California Approves SB 439 The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 439 , which would ensure that counties treat juvenile offenders 11 or younger in the child services system instead of the juvenile courts. It moves to the Assembly (ASSOCIATED PRESS). ...
NV Senate Unanimously Approves SB 358 The NEVADA Senate unanimously approves SB 358 , which would raise the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 50 percent by 2030. It moves to the Assembly (NEVADA INDEPENDENT).
Most states effectively bar unauthorized immigrants from obtaining a driver’s license by requiring a Social Security number for doing so. But 10 states allow undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license with a foreign passport or birth...
Education In IL The ILLINOIS State Board of Education announces the Prairie State will stop using the controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers in reading and math, exams based on the Common Core curriculum designed...
Things are getting snippy in Maryland, where Gov. Larry Hogan has drawn some fire for deleting comments critical of him from his official Facebook page. As the Baltimore Sun reports , Dems are incensed because someone on the gov’s staff recently...
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) has proposed a plan to provide $300 million a year in funding for the state’s roads and highways - which would make it the largest road plan in the state’s history - and about $114 million a year for city and...
At a news conference last week, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (DFL) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers called for a tax on prescription opioids. The $20 million per year that the proposed levy of a penny per pill would potentially generate would go toward...
Inslee Signs Real ID Bill WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed a bill last week that will make the Evergreen State the 25 th to comply with the federal Real ID law, which requires states to produce driver’s licenses and identification cards...
Baker Tries Again on MA Police Assault Bill After lawmakers killed a similar proposal last session, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) refiled legislation last week that would make it a felony to assault and cause serious bodily harm to a police...
Sacramento City Council Passes Ordinance The SACRAMENTO City Council passes an ordinance that makes it illegal to sell flavored e-cigarette cartridges, menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products within city limits (SACRAMENTO BEE). CO...
The office of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted issued a news release last month stating that a recent review of the Statewide Registered Voter Database identified 385 non-citizens registered to vote in the state, 82 of whom voted in at least one recent...
Speaking of dysfunction - Wisconsin! We could stop there, but let’s wade a tad further into the shallow end of the pool. From the moment voters gave sleepy-eyed Gov. Scott Walker his walking papers last November, Republicans have done everything...
Former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) was famous for his “paddle to the left, paddle to the right” philosophy of governance. But in his State of the State address last Tuesday, new Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) made clear he is paddling his own way...
Like millions of other Americans, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is good and ready for the annual NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – a.k.a. March Madness – to get started. As MLive.com reports , Whitmer has her bracket all filled out...
Hawaii’s House and Senate both passed bills last week that would require short-term rental platforms like Airbnb to collect and pay taxes on behalf of their hosts. Collection of the state’s transient accommodations and general excise...
A call for the first sales tax increase in Texas in nearly 30 years came from an unlikely source last week: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has routinely touted his state as a haven for tax- and regulation-averse conservatives. His proposed penny...
For the first time in 25 years, teachers in the Denver Public Schools system have gone on strike. Over 2,500 walked off the job last Monday when an 11th hour effort to hammer out a new contract with better pay fell apart after 15 months of negotiations...
Last November, 53 percent of Utah voted endorsed a ballot measure to expand eligibility for the state’s Medicaid program. Last week, Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed legislation to do that, but the bills he signed will provide coverage for far fewer...
Dumb As A Rock : Whatever your position on guns, it would seem to be really dumb to verbally attack shooting victims or survivors. Sadly, from Sandy Hook to Parkland there is a plethora of examples of current and wannabe pols who have chosen to do just...
Florida Signs SB 436 FLORIDA Gov. Rick Scott (R) signs SB 436 , a measure to ensure that students are able to express their religious views in class assignments, on their clothing or jewelry or by praying during the school day (ORLANDO SENTINEL). ...
If you have always wanted to live in the governor’s mansion, here’s your chance. Just one caveat: you don’t actually get to be the governor. Actually, there are more caveats than that. As the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports , North...
If a game show host and failed developer can become president, why not an alleged comedian? That seems to be the thought in New Jersey, where Fox News reports that former Saturday Night Live cast member and current radio talk blatherer Joe Piscopo is...
OR Senate Approves SB 80 The OREGON Senate approves SB 80 , which would bar restaurants and other food outlets from dispensing plastic straws unless a customer asks for one. It moves to the House (OREGONIAN [PORTLAND]).
AL Approves BP-Backed Bond Sale ALABAMA has approved a plan to use $850 million in oil spill settlement payments from BP to back a bond offering expected to generate $610 million. Those proceeds will be used to repay $400 million in transfers from...
Speaking of fast times in California’s sprawling Central Valley, how’s a Golden State Autobahn grab you? As the Los Angeles Times reports , state Sen. John Moorlach has introduced a bill that would authorize building new lanes with no speed...