Saying “we only have so much dollars, and we’re trying to manage that as best as we can,” Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) said he has indefinitely deferred virtually all highway projects to expand capacity and reduce congestion clogging Aloha...
Missouri state employees are the lowest paid in the nation, according to a report from the office of Gov. Jay Nixon (D). The report revealed that the base salary for 37,906 Missouri prison guards, social service employees and other state workers is more...
A year ago Louisiana lawmakers, faced with worsening budget troubles, decided to cap the amount of solar tax credits the state issues each year through that program’s 2017 sunset date. Making matters worse for some solar-adopting residents, the...
A federal court dismisses a lawsuit brought forth by ALABAMA officials seeking to block Syrian refugees from being relocated in the Heart of Dixie. The court said the suit was too vague and “fails to state a claim for which relief may be granted”...
Cuomo Enlists Subway to Fight Zika NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said subway workers in New York City will help the state fight the spread of the Zika virus by dropping mosquito-killing larvicide tablets into puddles of stagnant water between rail...
Special Session in TN to Remove Lawmakers Up In Air Petitions to convene an extraordinary legislative session in TENNESSEE on Aug. 15 to expel state Reps. Jeremy Durham (R), accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with 22 women, and Joe...
OR Pension Costs Going Up Public employers across OREGON will have to pay $885 million more than expected in the next biennium to support the state's public pension system. The 10-percent increase over the previous forecast and 44-percent jump...
Public defenders everywhere know the job comes with burdens and challenges rarely seen by their private sector brethren. Number one on that list is the funding to pay for what they do. Nobody knows this better than Michael Barrett, director of the Missouri...
ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs HB 6021 , which allows state employees who retired prior to June 2011, and are in either the Illinois Teachers Retirement System, State Universities Retirement System or Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, to establish...
With the start of the games in Rio this week, predictions have begun rolling in—from the number of medals a country will win to whether Rio will prove as successful for brands as the London games in 2012. We have our own prediction to make: print...
All eyes are on Rio as athletes from around the world converge for the Summer Games, but these days, rather than touting the backstories of Olympic hopefuls, many headlines decry allegations of corruption—whether it’s bribery related to site...
Politics have dominated the headlines—and prime-time news channels—in recent weeks as media outlets zeroed in on the happenings at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. And LexisNexis was there right amidst media. As we...
Oh what a difference a single number can make. Some holders of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards in Maine discovered just how much of a difference last month when, as the Bangor Daily News reports , a man calling the help number listed on the back...
House and Senate Reach Final Agreement on MA SB 2119 The MASSACHUSETTS House and Senate reach final agreement on SB 2119 , gender pay equity legislation which requires men and women to be paid the same for similar work. The measure, which also bars...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) pushed back a bit this week on Attorney General Maura Healy’s (D) recently announced plan to begin prosecuting gun sellers and manufacturers that seek to go around the state’s ban on assault weapons. Baker...
Last month, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) had overstepped his authority when he issued an executive order in April restoring voting and other rights to more than 200,000 former felons, who encompass nearly a quarter...
On June 30, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced that he is considering pulling his state out of the Reciprocal Personal Income Tax Agreement with Pennsylvania, which since the 1970s has allowed individuals who live in one of those states and...
States are not equally prepared for a public health threat like the Zika virus, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s 2016 National Health Security Preparedness Index. That Index, which is based on over 100 different measures, including...
This week states will begin divvying up nearly $60 million in federal funds to combat the ongoing spread of the Zika virus, which can cause devastating birth defects in children born to mothers who have been infected. While not insignificant, that sum...
Devout Nebraska Cornhuskers football fans can relax – the balloons will continue to fly. As the Lincoln Journal Star reports , a federal judge recently rejected the plea of an Omaha man who wanted to bar fans from releasing balloons when Big Red...
Crime in Connecticut The CONNECTICUT Supreme Court reaffirms that a 2012 law abolishing the death penalty in the Constitution State applies to both future sentencing and those persons already sentenced to die for their crimes. The court had reached...
The NBA followed through on a threat to move its 2017 All Star Game out of North Carolina, announcing last month it would relocate the game from its originally planned site in Charlotte. That change is likely to cost the city and state an estimated $100...
Alabama’s Judicial Inquiry Commission argued this month that Chief Justice Roy Moore should be removed from office for urging his state’s probate judges to defy recent federal court rulings upholding gay marriage. “Because the...
New Jersey legislative leaders announced this month that they’ve agreed on a new plan to generate revenue for the state’s Transportation Trust Fund, which is expected to run out of money this month. The plan calls for a 23-cent increase in...
The California contingent may have been banished to the hinterlands at the recent Republican National Convention, but state Republican Party chair Jim Brulte made the best of it. As the Sacramento Bee reports , Brulte took advantage of being holed up...