The killing of 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida on June 12 by a man armed with a military-style assault rifle and a handgun hasn’t produced any more substantive action on gun control in Congress than other recent mass shootings. But...
Three of the eight states where the deadliest mass shootings since 1984 have occurred - California, Connecticut and New York - are among those with the strictest gun laws, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. None of those shootings took...
In 1991 Illinois went 18 days without a state budget. Then-Gov. Jim Edgar (R) said at the time that the state had never experienced a budget delay like it. That delay doesn’t seem quite so shocking now that the state has just become the first...
Pennsylvania’s General Assembly also passed a budget in the final hours of the fiscal year - sort of. What lawmakers sent to Gov. Tom Wolf (D) was a $31.5 billion general appropriations bill. A plan for how to pay for that spending has yet to be...
More Tax Cuts Coming to AR ARKANSAS Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said he’ll likely seek more tax cuts with the state having ended last fiscal year with a $177 million budget surplus. “The sky has not fallen because we had a tax cut, but as expected...
Last month a full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 7-4 in Peruta v. San Diego that “the right to keep and bear arms” granted by the Second Amendment doesn’t extend to concealed weapons. The case originated...
Iowa’s state Supreme Court has upheld that state’s lifetime voting ban for convicted felons. In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that all felonies are “infamous crimes” warranting permanent disenfranchisement under the state constitution...
CO Redistricting Initiative Stricken from November Ballot The COLORADO Supreme Court has voided an initiative bound for the state’s November ballot (Initiative 132) that would have turned over the job of drawing legislative and congressional...
When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) introduced his “Start-Up New York” jobs initiative in 2013, he promised it would “supercharge” the Empire State Economy and create 4,100 new jobs by 2020. But in spite of the state spending tens...
NH Gov Bans Gender Discrimination NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) issued EO 2016-04, which bars discrimination against transgender workers in state government. The policy covers state government employment, administration of state programs, and...
Business In CT The CONNECTICUT Supreme Court rules that state regulators can limit what tow truck operators charge motorists when police summon them to clear highway accidents. The ruling came in two cases where tow operators claimed the state could...
NC Gov Signs HB 972 NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signs HB 972 , which says footage from police body and dash cameras is not public record. Peripherally, the measure also allows government and private organizations to operate programs allowing...
NC Gov Signs HB 242 NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signs HB 242 , which would allow low performing elementary schools to be placed in a new, charter-operated district pilot program called Achievement School Districts. Under the law the ASD superintendent...
Health in DC The Federal Circuit rules that makers of biosimilar medications must always notify brand-name drug makers six months before unveiling their products on the market. Biosimilar makers had contended that making the notification requirement...
MA Endorses SB 2407 A MASSACHUSETTS joint House-Senate committee endorses SB 2407 , a bill that would bar discrimination against transgender people in places of public accommodation and allow them to use the restroom or locker room facilities that...
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is a hands-on kind of guy, Meaning he does things us peons take for granted, like dialing the phone himself when he wants to make a call. Sadly, that doesn’t jibe with the culture around the statehouse in Harrisburg, where...
The economy has improved a lot in recent years, but that doesn’t mean everything is just rosy for everyone. Take Maine Gov. Paul LePage, for instance. LePage is the lowest paid governor in the country, and the nickels just aren’t going as...
Vermont First Lady Katie Hunt is no fan of the media. As the Burlington Free Press reports , Hunt was miffed last year when the press leaked news of their engagement, which the couple had wanted to keep private. She also wasn’t thrilled with the...
Anyone who pays attention to the Supreme Court of the United States – a.k.a. the SCOTUS – keeps a close eye on SCOTUSblog, the outstanding blog that chronicles the goings on at the nation’s highest court. And then there are those other...
What’s the most debated topic of this year’s U.S. presidential campaign? According to a recent Washington Post article , it’s not the border wall, terrorism or emails: It’s the media’s coverage of Donald Trump. More specifically...
Everywhere you look—in print, on websites and across social media—negative news abounds. Those stories make for interesting reading unless, of course, the focus of the article is your own organization or individuals associated with it. Recently...
Technology has changed how we see the world. Take volcanos, for example. You can go to an interactive map that shows the current activity level of volcanos—and even click through to see live video feeds of the activity. If only it were that easy...
Immigrants, legal and otherwise, are having a difficult year. In Europe, swarms of refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war have overwhelmed the resources of many nations and fueled the rise of populist, nationalist political parties. In Britain, immigration...
Twenty-five states joined Texas in challenging President Obama’s executive actions on immigration policy in November 2014, expanding temporary relief from deportation for undocumented immigrants. Fifteen states also filed amicus, or “friend...
In the final hours of the fiscal year that ended on June 30, Pennsylvania lawmakers sent Gov. Tom Wolf (D) a bipartisan $31.5 billion general appropriations bill but didn’t include a plan for how to pay for that spending (see PA Passes Partial Budget...