Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (R) said last week that Medicaid reform without expanding the joint state-federal program to cover more low income residents would be unacceptable to him. His comments came as leaders in the Republican-controlled Legislature showed...
Govs Urge EPA to Change Opioid Labels All six New England governors signed a letter last week urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to change labels for fast-release opioid drugs to ensure patients and doctors understand the risk of addiction...
In January of last year Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R) significantly raised fees - by hundreds of dollars in many cases and more than doubling them in some - for a range of services the Department of Agriculture provides, maintaining that...
Russian Election Cyberattacks Broader Than Indicated U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of VIRGINIA , the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Russian cyberattacks on U.S. election systems were broader and impacted more states than indicated...
Education in MA: The MASSACHUSETTS House and Senate endorse a revised version of SB 2631 , a bill previously amended by Gov. Charlie Baker (R) that would make student-led civics projects part of Bay State high school and eighth grade curriculum. The...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) renewed his longstanding call for a national gun policy after an aide was shot and seriously injured in a crossfire between two rival gangs on a Brooklyn street last week. The aide, Carey Gabay, had been named by Cuomo as...
Democratic attorneys general from the District of Columbia and 15 states - Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington - filed...
California Signs SB 557 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 557 , which allows Golden State schools to donate their cafeteria food leftovers to local food banks and charities (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
RI Approves SB 625 The RHODE ISLAND Senate approves SB 625, so-called “revenge porn” legislation that would make it a crime to post nude or sexually explicit photos or videos of someone online without their permission. Violators would face...
MA Gov Halts Expansion of Convention Center Expressing concern about the debt it would incur and the impact it could have on the state budget, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has halted a planned $1 billion expansion of the Boston Convention and...
Embattled OREGON Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) apparently considered resigning last week before abruptly changing his mind. According to the Associated Press, Kitzhaber informed at least two aids he was going to resign, but then opted not to for reasons which...
The TEXAS Supreme Court has announced it will hear the state’s appeal of the long-running lawsuit challenging the way it funds public education (AMERICAN-STATESMAN [AUSTIN]). * MINNESOTA Gov. Mark Dayton (D) has called for a $6 billion transportation...
New Mexico Committee Kills HB 410, 411, 412 The NEW MEXICO House Committee on Agriculture, Water and Wildlife kills a trio of bills (HBs 410, 411 and 412) that together would have prohibited the slaughter of horses for human consumption, granted horses...
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe (D) has proposed an unconventional way to reduce Medicaid spending in his state, which could become a necessity if Congress succeeds in repealing the Affordable Care Act: raising the state’s minimum wage. His administration...
MD Passes Major Changes to Open Records Law Both chambers of MARYLAND’s General Assembly overwhelmingly passed legislation making major changes to the state’s open records law, including the creation of a new ombudsman in the Office of...
A federal appeals court granted former VIRGINIA Gov. McDonnell’s request to stay out of jail while he appeals his conviction on multiple counts of corruption. The 4 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear his appeal on May 12 (WASHINGTON TIMES...
None of which apparently bothers Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who took a poke at Christie via Twitter by posting a picture of a Green Bay Packers fan wearing a "cheesehead" — an orange thing shaped like a triangular wedge of cheddar —...
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced the launch of a new commission to determine which state regulations are making it hard to do business in the state. “For years, over-burdensome and out-of-control regulations were making it impossible...
NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) vetoes AB 2778, which would have used state funds to pay non-profits to trap and spay or neuter feral cats. Cuomo said there is no proof that such programs actually diminish the feral cat population (DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE...
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...
MI Straight-Ticket Voting Ban Fast-tracked legislation moving through the MICHIGAN Legislature would eliminate voters’ ability to cast straight-ticket ballots for candidates of a single party. Supporters of SB 13, which was approved by committee...
MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signs HB 3798, which imposes a 20-year jail sentence for someone convicted of trafficking more than 10 grams of the drug fentanyl, an opioid known to be many times stronger than heroin (MASSLIVE.COM).
By June 9 of last year, 213 bills had been passed by Rhode Island’s General Assembly and sent to Gov. Gina Raimondo (D). Sixty-one of those measures were substantive “public laws,” as opposed to routine “local acts and resolves”...
TX Court of Appeals Rules The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that most of a TEXAS law barring local municipalities from declaring themselves to be so-called sanctuary cities can stay in place while litigation seeking to overturn the law...
AZ House Approves SB 1394 The ARIZONA House approves SB 1394 , a bill that would require Grand Canyon State hospitals and clinics to ask patients the reason they are seeking an abortion. The measure returns to the Senate (ARIZONA CAPITOL TIMES [PHOENIX...