Nevada Senate Approves SB 370 The NEVADA Senate gives unanimous approval to SB 370 , which makes it illegal to transport hunters, their gear or animals from an airport or heliport unless the facility was established by a government agency and is accessible...
Montana Senate Approves SB 329 The MONTANA Senate approves SB 329 , which would prohibit abortions on potentially viable fetuses and subject doctors to criminal charges if they failed to take steps to try and save the life of the child. It moves to...
Vermont Governor Signs SB 79 VERMONT Gov. Phil Scott (R) signs SB 79 , legislation that makes it illegal for any Vermont law enforcement agency to enter into a formal enforcement agreement with federal immigration authorities, unless that agency gets...
Oklahoma Senate Declines SB 226 The OKLAHOMA Senate Judiciary Committee declines to hear SB 226 , so-called “Good Samaritan” legislation that would have allowed Sooner State law enforcement discretion to not arrest someone who calls for...
California Air Resources Board Approval The CALIFORNIA Air Resources Board approves new rules that will require oil and gas companies above a certain size to implement vapor recovery systems that will allow for methane that would otherwise be lost...
Mississippi Legislature Approves SB 2273 The MISSISSIPPI Legislature gives final approval to SB 2273 , which would reinforce that cursive writing be taught to Magnolia State public school students. It is now with Gov. Phil Bryant (R), who is expected...
For policy makers at all levels of government, battling the national opioid epidemic can feel like a deadly game of Whack-a-Mole: No matter how many times they attack a particular element of the problem, another one just pops up somewhere else. But since...
Mississippi Lawmakers Approve HB 638 Lawmakers in MISSISSIPPI give final approval to HB 638 , which would allow authorities to use a firing squad to carry out executions. The measure is now with Gov. Phil Bryant (R), who has indicated he will sign...
Between 2014 and 2015 death rates due to opioid overdose rose by over 25 percent - more than twice the national average (11 percent) - in five states and the District of Columbia. The five states with the highest opioid death rates in 2015 were West Virginia...
Georgia Senate Approves HB 481 The GEORGIA Senate approves HB 481 , which would regulate the operation of drones in the Peach State and bar local governments from adopting their own laws around drone operation. It goes to Gov. Nathan Deal (R), who...
Rare is the day some lawmaker somewhere doesn’t invoke their religion as cause for opposing or supporting a bill. But as my religious friends will tell you, if you have God then you also have to have Satan, and Old Ned is definitely looking to make...
Dedicated members of “Arnie’s Army” know the great golfer Arnold Palmer was a native of Latrobe, PA. But in later years Palmer loved to winter in Florida, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill near Orlando is one of the most...
And speaking of motions not of this realm, the Asbury Park Press reports that last week lightning struck the New Jersey governor’s mansion. The governor wasn’t there and nobody was hurt, but you have to wonder just how many signals from on...
Keeping your brand's reputation intact is your primary duty as a public relations professional in 2017. Being ready for crises is an essential element of this kind of brand image protection. When an organization implements a major change in the way...
Two years ago, the United Nations set 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to “end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all” by 2030. This astounding effort, led by 193 countries, encourages organizations and citizens...
Last month, the inaugural Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) was launched. The Benchmark analysed 98 of the Global 500 largest publicly listed companies on their human rights performance. In this blog, we give insight into the results of the first...
Late last year, after Republican Gov. Pat McCrory (R) became the only incumbent governor ever to lose a reelection bid in North Carolina, the state’s GOP-led General Assembly passed legislation restricting appointment powers of Democratic Gov.-elect...
Republicans control both chambers of the legislature and the governor’s office in 24 states, while Democrats hold that level of control over the government in just seven. Control of the legislative and executive branch is split between the two parties...
NY PASSES BUDGET EXTENSION NEW YORK lawmakers approved a budget extension that will keep the state government operating through the next fiscal year as well as provide nearly $1.8 billion for economic development projects favored by Gov. Andrew Cuomo...
A bill ( SB 267 ) introduced in Colorado last month would allocate $300 million for road projects in rural counties, $400 million for rural school districts and millions of dollars for rural hospitals that serve large numbers of Medicaid participants...
The same distress over the disappearance of jobs in rural communities that helped drive the successful presidential campaign of Donald Trump is leading some states to turn to a complex economic development approach that hasn’t lived up to its advocates’...
VOTE-BY-MAIL ADVANCES IN HI Two HAWAII Senate committees unanimously approved an amended version of a bill ( HB 1401 ) already passed by the House that would institute voting by mail throughout the state by 2020. But supporters fear even if the Senate...
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking a Seattle law - the first of its kind in the nation - allowing Uber, Lyft and taxi drivers to unionize and collectively bargain for pay, benefits and working conditions. The law...
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a New Hampshire law prohibiting voters from taking “selfies” with their ballots on Election Day. The state passed the ban in 2014 out of concern that such photos could open the door...
In a direct challenge to the immigration policies of President Donald Trump, California’s Democrat-controlled Senate passed a bill ( SB 54 ) along party lines last week that would “prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies, including...