In recent years several cities, including San Francisco, Boulder, and Seattle, have imposed excise taxes on sodas and other sugary drinks with much fanfare - and much resistance from soda producers. Washington, D.C. took a different approach, quietly...
Big property tax increases appear to be coming to some of Texas’ biggest cities and counties this fall. El Paso, Harris, Tarrant, Travis and Webb counties and the cities of Austin, Corpus Christi and El Paso are all among those pushing for increases...
TROUBLED NJ ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY AWARDS TAX BREAKS The NEW JERSEY Economic Development Authority has released $533 million in tax breaks for 31 companies that had been on hold since the state’s incentive programs came under scrutiny this...
An Iowa judge upheld provisions of a recent state voting law - HF 516 (2017) - requiring voters to show identification at the polls and provide an ID number when requesting an absentee ballot. “The evidence presented simply did not demonstrate...
A person or persons attempted to breach West Virginia’s mobile voting system for military and overseas voters during last year’s midterm election, state and federal officials announced last week. The attack is believed to have come from inside...
NY LOBBYING DISCLOSURE LAW RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL A federal judge has struck down a law passed in NEW YORK in 2016 requiring nonprofits that lobby to disclose more information about their donors than had previously been required. Judge Denise Cote...
Surrounded by a bevy of athletes including LeBron James, Diana Taurasi and Katelyn Ohashi, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation last week that makes the Golden State the first to allow college athletes to profit from the use of their image...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, both Democrats, said they will work together to develop a consistent regulatory framework for recreational marijuana use in their respective states. The governors said they believed they could...
WA GOV ORDERS VAPING BAN Citing a rising number of illnesses and deaths linked to e-tobacco use, WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said he will ask the state board of health to adopt emergency rules enacting a statewide ban on flavored vaping products...
United State Court of Appeals Upholds Ruling The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upholds the power of the Federal Communications Commission to roll back net neutrality rules, but also upholds the power of states...
California Governor Vetoes AB 710 CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoes AB 710 , which would have required Golden State colleges and universities to post on their websites information about the cost of attending those institutions (LEXISNEXIS STATE...
California Governor Signs Several Bills CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs several bills regulating power shutoffs during wildfires and other natural disasters, including: SB 167 , which requires investor-owned utilities to outline protocols in...
Halfway through the California legislative session this summer, it looked like the tech industry and other corporate interests were easily winning a furious battle to re-shape the state’s highly anticipated data privacy law before it goes into effect...
At least 27 states have considered legislation this year dealing with the privacy of consumer data, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . Consumer data privacy bills were enacted in six of those states, while measures are still...
California Governor Signs AB 65 CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs AB 65 , which requires the State Coastal Conservancy to prioritize projects that use natural infrastructure to help adapt to climate change (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
The Missouri Department Of Social Services Makes Announcement The MISSOURI Department of Social Services announces that people participating in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program who hold a doctor-issued medical cannabis card allowing...
Georgia Judge Blocks Abortion Ban A district judge in GEORGIA issues a temporary order blocking a Peach State law that would ban most abortions once a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity. The ruling by District Judge Steve C. Jones’ blocks...
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Unanimously Approves Legislation The LOS ANGELES County Board of Supervisors unanimously approves legislation to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products – including flavored e-cigarettes and menthol...
Former California Congressman Darrell Issa announced last week he would seek to return to Congress by challenging embattled fellow Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter – who is facing a lonnnng list of ethics and legal challenges – to represent the...
A federal court may have struck down a Colorado city’s ordinance banning women from going topless, but ladies ought not to think they can get all half-nekkid in Oklahoma. As the Oklahoman reports , Attorney General Mike Hunter announced last week...
As noted elsewhere in this issue, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill last week that allows college athletes to profit from the use of their “name, image or likeness.” But someone glancing at the following headline from Reuters –...
No state has a car culture quite like California, where the mythology of the hot rod still reigns supreme. Which may be why Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation last week that overturns a law which allowed police to issue a ticket carrying a hefty fine...
In some ways, academics’ methods of teaching and research have hardly changed since Plato and Aristotle were discussing philosophy and mathematics in the Academy in Ancient Greece. Students still learn from a tutor in small discussion groups and...
How confident are you that a supplier you vetted two years ago hasn’t seen a change in financial stability that might lead to supply chain disruption? Or that a reseller isn’t putting you in danger of an FCPA violation? Or that a disgruntled...
Many states have learned lessons from the Great Recession of 2007-09 and are better prepared for the next economic downturn, according to findings by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) and other analysts. “Rainy day...