Cuomo Threatens NYC Utility NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) threatened to revoke the license of a utility that provides gas to New York City and Long Island unless it begins providing natural gas to new customers on Long Island. Cuomo also vowed to...
MN, NC MAY BE IN RECESSION MINNESOTA and NORTH CAROLINA may be in a recession, according to research indicating that when a state’s unemployment rate rises by at least 0.4 percentage points above its lowest rate in the preceding 12 months, there’s...
At least 27 states have considered legislation this year dealing with the privacy of consumer data, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . Consumer data privacy bills were enacted in six of those states, while measures are still...
Halfway through the California legislative session this summer, it looked like the tech industry and other corporate interests were easily winning a furious battle to re-shape the state’s highly anticipated data privacy law before it goes into effect...
California Governor Vetoes AB 710 CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoes AB 710 , which would have required Golden State colleges and universities to post on their websites information about the cost of attending those institutions (LEXISNEXIS STATE...
United State Court of Appeals Upholds Ruling The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upholds the power of the Federal Communications Commission to roll back net neutrality rules, but also upholds the power of states...
Just over a week after legislative district maps drawn by North Carolina’s GOP-controlled General Assembly were declared unconstitutional by a judicial panel , there was more political controversy in the state last week over a budget veto override...
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) warned lawmakers planning another attempt at legalizing industrial hemp that a new bill will meet the same fate as this year’s bill: a veto. In her veto statement for HB 1191 last March, Noem said “There...
Some folks leave quietly; others go with both middle fingers flying. Put Jennifer Kent, director of the state Department of Health Care Services, in the latter group. I should say former director, as Kent recently announced she was leaving her post. And...
NY LOBBYING DISCLOSURE LAW RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL A federal judge has struck down a law passed in NEW YORK in 2016 requiring nonprofits that lobby to disclose more information about their donors than had previously been required. Judge Denise Cote...
A person or persons attempted to breach West Virginia’s mobile voting system for military and overseas voters during last year’s midterm election, state and federal officials announced last week. The attack is believed to have come from inside...
PUSH FOR ‘JUNGLE PRIMARY’ IN FL FLORIDA billionaire Mike Fernandez, who left the Republican Party because of his opposition to President Trump, is spending millions of dollars to place a measure before voters in 2020 that would shift the...
California would have the fifth largest economy in the world if the state was a separate nation. And ever since Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States, the Golden State has behaved as if it really is a separate country, standing...
Back in the 1970s much was made of then-California Gov. Jerry Brown living in an unfurnished apartment near the Capitol rather than in the opulent Governor’s Mansion he had occupied for a bit as a kid while his dad was governor the decade before...
Faced with the imminent threat of litigation from her own attorney general, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) has dropped her effort to allow thousands of Show Me State residents to continue receiving food stamps without meeting state-mandated work requirements...
Berkeley California City Council Approves Ordinance The BERKELEY , CALIFORNIA City Council unanimously approves an ordinance to bar the use of natural gas in new buildings. The law takes effect on Jan. 1 2020 (BERKELEYSIDE). San Diego City Council...
If you live in Detroit, Cleveland or Newark, odds are good the stress level in your world is pretty high. Conversely, if you reside in Fremont, California or Bismarck, North Dakota, life is likely a much smoother ride. Those conclusions are according...
Missouri Governor Signs HB 260 MISSOURI Gov. Mike Parson (R) signs HB 260 , an anti-poaching measure that significantly raises fines for those convicted of illegally taking game species and other native wildlife. Fines will range up to $5,000 for each...
OH Senate Approves SB 155 & SB 208 The OHIO Senate approves two abortion measures: SB 155 , a bill that would require doctors to inform women about the option to reverse a medication abortion, a claim not supported by the medical establishment...
FL Senate Approves SB 172 The FLORIDA Senate Committee on Innovation, Industry, And Technology approves SB 172 , which would block local regulation of over-the-counter drugs and cosmetics, including all sunscreens. The bill, which would grant that...
An Iowa judge upheld provisions of a recent state voting law - HF 516 (2017) - requiring voters to show identification at the polls and provide an ID number when requesting an absentee ballot. “The evidence presented simply did not demonstrate...
TROUBLED NJ ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY AWARDS TAX BREAKS The NEW JERSEY Economic Development Authority has released $533 million in tax breaks for 31 companies that had been on hold since the state’s incentive programs came under scrutiny this...
Big property tax increases appear to be coming to some of Texas’ biggest cities and counties this fall. El Paso, Harris, Tarrant, Travis and Webb counties and the cities of Austin, Corpus Christi and El Paso are all among those pushing for increases...
In recent years several cities, including San Francisco, Boulder, and Seattle, have imposed excise taxes on sodas and other sugary drinks with much fanfare - and much resistance from soda producers. Washington, D.C. took a different approach, quietly...
Things at the California Capitol have been anything but peaceful of late, with controversial legislation dealing with the gig economy, rent control and vaccinations ensuring that folks on all sides have made their presence felt every day. Loudly felt...