KY Marriage Licenses Legal KENTUCKY Gov. Steve Beshear (D) said marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples in Rowan County are legal in spite of not being signed by the clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue them to those couples. Beshear reiterated...
“Focus on the positive.” It’s practically a mantra these days as individuals strive—in both private and professional lives—to manage stress more effectively. But there are other familiar expressions—like “forewarned...
As surprises go, the switcheroo one plucky young man pulled off in the California Capitol last week was a doozy. As the Capitol Morning Report reveals, longtime staffer Amanda Fulkerson, communications director for Assembly Republican Leader Kristen Olsen...
NJ Upholds Sports Gambling Law A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upholds a lower-court ruling that voided a NEW JERSEY law legalizing sports gambling. The panel ruled that allowing casinos and racetracks...
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) announced the creation of a 21-member task force last week to devise a plan to combat growing opiate abuse in the Hoosier State. The group, made up of state health leaders, law enforcement officials and lawmakers, will make...
States usually complete the process of legislative redistricting shortly after the U.S. Census Bureau updates its population numbers every 10 years. But the remapping based on the last census in 2010 is still dragging on in a few states. In Florida...
For the last month Texas’ Public Utility Commission has been pondering the complex financial structure of Energy Future Holdings. Buried by $40 billion in debt, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection last year, one of the largest bankruptcy...
Five states have enacted laws this session aimed at narrowing the wage gender gap, according to the American Association of University Women. Equal pay measures are also awaiting gubernatorial action in two states and are still pending in one other. And...
When President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in June 1963, lawmakers believed the measure would ensure the simplest of concepts: that female workers would be paid the same as their male colleagues for doing the same work. But while the gender...
Democrats are used to having their way in the California Legislature, but for the last 13 years it has been quite a different story on the softball field. Every year since 2002, the Republicans have kicked the Dems’ fannies in the annual charity...
IL Signs SB 627 ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs SB 627, legislation that bars drivers with two or more drunk driving convictions from operating a vehicle unless it has an ignition interlock device installed (DECATUR HERALD & REVIEW).
Illinois Gov. Brue Rauner (R) scored the biggest victory of his administration last week as Democrats came up three votes short of overriding his veto of a union-backed bill (SB 1229) that would have ensured labor disputes are determined through binding...
House Democrats in New Mexico are saying they will initiate impeachment proceedings against Secretary of State Dianna Duran (R) unless she resigns from office over allegations that she used campaign funds for personal expenses, including gambling. ...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said last month that New Jersey owes the federal government $32.2 million for improper Medicaid reimbursement claims filed for home care services by officials in the state. An audit found that 17 claims...
CA Signs SB 725 & Approves AB 721 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown signs SB 725, which suspends for the class of 2015 a state requirement that all graduating students take the high school exit exam. State education officials cancelled the test earlier...
Donors get state contracts Lobbyists and political action committees associated with four companies awarded contracts to manage IOWA’s $4.2 billion Medicaid program donated nearly $68,000 to top IOWA elected officials, including Gov. Terry Branstad...
Population loss is nothing new to rural America. But it’s a trend that’s on the rise. Between 1994 and 2010, 759 rural counties in 42 states lost population, but since 2010 over 1,300 rural counties in 46 states have lost population, according...
It hasn’t been a good year for a few Missouri lawmakers. Two Show Me State legislators this year have been forced to step down after revelations of their wildly inappropriate behavior toward or with young interns working in their offices. But never...
CA Approves SB 185 The CALIFORNIA Assembly approves SB 185, which would require the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Retirement System (CalSTRS), the two largest public pension funds in the nation, to...
This year’s race for the Republican presidential candidacy started out with many (perhaps too many) candidates vying for attention and splitting media coverage. Enter Donald Trump who quickly captured the attention of the media, voters and few late...
AL special session ALABAMA Gov. Robert Bentley (R) said last month that he would call lawmakers into special session on Sept. 8 to deal with the state’s $200 million budget shortfall (MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). LA tax holiday...
Just a week before the end of the legislative session, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is working on wide-ranging legislation that would establish a framework for regulating the state’s medical marijuana industry. Lawmakers gutted and amended several...
Govs Urge EPA to Change Opioid Labels All six New England governors signed a letter last week urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to change labels for fast-release opioid drugs to ensure patients and doctors understand the risk of addiction...
AK Rejects Request for Medicaid Expansion A court in ALASKA rejects a request by Republican lawmakers to stay the expansion of Medicaid in the Last Frontier State ordered by Gov. Bill Walker (I). Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner rejected the request...
The Supreme Court of the United States rejects a request to overturn a lower court’s ruling requiring a county clerk in KENTUCKY to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples or face fines or jail time. The SCOTUS upheld rulings by both a federal...