KS Approves SB 34 The KANSAS Senate has approved a bill (SB 34) that would grant the Secretary of State the authority to prosecute election fraud. LexisNexis State Net’s legislative prognosis tool places the bill’s chances of passage at...
Stymied by lawmakers in his effort to raise the statewide minimum wage, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he will instead seek to raise the wage specifically for Empire State fast food workers. In an op-ed in the New York Times last Thursday, Cuomo...
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) promised swift action last week to implement a task force’s recommendations for improving the relationship between Buckeye State law enforcement and the communities they serve. Kasich said a variety of new policies and...
Ks and TX Friends of the Court In Florida Support Governors in KANSAS and TEXAS said they would file amicus briefs in support of FLORIDA Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) lawsuit against the Obama administration alleging the government is illegally coercing...
NH Endorses HB 136 The NEW HAMPSHIRE Senate endorses HB 136, which would ban minors from using tanning beds. It goes to Gov. Maggie Hassan (D), who is expected to sign it into law (UNION LEADER [MANCHESTER]). KS Overrides Veto of SB 117 The KANSAS...
GA Signs SB 8 GEORGIA Gov. Nathan Deal (R) signs SB 8, which among several things allows the criminal justice system to treat minors forced into prostitution by human traffickers as victims rather than criminals (GWINNET DAILY POST). OK Signs HB...
CA Assembly Approves AB 30 The CALIFORNIA Assembly approves AB 30, which would bar Golden State schools from using the nickname “Redskins” after the 2016 school year. It moves to the Senate (LEXINEXIS STATE NET). NV Approves SB 504 ...
CA Approves Emergency Water Usage Cuts Faced with historic drought conditions, the CALIFORNIA Water Resources Control Board unanimously approves an emergency order mandating a 25 percent cut in urban water use, the first such cut in state history ...
LA Approves SB 143 The LOUISIANA Senate approves SB 143, which would legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in the Pelican State. It moves to the House (TIMES-PICAYUNE [NEW ORLEANS]). TN Signs SB 280 TENNESSEE Gov. Bill Haslam ...
A Maricopa County Judge rules that undocumented students in ARIZONA who have work visas under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are allowed to pay the in-state tuition rate at Grand Canyon State colleges and universities...
MO Overrides Veto of SB 24 The MISSOURI Legislature overrides a veto by Gov. Jay Nixon (D) of SB 24, legislation that cuts the lifetime limit for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program from five years to three years and nine months and...
OR Approves SB 941 The OREGON House approves SB 941, which requires that a background check be conducted on a buyer who is purchasing guns from a private party. The bill, which requires private sellers to conduct transactions through a registered gun...
By now you probably know that the tax cuts championed by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback have been a fiscal disaster for the Sunflower State, creating an $800 million budget deficit and blowing up the state credit rating. Things are so bad that at least eight...
Political campaigns have undoubtedly become more cynical and nasty in recent years. But not every close race has to end with court battles and protests. Case in point comes from Platte, South Dakota where a recent tie in the mayoral race was decided in...
For the last two decades visitors to Lindström, Minnesota have been greeted with signs bearing two dots, called umlauts, over the “o.” But when the signs were recently replaced after the most recent U.S. Census, the new ones came sans...
One might think that by now ambitious politicos would get this whole Interwebs thingy. One would be wrong. Case in point this week comes from the presidential campaign trail, where former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is one of about 6,000 Republicans...
Editor: Rich Ehisen Associate Editor: Korey Clark Contributing Editor: Mary Peck, David Giusti Editorial Advisor: Lou Cannon Correspondents: Richard Cox (CA), Lauren Davis (MA), Steve Karas (CA) and Ben Livingood (PA), Cathy Santsche (CA), Dena Blodgett...
On April 28-30, compliance and supply chain leaders gathered in Houston, Texas for the 8 th Global Supply Chain Compliance (SCC) meeting. This year’s focus was “Putting words into action in an uncertain landscape for Oil & Gas.”...
Remember the movie Captain Phillips from a couple years ago? It told the true story of the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. It was dramatic, memorable—and to a point, accurate. But there’s a hidden, perhaps less...
How does the lack of rain in Brazil impact your supply chain? While it may sound improbable, but in today’s global economy, a drought can have a ripple effect that travels further than once thought possible. A water shortage leads to problems at...
After years of magical thinking about rains that rarely came, California agencies are struggling to combat the state’s prolonged drought through myriad mandates, restrictions and development of alternative sources of water. They have a long way...
As of May 12 drought was impacting every state in the nation but six, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly measure of drought conditions produced by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s National Drought Mitigation Center and the U.S....
Twice in two weeks courts have rejected state pension reform laws. On April 30, Oregon’s Supreme Court ruled that the reductions the state made to cost-of-living adjustments in 2013 were unconstitutional. And last week Illinois’ Supreme Court...
Last week states received official word from the Obama administration that without Congressional action, federal transportation funding will expire on May 31. “Unless Congress acts prior to this date, the Federal Highway Administration will...
The Alaska Legislature returned from its special session recess last Tuesday, but with only six representatives and three senators in attendance, no progress was made on the state’s budget or other issues the session was called for last month, and...