The CALIFORNIA Assembly approves AB 1730 , which would create a pilot program to provide temporary housing and other services for sexually exploited children. It moves to the Senate (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). -- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
California Vetoes AB 1279 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoes AB 1279 , which would have required the state Department of Health to develop an outreach program to increase awareness of the disease Valley Fever. Brown said the agency already has...
Since 2017 over 55,000 people from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have come to the United States seeking asylum. That flood of new immigrants is stretching the resources of city and state governments - particularly those in California, Florida, Maryland...
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed measures last week that address human trafficking, the state’s enormous backlog of rape kits, and providing increased resources for survivors of sexual assault. Abbott lauded the trafficking bills –...
Calling mass school shootings “a new and frightening phenomenon,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) proposed last week to allow teachers, principals and other school officials to petition a judge to remove guns from the homes of troubled students...
Social Policy In Iowa A county judge in IOWA upholds the Hawkeye State’s new law imposing a 72-hour waiting period on women seeking an abortion. The plaintiffs in the case, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, filed an intention...
Visitors to the Colorado statehouse in Denver will find a wall adorned with portraits of America’s presidents. Washington. Lincoln. Roosevelt. Kennedy. Bush. Putin. Wait, what? Putin you say? The former KGB agent and notorious Russian dictator?...
OH Governor Signs SB 1 OHIO Gov. John Kasich (R) signs SB 1 , which increases prison sentences for drug offenses involving fentanyl-related compounds by three to eight years (COLUMBUS DISPATCH).
The KENTUCKY Board of Education reaches a settlement with Jefferson County Public Schools avoiding a state takeover of the 100,000-student district in Louisville, the Commonwealth’s largest city. The state Education Commissioner, Wayne Lewis, had...
For the past several years states have been pretty good about saving money for a rainy day. Most have restored their cash reserves to pre-Great Recession levels, and 13 have actually socked away twice as much money, a notable achievement considering the...
An ARKANSAS judge rules that Razorback State corrections officials must reveal their source for drugs used to execute condemned prisoners. Officials have appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court (DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE [LITTLE ROCK]).
CA City Council Adopts Ordinance The city of LOS ALAMOS, CALIFORNIA adopts an ordinance exempting itself from the Golden State’s so-called “sanctuary state” law that restricts local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal...
The federal tax overhaul pushed through Congress by the Republican majority in December doubled the exemption threshold for the estate tax levied on property and other assets transferred from deceased individuals to their heirs - earning it the epithet...
CA Assembly Approves AB 1162 The CALIFORNIA Assembly approves AB 1162 , which would largely ban the small bottles of shampoo and other toiletries provided by hotels. Hotels could still provide the small bottles of shampoo and other personal care products...
CO Governor Signs SB 176 COLORADO Gov. Jared Polis (D) signs SB 176 , which requires Centennial State school districts to offer opportunities for qualified high school students to enroll in college-level classes that can be applied to both a high school...
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) vetoed a controversial bill last week that would have given police the power to pursue hackers who probe computer systems but don’t steal any data. Opponents said the bill would also have prohibited so-called “white...
The INDIANA Senate approves SB 91, legislation that would overturn a Hoosier State law that sealed adoption records that did not contain a disclosure consent form. Under the bill, adoption records for people born between 1941 and 1994 would become available...
A federal court rules that a CALIFORNIA law banning the force-feeding of ducks and geese in order to artificially enlarge their livers, or the sale of products made from that process, is unconstitutional. Force-feeding the fowl is a key part of making...
The PENNSYLVANIA Department of Corrections announces it will no longer place inmates with serious mental illnesses in solitary confinement. Those prisoners will now be placed in special treatment units instead. The agreement settles a lawsuit brought...
CA governor signs AB 1775 and SB 874 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 1775 and SB 874 , which together bar the State Lands Commission from granting leases for new pipelines and infrastructure to companies looking to drill for oil off the state’s...
ME Senate Approves HB 798 The MAINE Senate approves HB 798 , which would abolish all but purely medical exemptions from the state’s school vaccination law. It moves to Gov. Janet Mills (D), who is expected to sign it (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD)....
Federal Court Rules on KY Law A federal court rules that a 2018 KENTUCKY law that effectively banned abortions after the 15 th week of pregnancy is unconstitutional. State officials say they would appeal the ruling (LOUISVILLE COURIER JOURNAL). ...
And since we’re talking about bodacious 24 hour party people, the Los Angeles Times reports that California lawmakers will soon ponder legislation to make surfing the official state sport. In a statement, bill author Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi said...
Clear leaders emerged in TEXAS' three special legislative elections last Tuesday, but none of the candidates appeared to have received the 50-percent voter support needed to win outright. So all three of the races — in House District 17, House...
The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court votes to bar state judges from belonging to non-profit youth organizations if those groups practice any form of discrimination (LOS ANGELES TIMES).