Last month the Michigan State Administrative Board, controlled by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), made $625 million in transfers within the departmental budgets approved by the state’s Legislature. That action only fueled an effort by Republicans who...
SCOTUS Overturns MI Gerrymandering Case The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling by a three-judge panel in April calling for the redrawing of several MICHIGAN Congressional and legislative districts before the 2020 election on the grounds that...
New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs is backing a proposal to quintuple the number of votes required for a political party to get its gubernatorial candidate on the ballot from 50,000 to 250,000, a threshold that would shut out virtually...
California Senate Gives Final Approval to SB 330 The CALIFORNIA Senate gives final approval to SB 330 , which would temporarily ban cities from imposing a moratorium on new housing construction, prohibit the changing of local zoning laws to outlaw...
Federal Judge In North Dakota Blocks State Law A federal judge in NORTH DAKOTA blocks a state law enacted earlier this year that required physicians to tell women they may reverse a so-called medication abortion if they have second thoughts. State...
California Assembly Gives Final Approval to AB 589 The CALIFORNIA Assembly gives final approval to AB 589 , which makes it a crime for an employer to confiscate a worker’s immigration documents as a way to force them into labor. The measure,...
California Governor Signs SB 276 and SB 714 CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs two vaccine-related measures: SB 276 , which would allow the state to investigate doctors who grant more than five medical vaccine exemptions in a single year, and SB...
California Assembly Gives Final Approval to AB 342 The CALIFORNIA Assembly gives final approval to AB 342 , which would bar new oil and gas wells in national parks and other protected areas in the Golden State. It moves to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who...
California Governor Signs SB 419 CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs SB 419 , which permanently prohibits willful defiance suspensions in grades four and five and bans such suspensions in grades six through eight for five years. The measure takes...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling this year in Rucho v. Common Cause slammed the door on partisan gerrymandering claims under the U.S. Constitution. In his opinion for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts maintained that it wasn’t possible...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) was joined last week by six former top state housing officials from thee different gubernatorial administrations in urging Bay State lawmakers to pass a bill before the end of the year to stimulate housing production...
Seattle City Council Approves Bike Lane Ordinance The SEATTLE City Council unanimously approves an ordinance requiring the city Department of Transportation to build protected bike lanes any time those lanes are included in the city’s long-term...
It’s been 10 months since Hurricane Michael slammed Florida’s Panhandle in October 2018. But more than 20,000 insurance claims from residential property owners - about 14 percent of the total number filed - remain open. That rate is...
The week in session States in Regular Session: AK, AL, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, HI, IA, IL, IN, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, US, VT, WA, WI States...
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) unveiled the first part of a two-part plan to overhaul health care in the Peach State. The reinsurance proposal Kemp announced calls for the state and federal governments to pay part of the costs of treating the sickest patients...
With all the hubbub over Ukraine, one can be excused for missing this little nugget. Early last month, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky took time off from his busy schedule to hold a press conference. Big deal, you say. Well, it was if you...
New York City Council Approves Ordinance The NEW YORK City Council approves an ordinance that would establish at least 20 waste collection zones, with service split up between three companies. Those firms would be selected through a city bidding process...
Oklahoma Judge Issues Temporary Injunction An OKLAHOMA judge issues a temporary injunction against an impending state law that would make it a felony for doctors to perform medically induced abortions without informing patients that such an abortion...
New York Governor Signs SB 5091 NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 5091 , a bill that requires pharmacies to inform patients whenever a Class 1 recall has been issued for a prescription drug they're taking. The notification, which can be made...
South Dakota Agrees To Not Enforce Provisions SOUTH DAKOTA agrees to not enforce provisions of a Coyote State law that would allow felony prosecutions and fines against those who encourage but don’t participate in protests against oil and gas...
Republicans appear likely to have picked up a Senate seat and between two and four Assembly seats in New Jersey in last week’s election. Those gains won’t be enough to dislodge Democrats’ hold on the state’s Legislature, given...
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) unveiled a plan to expand Medicaid in the Peach State, on the condition that new recipients pay monthly premiums and spend at least 80 hours a month working, volunteering, training or attending school. The expansion would be...
A group of more than two dozen governors pledged last week to continue upholding the tenets of the 2015 Paris climate accord even if President Donald Trump successfully pulls the U.S. out of the agreement. In a statement released by the U.S. Climate...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the Golden State government will no longer buy cars from carmakers that don’t adhere to the state’s strict emissions rules. The boycott is a direct response to a bevy of car companies that recently...
NC Dems Contest New Congressional Map NORTH CAROLINA’s Republican-led General Assembly approved a new court-ordered congressional district map this month that could cost the party at least two seats in the U.S. House. But Democrats still immediately...