The Petrobras bribery and corruption scandal feels more like a telenovela—the dramatic Latin American version of a soap opera. Honestly, as investigators uncover new stones, the wild twists and turns of the scandal offer more melodrama than a series...
When it comes to finding your way around the regulatory landscape, the overabundant use of acronyms may make you feel like you need a translator by your side. FCPA, OAFC, BSA, PEP and others … keeping all of them straight could be a full-time job—if...
It took 20 years, but California is finally implementing a regulatory framework for its billion dollar medical marijuana industry. Now all it needs is someone to run herd on the new agency being created to devise and implement those regulations. As the...
Business In New Jersey NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie (R) signs AB 3580, which bans the sale, possession and distribution of powdered or crystalline alcohol in the Garden State (NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR’S OFFICE). Also in NEW JERSEY , Gov. Christie...
Calling it an issue of “basic fairness and basic justice,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) unilaterally ordered pay for Empire State public workers raised to $15 an hour. The pay hike will impact approximately 10,000 state employees and be...
It’s no secret that some folks believe the answer to reforming America’s immigration system – the only answer - begins with building a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Back in 2011, Arizona lawmakers passed legislation authorizing...
A deadlock between Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and lawmakers has left the state budget-less four months into the current fiscal year. But the governor’s office and legislative leaders said last week they’d reached a tentative agreement...
Legislation related to daily fantasy sports (DFS) has been drafted or introduced this year in 16 states, according to LegalSportsReport.com, which covers the legal online sports wagering industry. The bills generally seek to legalize DFS in states that...
Crime In CA Prison officials in CALIFORNIA unveil a new lethal injection method that for the first time in state history calls for the use of only one drug to execute condemned inmates. The new method must still undergo a public comment period and...
Minnesota Rep. Joe Atkins (D) was stunned recently to hear that state law enforcement officials might be looking into whether people who play fantasy sports could be committing a crime. Atkins knows lots of people who play fantasy sports - no surprise...
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) recently issued an executive order stripping Attorney General Luther Strange (R) of the primary responsibility for enforcing the Heart of Dixie’s anti-gambling laws. Executive Order 13 gives that power instead to...
Any hope that Florida lawmakers would be able to determine new boundaries for the state’s Senate districts - in accordance with a settlement they reached with voting rights groups and voters over the map approved in 2012 - ended this month when...
Ballots trickling in after Election Day in the vote-by-mail state of Washington indicate that voters there have approved an initiative giving lawmakers an ultimatum: Pass a constitutional amendment by April 15 requiring a two-thirds majority vote for...
Using Veterans Day ceremonies as a backdrop, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) announced last week that the Old Dominion has become the first state to meet the federal definition of effectively ending homelessness among military veterans. Under that guideline...
In 2013 California endorsed legislation allowing unauthorized immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Since the law went into effect last January hundreds of thousands of newly-eligible folks have applied. And at least one California lawmaker believes...
MI Signs SB 103 MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signs SB 103, which requires school districts to set in place performance evaluation systems for all teachers and administrators that take into account student growth and assessment data (MICHIGAN GOVERNOR’S...
Bentley Weighing Medicaid Expansion ALABAMA Gov. Robert Bentley (R) said his administration is pondering expanding Medicaid eligibility. Bentley, who is a doctor, said he was concerned about the health care access for the state’s working poor...
MN Road Funding Gap MINNESOTA’s Department of Transportation has released a new estimate for the cost of repairing and expanding the state’s roads that predicts a nearly $4 billion, or 30 percent, bigger gap in unfunded road costs over...
Health & Science In NJ NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie (R) signs AB 4587, legislation that allows parents or educators to administer edible medical marijuana products to sick and disabled children on school grounds without fear of arrest [JURIST...
Most women endure “mansplaining” with the grace and tolerance said mansplainers rarely exhibit on their own. But United States Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri has about had enough. In a recent video clip for “The Late Show with Stephen...
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals strikes down President Barack Obama’s executive order allowing up to 5 million unauthorized immigrants to live and work in America without threat of deportation. The panel ruled 2-1 that...
New Jersey governor and 2016 Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie has vetoed election reform legislation passed by his state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature that would have expanded early voting, allowed online voter registration, and...
WISCONSIN Gov. Scott Walker (R) signs AB 308, which protects a person from civil liability if they break into a vehicle to remove a person or domestic animal they reasonably believe is suffering or would suffer imminent bodily harm if they did not forcibly...
MI Straight-Ticket Voting Ban Fast-tracked legislation moving through the MICHIGAN Legislature would eliminate voters’ ability to cast straight-ticket ballots for candidates of a single party. Supporters of SB 13, which was approved by committee...
Every fall and spring, there are a myriad of conferences filled with brilliant thought leaders sharing new ideas and reminding us practitioners where our focuses should lay. After attending several fantastic sessions focusing on PR, Marketing and Communications...