Donors get state contracts Lobbyists and political action committees associated with four companies awarded contracts to manage IOWA’s $4.2 billion Medicaid program donated nearly $68,000 to top IOWA elected officials, including Gov. Terry Branstad...
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) announced the creation of a 21-member task force last week to devise a plan to combat growing opiate abuse in the Hoosier State. The group, made up of state health leaders, law enforcement officials and lawmakers, will make...
Illinois Gov. Brue Rauner (R) scored the biggest victory of his administration last week as Democrats came up three votes short of overriding his veto of a union-backed bill (SB 1229) that would have ensured labor disputes are determined through binding...
The U.S. Department of Justice told a federal court last week that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s (R) order to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood violates federal law because it denies enrollees in the state-federal health plan the right...
Just a week before the end of the legislative session, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is working on wide-ranging legislation that would establish a framework for regulating the state’s medical marijuana industry. Lawmakers gutted and amended several...
Govs Urge EPA to Change Opioid Labels All six New England governors signed a letter last week urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to change labels for fast-release opioid drugs to ensure patients and doctors understand the risk of addiction...
NJ Upholds Sports Gambling Law A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upholds a lower-court ruling that voided a NEW JERSEY law legalizing sports gambling. The panel ruled that allowing casinos and racetracks...
IL Signs SB 627 ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs SB 627, legislation that bars drivers with two or more drunk driving convictions from operating a vehicle unless it has an ignition interlock device installed (DECATUR HERALD & REVIEW).
CA Signs SB 725 & Approves AB 721 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown signs SB 725, which suspends for the class of 2015 a state requirement that all graduating students take the high school exit exam. State education officials cancelled the test earlier...
CA Approves SB 185 The CALIFORNIA Assembly approves SB 185, which would require the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Retirement System (CalSTRS), the two largest public pension funds in the nation, to...
AK Rejects Request for Medicaid Expansion A court in ALASKA rejects a request by Republican lawmakers to stay the expansion of Medicaid in the Last Frontier State ordered by Gov. Bill Walker (I). Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner rejected the request...
The Supreme Court of the United States rejects a request to overturn a lower court’s ruling requiring a county clerk in KENTUCKY to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples or face fines or jail time. The SCOTUS upheld rulings by both a federal...
CA Approves SB 716, SB 142 & AB 96 The CALIFORNIA Senate gives final approval to SB 716, which would make the Golden State the first to ban elephant handlers from using a bullhook, a sharp-pointed tool animal activists say is inhumane. It moves...
As surprises go, the switcheroo one plucky young man pulled off in the California Capitol last week was a doozy. As the Capitol Morning Report reveals, longtime staffer Amanda Fulkerson, communications director for Assembly Republican Leader Kristen Olsen...
Democrats are used to having their way in the California Legislature, but for the last 13 years it has been quite a different story on the softball field. Every year since 2002, the Republicans have kicked the Dems’ fannies in the annual charity...
It hasn’t been a good year for a few Missouri lawmakers. Two Show Me State legislators this year have been forced to step down after revelations of their wildly inappropriate behavior toward or with young interns working in their offices. But never...
“Focus on the positive.” It’s practically a mantra these days as individuals strive—in both private and professional lives—to manage stress more effectively. But there are other familiar expressions—like “forewarned...
On the morning of Aug. 16 an unmanned aerial vehicle, more commonly known as a drone, startled the pilot of a JetBlue airliner as it was landing at Los Angeles International Airport. The same day, the U.S. military had to scramble fighter jets after a...
A little over half (51.6 percent) of the 952 encounters between drones and manned aircraft reported to the FAA since the beginning of 2014 originated from five states, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. More than 20 percent, or 196...
To help cover the cost of a big pension payment for police and firefighters next year and help shrink his city’s annual budget hole, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will reportedly call for the city’s largest property tax increase in at least decades...
Despite having a population of only 580,000, Wyoming spends over $9 billion in state and federal dollars every two years. A 2013 study calculated that the state’s government expenditures totaled $15,673 per person, the second highest rate in the...
Budget-driven Bridge Closures in MO The Missouri Department of Transportation says it doesn’t have money for badly needed bridge repairs around the state. Three bridges have already been shut down since the start of last year, and 641 have been...
Obama Issues Sick Leave Order President Barack Obama issues an executive order requiring federal contractors to provide their employees with up to seven days of annual sick leave. The order takes effect in 2017 (NEW YORK TIMES). Business in CA ...
Crime & Punishment in CA A federal judge order CALIFORNIA corrections officials to end an early prison-release program because it is open only to women. U.S. District Court Judge Morrison C. England said the law is unconstitutional (SAN JOSE MERCURY...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoes SB 110, which would have made it a crime to threaten violence against someone on school grounds. Brown also vetoes SB 456, which would have made it a crime to threaten to fire a gun on school property. Brown said...