The Central Intelligence Agency got its start 69 years ago today when President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act. What—you may wonder—does that have to do with your real estate business? More than you might think. While the business...
Investment returns for large public pension plans in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015 were significantly lower than the plans’ assumed rates of return, according to money management news source Pensions & Investments . The one-year return...
Undaunted by opposition from Wall Street, Congress and the Trump administration – or by potential litigation down the road – a growing number of states are moving forward with implementing state-run pension plans for millions of private-sector...
Maine Gov. Paul LePage has had more than his share of confrontations with lawmakers during his time in office. Perhaps none has been greater than the kerfuffle last year over whether he had allowed 65 bills he intended to veto to instead become law without...
A quartet of southeastern governors expressed frustration last week over the Obama administration abandoning its announced plans to open up oil drilling in the waters off their coasts. All four – Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia and Republicans...
California Assembly Gives Final Approval The CALIFORNIA Assembly gives final approval to a bill making the first year of community college free for in-state students going full time. The measure ( AB 19 ) now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) (ASSOCIATED...
WA Senate Approves SB 5407 and House Approves HB 2578 The WASHINGTON Senate approves SB 5407 , which would bar Evergreen State landlords from discriminating against tenants who use government vouchers to pay for all or part of their rent. The House...
New voting restrictions, including strict voter ID requirements and scaled back early voting periods, are set to be in effect for the first time in a presidential election this year in 15 states. In another five states restrictions will be in effect for...
Arizona Declines To Hear HB 2120 The ARIZONA House Education Committee declines to hear HB 2120 , a bill that would have banned colleges from offering classes that promote “resentment or social justice toward a race, gender, religion, political...
The North Carolina Education Lottery took in a record $2.4 billion last year. But it’s not the state’s only big lottery winner. According to lottery records Ricky Vanzant of Lexington purchased 46 winning scratch-off tickets between 2008 and...
Missouri Signs SB 501 MISSOURI Gov. Eric Greitens (R) signs SB 501 , which allows state health officials to issue an order making the anti-overdose medication naloxone available statewide. The bill also allows patients in drug and veterans courts the...
After months of not talking about taxes, other than to brag in speeches about lowering them on residents’ incomes during his six years in office, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said last week he was open to the idea of extending the state’s...
Crime In AZ The ARIZONA Supreme Court rules that the smell of marijuana is sufficient probable cause for police to search a person’s home or car, even though medical marijuana use is legal in the Grand Canyon State (REUTERS). AK Gov Signs...
The popularity of hybrid, electric and alternative-fuel vehicles may be good for the environment but not for states that rely on gas taxes to fund the maintenance and construction of their roads and bridges. Oregon, however, is about to launch a program...
Saying “we won’t stop until there are zero opioid overdoses in Wisconsin,” Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed 11 bills last week addressing the Badger State’s ongoing opioid abuse epidemic. The measure take a wide tack, from setting...
NORTHAM WINS NC GOV BALANCE OF POWER BATTLE A NORTH CAROLINA court ruled last week that the GOP-controlled General Assembly unconstitutionally allowed outgoing Gov. Pat McCrory (R) to pick the leadership of the state Industrial Commission before he...
Missouri is among a handful of states that will consider becoming the next to legalize betting on sports, with legislation filed this past week considered among those with strong odds for success. Bills to legalize sports bets have also already...
What started as a flood of allegations of sexual harassment and assault against powerful Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has morphed into an ever-widening outcry against such outrages regularly committed by men in all workplaces, including statehouses...
Spring and summer are rarely dull around the California Capitol and this year is no different. But things were hopping for real last month when lawmakers, staffers and others gathered on the East Lawn for the 41 st Annual Capitol Frog Jump Contest. An...
Today is National Honesty Day. It’s an ironic ending to a month that begins with the mischief and mayhem of April Fool’s. But in an era marked by declining trust in institutions, honesty is a hot commodity. And while trust in government and...
For the better part of a century the small town of Severance, Colorado has banned the throwing of snowballs. The prohibition was part of a larger ban that made it verboten to throw or shoot rocks or any other projectiles at people, animals, buildings...
Indiana Approves SB 423 The INDIANA Senate gives final approval to SB 423 , so-called “sanctuary city” legislation that would mandate that Hoosier State public and private colleges comply with the enforcement of federal immigration laws...
The annual NFL draft was held a few weeks ago, a.k.a. the time of year when otherwise intelligent grown-ups get in a lather over the job prospects of a large group of college kids they’ve never met in an industry none of them are part of. As if...
MA Gov. Baker Most Popular; NJ’s Christie Not So Much A new poll by Morning Consult shows MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) remains the most popular chief executive in the country, with 75 percent of Bay State residents approving of the job...
Eight states introduced legislation this year aimed at imposing or tightening restrictions on “assault weapons” specifically, according to LexisNexis State Net’s legislative database. Four of those states also introduced legislation...