For the last two years, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has watched proposed gas-tax increases tank in the state Legislature, leaving transportation projects languishing on the drawing board. But last week he pitched an alternative approach to help the...
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) introduced a gun control package last week that would, among several things, limit Old Dominion residents to one handgun purchase per month and require universal back ground checks on people buying guns at gun shows. Other regulations...
Calling it "one of the most difficult decisions of my public life," Vermont Gov. Pete Shumlin (D) abandoned his longstanding plan to make the Green Mountain State the first to implement a publicly-funded single-payer health insurance plan for...
Citing potential health and environmental risks, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has barred the controversial gas drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Cuomo's decision has been years in the making. Former Gov. David Paterson (D)...
Last week GOP leaders in VIRGINIA's House of Delegates proposed a cap of $100 on gifts of any kind to state officials. That limit is tighter than the one the Legislature imposed on itself earlier this year as well as what an ethics panel appointed...
12/30/2014 Iowa Special Election Senate District 12 01/06/2015 Georgia Special Election House Districts 50 and 120 Iowa Special Election House District 4 Virginia Special Election House Districts 34 and 63
Statehouse security varies considerably across the country. Some state capitols have armed security guards, X-ray machines and metal detectors. Others offer open public access. But the shooting attack on the Canadian Parliament in October will likely...
Uber Technologies has not only pioneered a new kind of taxi service but also a new way to deal with the government regulations that stand in the way of its growth. The approach is bold: Enter local markets regardless of the regulatory environment, build...
On Nov. 4, a rag-tag group of local activists persuaded nearly 59 percent of the voters in Denton, Texas to approve a ban on fracking by "knocking on doors, staging puppet shows and performing song-and-dance numbers," as The Texas Tribune put...
UTAH Gov. Gary Herbert (R) has proposed a $14.3 billion state budget that includes the largest increase in per-pupil spending in 25 years, as well as funding for body cameras for all state troopers and his Healthy Utah plan to help the poor afford medical...
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) seems to be reading from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) playbook when it comes to dealing with his state's budget troubles. Last month he said he was "looking at everything," including a tax increase...
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) will target healthcare costs for retired state workers in his forthcoming budget proposal, a finance department spokesman said last week. That statement came shortly after the state's controller, John Chiang, announced...
Last year the Superior Court in Merrimack County, New Hampshire invalidated a 2011 state law increasing the amount public employees — even those who've been on the job over 10 years — have to contribute to their pensions, on the grounds...
Hawaii is the nation's healthiest state, according to the United Health Foundation's annual health rankings for 2014. The Aloha State's low rates of obesity, preventable hospital visits and cancer deaths helped earn it the top spot. Mississippi...
States in Regular Session: DC, MI, NJ, OH, US States in Informal Session: MA States in Skeleton Session: States in Veto Session: States in Recess: CA, IN, NY, ME States in Special Session: Special Sessions in Recess: DE "c", VA "a"...
Most states will see improved fiscal conditions in 2015, but their economic growth rates remain below the levels they enjoyed before the Great Recession, according to a comprehensive new report. "Economically speaking, states are a mirror of the...
This is our final issue of the year, so let me pass along best wishes for a very merry holiday season to all of you from all of us here at the State Net Capitol Journal. We'll be back in mid-January to do our best to keep you all up to speed on legislative...
If you've got something bad to say about someone or something connected to the city government of South Pittsburgh, Tennessee...keep it to yourself! As the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports, the city Commission recently approved an "all-inclusive"...
If you're visiting the Michigan statehouse in Lansing this Christmas season, don't waste your time looking for the usual nativity scene. Not one there. There is, however, a nice tribute to Satan! Yep, as the Washington Post reports, the Wolverine...
We all have a relative (or, heaven help us, two or more) who just will not stop talking politics at family gatherings, or at least not until doors are slammed, tires are screeched or blood is spilled. That is probably what Raleigh, North Carolina resident...
State and federal courts have slowed the steady march of the states toward sterner standards of voter identification. A state judge in Arkansas and a federal judge in Wisconsin recently struck down strict voter ID laws. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett ...
States in Regular Session: CA, DC, DE, IL, LA, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PR, RI, SC, TN, US, WI States in Special Session: CA "b", VA "a" States in Recess: KS, PA States currently prefiling for 2015 Session: MT States...
Thirty-four states have enacted laws requiring prospective voters to present some form of identification at the polls. Thirty-one of those voter ID laws are currently in effect. Pennsylvania's and Wisconsin's laws have been struck down, and North...
Not for the first time, Pennsylvania Sen. David Argall (R) is backing a bill that would replace property taxes levied by school districts with higher state income and sales taxes. But this year, more than half of the state's senators are co-sponsoring...
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) proposed a revised 2014-15 budget last week that calls for nearly $1 billion more in spending than his draft proposal in January. The new $107.8-billion spending plan includes a sizable increase in Medicaid funding to cover...