OR Water Conservation Review Faced with worsening drought conditions, OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) directed all state agencies to review their water usage, implement conservation plans and report their progress to the state Water Resources Department...
Undertaking mergers and acquisitions demands confidence, especially in the arena of high risk-high reward emerging markets. Yet according to a poll of 1,300 professionals across industries ranging from financial services to technology and manufacturing...
OR Approves HB 2300 The OREGON House approves HB 2300, which would allow doctors to prescribe experimental medications not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to terminally ill patients with less than six months to live. It is now...
KANSAS Gov. Sam Brownback (R) issues Executive Order 05-15, which bars the Sunflower State from taking any punitive actions against clergy or religious organizations that refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) vetoes SB 116, which would have done away with a Granite State law requiring anyone wishing to carry a concealed weapon to first obtain a permit (NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADER). -- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
Not so long ago California was considered by many to be a place so dysfunctional it was downright ungovernable. Nobody is thinking that nowadays, but a quick glance at the dozens of ballot measures pending approval for the November 2016 election shows...
WA Approves HB 2136 The WASHINGTON House and Senate each approve HB 2136, which among several things directs the state to share marijuana sales revenue with local governments that allow sales in their jurisdictions, and allows them to adopt more flexible...
The always-fractured relationship between Maine lawmakers and the state’s often-pugnacious governor has taken another nasty turn as a handful of House members said they will seek to launch impeachment proceedings against Gov. Paul LePage (R). At...
One of the many talking points about the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide has been the speed at which that decision has come. As Bloomberg noted, in a little over a decade gay couples...
By now, most folks have heard of the goofball who introduced a proposed ballot measure in California that called for the killing of homosexuals. Attorney General Kamala Harris thankfully managed to get the courts to squish that one outright, but she’s...
In an interview with The New York Times last month, Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said the U.S. commonwealth wasn’t able to pay its roughly $72 billion in debt. “The debt is not payable,” he said. “There...
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes since 1996, when California became the first to do so with Proposition 215. Four states and the District of Columbia have gone further...
There is an old jest that says the fastest way for a business to run off its customers is to adhere to the motto: In God we trust; all others must pay cash. But for the legal marijuana industry, cash and carry is almost always the only option, and it...
Supreme Court Rules Lethal Injection Allowed In OK The U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of allowing OKLAHOMA to continue using a controversial lethal injection process for executing condemned inmates. The High Court rejected a plea from three death...
Perhaps seeking to avoid the raucous protests and rowdy crowds that dogged vaccination bill SB 277 throughout the legislative process, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed the controversial measure that makes California the third state in the nation...
Last week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Arizona voters acted legally when they amended the state’s Constitution in 2000 to transfer the power to draw the state’s congressional districts from lawmakers to an independent redistricting...
Last year, a state audit of accounting records at the California state Controller’s Office uncovered 200,000 hours -- $6 million worth -- of questionable sick leave, vacation, holiday and furlough credits due to data entry errors. “We...
DE Approves SB 79 The DELAWARE House approves SB 79, which among several thing bars education technology service providers from selling student data or using that data to market to students or their families. The measure also bars them from building...
Reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage across the nation had the predictable outcome of public joy and outrage. In the former column, many people on social media chose to show their support by overlaying their profile...
ME Overides LePage Veto The MAINE Legislature overrode Gov. Paul LePage’s (R) veto of the state’s next two-year budget. The $6.7 billion spending plan includes modest income and property tax cuts for many residents (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD...
EPA Violates Clean Air Act The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the Clean Air Act by failing to undertake a cost-benefit analysis in deciding whether to set limits on emissions of mercury and other toxic...
New Gun Permit Regulation for NJ Reacting to the death of a NEW JERSEY woman stabbed to death by an ex-boyfriend, Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced a new state regulation to require applications for gun permits for victims of domestic violence, other...
ME Considers Impeachment For LePage Six MAINE House members said last month they are exploring disciplinary action against Gov. Paul LePage (R) -- including impeachment - for allegedly forcing Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves out of a new job as...
CA Rejects SB 323 and Signs SB 277 The CALIFORNIA Assembly Business and Professions Committee rejects SB 323, a bill that would have allowed nurse practitioners to treat patients without the supervision of a doctor (SACRAMENTO BEE). Also in CALIFORNIA...
Politicians will apparently just never learn that social media is a double-edged sword. The latest such fiasco for an elected comes courtesy of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who thought it would be a great idea to host a Twitter Q&A with the hashtag...