Public pensions are relying more than ever on high-risk investments like real estate and hedge funds to boost their returns. But that approach doesn’t appear to be working. In 2007 alternative investments comprised 9 percent of state and local...
MT ENACTS SCHOOL SAFETY TAX BILL MONTANA Gov. Steve Bullock (D) has signed a bill ( SB 92 ) that will allow schools to levy a new tax specifically for school safety. The bill will also let schools use existing funding streams for safety upgrades. ...
Last month Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed SB 181, giving cities and towns more control over the regulation of oil and gas drilling. Local governments have wasted little time exercising their new power. Hours after the governor signed the bill...
Florida state government has long been under GOP rule. But this year, the state’s Republican legislative majority, energized by three new conservative state Supreme Court justices, new legislative leaders and a new governor, accomplished a few items...
NY LAWMAKERS OPENING AVENUE TO TRUMP’S STATE TAX RETURNS The NEW YORK Senate passed a bill that would create a pathway for three congressional committees - the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee...
In a move framed as another step toward universal single-payer health care in the state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposed expanding Medicaid coverage to low-income young adults aged 19 to 25, regardless of immigration status. Newsom made the...
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) unveiled a proposal last week to bolster and expand the state’s $4 billion automotive industry. The four bills in the package include legislation that would: - Supply financial aid to adult learners pursuing education...
WHITMER VOWS VETO OF MI INSURANCE OVERHAUL Saying the legislation “creates more problems than it solves,” MICHIGAN Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said she would veto a bill (SB 1) approved in the Senate that would fundamentally change auto insurance...
MI Senate Approves SB 1 The MICHIGAN Senate approves SB 1 , a measure that would, among several things, allow Wolverine State drivers to choose levels of medical coverage instead of automatically getting unlimited coverage, create an auto insurance...
OR House Approves HB 3063 The OREGON House approves HB 3063 , which would remove vaccination requirements based on religious, philosophical or personal reasons. The bill would allow unvaccinated kids to attend public school until August 1, 2020, after...
WA Governor Signs SB 5116 WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signs SB 5116 , a bill that establishes a mandate for Evergreen State utilities to eliminate coal as an energy source by the end of 2025, with the ultimate goal of providing carbon-free electricity...
TX House Approves HB 3703 The TEXAS House approves HB 3703 , which would add multiple sclerosis, autism, cancer and many other diseases and medical conditions to those eligible to be treated with cannabis oil. The bill, which would also allow for the...
ME House Approves HB 594 The MAINE House approves HB 594 , which would require Medicaid private insurance companies to pay for abortion services. It moves to the Senate (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). GA Governor Signs HB 481 GEORGIA...
San Francisco Board of Supervisors Unanimously Approves The SAN FRANCISCO Board of Supervisors unanimously approves an ordinance that requires brick and mortar retail establishments to accept cash as payment, becoming the second major city in America...
Or maybe more accurately, the axe doesn’t get the booze. As the Salt Lake Tribune reports , legislation recently enacted in the Beehive State bars an axe-throwing venue in the city of Ogden from obtaining a license to sell beer. Ditto for a karaoke...
Whatever the subject these days, whenever it comes to doing what’s best for our kids, we can generally count on the adults in the room to behave worse than the children. Case in point comes this week from Rhode Island, where the Providence Journal...
Some days it feels like this old world is about to just burn itself down. Literally, given how fast climate change is progressing. But there’s no shortage of other problems, from an epidemic of school shootings to an equally insane epidemic of measles...
The Arizona House isn’t the only legislative body with its collective head up...in the clouds. As Cleveland.com reports , a pair of lawmakers in the Ohio House have introduced legislation to adopt an official Buckeye State cookie. The measure has...
Many people cringe when they hear the word ‘audit’ because it is almost inextricably linked with ‘tax’—another cringe-worthy topic. Admittedly, audits can be uncomfortable; very few people enjoy time spent under a microscope...
In our daily lives, few things drive discourse and conversation more than the press. The coverage, investigation and reporting of news is the fuel that carries small conversation, political discourse and general around-the-water-cooler chatter. In our...
In March, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued revised guidance for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s (FCPA) Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) concerning the adoption of rules and regulations around the use of ephemeral messaging platforms...
Saying it would “provide immediate relief to Oregonians struggling to keep up with rising rents and a tight rental market,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) signed legislation in February making her state the first to adopt a statewide rent control...
As of May 1, at least 129 bills referring specifically to rent control were pending in 10 states, according to LexisNexis State Net’s legislative tracking system. The majority of those measures were introduced in New York’s Legislature. Several...
In his budget address in late February, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) called for a tax increase on sodas and other sugary drinks. Soda tax legislation has also been introduced this year in California, Massachusetts New York, Rhode Island and Vermont...
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) and his fellow Democrats who control the state’s General Assembly have come up with a plan to reduce the state’s public school teacher pension costs: get local governments to cover some of them. Under the proposal...