MI GOV SIGNS STREAMLINED MEDICAL WEED OVERSIGHT BILL MICHIGAN Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed legislation ( SB 203 ) that requires only those with 10 percent or more of an ownership stake in a medical marijuana business to undergo the state’s...
At least 11 states will exhaust their Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funds before the end of the year, if Congress fails to extend federal funding for the program, according to a survey of state Medicaid officials by the Kaiser Family...
In 2016 North Dakota sent a larger proportion of its exports (82 percent) to Canada, and New Mexico sent a bigger share of its exports (43 percent) to Mexico, than any other states, according to analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by Fitch Ratings. Sixty...
It seemed like such a simple thing. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner offered congrats on Twitter to Chicago music sensation Chance the Rapper for winning a trio of Grammy awards. The rapper said he’d like to meet up with the gov to talk about the city...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a way with words. He also loves the sound of his own voice so much that he often keeps talking when he ought to shut up. Or at least talk out of only one side of his mouth. Such was definitely the case during his recent...
Florida Approves SB 10 The FLORIDA Senate approves SB 10 , which authorizes the use of state and federal funds to build a deep-water reservoir to store and clean water before it is released into the Everglades and to avoid toxic discharges into the...
WI ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SPURNS REDISTRICTING CIVIL CASE WISCONSIN Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) is refusing to turn over documents or testify in a civil case related to political boundaries drawn by the GOP-controlled Legislature eight years ago. Vos...
As a result of last year’s elections, Democrats or Republicans hold a trifecta -- control of both legislative chambers and the governor’s office -- in all but 13 states. While Republicans still hold most of those trifectas, 23, Democrats picked...
CA Approves SB 358 The CALIFORNIA Senate approves SB 358, which would bar employers from paying female workers less than men for performing “substantially similar” job duties unless they can show evidence of reasonable differences in training...
OH Gov Signs HB 158 OHIO Gov. John Kasich (R) signs HB 158 , which strikes the term “mental retardation” from the state’s Revised Code and replaces it with the term “intellectual disability.” The law also specifies that...
Taxpayers in nine high-income, high-tax states claimed more than 60 percent of the state and local tax (SALT) deductions on federal tax returns nationwide in 2014, according to the Tax Foundation. Seven of those states, which include California, where...
ND GOV APPOINTS STATE’S FIRST BLACK FEMALE CHIEF JUSTICE NORTH DAKOTA Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has appointed state Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley to replace retiring Chief Justice Mark Martin. Beasley will be the first black woman to serve as...
US Supreme Court Declines The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear a challenge to a NEW JERSEY law that bans the use of so-called “conversion therapy,” which seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation, on minors (NJ.COM). NJ...
Legislation is under consideration in at least nine states providing for the collection of sales taxes on remote purchases, according to the National Association of State Legislatures. The bills include Oklahoma SB 337 , passed by that state’s...
It was big news recently when a Colorado trail runner was attacked by a mountain lion, which the runner ultimately killed by choking it to death. As someone who has spent half his life in the great outdoors and run across more large critters than I can...
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) decried Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) plans to renegotiate the state’s controversial deal to give Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group around $4 billion in tax breaks and other incentives, saying “the only thing...
NC House Approves HB 389 The NORTH CAROLINA House approves HB 389 , a bill that would authorize public colleges and universities to allow alcohol sales at stadiums, athletic facilities and arenas located on school property. It moves to the Senate ...
GA LEGISLATURE APPROVES SWITCH TO NEW VOTING MACHINES GEORGIA’s GOP-controlled General Assembly has passed a bill ( HB 316 ) providing for the adoption of new voting machines that utilize touchscreens and paper ballots for review by voters, sending...
With their state facing a $1.6 billion budget deficit for the coming fiscal year, Alaska lawmakers need to make some tough decisions about what spending to cut. But the state’s House has been at a standstill for almost a month because members haven’t...
Indiana Approves HB 1133 The INDIANA House approves HB 1133 , which bars local governments from banning Airbnb and similar short-term rental services. The bill moves to the Senate (INDIANAPOLIS STAR). New Jersey Signs AB 3695 NEW JERSEY Gov....
With little advance notice, a Kansas state board approved a temporary regulation last week that will block an estimated 17,000 Kansans from voting in state or local elections and only allow them to vote in federal ones. The action by the Kansas Rules...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave an expansive State of the State speech last Tuesday. It covered a little of everything, from the oft-troubled high speed rail system to the endlessly-troubled plan to send Northern California water to Southern California...
A fraction of a penny sales tax increase in Iowa that would go to environmental and outdoor recreational improvements may get a hearing from lawmakers in the Hawkeye state this year, according to legislative leaders. Iowa voters changed the state...
BAKER OUTLINES $300 MILLION CLIMATE CHANGE PLAN : On the heels of several massive winter storms, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) outlined a plan to borrow $300 million to put toward efforts to combat climate change in communities all along the...
Nevada became the first state to authorize the operation of autonomous vehicles on its roads in 2011. A few states, including California, Florida and Nevada, enacted laws dealing with such vehicles over the next few years, with the exception of 2014,...