CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoes AB 1060, which would have required the state Health and Human Services Agency to create a non-profit foundation to solicit donations to fund participation in clinical drug trials. Brown said there are already numerous...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs ABx2-15, which makes the Golden State the fifth to allow doctors to prescribe terminally ill patients drugs to help them end their own life. For more on this see SNCJ Spotlight in this issue (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 96, a bill that removes an exemption in a state law barring the sale of elephant ivory or rhinoceros horn. The sale and possession of these products have been banned for years but those imported prior to Jan. 1...
Mass deaths from falsified medicines are not uncommon. In 2012, a fake tuberculosis drug administered to patients at a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, killed 100 people. Officials in India investigating the deaths of more than 8,000 people in a Himalayan...
As we mentioned in a previous post , September was National Preparedness Month. Now October seems destined to put us to the test. An NPR broadcast this morning points out one big problem with preparedness planning—it only works when you’re...
In the classic cartoon, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown , Linus says , “There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.” Obviously, the media doesn’t hold to...
For years, a small but vocal – very vocal – group of Californians has been pushing hard for the Golden State to legalize ferrets, a small member of the weasel family they contend make great pets. Alas, lawmakers in Sacramento rarely agree...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 1222, which among several things codifies regulations that currently apply to individual tow truck drivers to also apply to towing companies and requires a towing company or the owner or operator of a tow truck...
Citing ongoing conflict with lawmakers of both parties, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said he will wait until at least January before seeking to fill dozens of vacancies on state boards and agencies. Angry that lawmakers had not acted on tax reform proposals...
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced last month that he was recusing himself from a court case concerning the state’s judicial system, and he called on the state’s Supreme Court justices to do the same in another related case. ...
Pennsylvania’s Republican-led House and Senate passed an $11-billion stopgap budget last month, seeking to end the state’s nearly three-month-long budget impasse. But as he did on June 30 to begin the budget stalemate, first-year, Democratic...
As of April, 2015 ridesharing service Uber had been banned from operating or had suspended operation in several U.S. cities and one state, according to Business Insider. Uber paused service in both Eugene and Portland, Oregon last year after being fined...
For-profit ridesharing, offering passengers rides for money, and carsharing, renting cars for short periods of time, have both been around for decades, really catching on only recently in their smartphone app-based iterations. But while the modern variety...
Politics is not a sport for the weak of constitution. Proof came again recently when, as reported by The New York Times , a political ally turned frenemy put out a book accusing British Prime Minister David Cameron of having quite the wild youth. Included...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 902, which allows a person of any age who commits a traffic infraction not involving a motor vehicle to participate in a diversion program that is sanctioned by local law enforcement and eliminates the requirement...
A $9-billion school-construction bond proposal has qualified for California’s November 2016 ballot, according to Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “This bond will go a long way to ensure school districts have the necessary resources to...
Pope Francis has become one of the most popular and occasionally controversial people in the world. With huge crowds expected wherever he goes, his much anticipated visit to the U.S. in late September – including an address to both houses of Congress...
Brown to Run OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) announced she will seek to retain her job in next fall’s election to select someone to fill the remaining two years in the term of Gov. John Kitzhaber (D), who resigned in February amid corruption charges...
Kentucky Republicans are forming a 527 organization called “Kentucky Strong” to recruit and train prospective female political candidates. “Women are leaders in their homes, businesses, communities and increasingly at all levels...
The regulatory environment that you operate in is more complex than ever—and as some of our past FCPA-focused blog posts show, organizations that fail to put due-diligence and third-party monitoring programs in place face enormous financial and...
MA Pension Fund Takes Big Hit MASSACHUSETTS’ state pension fund lost $521 million in value in the past fiscal year, as a result of its holdings in fossil fuel stocks. Boston-based Trillium Asset Management calculated that the Massachusetts Pension...
Death penalty opponents in NEBRASKA have filed a lawsuit to block a proposed ballot measure aimed at reinstating capital punishment in the state. The suit alleges the measure should be invalidated because Gov. Pete Ricketts (R), who helped finance the...
LA Signs Common Core Bills LOUISIANA Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) signs a trio of bills related to common Core: HB 373, which requires public hearings to discuss Common Core standards in the state’s six congressional districts; SB 43, which adds legislative...
Death Penalty Measure Challenged in NE Death penalty opponents in NEBRASKA have filed a lawsuit to block a proposed ballot measure aimed at reinstating capital punishment in the state. The suit alleges the measure should be invalidated because Gov...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 407, which authorizes a health care provider to employ or contract licensed midwives for the purpose of providing comprehensive perinatal services (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). Also in CALIFORNIA, Gov. Brown (D) signs...