CUOMO CALLS FOR NY ABORTION AMENDMENT With Democrats now in control of both legislative chambers, NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called on Empire State lawmakers last week to pass a constitutional amendment codifying a woman’s right to legal...
States have long had a tortured relationship with legal requirements that children be vaccinated against contagious diseases such as measles and mumps before entering school. Every state requires such vaccinations, but all also allow exemptions for medical...
Los Angeles teachers ended their walkout and returned to their classrooms last week, after reaching a tentative contract agreement with the district. Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said there was wide support for the contract...
Airbnb collects and remits transient occupancy taxes, also known as hotel taxes, on behalf of its hosts in a dozen U.S. cities and the District of Columbia, according to the company’s website. Occupancy and sales taxes are also collected and remitted...
POT SALES SET ANOTHER RECORD IN CO: Marijuana sales reached a record $1.5 billion in COLORADO in 2017, topping the previous record of $1.3 billion set in 2016. About $1.09 billion came from sales of the drug for recreational use and the rest came from...
President Trump unveiled his long-awaited infrastructure plan last week. In broad terms the plan calls for using $200 billion in federal funding to stimulate $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment over the next decade. The $200 billion includes $100...
As of 2010, the state with the highest Facebook penetration rate - and conceivably one of the most social media-friendly populations, given Facebook’s status then and now as the nation’s most popular social networking site - was Washington...
Missouri lawmakers failed this session to agree on legislation to create a statewide prescription drug monitoring program, so Gov. Eric Greitens (R) opted to do it himself. Greitens last week issued Executive Order 17-18 , which directs state health officials...
In 2016 California voters approved Proposition 64, legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, on the promise that the measure would, among other things, generate billions of dollars in tax revenues for the state and curb sales on the black market....
It is the bane of office workers everywhere – the people who hit “reply all” to emails, resulting in a seemingly never-ending chain of replies and pleas to be removed from the list before violence ensues. Just such an event recently...
The U.S. Supreme Court declined a request from Virginia Republicans for a stay on the redrawing of 11 House districts that a panel of federal judges ruled last June had been racially gerrymandered. The decision wasn’t a total loss for the...
American politicians’ opposition to direct democracy dates back to the earliest days of the republic. But that resistance has reached a new level recently in the states, where elected officials are taking aim at voter-approved ballot measures and...
Illinois Approves SB 1502 The ILLINOIS Senate approves SB 1502 , a measure that would require online companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon to disclose to consumers what data about them has been collected and shared with third parties. It is...
A proposed initiative for California’s November ballot would make a big change to Proposition 13, the landmark Constitutional amendment approved by the state’s voters in 1978, limiting property taxes to 1 percent of a property’s market...
In this space last year we noted the key word in sussing out America’s legislative landscape in 2017 would be uncertainty, due primarily to questions and concerns over the incoming presidential administration and one party having control over Congress...
As spring arrives in California, scientists and public officials are taking stock of a stormy winter that eased the state’s five-year drought but exposed the vulnerability to age and climate change of the Golden State’s dams, levees, and bridges...
The National Governors Association recently welcomed Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval as its new president. As with all incoming NGA leaders, Sandoval has his own pet initiative: convincing his fellow govs – some of who appear to be technophobic at best...
Louisiana Approves HB 71 The LOUISIANA House approves HB 71 , which would prohibit the removal of any military monument from any war without approval from a majority of voters. The measure, which is aimed at preventing the removal of Civil War monuments...
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said he would soon issue an executive order to enhance LGBTQ protections in the Tar Heel State. Speaking at a conference of the Center for American Progress in Washington D.C. last Tuesday, Cooper did not elaborate on...
SUPREME COURT STAYS TX REMAP ORDER: The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the Aug. 24 ruling by a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Western District of TEXAS that several of that state’s legislative districts had been drawn...
North Carolina lawmakers have voted to require identification for people who vote absentee, a reaction to allegations of voter fraud that have led to calls for a new congressional election in part of the state. The House added a provision on absentee...
Issues like budgets and funding for education are staples of every legislative session in every state. In our second installment of our annual three-part legislative preview, we continue our look at other issues we think will keep lawmakers occupied in...
The makers of several cigarette brands, including Salem and Winston, have stopped paying Minnesota the money they owe it under the 1998 multistate tobacco settlement agreement. That has left the state with an estimated $15 million less per year to spend...
Last year, HSBC announced plans to hire 1,000 data scientists to work on AI and big data projects which it hopes will improve its customer experience and risk management. Josh Bottomley, Global Head of Digital Data and Development at HSBC, explains to...
Maryland Signs HB 631 MARYLAND Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signs HB 631 , which allows Old Line State officials to force drug manufacturers whose products are incorporated in state-run health programs to explain and justify dramatic price increases. The measure...