The New Jersey Supreme Court sided with the state last week in ruling that retired public workers have no contractual right to cost-of-living increases. “The ramifications of a contract of that sort are harsh” because it “surrenders...
Four years ago, in presenting his proposed budget for 2013-14, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) declared that the state had finally ended its cycle of chronic multi-billion-dollar budget deficits. “For the next four years we are talking about...
The MICHIGAN Senate approves SB 239, which would bar local governments from imposing breed-specific dog bans. The measure is now in the House (MLIVE.COM). -- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
Going On In MD A federal appeals court strikes down MARYLAND’s first-in-the-nation prescription drug price gouging law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said in a 2-to-1 ruling that the 2017 law violates the commerce clause of...
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed legislation ( SB 5526 ) last Monday that will make the Evergreen State the first to test the so-called “public option” for health care insurance sold through the state health benefits exchange. The...
LAMONT REVISES CT SCHOOL SERVICES MEASURE CONNECTICUT Gov. Ned Lamont (D) recast a proposal to create a state commission tasked with encouraging Constitution State schools to cut costs by sharing more essential services. Many critics said SB 874 as...
CA Senate Hires Outside Attorneys The CALIFORNIA Senate announces it will hire outside attorneys for any sexual harassment abuse investigation involving either staff or lawmakers. The Senate has previously required complaints to be made through the...
It took almost 20 years, but California finally has a regulatory framework for its multi-billion dollar medical marijuana industry. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a trio of bills earlier this month that collectively govern virtually all aspects of the legal...
When most pols talk about cutting waste, fraud and abuse, they pretty much never mean anything that would directly impact them. But not so for newly-minted Wisconsin Treasurer Matt Adamczyk. As the New York Times reports, Adamczyk has spent most of his...
According to U.S. census data, almost two-thirds of California residences are single-family homes. And a survey last year by the University of California, Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation found that much of the state’s developable...
IN House Approves SB 52 The INDIANA House approves SB 52 , a bill that would legalize the use of low-level THC cannabis oil, which is used to treat some seizure disorders. It returns to the Senate (INDIANAPOLIS STAR). WI Governor Signs SB 770 ...
AK House Advances Same-Day Voter Registration: ALASKA’s House voted 22-17 last month in support of legislation ( HB 1 ) allowing residents of the state to register to vote and then immediately cast a ballot on Election Day. The Senate isn’t...
When Utah cities need more money to balance their budgets, they raise the fees they charge for water, sewage and other services managed through “enterprise funds” and divert some of the proceeds into their general funds instead of raising...
Hawaii House and Senate leaders reached a tentative agreement last month on a plan that would increase the state’s hotel tax to help fund Honolulu’s high-speed rail project. Pitched by House conferees on Senate Bill 1183 , the plan would increase...
Not long ago Minnesota’s health insurance exchange, MNsure, was in critical condition. Premiums were skyrocketing and health insurance companies were fleeing the market. But last year the state’s Legislature approved $542 million in funding...
NC CONGRESSIONAL MAP RULED PARTISAN GERRYMANDER The congressional map drawn by NORTH CAROLINA’s Republican-controlled General Assembly in 2011 was struck down this month by a panel of federal judges on the grounds that it violated the 14th Amendment...
A growing number of states and municipalities are going “green” with their bond sales. Developed about a decade ago to allow environmentally conscious investors to identify investments aligned with that priority, green bonds have become a...
MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signs a series of bills (SBs 795, 796, 797, 799 and 800) that collectively increase fines and penalties for anyone caught possessing, transporting and introducing non-native plant or animal species into the Wolverine State...
Outgoing ILLINOIS Gov. Pat Quinn (D) vetoes HB 4226, which would have ended a four-decade ban on the hunting of bobcats in the Prairie State (CHICAGO TRIBUNE). • MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signs a pair of bills (HBs 5045 and 5636) that together...
MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signs SB 1140, which clarifies that anyone involved with stealing a vehicle, whether driving or not, is not entitled to personal injury insurance benefits (LEXIS NEXIS STATE NET, MICHIGAN GOVERNOR'S OFFICE). • Also...
Dayton bashes poachers In the wake of the arrest of three men found to illegally have more than 3,000 pounds of snapping turtle meat, hundreds of turtle shells and 23 live turtles, MINNESOTA Gov. Mark Dayton (D) said he is considering renewing his...
NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 676, which requires Empire State hospitals to record the name, phone number and address of a patient’s main caregiver in that patient’s medical record before they can be released. The facility must also...
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D) announced last week that they’ve asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to evaluate the state’s election system after...
FEDERAL SPENDING DEBATE LIKELY TO DRAG INTO 2018 The U.S. Congress will likely miss a Dec. 8 deadline for passing legislation to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2018, extending the debate between Republicans and Democrats over federal...
Potpourri In NY & NJ The NEW YORK Assembly approves AB 2510, which would bar the transport of game trophies of threatened or endangered species through airports and facilities controlled by the Port Authority of New York and NEW JERSEY. It moves...