State and local governments are currently banned from taxing access to the Internet by the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, enacted in 1998 and extended several times since. But with the present 9-month extension set to expire on Oct. 1 and little certainty...
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a major challenge to Wisconsin’s voter ID law. The law, which is one of the strictest in the country, was passed in 2011. But it was struck down by a federal judge on the grounds that it would “deter...
Oh yes, yes she did. University of Florida student Pieter Hanson was in the middle of a test recently when his phone started going off nonstop. Fearful something terrible had happened, he quickly handed in his test and headed for the hallway. But nothing...
Speaking of head-shakers, word comes from New Jersey that a pair of lawmakers are crafting a bill that would force any Garden State governor wishing to run for president – Chris Christie comes to mind - to step down from the governor’s office...
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) strongly denied that the closure of 31 mostly rural Heart of Dixie DMV offices is based on race or an effort to suppress minority voters. Bentley called such accusations “politics at its worst.” His remarks...
Only three states — Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York — reached their enrollment targets in the first month of open enrollment in the health insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act. All three states, which run their...
These continue to be dark days for New Jersey’s one-time political superstar Gov. Chris Christie. First there was Bridgegate. Then there was his long-anticipated but hardly notable presidential campaign, which went over like a pin in a balloon factory...
California Approves SB 1234 The CALIFORNIA Senate gives final approval to SB 1234 , which would create a state-sponsored retirement plan for workers employed by companies that don’t offer a retirement savings plan of their own. Employers would...
A bill to bring online voter registration to Texas came before the state’s House Elections Committee this month. Dozens of people signed up in support of the measure, HB 76, and a number of experts testified about its viability, but a handful of...
It was a week of big announcements from California Gov. Jerry Brown (D). First, on Tuesday, Brown announced a proposal to hit the state’s biggest water wasters with fines up to $10,000, a significant increase over the current maximum penalty of...
Social Policy In Oklahoma The OKLAHOMA Supreme Court rules that a 2015 law ( SB 642 ) that would have made it a felony for someone to help a minor obtain an abortion without parental consent is unconstitutional. The court ruled that the law, which...
Social Policy In Arkansas The U.S. Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples in ARKANSAS are entitled to have both their names listed on their child's birth certificate. The ruling overturns a Razorback State law that blocked both parents’...
Over the past 50 years the manufacturing industry has gone from comprising a third of the U.S. economy to 18 percent, while the services industry has gone from making up half of U.S. GDP to over two-thirds. States have tried to adjust to that shift...
There were some big wins for transportation funding in this month’s election. The biggest was California voters’ rejection of Proposition 6, a GOP-backed effort to repeal the gas tax enacted by the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature...
As of early last week, the numerous wildfires raging in California - including the Camp Fire, the most destructive in the state’s history - had collectively burned over 280,000 acres, destroyed almost 7,000 homes and businesses, forced the evacuation...
MN Gov. Issues Bee EO MINNESOTA Gov. Mark Dayton (D) issued Executive Order 16-07 , which limits the use of pesticides that harm the Gopher State’s honeybee population. The governor’s order directs the state’s Department of Agriculture...
Speaking of verbal boo boos...let’s give a nice golf clap to Nevada state Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald. During the state roll call at the July RNC in Cleveland, McDonald referred to Las Vegas as being “the most entertaining capital...
IN Lt. Gov. Steps Down INDIANA Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann (R) announced last week she will not join Gov. Mike Pence (R) in his bid for re-election, and will instead resign her office this month in preparation for becoming president of the Hoosier State’s...
This month North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) ordered most state agencies to cut their budgets by more than 4 percent, the highest dollar amount in state history, according to Office of Management and Budget Director Pam Sharp. The governor’s...
TX Tax Relief The TEXAS House has tentatively approved a $4.9 billion tax relief plan that includes a sales tax cut. The Senate’s plan favors property tax cuts instead (TEXAS TRIBUNE [AUSTIN]). RI Approves Casino Hotel RHODE ISLAND Gov...
Supporters of the new Kansas law restricting how welfare recipients spend their benefits (see KS AIMS TO LIMIT HOW WELFARE RECIPIENTS SPEND BENEFITS in the April 13 issue of SNCJ ) said it’s intended to push the poor to find work. “The...
Kansas House Bill 2258, passed by the Sunflower State Legislature this month, would prohibit recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families from spending those funds on a long list of items including alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, concerts...
Last month the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that public workers who opt out of union membership can’t be required to pay fees supporting union collective bargaining efforts even if they benefit from them. The decision is expected...
With a GOP plan to fully or partly repeal the Affordable Care Act now dead, Congressional attention has turned to how or if to bolster the individual insurance marketplace. In many states such marketplaces are struggling with both rising premiums and...
Tax Swap In Works In LA The LOUISIANA House passed a pair of bills last week ( HB 359 and HB 360 ) that would establish flat tax rates for individuals of 3.95 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, while eliminating the state deduction for federal...