The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a Texas redistricting case that has the potential to significantly alter the way legislative districts across the country are calculated and shift political power away from cities, which tend to...
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a challenge to a ban on semiautomatic, high-capacity assault weapons imposed by Highland Park, Illinois. A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit had ruled that the ban was...
National Effort to Lower Voting Age A national campaign to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 to spur civic engagement by younger Americans kicked off last week. Vote16USA is backed by a nonpartisan group based in NEW YORK called Generation Citizen...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) proposed legislation last week to return control over the issuance of liquor licenses to local governments. Under the current system, the number of liquor licenses in most locales is capped, with additional licenses...
Saying he was “satisfied with the laws that we have,” Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) said last week he does not support calls from some gun advocates to allow Hawkeye State teachers to be armed. “People have strong views on both...
Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (D) said he will soon issue an executive order making the Constitution State the first to bar people on the federal no-fly list from buying guns. Malloy’s actions come barely a week after Congress rejected legislation...
Saying “New Mexico families deserve to be safe from drunk drivers,” Gov. Susana Martinez (R) announced a series of executive actions last week aimed at getting those drivers off the road and monitoring judges she says have routinely gone easy...
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard became the latest GOP governor to propose expanding Medicaid as laid out under the Affordable Care Act. Daugaard pitched the expansion as part of his $4.8 billion 2016 budget proposal, noting it would provide health care...
Beshear Issues Pardons In his final act in office, outgoing KENTUCKY Gov. Steve Beshear (D) commuted six sentences and issued 201 pardons last week. Ten of the pardons or commutations were granted to women who had been victims of domestic violence...
A federal judge greatly increases the number of drivers who may join a class action lawsuit against the CALIFORNIA -based ridesharing company Uber. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen’s ruling allows drivers who previously agreed to use arbitration...
An ARKANSAS judge rules that Razorback State corrections officials must reveal their source for drugs used to execute condemned prisoners. Officials have appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court (DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE [LITTLE ROCK]).
President Barack Obama signs the Every Student Succeeds Act, legislation that replaces the federal No Child Left Behind program. The new law allows each state to develop its own methods and standards for judging school quality. The measure also allows...
The U.S. House of Representatives approves HR 1321, a bill that would ban the use of microbeads, small bits of plastic found in a variety of personal products like soap and toothpaste. At least eight states, including ILLINOIS, COLORADO, CONNECTICUT,...
Health & Science In NJ The NEW JERSEY Assembly fails to override Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) veto of SB 2360, a bill that would have required local police to be notified if a person who had once been involuntarily committed for psychiatric...
A federal judge rejects a plea from TEXAS officials seeking to bar the settlement of Syrian refugees in the Lone Star State. Judge David C. Godbey rejected a claim by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission that “terrorists could have infiltrated...
The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear a challenge to an ILLINOIS city’s ban on semiautomatic, high-capacity assault weapons. The city, Highland Park, is a suburb of Chicago. Seven states — MARYLAND, CALIFORNIA, CONNECTICUT, HAWAII, MASSACHUSETTS...
Every state has at least a few laws on the books that might have seemed like a good idea at some time but now make no sense at all. Not surprisingly, according to the website Thrillist.com, many deal with alcohol. For instance, don’t be getting...
And then there is Nevada Assemblymember Michele Fiore. As reported in the Las Vegas Sun , the aspiring Congressional candidate went all Trump-like last week, announcing she would like nothing more than to “fly to Paris and shoot ‘em in the...
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has had it with your silly climate change denial. In Paris along with a host of current Golden State officeholders for the big United Nations climate confab, “The Governator” took to Facebook to...
Since the FIFA corruption scandal broke in May, prosecutors have charged 41 individuals or entities with violations of global anti-bribery and corruption laws. At the time, court documents suggested that as-yet unnamed media companies and advertisers...
After a busy fourth quarter, you are probably more than ready to turn off when you leave the office. So, how will you get your news when you’re not operating in work mode over the holidays? According to Pew Research , if you’re a Millennial...
States have struggled for six years to reach revenue and spending levels they attained before the Great Recession of 2008-09 brought shortfalls and layoffs. They’re still struggling. The recession cut so deeply and recovery has been so slow that...
States enacted budgets for fiscal 2016 that will increase general fund spending by an average of 4.1 percent, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers. The biggest spending bump, New York’s 14.7 percent increase, is largely...
Internet and anti-tax activists are applauding Congressional action on a customs bill this month that would make a current moratorium on Internet access taxes permanent. But that action could cost seven states hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue...
Last Wednesday, 5 1/2 months into the current fiscal year without a state budget, Pennsylvania House Republicans gave Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and the chamber’s Democratic minority 24 hours to come up with enough votes to pass the $1 billion tax plan they’re...