In the many months since the February death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, High Court observers have pondered the potential impact of his absence and the ongoing vacancy of the seat Senate Republicans refuse to fill. Now the time for pondering...
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) has cut the oil revenue dividend checks the state’s residents have received every year since 1982 - and that reached a record $2,072 per resident last year - to $1,000. That action was one of $1.3 billion in vetoes the...
Airbnb made an enticing offer to the more than 200 mayors gathered at a panel discussion it hosted at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Indianapolis last month: Let us pay you millions of dollars in hotel taxes. “Read my lips...
Illinois completed a $550 million bond sale last month but had to settle for a 3.75 percent interest rate on bonds with maturities ranging from one to 25 years, well below the 2 percent rate states in better financial shape can get in the current market...
CA Gov Signs $167B Budget CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a $167 billion budget that makes no spending cuts, deposits $3.3 billion into the state’s Rainy Day Fund and $1.75 billion into the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties, and...
In a bid to become the nation’s 51st state, the District of Columbia convened a constitutional convention last month. It was the first such meeting of the 21st century - with the last having come when Hawaii sought statehood 66 years ago - and a...
California voters will decide on Nov. 8 whether to do away with the death penalty and replace it with the sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Secretary of State Alex Padilla(D)certified last month that enough valid signatures...
A federal judge ruled last month that Ohio Secretary of State John Husted (R) had the authority to purge thousands of inactive voters from the state’s voter rolls. The American Civil Liberties Union had alleged that Husted’s policy of removing...
CA Voters to Consider Legalization of Recreational Pot California voters will have an opportunity in November to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the nation’s most populous state, with a random sample of the over 600,000 signatures...
Citing free speech concerns, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) last month became the first governor to veto a measure to combat so-called revenge porn, the posting online of sexual or nude images without the consent of the person involved. In a statement...
In a busy wrap to the judicial session (see SNCJ Spotlight in this issue), the Supreme Court unanimously overturned former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell’s 2014 corruption conviction, saying federal prosecutors had used an overly broad interpretation...
Ducey Fires Lobbyists ARIZONA Gov. Doug Ducey (R) issued an executive order ( EO 2016-05 ) last Thursday terminating state contracts with lobbyist firms contracted with various state commissions and boards. The governor’s office said it had verified...
Business In NJ The NEW JERSEY Supreme Court rules that employers may not terminate or discriminate against workers simply for getting divorced or separated from their spouse. The suit stemmed from the case of an employee who was terminated after revealing...
Crime In AR The ARKANSAS Supreme Court upholds the Razorback State’s execution secrecy law, which keeps confidential information about lethal injection drugs and suppliers (WASHINGTON POST). MO Gov Signs HB 1562 MISSOURI Gov. Jay Nixon...
Education In TX The U.S. Supreme Court rejects a call to abolish a policy at the University of TEXAS that considers an applicant’s race in admissions. The court ruled that the university system had complied with earlier court rulings that allow...
Environment In WY A federal court halts the implementation of U.S. Bureau of Land Management rules governing hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, by the oil and gas industry on public and tribal lands. U.S. District Court of WYOMING Judge Scott W. Skavdahl...
NC Gov Signs SB 734 NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signs SB 734 , which will allow Tar Heel State residents to obtain the anti-overdose drug naloxone without a prescription. The law takes effect immediately (CHARLOTTE NEWS & OBSERVER). ...
Immigration In TX The U.S. Supreme Court deadlocks on a challenge to President Barack Obama’s executive order allowing children of unauthorized immigrants to avoid deportation and to live and work legally in the United States. The no-decision...
Social Policy In TX The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a TEXAS law that requires clinics that provide abortions to meet surgical-center operating standards and doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The High Court determined in...
SCOTUS Upholds Firearm Law The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a federal law barring those convicted of domestic abuse from possessing firearms. The ruling allows similar laws in 34 states and the District of Columbia to remain in place (NPR.ORG). HI...
Assistant secretary of the Colorado Senate John McKay has wanted to be on Jeopardy for as long as he can remember. And as the NCSL Blog reports , after numerous attempts this year his dream came true. But while he didn’t end up the winner, he did...
Grass is all the talk around the Washington statehouse these days. Yes, the Evergreen State is one of the handful that have legalized recreational pot use, but we’re not talking about that kind of grass. As Governing magazine reports , groundskeepers...
Sports fans know that in Texas the Dallas Cowboys are akin to royalty. But that doesn’t mean everyone is okay putting up with the bad behavior of a spoiled prince. As the Dallas Morning News reports , state Sen. Royce West has filed suit against...
California state Senator Steve Glazer added a sweaty punctuation to the usual daily session adjournment last week. Upon the final gavel, Glazer – joined by nine of his colleagues – dropped and did 22 push-ups. No, he wasn’t pushing a...
Last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a 2013 Texas law requiring doctors and clinics that perform abortions to meet hospital-like standards resulted in the almost immediate effective invalidation of similar laws facing legal challenge...