Hawaii’s House and Senate both passed bills last week that would require short-term rental platforms like Airbnb to collect and pay taxes on behalf of their hosts. Collection of the state’s transient accommodations and general excise...
A call for the first sales tax increase in Texas in nearly 30 years came from an unlikely source last week: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has routinely touted his state as a haven for tax- and regulation-averse conservatives. His proposed penny...
ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY TAX CREDIT EXTENDED IN NY A provision extending NEW YORK’s film and television credit for two years was quietly inserted into the state budget shortly before it was approved last month. The credit, which cost the state...
All district, appellate and Supreme Court judges in Nevada are currently elected by voters. But that would change under a proposed constitutional amendment in the state’s Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee. Under the proposed...
As of April 9, at least 10 states had introduced bans on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. Most of the proposals would exempt establishments that prohibit minors. Some would apply only to e-liquids...
Oregon appears poised to become the next state to join the National Popular Vote Compact, after the state’s Senate approved legislation to do so last week. Bills to ratify that agreement, which pledges the electoral votes of its signatory...
MD HOUSE SPEAKER DIES MARYLAND House Speaker Michael Busch died last week after being hospitalized with pneumonia. The 72-year-old was the longest-serving speaker in the state’s history, having initially assumed that post in 2003. (NBC NEWS,...
In his January State of the State address, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) called on lawmakers to pass legislation that would make the Grand Canyon State the first to accept out-of-state professional licenses. Lawmakers responded by sending him HB 2569 last...
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...
NEWSOM TO PARTNER WITH CA CITIES ON HOUSING CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced his administration would partner with a handful of Golden State cities to help develop affordable housing on state-owned properties. The announcement came after...
CO House and Senate Give Final Approval to SB 78 The COLORADO House and Senate give final approval to SB 78 , net-neutrality legislation that would bar internet service providers from receiving state taxpayer money if they slow access to the internet...
IN Governor Signs SB 632 INDIANA Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signs SB 632 , which requires the Hoosier State Department of Health to educate schools about how to test for radon. The law takes effect July 1 (INDYCHANNEL). ND Governor Signs HB 1332 NORTH...
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...
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...
AR House Gives Final Approval to SB 411 The ARKANSAS House gives final approval to SB 411 , a bill that would bar Razorback State cities from becoming so-called “sanctuary cities,” which bar law enforcement from cooperating with federal...
It’s a safe bet that many of the folks living in the affluent Bay Area suburb of Hillsborough grew up on the 1960s-era Flintstones cartoon. But city officials have filed suit against a wealthy homeowner who has turned her entire property into a...
Since the end of World War II, Swiss officials have required various food importers and retailers to stockpile a variety of products considered staples to mitigate the impact of another war. But one of those staples is about to come off the “must...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said last week that the Golden State’s lucrative surfing culture could serve as an example for building a thriving tourism industry in poverty- and violence-plagued El Salvador. Newsom made the remarks after a three...
Is anyone really surprised by the college admissions bribery scandal? Sure, it’s nice to think that academia is a bastion for the best and the brightest. But there’s a longstanding tradition where the family name—and perhaps an endowment—greases...
This year is the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention. So, we went to Paris to meet Patrick Moulette, Head of the OECD Anti-Corruption Division. He explained that the global spread of negotiated settlements...
We’re still 10 months away from California’s historic first-in-the-nation data privacy law taking effect. Which to lawmakers, tech companies and maybe even Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) means there is still plenty of time to change it. According...
Legislation dealing with consumer data privacy has been introduced this year in at least 25 states, according to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net. As of April 3, such measures had been passed by their...
“Congestion pricing , ” charging drivers for accessing heavily trafficked areas, has long been considered a politically toxic idea by city officials. But that could change with traffic slowing to a crawl in more and more cities - and the adoption...
Included in the 2017 federal tax overhaul was a substantial tax break for investments in businesses and properties located in economically distressed areas. Although state governors had a hand in selecting the nearly 9,000 “opportunity zones”...
LEGAL SPORTS BETTING GENERATING LESS REVENUE THAN EXPECTED Revenue from sports betting has fallen well short of projections in four of the six states that legalized such wagering soon after the Supreme Court authorized it last year. RHODE ISLAND’s...