05/20/2014 Arkansas Primary Election House (All) Senate Districts 3-6, 8-10, 14-15, 17-20, 24, 30-31, 33 and 35 Constitutional Officers: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, Auditor, Commissioner of State Lands...
Two RHODE ISLAND lawmakers received threatening letters in connection with their investigation of the state's failed $75 million investment into retired ballplayer Curt Schilling's video-game company, 38 Studios, which filed for bankruptcy in...
After all the protests and then all the recall elections and attendant attack ads sparked by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) union-busting policies three years ago, you'd think Wisconsinites would be burnt out on politics. But in the last presidential...
Virginia Del. Steve Landes (R), a banker, sponsored a bill enacted in March aimed at recruiting successful entrepreneurs, willing to donate their time for up to a year out of a sense of civic duty, to help state agencies stimulate business and job growth...
MISSISSIPPI lawmakers approved $17 million in state disaster relief in response to last month's deadly tornadoes (CLARION-LEDGER [JACKSON]). • OHIO's Supreme Court will likely hear two lawsuits challenging Cleveland's so-called "jock...
The slow and steady improvement that has characterized state finances for most of the post-Great Recession era is continuing, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures' Spring 2014 "State Budget Update," which is based on...
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) proposed a revised 2014-15 budget last week that calls for nearly $1 billion more in spending than his draft proposal in January. The new $107.8-billion spending plan includes a sizable increase in Medicaid funding to cover...
Not for the first time, Pennsylvania Sen. David Argall (R) is backing a bill that would replace property taxes levied by school districts with higher state income and sales taxes. But this year, more than half of the state's senators are co-sponsoring...
Thirty-four states have enacted laws requiring prospective voters to present some form of identification at the polls. Thirty-one of those voter ID laws are currently in effect. Pennsylvania's and Wisconsin's laws have been struck down, and North...
States in Regular Session: CA, DC, DE, IL, LA, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PR, RI, SC, TN, US, WI States in Special Session: CA "b", VA "a" States in Recess: KS, PA States currently prefiling for 2015 Session: MT States...
State and federal courts have slowed the steady march of the states toward sterner standards of voter identification. A state judge in Arkansas and a federal judge in Wisconsin recently struck down strict voter ID laws. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett ...
Most states will see improved fiscal conditions in 2015, but their economic growth rates remain below the levels they enjoyed before the Great Recession, according to a comprehensive new report. "Economically speaking, states are a mirror of the...
States in Regular Session: DC, MI, NJ, OH, US States in Informal Session: MA States in Skeleton Session: States in Veto Session: States in Recess: CA, IN, NY, ME States in Special Session: Special Sessions in Recess: DE "c", VA "a"...
Hawaii is the nation's healthiest state, according to the United Health Foundation's annual health rankings for 2014. The Aloha State's low rates of obesity, preventable hospital visits and cancer deaths helped earn it the top spot. Mississippi...
Last year the Superior Court in Merrimack County, New Hampshire invalidated a 2011 state law increasing the amount public employees — even those who've been on the job over 10 years — have to contribute to their pensions, on the grounds...
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) will target healthcare costs for retired state workers in his forthcoming budget proposal, a finance department spokesman said last week. That statement came shortly after the state's controller, John Chiang, announced...
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) seems to be reading from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) playbook when it comes to dealing with his state's budget troubles. Last month he said he was "looking at everything," including a tax increase...
UTAH Gov. Gary Herbert (R) has proposed a $14.3 billion state budget that includes the largest increase in per-pupil spending in 25 years, as well as funding for body cameras for all state troopers and his Healthy Utah plan to help the poor afford medical...
On Nov. 4, a rag-tag group of local activists persuaded nearly 59 percent of the voters in Denton, Texas to approve a ban on fracking by "knocking on doors, staging puppet shows and performing song-and-dance numbers," as The Texas Tribune put...
Uber Technologies has not only pioneered a new kind of taxi service but also a new way to deal with the government regulations that stand in the way of its growth. The approach is bold: Enter local markets regardless of the regulatory environment, build...
Statehouse security varies considerably across the country. Some state capitols have armed security guards, X-ray machines and metal detectors. Others offer open public access. But the shooting attack on the Canadian Parliament in October will likely...
Last week GOP leaders in VIRGINIA's House of Delegates proposed a cap of $100 on gifts of any kind to state officials. That limit is tighter than the one the Legislature imposed on itself earlier this year as well as what an ethics panel appointed...
12/30/2014 Iowa Special Election Senate District 12 01/06/2015 Georgia Special Election House Districts 50 and 120 Iowa Special Election House District 4 Virginia Special Election House Districts 34 and 63
Citing potential health and environmental risks, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has barred the controversial gas drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Cuomo's decision has been years in the making. Former Gov. David Paterson (D)...
Calling it "one of the most difficult decisions of my public life," Vermont Gov. Pete Shumlin (D) abandoned his longstanding plan to make the Green Mountain State the first to implement a publicly-funded single-payer health insurance plan for...