Some folks leave quietly; others go with both middle fingers flying. Put Jennifer Kent, director of the state Department of Health Care Services, in the latter group. I should say former director, as Kent recently announced she was leaving her post. And...
Things at the California Capitol have been anything but peaceful of late, with controversial legislation dealing with the gig economy, rent control and vaccinations ensuring that folks on all sides have made their presence felt every day. Loudly felt...
California Senate Gives Final Approval to SB 330 The CALIFORNIA Senate gives final approval to SB 330 , which would temporarily ban cities from imposing a moratorium on new housing construction, prohibit the changing of local zoning laws to outlaw...
Federal Judge In North Dakota Blocks State Law A federal judge in NORTH DAKOTA blocks a state law enacted earlier this year that required physicians to tell women they may reverse a so-called medication abortion if they have second thoughts. State...
California Assembly Gives Final Approval to AB 589 The CALIFORNIA Assembly gives final approval to AB 589 , which makes it a crime for an employer to confiscate a worker’s immigration documents as a way to force them into labor. The measure,...
California Governor Signs SB 276 and SB 714 CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs two vaccine-related measures: SB 276 , which would allow the state to investigate doctors who grant more than five medical vaccine exemptions in a single year, and SB...
California Assembly Gives Final Approval to AB 342 The CALIFORNIA Assembly gives final approval to AB 342 , which would bar new oil and gas wells in national parks and other protected areas in the Golden State. It moves to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who...
California Governor Signs SB 419 CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs SB 419 , which permanently prohibits willful defiance suspensions in grades four and five and bans such suspensions in grades six through eight for five years. The measure takes...
Sponsor of California SB 51 Pulls Bill The sponsor of CALIFORNIA SB 51 , a bill that would allow banks and credit unions to do limited business with legal cannabis companies, pulls the measure before it can come up for a vote, turning it into a two...
VA GOV VOWS END TO LAWSUITS AGAINST PATIENTS VIRGINIA Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said he would work with University of Virginia James Ryan to end the widespread practice of aggressively pursuing former patients for unpaid medical bills. A recent investigation...
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) warned lawmakers planning another attempt at legalizing industrial hemp that a new bill will meet the same fate as this year’s bill: a veto. In her veto statement for HB 1191 last March, Noem said “There...
Calling the rise in vaping-related illnesses “a frightening public health phenomenon,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) proposed legislation to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in the Empire State. “Common sense says if you...
GOP WINS SPECIAL ELECTION IN NC Republican Dan Bishop defeated Democrat Dan McCready 50.7 percent to 48.7 percent in a special election last week in NORTH CAROLINA's 9th Congressional District. The election, which was called due to allegations...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling this year in Rucho v. Common Cause slammed the door on partisan gerrymandering claims under the U.S. Constitution. In his opinion for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts maintained that it wasn’t possible...
Just over a week after legislative district maps drawn by North Carolina’s GOP-controlled General Assembly were declared unconstitutional by a judicial panel , there was more political controversy in the state last week over a budget veto override...
NJ FACING BIG PUBLIC PENSION HIT NEW JERSEY Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D) decision to phase in a reduction in the public pension system’s expected rate of return from 7.6 percent to 7 percent, which former Gov. Chris Christie (R) made just before...
The attorneys general of every state but Alabama and California have officially launched an antitrust investigation of Google. Standing on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court along with officials from 11 other states and the District of Columbia...
New Jersey senators who convened a hearing this month to try to figure out what’s wrong with the state’s scandal-ridden business tax incentive program -- which expired at the end of June and Gov. Phil Murphy (D) refused to extend last month...
At least 18 states allow sports betting either in-person at casinos and other gambling facilities, or online via computer or mobile phone, according to the website BettingUSA.com. Eleven of those states allow both, while six allow only in-person sports...
There was a time when, if you weren’t in Las Vegas and you wanted to put some money down on a football game – say $100 that the Rams would cover the spread on Sunday – you needed to talk to a bookie. So, you picked up your phone. ...
Caroline Black is a partner in the white-collar crime team at the London-based law firm Dechert LLP. She has worked on several large multi-jurisdictional anti-corruption and bribery cases and advised major companies on putting in place adequate compliance...
In spite of screeching from some quarters, America is now and always has been built on diversity. And as the personal finance site WalletHub reports , based on a wide range of measurements no state is more diverse than California. This is likely not a...
If you kill it, you must grill it! Well, not quite yet but maybe in the future. As CalMatters reports , California lawmakers endorsed a bill last week intended to pave the way for folks to harvest critters smushed on Golden State highways. The bill originally...
Illinois state Rep. Jaime Andrade is tired of all the mess pigeons make at the Irving Park Blue Line train station in Chicago. Admittedly, some problems are harder to see than others. Uh, not this one. While talking about the issue to TV reporters last...
The legacy of the speech then-Vice President Richard Nixon gave on Sept. 23 rd 1952 is pretty profound. Accused of campaign improprieties, Nixon took to the airwaves to defend himself. Over the course of 30 minutes he showed his profound ability to spread...