Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) strongly denied that the closure of 31 mostly rural Heart of Dixie DMV offices is based on race or an effort to suppress minority voters. Bentley called such accusations “politics at its worst.” His remarks...
CO Gov Issues Mascot Order COLORADO Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) issued Executive Order B 2015 006, which will create a commission to discuss American Indian high school mascots. Commission members will include tribes, local community members and state...
MI Senate Approves SB 340 The MICHIGAN Senate approves SB 340, which would double the fines imposed on retailers for selling tobacco products to minors. Under the proposal, which now moves to the House, violators could face fines of $100 for a first...
MI Approves Confiscated Property Bill Package The MICHIGAN Senate approves a seven-bill package (HBs 4500, 4503, 4504, 4506, 4507, 4499 and 4505) that collectively increase civil asset forfeiture reporting requirements for law enforcement agencies...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 329, which would require that high school students take sex education classes unless their parents specifically request for them to be exempted. Also in CALIFORNIA , Gov. Brown signs SB 695, which requires school...
Environment In CA CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs a suite of bills that collectively “strengthen penalties for repeat violations of hazardous waste laws and assist the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) with the recovery...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoes AB 1060, which would have required the state Health and Human Services Agency to create a non-profit foundation to solicit donations to fund participation in clinical drug trials. Brown said there are already numerous...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs ABx2-15, which makes the Golden State the fifth to allow doctors to prescribe terminally ill patients drugs to help them end their own life. For more on this see SNCJ Spotlight in this issue (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET...
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 96, a bill that removes an exemption in a state law barring the sale of elephant ivory or rhinoceros horn. The sale and possession of these products have been banned for years but those imported prior to Jan. 1...
It’s “Zombie Preparedness Month” in Kansas. While that might sound like a PSA warning of the latest brain dead shenanigans from Gov. Sam Brownback and his fellow Sunflower State lawmakers, it is not. As the Wichita Eagle reports, it...
Ah, but he did. Yes, as reported by the Indianapolis Star , Hoosier State Rep. Jud McMillin, the House Majority Floor Leader and a rising star in state GOP politics, has resigned after a sexually explicit video was sent from his cellphone to his entire...
California Gov. Jerry Brown is known to be a bit grumpy this time of year, predominantly over the avalanche of bills lawmakers send his way for consideration. Even so the gov wasted little time this year signing some measures, including a bill last week...
If you ever did a paint by number picture as a child—or have joined the recent trend of coloring for adults that is popping up all over social media—you know how fragmented the image appears until you start to add the color. Devoid of color...
In collaboration with the Special Libraries Association Business & Finance division, LexisNexis is proud to sponsor this informative Webinar: Using Media Intelligence and Data Visualization to Provide Strategic Insight on October 27th. Register now...
Who hasn’t cringed when the only option to quickly show support—when a friend shares bad news or an article on global warming appears in your feed—is a big thumbs up? It’s not exactly the message you want to send. What’s...
Using News Alerts to Improve Supplier Risk Awareness Almost two decades ago, famed journalist and long-time CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite collaborated on a book entitled We Interrupt This Broadcast that highlights 47 historic, 20 th century events...
A few weeks ago, Ad Age lamented, “Where did everyone go?” in an article about declining television viewership. Apparently, the presidential hopefuls didn’t see the article, nor did viewers. After the dust settled, the debate this past...
While much of the West suffers through an epic drought that has contributed to a deadly fire season, state and local officials are bracing for a severe El Nino winter that could bring substantial rain along the Pacific Coast and significant snowfall in...
A measure bound for Denver, Colorado’s Nov. 3 ballot would raise the city’s sales tax to help local college students cover the rising cost of their tuition. Supporters of Measure 2A - who include Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D) and former...
Opponents of Internet gambling in the U.S. Congress have tried to ban it for years without success. But legislation currently being floated on the Hill would initiate a two-year study on Internet gambling - and ban states from legalizing it for at least...
Fueled by a drought in the western states that’s now in its fourth year, wildfires have burned nine million acres nationwide this year, well over the five million-acre average for the past decade, according to National Geographic and the National...
WY energy revenues well below forecast WYOMING Gov. Matt Mead (R) announced at a news conference last week that the state will likely face a budget shortfall of $100 million to $200 million in the current fiscal year because energy revenues are lagging...
Multistate lawsuits challenging White House policy have been de rigueur since the Affordable Care Act. Over two dozen states are opposing the Obama administration’s plan to defer the deportation of millions of illegal immigrants. And at least 20...
Every state has laws governing personal conduct in the voting booth, some of which ban the taking of photographs or the revealing of a marked ballot, according to Ethan Wilson, a policy associate at the National Conference of State Legislatures’...
Unlike some of his gubernatorial counterparts around the country, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) is a believer in climate change, saying it is having a devastating impact on numerous Last Frontier communities. But Walker says the cost of dealing with it...