Vermont lawmakers re-elected incumbent Gov. Pete Shumlin (D) last week. Shumlin defeated Republican challenger Scott Milne and Libertarian Dan Feliciano, garnering 110 votes to Milne's 69. Feliciano did not receive a vote. The decision fell to lawmakers...
Faced with ongoing scrutiny over his fiancee's consulting work, OREGON Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) and fiancee Cylvia Hayes have hired attorneys to represent them in an investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. The governor said he and...
Supporters of “aid-in-dying” laws -- which allow doctors to prescribe terminally ill patients drugs that will hasten their death -- have for years dismissed arguments that such measures would be a magnet drawing the gravely ill to their states...
More than a dozen states have introduced death-with-dignity legislation or pledged to do so this year, according to the nonprofit advocacy organization Compassion & Choices. A previously-introduced bill in New Jersey has already cleared the first...
The Wall Street investment firm that has already agreed under settlements with U.S. government regulators to pay over $1.5 billion for its part in the subprime mortgage scandal that helped precipitate the Great Recession may soon be accused of pushing...
A little over two years after overhauling his state’s public employee pension system, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has set his sights on reducing the state’s public retiree health care debt. That unfunded liability is currently estimated...
A new way to cover the rising costs of social service programs, which has been gathering momentum in state and local governments across the country, is coming to Denver. Under the financing method, known as a social impact bond or “pay for...
The TEXAS Supreme Court has announced it will hear the state’s appeal of the long-running lawsuit challenging the way it funds public education (AMERICAN-STATESMAN [AUSTIN]). * MINNESOTA Gov. Mark Dayton (D) has called for a $6 billion transportation...
New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D) -- one of the most powerful Democrats in Albany for over two decades -- was arrested last month on federal corruption charges. According to the criminal complaint outlining the charges against him...
More than 20 Republicans in Colorado’s House and Senate are sponsoring a bill to repeal the law that created the state’s health insurance marketplace. House Bill 1066 would repeal the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Act effective Jan. 1 and...
The option of casting a straight party-line vote with a single click or mark of an election ballot would be eliminated in INDIANA under a bill backed by GOP leaders of the state’s House. Straight-ticket voting has been on the decline over the past...
After two years of back and forth negotiations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has given Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) the approval to implement a Medicaid expansion plan that uses federal dollars to buy private health insurance for as...
A federal appeals court granted former VIRGINIA Gov. McDonnell’s request to stay out of jail while he appeals his conviction on multiple counts of corruption. The 4 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear his appeal on May 12 (WASHINGTON TIMES...
The United States Supreme Court blocks three scheduled executions in OKLAHOMA pending a review of the state’s lethal injection drug protocol. The order came just days after the court allowed GEORGIA to use a different injection cocktail to execute...
The VIRGINIA Senate rejects SB 722, which would have barred so-called “dreamers -- unauthorized immigrant students granted deferred status by the federal government -- from qualifying for in-state tuition at Old Dominion public colleges and universities...
A CALIFORNIA judge rules that Medicaid applicants in the Golden State who have been waiting for more than 45 days can receive temporary health benefits while officials determine their eligibility for the joint state-federal insurance program (SACRAMENTO...
The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court votes to bar state judges from belonging to non-profit youth organizations if those groups practice any form of discrimination (LOS ANGELES TIMES).
Number of 2015 Prefiles last week: 2,955 Number of Intros last week: 17,941 Number of Enacted/Adopted last week: 815 Number of 2015 Prefiles to date: 13,930 Number of 2015 Intros to date: 37,586 Number of 2015 Enacted/Adopted...
States in Regular Session: AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, US, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY States in Informal Session...
(01/30/2015 - 02/20/2015) 02/03/2015 Georgia Runoff House Districts 50 and 120 02/10/2015 Arkansas Runoff Senate District 16 Florida Special Primary House District 64 Iowa Special Election House District 23 ...
Here are some of the topics you may see covered in upcoming issues of the State Net Capitol Journal: - Common Core - State worker exodus - Legalizing pot
For decades, the ukulele has been synonymous with the Hawaiian Islands, sparking images of blissful beaches, warm ocean breezes and the generous spirit that is the essence of aloha. Sadly, in recent years the ukulele has been co-opted by that most dreaded...
New Jersey Gov. Christie is not the only governor with an interest in the NFL. As the Associated Press reports, Maine Gov. Paul LePage makes no bones about his belief that the New England Patriots are flat out cheaters. For those living in a cave of late...
That may be the question that Virginia Delegate Joseph Morrissey is asking himself these days. As the Washington Post reports, Morrissey recently won election to the House of Delegates mere weeks after resigning a seat in that body in disgrace. Authorities...
Washington gridlock has driven both parties to the states to advance their agendas. But perhaps surprisingly, neither party is as unified as they might seem. In case you missed it, the story can be found on our Web site at http://www.statenet.com...