Visitors to the Washington statehouse in Olympia on Jan. 25 were greeted by something not usually seen on the idyllic, manicured Capitol grounds: over 1,100 red, yellow or white tombstones, one for each of the Evergreen State residents to die by their...
During the 2013-14 legislative year, 14 states enacted bills related to Mental Health First Aid - CPR-like training to help emergency personnel, teachers and others recognize and respond to mental health disorders - according to the National Council for...
A pair of legal cases could have a big impact on budget decisions in Texas next year, when lawmakers meet again in regular session. One of the cases, set to go before the Texas Supreme Court in March, revolves around the issue of whether metal pipes...
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...
The Washington, D.C. Council gave preliminary approval last week for an anti-crime bill that would, among other things, pay as many as 200 residents of the District who are at risk of committing or being a victim of violent crime up to $9,000 a year for...
TX Planning $1.3B in Transportation Projects The TEXAS Transportation Commission unveiled a plan last month calling for $1.3 billion in roadway projects to reduce traffic congestion around the state's five largest cities: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth...
For at least the fifth year in a row, Indiana Rep. David Wolkins (R) is backing a measure that an editorial in The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne referred to as “one of the worst legislative bills being considered once again this session.”...
NC Voter ID Trial Over Attorneys on both sides of the federal court case over NORTH CAROLINA’s 2013 voter ID law that began last month presented closing arguments last week. It isn’t clear when U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder will...
Just days after signing legislation to authorize $28 million in relief funds for Flint, embattled Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) said he would ask lawmakers for another $30 million to help residents there pay their water bills. The money would go toward...
Bowing to pressure from business leaders, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) released a revised minimum wage plan Friday that scales back proposed increases but offers workers a raise as soon as this summer. Brown’s original proposal would have raised the...
Saying “the war on drugs has failed when it comes to marijuana prohibition,” Vermont Gov. Pete Shumlin (D) announced his support for SB 137, legislation currently before lawmakers that would “cautiously and deliberately” legalize...
Dayton Out of Hospital MINNESOTA Gov. Mark Dayton (D) was briefly hospitalized last week after fainting at a public event. The 69-year-old Dayton, who also underwent elective back surgery last December, was released after one day. Doctors believe he...
Business in DE The DELAWARE Senate approves SB 39, a bill that would raise the First State minimum wage to $10.25 by 2020. It is now in the House (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET, DELAWAREONLINE.COM). Business in IN The INDIANA House approves HB 1247, which...
Crime & Punishment in NM The NEW MEXICO House approves HB 56, a bill that would add the crimes of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, first-degree child abuse and aggravated burglary to those which would qualify offenders for a mandatory life...
Education in SD The SOUTH DAKOTA House approves HB 1008, a bill that would bar transgender students from using bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities of the gender with which they identify if those facilities don’t correspond with their...
Environment in CA The U.S. Department of Interior agrees to stop approving oil and gas permits for drilling that uses hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, off the coast of CALIFORNIA until further study determines the practice is safe. The agreement...
The ILLINOIS Department of Health rejects a recommendation from the state Medical Cannabis Advisory Board to add eight conditions — including autism, irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, osteoarthritis and several pain-related...
The GEORGIA Supreme Court rejects an appeal to allow unauthorized immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at Peach State colleges and universities. The court said state law grants the Georgia Board of Regents immunity from such suits. Plaintiffs said...
Social Policy in CO The COLORADO Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs rejects SB 25, so-called ‘death with dignity” legislation that would have allowed doctors to prescribe drugs to terminally ill patients that help...
The NEW MEXICO House approves HB 29, which would allow local communities to impose curfews on teenagers under age 16. The measure moves to the Senate (KRQE.COM [ALBUQUERQUE]). -- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
The snowstorm that recently hit the East Coast was no doubt a big ‘un. But the freezing temps and mountains of snow certainly didn’t thwart hearty lawmakers in the U.S. Senate, who braved it all to show up for work to honor their pledge to...
Lobbyists give lawmakers gifts. It’s as regular as the sun rising in the east. For the most part that means meals, sports tickets, yada, yada, yada. But if Missouri Rep. Bart Korman gets his way, that list of reportable gifts will soon grow to include...
Speaking of the allure of the opposite sex...one Kansas lawmaker saw his own attempt to curtail such things blow up in his face last week. As Governing and the Kansas City Star report , Sen. Mitch Holmes has retracted rules he recently imposed on anyone...
A whopping 84 GOP freshmen were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, many of them part of the historic Tea Party wave that promised to change how things were done in stodgy old, gridlocked D.C. Well, a little over five years down the...
What’s a hotter media topic, Super Bowl 50 or the presidential election? If you’re one of the estimated 189 million who are expected to watch, stream or follow Sunday’s big game—or if you’re a fan of the Panthers or Broncos—you...