. Under the measure, someone with a concealed carry gun permit could also openly carry...
Yesterday, FIFA President Sepp Blatter resigned in the wake of the 47-count indictment brought against 14 defendants related to corruption of international soccer. Despite a show of support that led to his re-election last week, NPR reported that Blatter...
Editor: Rich Ehisen Associate Editor: Korey Clark Contributing Editor: Mary Peck, David Giusti Editorial Advisor: Lou Cannon Correspondents: Richard Cox (CA), Lauren Davis (MA), Steve Karas (CA) and Ben Livingood (PA), Cathy Santsche (CA), Dena Blodgett...
Spring and summer are rarely dull around the California Capitol and this year is no different. But things were hopping for real last month when lawmakers, staffers and others gathered on the East Lawn for the 41 st Annual Capitol Frog Jump Contest. An...
CA Approves SB 358 The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 358, which would bar employers from paying female workers less than men for performing “substantially similar” job duties unless they can show evidence of reasonable differences in training...
Calling it a “global challenge” that “requires bold action on the part of governments everywhere,” California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a new agreement last month with leaders from 11 states and countries pledging to work together...
Since a series of Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s, including Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims , the state legislative and congressional districts drawn by state legislatures or commissions after each decennial census have had to be roughly equal...
Speaking of critters, California First Dog Sutter, Gov. Jerry Brown’s incorrigible Welsh Pembroke Corgi, has some competition: the gov and First Lady Anne Gust Brown just got themselves a new puppy. As the Sacramento Bee reports, the announcement...
At least five states have passed laws this year nullifying or preempting local ordinances, including those regulating ride-sharing, fracking and concealed-weapons permits, according to analysis by LexisNexis State Net. Local-control legislation is also...
When voters in Denton, Texas shocked just about everyone last November by banning the controversial oil and gas extraction process hydraulic fracturing within city limits, it set up a clash between what the Texas Tribune called “two interests Texans...
AL Signs Prison Reform Legislation ALABAMA Gov. Robert Bentley (R) signs sweeping prison reform legislation that, among many things, adds hundreds of parole and pardons staff, reduces penalties for technical violations and authorizes the Alabama Law...
Raising prices at the gas pump is a risky proposition in California, where cars have always been king. In fact the state is one of only a few in the nation that haven’t raised gas taxes since the early ‘90s. But that could change this year...
Flanked by House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello (D) and Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed (D), Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) unveiled a $1.1 billion plan to rebuild or repair hundreds of Ocean State decaying bridges. Under the proposal, the state would...
This month, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed legislation requiring the state to implement an online voter registration system by October 2017. The decision was somewhat of a surprise because the bill, SB 228, was sponsored by a Democrat, Sen. Jeff Clemens...
Michigan collected twice as much in “sin taxes” from drinkers and smokers than in income taxes from businesses last year, according to an analysis of tax data by The Detroit News . Taxes on beer, wine, liquor and tobacco topped $290 million...
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a U.S. District judge’s ruling in 2012 upholding Montana’s limits on campaign contributions. The 9th panel ruled that the standard U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell...
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a 2013 Maryland Court of Appeals ruling declaring that the state’s unusual practice of denying taxpayers a credit on the county segment of the state’s income tax wrongly exposes those who earn income out-of...
MI Approves HB 4041 The MICHIGAN Senate approves HB 4041, a bill that would end cash assistance for families where a child is considered chronically truant as determined by school district rules. The families would lose about $386 per month in cash...
CO Signs HB 1057 COLORADO Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) has signed a bill (HB 1057) requiring citizen petitions for constitutional amendments to include estimates of the proposals’ fiscal impact. Currently such estimates aren’t required until...
RI Taxing Big Trucks A plan in the works in RHODE ISLAND , dubbed “RhodeWorks,” aims to raise $1.1 billion for bridge repairs and road maintenance through the imposition of new highway tolls on big commercial trucks (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL...