IL Governor Signs HB 345 ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs HB 345 , which raises the age for legally buying tobacco products in the Prairie State to 21. The bill, which takes effect on July 1, covers all tobacco and vaping products, including cigarettes...
Potpourri In New Jersey The NEW JERSEY Supreme Court rules that municipalities must allow the development of affordable housing for poor and middle-class families whose needs were ignored for more than 16 years. The court rejected claims from several...
States are not equally prepared for a public health threat like the Zika virus, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s 2016 National Health Security Preparedness Index. That Index, which is based on over 100 different measures, including...
OH Governor Signs SB 23 OHIO Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signs SB 23 , which bans Buckeye State doctors from performing an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, roughly six weeks into pregnancy. The measure would also allow for doctors who perform...
If you have ever seen legislation come out of a statehouse and wondered, “What is wrong with those folks,” freshman Rhode Island Rep. Moira Walsh may have the answer. As radio station WPRO in East Providence reports , when asked during a recent...
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has ordered state lawmakers back to Richmond on April 11 for a special session on the state budget. The governor’s call came days after the General Assembly adjourned its regular session on March 10 without sending...
Without any comment, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has signed a bill making the Bay State the 16 th (and with Washington D.C.) to ban so-called “conversion therapy,” a controversial practice aimed at changing a minor’s sexual...
Oh, it’s tough times in the Heart of Dixie these days. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley done got caught stepping out, so to speak, with his top adviser and now his fellow Reeps want to impeach him. Meanwhile, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore...
After Republicans won control of the Iowa Senate last year, giving them control of both the legislative and executive branches of that state’s government, they enacted a package of labor reforms curbing the collective bargaining rights of public...
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a time to focus on issues that range from simple office practices (watch your posture) to slack attitudes or procedures that lead to devastating consequences on a massive scale. The International Labour...
With all the attention on GOP presidential aspirant and narcissistic loony toon Donald Trump, it is easy to forget he’s far from the only one of his ilk on the scene. Case in point comes from Texas, where the Travis County Republican Party is beside...
Business In Michigan The MICHIGAN Legislature gives final approval to a four-bill package – SBs 995 , 996 , 997 and 998 – that collectively approve testing of autonomous vehicles on a 122-mile stretch of Wolverine State highways. The package...
DHS CONTACTS STATES ABOUT 2016 ELECTION HACKING The Department of Homeland Security directly notified election officials in 21 states last month that they had been targeted by hackers connected to the Russian government during the 2016 election campaign...
North Dakota Approves HB 1434 The NORTH DAKOTA House approves HB 1434 , which would require health insurers to provide coverage for applied behavioral analysis, a therapy method widely used for autistic children. It moves to the Senate (GRAND FORKS...
Don’t expect to see any smiling baby faces on beer labels in New Hampshire any time soon. As the Associated Press reports, Gov. Maggie Hassan vetoed a measure that would have allowed the Green Mountain State liquor commission to consider letting...
Missouri Signs HB 151 MISSOURI Gov. Eric Greitens (R) signs HB 151 , legislation that brings the Show Me State into compliance with federal Real ID laws, which require state-issued driver’s licenses to have enhanced security protections (GOVERNMENT...
Saying Massachusetts has “a responsibility” to help women obtain health care services, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said the state will make up any budget shortfalls suffered by Planned Parenthood if Congress follows through on a threat to cut federal...
A SMASHING SUCCESS : Looking for a way to show off the impact of legislation he authored to help low income people get out of gas guzzlers and into high-mileage, low-emissions vehicles, California Senate pro Tem Kevin de Leon decided to take a “go...
NY Signs SB 1757 NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 1757, legislation that bans the sale of powdered or crystalline alcohol in the Empire State. New York becomes the 25 th state to ban the product, which has yet to actually reach consumers in...
If things around you go south all of a sudden, it would be good if you are somewhere near U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham of Louisiana. Abraham is a former veterinarian who later became a medical doctor, and as such he likes to say he can treat anything on two...
Federal Appeals Court Blocks KS Voter Registration Requirement The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has upheld an order blocking KANSAS Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) from requiring voters to show proof of citizenship when registering...
It just never gets better for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Although he pretty much surrendered his dignity to become Donald Trump’s vacant-eyed errand boy, he could at least hold on to the belief that his newfound loyalty to “The Donald”...
Nearly every state in the country has passed a law requiring private or government entities to notify individuals about security breaches involving their personal information. And states have been toughening those laws in recent years. But cybersecurity...
Business In Indiana The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay and lesbian employees from workplace discrimination, the first time a federal appellate court has come to that conclusion. The ruling from the...
NM House Endorses SB 76 The NEW MEXICO House endorses SB 76 , which would bar coyote-killing contests in the Land of Enchantment. It goes to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishman (D) for consideration (NEW MEXICO POLITICAL REPORT).