ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs legislation that will create a task force to develop rules for the use and regulation of drone aircraft. The task force is required to submit recommendations to the governor by July 1, 2016 (ASSOCIATED PRESS). ...
Blagojevich's Rehearing Rejected The full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected former ILLINOIS Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) request to rehear the appeal of his corruption convictions. A three-judge panel of the court had previously...
But now we have the gubernatorial seal of approval! Yes, as the State House News Service reports, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker took the ongoing Ice Bucket Challenge – a charity thing in which people raise money for ALS research by getting a...
NC Signs HB 607 NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Pat McCrory signs HB 607, which requires a credit card reporting agency to place a security freeze on a protected consumer’s credit report upon request of the protected consumer’s authorized representative...
In a radio interview last Tuesday, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said he will consider using the National Guard to battle a recent uptick in the use of heroin and other opiates that has led to a rash of drug overdoses in the Pine Tree State. “I...
Which is advice Michigan lawmaker Todd Courser might do well to heed. As the Detroit Free Press reports, Courser recently announced he is on a mission to root out “political shenanigans” by the establishment statehouse “mafia”...
Although their constitutionality has been upheld by federal courts, Maryland’s congressional districts - drawn in 2011 by then-Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and the Democrats who control the state’s General Assembly - are considered by some...
Despite facing a budget shortfall this year, Maryland doubled its income tax exemption for military retirement pay to $10,000. And a budget hole forced Connecticut to raise taxes on its most prosperous corporations, but it still managed to do away with...
As of June, at least 32 states had introduced or were considering security breach notification bills this session, many of which were aimed at toughening existing security breach laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Fourteen...
Nearly every state in the country has passed a law requiring private or government entities to notify individuals about security breaches involving their personal information. And states have been toughening those laws in recent years. But cybersecurity...
CT Declares Capital Punishment Unconstitutional The CONNECTICUT Supreme Court declares capital punishment to be unconstitutional, effectively barring the death penalty in that state (WASHINGTON POST). MD Use of DNA In Unsolved Crimes The MARYLAND...
Florida lawmakers returned to Tallahassee last week for a 12-day special session to draw new congressional districts in accordance with a state Supreme Court ruling that found previous maps drawn by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature...
The Alabama Legislature passed a handful of bills during a special session on the budget that ended last week, but none of those measures is likely to have much of an impact on the state’s deficit, projected to be at least $200 million. The House...
NJ Signs SB 2484, SB 2377 Vetoes SB 1857 Amidst reports that student achievement is being harmed by a lack of sleep, NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie (R) signs SB 2484, which directs education officials to review the impact of delaying school starting...
In the wake of a string of recent prison deaths and suicides, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) has ordered a review of inmate safety policies at Last Frontier State prisons. Walker named Dean Williams, who serves as a special assistant to the governor, and...
Every state in the nation provides some sort of public website that provides information about government spending. The “checkbook” sites allow taxpayers to see who the hundreds of billions of dollars states spend every year on government...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 165, a bill that imposes civil fines up to $40,000 against marijuana farms that damage the environment by dumping wastewater and chemicals, removing trees and killing wild animals (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) spent five days at the University of Maryland hospital last week receiving 24-hour chemotherapy for treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Hogan is now halfway through his treatment regimen. He left the hospital in good...
Kansas Retirement System Woes Moody’s Investors Service has given $1 billion in pension obligation bonds proposed by KANSAS an Aa3 rating, a notch below the state’s current overall rating. The Wall Street rating company said the bonds would...
IL Signs HB 1335 ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs HB 1335, so-called “right-to-try” legislation that allows terminally ill patients to try drugs that have not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Prairie State...
MN House Members Age Increase The median age of MINNESOTA House members has increased by seven years - from 47 to 55 - since 1995. For senators the increase is eight years, from 47 to 55 (TWIN CITIES PIONEER PRESS). KS Cracks Down on Voter Fraud...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 432, which will remove the term “alien” from the Golden State labor code as a way to describe foreign-born workers. The law goes into effect next year (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
NH Heroin Use Not Statewide Emergency NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) declined a request to declare a statewide health emergency over the state’s burgeoning heroin epidemic. The request came from Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas. Hassan said...
OH Gay Marriage The OHIO Supreme Court's Board for Professional Conduct rules that judges who perform civil marriages may not refuse to conduct a ceremony for a gay couple, nor may they refuse to do all marriages based on personal beliefs opposing...
Competitive intelligence can be extremely valuable for informing strategic business decisions about your products, messaging, business expansions, customers and more. But when does competitive research slip into the more morally ambiguous areas of corporate...