Illinois ended its record-setting budget impasse this month - after going 736 days without a spending plan - with a flourish. On May 23 the state’s Democrat-led Senate passed a budget package that included SB 9 , which among other things,...
Faced with mounting legal challenges, the commission assembled to investigate President Donald Trump’s claims that voter fraud is rampant in America and cost him the popular vote in last year’s presidential election has suspended its effort...
This month the U.S. Justice Department petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to take no further action against the voter ID law passed in that state in 2011 - SB 14, which has faced numerous legal challenges - because the...
RAIMONDO ISSUES RI OPIOID EXECUTIVE ORDER Citing an “alarming rate of deaths” from opioid abuse, RHODE ISLAND Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) issued an 18-point executive order aimed at coordinating state and local government efforts to combat the...
After months of often tense negotiations, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) reached an agreement last week with legislative leaders to extend the state’s cap-and-trade program, one of the Golden State’s primary tools in battling climate change...
Michigan Signs 13 Bills MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signs a package of 13 bills that collectively make genital mutilation of girls a state felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, both for doctors who perform the procedure and parents who transport...
Hawaii Signs HB 561 HAWAII Gov. David Ige (D) signs HB 561 , which requires dentists to make public their training to administer anesthesia to children (HAWAII NEWS NOW [HONOLULU]). Rhode Island Signs SB 789 RHODE ISLAND Gov. Gina Raimondo (D...
Washington Signs SB 5939a WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signs SB 5939a , a bill that extends until 2030 state tax incentives to Evergreen State consumers who install solar energy units on their homes. The incentive rates decrease each year after purchase...
Michigan Signs SB 401 MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signs SB 401 , which will automatically enroll new teachers and staff in a 401(k)-style retirement plan unless they instead pro-actively choose a revised hybrid pension (DETROIT NEWS).
Crime In Florida Corrections officials in FLORIDA agree to settle a lawsuit that accused the Sunshine State of discriminating against deaf and disabled prisoners. Tenets in the resolution include the state agreeing to provide sign-language interpreters...
Business In Wisconsin A federal appeals court upholds WISCONSIN’s so-called “right to work” law that bars collective bargaining agreements requiring workers to pay union fees (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL). Rhode Island Signs SB...
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for certain has a tempestuous nature, but he’s no match for the rolling ball of 24/7 pugnaciousness that is Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who’s primary accomplishment through almost two terms in office is keeping everyone...
Since we are now clearly in the realm of the absurd when it comes to presidential politics, we might as well go all the way. That’s right, one Dwayne Johnson – better known to millions of WWF wrestling fans as “The Rock” –...
No, we’re not done with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie just yet. How could we be, given Christie has obviously decided he might as well embrace being his own worst enemy. Another case in point came last week when Christie sat in for notorious sports...
By Sam Knowles, Founder & MD of Insight Agents, a corporate and brand storytelling consultancy News is neither a fixed nor a finite entity. There are some periods in history when it feels like there’s just more happening than at others. I’m...
Republican governors played a leading, perhaps decisive, role in the collapse of their party’s long-promised legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare. With Gov. John Kasich of Ohio and Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada...
Since the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, 31 states and the District of Columbia have used the law to offer health coverage to millions of previously uninsured residents through expansion of their joint federal-state Medicaid programs. Proposals...
AK REACHES OIL TAX DEAL The ALASKA House and Senate reached agreement on a deal ( HB 111 ) to stop giving cash payments to oil companies covering 35 percent of losses incurred developing new Last Frontier oil fields. The policy was originally adopted...
Saying “It’s not like we won the Lotto,” Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza warned that after almost three years without a budget it is going to take some time to eliminate the state’s nearly $14.5 billion debt backlog....
More than two weeks into the 2018 fiscal year, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signed a $39.43 billion budget on Monday that increases spending by 1.7 percent over last year. Baker also vetoed $320 million from the budget bill lawmakers sent him...
RAIMONDO SIGNS RI VOTER REGISTRATION BILL RHODE ISLAND Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) signed legislation last week making the Ocean State the 9 th to allow automatic voter registration. The legislation will automatically register anyone doing business with...
With President Donald Trump engulfed in daily chaos that prevents him from effectively leading the nation, governors have stepped up to fill the void in ways not seen before in modern American history. Whether one believes that opinion recently posited...
Dayton Legislative Funding Veto Overruled A MINNESOTA judge ruled that Gov. Mark Dayton’s (D) May 30 veto of funding for the Gopher State Legislature was unconstitutional. Ramsey County District Court Chief Judge John Guthmann said Dayton had...
Missouri lawmakers failed this session to agree on legislation to create a statewide prescription drug monitoring program, so Gov. Eric Greitens (R) opted to do it himself. Greitens last week issued Executive Order 17-18 , which directs state health officials...
Saying “we won’t stop until there are zero opioid overdoses in Wisconsin,” Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed 11 bills last week addressing the Badger State’s ongoing opioid abuse epidemic. The measure take a wide tack, from setting...