IA Says NO Min Wage Hike The IOWA House kills legislation that would have raised the Hawkeye State minimum wage to $8.75 by 2016 (IOWASTATEDAILY.COM). ME Vetoes SB 55 MAINE Gov. Paul LePage (R) vetoes SB 55, which would have required pints of...
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) renewed a previously-rejected call last week to dramatically overhaul the state’s welfare program. Elements of his plan are not official but have previously included requiring applicants to the Temporary Assistance for...
Last Tuesday, Wisconsin voters overwhelming re-elected state Supreme Court Justice, Ann Walsh Bradley, a member of the court’s liberal minority, over her conservative challenger, Judge James Daley. But at the same time they passed a constitutional...
State lottery sales topped $70 billion last year in the 43 states that have them, according to the American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. That sum represents more than 10 percent of the states’ total revenues for the year. But that...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is sporting a new look these days. As Statehouse News Service reports, Baker joined hundreds of others last week in getting a serious buzz cut as part of a fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Quincy. The...
The Federal Communications Commission issued a ruling in February preempting laws in North Carolina and Texas that restricted municipalities from developing their own broadband networks. As of January 2014, 20 states had such restrictions in place, according...
In late February the Federal Communications Commission issued new rules aimed at preventing Internet providers from designating fast and slow lanes for Web traffic. Internet advocates declared victory. But others have taken issue with -- and action against...
RI Approves SB 625 The RHODE ISLAND Senate approves SB 625, so-called “revenge porn” legislation that would make it a crime to post nude or sexually explicit photos or videos of someone online without their permission. Violators would face...
Still simmering from a failed ballot measure in November backed by the Humane Society and aimed at banning the use of bait, dogs and traps for hunting bears in the state, Maine lawmakers are seeking to block another such attempt by amending the Constitution...
Kansas House Bill 2258, passed by the Sunflower State Legislature this month, would prohibit recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families from spending those funds on a long list of items including alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, concerts...
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner seems like a guy who needs a hug, some decaf or likely both. Rauner came into office breathing fire and vowing to take names and dismember anyone who gets in his way. Okay, not really that last part but he has definitely been...
Election-Related Bills Introduced in NH More than a dozen election-related bills have been introduced this session in premiere presidential primary state NEW HAMPSHIRE . The proposals include unsuccessful measures that would have expanded voting eligibility...
Tax collections from oil and natural gas companies in OKLAHOMA fell to $39.6 million in March, a 48 percent decline from March of last year and the lowest level since September 2002 (OKLAHOMAN [OKLAHOMA CITY]). * GEORGIA’s General Assembly passed...
The Maryland legislative women’s caucus – officially the Women Legislators of Maryland – has always been open to male lawmakers. It’s just that none have ever wanted to join. At least until now. As the Washington Post reports,...
The IOWA Senate gives final approval to SB 462, which would allow school officials and volunteers to use epinephrine auto-injectors, commonly known as EpiPens, when they believe a student is suffering a severe allergic reaction that has cut off their...
After lawmakers failed to come up with their own “ban-the-box” measure this session, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) issued an executive order last week that bars Old Dominion state agencies from asking most job seekers about their criminal...
The MARYLAND Senate approves SB 409, a bill that would impose a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, until October, 2017. Fracking is the oil and gas extraction process that uses chemically-treated water injected deep into underground shale...
OR Declares Drought Emergency Citing an ongoing lack of rainfall and snowpack, OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) declared a drought emergency in three southern and central Beaver State counties. Similar declarations have been made by governors in CALIFORNIA...
ID Approves SB 1146 The IDAHO House approves SB 1146, a bill that allows the use of cannabis oil to treat children suffering from seizure disorders. The measure is now with Gov. Butch Otter (R) for review (BOISE WEEKLY). SC Approves SB 426 The...
ID Signs 189 IDAHO Gov. Butch Otter (R) signs HB 189, which requires doctors to be present when giving women abortion-inducing drugs. The measure effectively bars women from receiving those medications via telemedicine (IDAHO STATESMAN [BOISE]). ...
OK Approves HB 1965 The OKLAHOMA Senate approves HB 1965, a bill that would bar Sooner State drivers from sending or reading cell phone text messages while driving. The bill returns to the House (KANSAS CITY STAR). CA Approves AB 147 The CALIFORNIA...
Few companies can operate without reliance on third-party business partners. Whether it’s sales agents or distributors providing invaluable local insight, contacts and skills to help drive access into new markets or a network of suppliers delivering...
Did you enjoy playing hide-and-seek as a kid? Usually, when you were ‘it,’ the fun wasn’t in the time you spent seeking, but in the moment you found the person you were looking for. Now, your daily quest isn’t for your hidden playmates...
She didn’t say it that way but you have to think New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan was thinking that last week when she visited a Hampton Falls elementary school. As reported by Seacoastonline.com, Hassan went to the class to make amends for the...
ND Approves HB 1186 The NORTH DAKOTA Senate unanimously approves HB 1186, which bars the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. The measure, which also makes it a crime for minors to buy, possess or use e-cigarettes or any alternate nicotine products, moves...