TN no longer covers OxyContin In an effort to combat the ongoing opioid abuse epidemic, health insurer BlueCross BlueShield announces it will stop covering OxyContin prescriptions in TENNESSEE . BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee reps say the company...
New Initiative pledging to incorporate electric vehicles Led by LOS ANGELES Mayor Eric Garcetti, Representatives from 19 cities and counties sign a new initiative pledging to incorporate electric vehicles into their municipal fleets. Under the new...
Me or you griping? Meh. The governor griping? Now there’s a call to arms! Case in point comes from New Hampshire, where the AP reports that a Londonberry Township resident took to Twitter to ask a local market to stop placing the price stickers...
State and local lawmakers used to dealing with homelessness issues know that one of the major aspects of that dilemma is public urination. And as city leaders in Paris can attest, it certainly is not a problem relegated to the U.S. As such, the City of...
The tiny Kentucky town of Rabbit Hash (population 315) is mostly known for two things: the bunny-based meal that gave the burg its name and for having the best known country store in the Bluegrass State. That’s worthwhile enough, but there’s...
Five trillion plastic bags. That’s the number of single-use (double, if you have a dog) bags used worldwide every year. To put that into perspective, the bags spread out side-by-side would cover an area twice the size of France says a U.N. report...
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that a law passed by South Dakota had freed it from a longstanding legal precedent barring states from imposing sales taxes on internet and mail-order retailers that did not have a physical presence within their...
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair sanctioning that state’s economic nexus-based sales tax law, similar requirements - with and without new enabling legislation - have gone into effect in five states, according...
After the state and local tax (SALT) deduction was capped at $10,000 as part of the federal tax overhaul last December, high-tax states immediately began looking for ways for their residents to avoid a big bump in their federal tax burdens. Connecticut...
Citing “a persistent and alarming lack of accountability in local school systems across the state,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) issued an executive order last week that creates a new post in his administration: director of the Office of...
In November Connecticut voters will consider the Connecticut Transportation Revenue Lockbox Amendment, which would bar lawmakers from using the state’s transportation fund for non-transportation-related purposes. If the ballot measure is approved...
The frenzied last days of the legislative session are over, and now California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) must act on nearly 1,000 bills by the end of September. While some of the more controversial measures died before getting to Brown, he still faces a number...
STATES AWARDED MILLIONS IN ACA LAWSUIT A federal court in TEXAS ruled that the federal government improperly charged several states millions of dollars in state Medicaid fees that provide funding for the Affordable Care Act. Under the terms of the...
The latest court battle in the ongoing power struggle between North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) and Republicans who control both chambers of the state’s General Assembly appears to be over. The legal skirmish began in late June when the legislature...
EDUCATION FUNDING MEASURE OFF AZ BALLOT The ARIZONA Supreme Court has blocked a measure from the state’s November ballot that was aimed at increasing the tax rate on residents making more than $250,000 a year from 4.54 percent to 8 percent to...
CA Governor Signs AB 2343 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 2343 , a bill that gives tenants facing eviction three court days to pay rent after receiving notice and five court days to respond to an eviction lawsuit. The measure further stipulates...
RAIMONDO ISSUES RI SCHOOL GUN BAN RHODE ISLAND Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) issued an executive order last month barring anyone except police officers from carrying firearms at public schools and grounds in the Ocean State. The order closes a loophole in...
IL Governor Signs SB 2428 ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs SB 2428 , which bars Prairie State schools from punishing or publicly humiliating children who cannot pay for a school lunch. The measure further requires schools to provide a lunch to...
DE Governor Signs SB 113 DELAWARE Gov. John Carney (D) signs SB 113 , a bill to establish Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing in the First State. PACE loans are funded by private lenders and are paid back through a voluntary...
Boycotts are all the rage these days. Undies in a knot over Nike featuring former football player Colin Kaepernick in an ad campaign? Set your running shoes on fire and declare a boycott! Bent out of shape at In-and-Out Burger for sending the Cali GOP...
It’s good to be king, but it’s better to be friends of the king. Or at least the king of the commonwealth of Kentucky. As the Louisville Courier Journal reports , Charles Grindle, the state’s chief information officer, received a $215...
Going On In NJ The NEW JERSEY Department of Environmental Protection enacts a new rule to cap the amount of compounds known as PFNAs, short for perfluorononanoic acids, in Garden State drinking water. The man-made, toxic chemical compounds, once used...
Common sense ought to be enough to convince most people to leave wildlife alone, both for their own safety and that of the critter. But then common sense isn’t always so common. Case in point, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...
AK Governor Signs HB 240 ALASKA Gov. Bill Walker (I) signs HB 240 , which bars gag rules in contracts between pharmacy benefits managers and pharmacies. Gag rules prohibit pharmacists from telling customers of a cheaper option for medication if they...
Raising funds for civic works isn’t easy in small towns where the tax base is often more limited than seats on the DC Metro at rush hour. One dramatic way for burgs to gain some bucks is to let Corporate America have its way with them. This week’s...