Last month the Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill (HB 615) to make the Holy Bible the official state book. The vote was 55-38, with 20 of the chamber’s 73 Republicans, including House Speaker Beth Harwell, voting against it, six of...
Oregon Approves HB 3391 The OREGON House approves HB 3391 , which would require health insurers to cover abortion and post-natal services at no cost and ensure all health policies include the 10 essential health benefits currently required under the...
The Alaska Legislature returned from its special session recess last Tuesday, but with only six representatives and three senators in attendance, no progress was made on the state’s budget or other issues the session was called for last month, and...
A handful of states, including Nevada, Delaware and New Hampshire, are competing to be the onshore haven of choice for the wealth of the nation’s top 1 percent. New Hampshire has passed almost a dozen laws over the past decade aimed at making...
The MASSACHUSETTS Legislature overrides Gov. Charlie Baker’s (R) veto of HB 4491 , a bill that requires Bay State health insurers to cover the cost of long-term antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease (BOSTON GLOBE). ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R...
Nevada Senate Approves SB 370 The NEVADA Senate gives unanimous approval to SB 370 , which makes it illegal to transport hunters, their gear or animals from an airport or heliport unless the facility was established by a government agency and is accessible...
ID PASSES GROCERY TAX REPEAL: The IDAHO Legislature has passed legislation repealing the state’s tax on groceries, effective July 1, 2018. If signed by Gov. C.L. Butch Otter (R), IDAHO would join 37 other states without a grocery tax. (ASSOCIATED...
SANDOVAL DECLARES NV HEALTH EMERGENCY AFTER MASS SHOOTING In the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting in Las Vegas that saw 59 people killed and more than 500 injured, NEVADA Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) issued an executive order temporarily suspending...
As a 2015 survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Pew Charitable Trusts indicates, most state lawmakers are business owners, lawyers or professional politicians. That stands to reason since people who work in those professions...
CA Supreme Court Upholds Farmers Contract Law The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court upholds a Golden State law allowing farmers to have a labor contract imposed on them if negotiations with a union fail to produce an agreement. The ruling overturned a lower...
Education In CA The CALIFORNIA Governor’s Office of Planning and Research releases proposed changes to the state’s landmark California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that would require development projects to estimate the number of miles...
NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie (R) signs SB 1870, a bill that will require Garden State pet stores to display the names and addresses of the breeders of each dog and cat for sale, to post U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection reports for the prior...
California Signs SB 20 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 20 , which requires passengers on commercial busses equipped with seat belts to use those safety devices. The law further requires drivers of those busses to inform riders of the law ...
MO House Approves HB 1443 The MISSOURI House gives initial approval to HB 1443 , which would, among several things, bar welfare recipients from cashing out benefits at an ATM machine and more clearly identify items that are may not be bought with those...
Environment In CA A federal court rules that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must move ahead to carry out the 2015 Ozone Standards and designate areas in the country that do not meet them. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District...
US SUPREME COURT REJECTS PA CONGRESSIONAL REMAP DELAY: A request from PENNSYLVANIA Republicans to delay redrawing the state’s congressional districts was rejected by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who fields emergency appeals from that...
A federal judge has struck down Florida’s clemency system for restoring the voting rights of ex-felons, ruling that it violates the U.S. Constitution’s First and Fourteenth Amendments. “Florida strips the right to vote from every...
A federal judge struck down parts of Kentucky’s judicial code intended to keep judges out of politics. Specifically U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar voided judicial conduct rules prohibiting judges and judicial candidates from publicly declaring...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) issued a set of rules last week aimed at ending the use of so-called “gay conversion” therapy in the Empire State. The controversial practice is used by some therapists in an effort to change the sexual orientation...
SC GOP PROPOSES CLOSING STATE’S PRIMARIES: The Republican Party of SOUTH CAROLINA announced last week that it will conduct an advisory referendum in the state’s June primaries asking voters if they want the option of affiliating with a...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) is the most popular governor in the nation, at least according to one new survey released last week. The study of 66,000 people from across the country by Morning Consult, which bills itself as “a media and technology...
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...
In 2004 California voters approved Proposition 71 , authorizing the sale of $3 billion in general obligation bonds to support human embryonic and other types of stem cell research. “Research that we do now holds the promise of cures for tomorrow...
Budget-driven Bridge Closures in MO The Missouri Department of Transportation says it doesn’t have money for badly needed bridge repairs around the state. Three bridges have already been shut down since the start of last year, and 641 have been...
ND EXPECTED TO TAKE $4.9M HIT FROM FEDERAL TAX REFORM As a result of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, NORTH DAKOTA will take in $4.9 million less in state income taxes in the two-year budget cycle that ends June 30, 2019, according to analysis by...