AL Considering Gas Tax Hike The ALABAMA House Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure Committee approved a bill (HB 394) last month that would increase the state’s gas tax by about six cents per gallon to generate additional funding for...
Partisan gridlock has hardly been unique to Washington, D.C. lately. Political differences between Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans who control the state’s General Assembly delayed passage of that state’s budget...
Public employee unions were the beneficiaries of the first major case to result in a 4-4 tie vote in the U.S. Supreme Court since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Conservatives had challenged the fees such unions collect from non-members to pay for...
After a presidential primary last month marred by long lines at polling places and voter frustration, Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan (R), the state’s top election official, said she was backing legislation to shift the state from government...
High Court Denies Challenge of CO Pot Laws The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear NEBRASKA and OKLAHOMA’s challenge of COLORADO's marijuana legalization laws. The 6-2 vote means COLORADO’s first-of-their-kind cannabis laws will...
The Obama administration has taken several steps over the last month to help increasingly desperate governors battle rising rates of opioid addiction in their states. Those efforts include proposing new regulations for drugs intended to fight addiction...
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) joined with legislative leaders last week on legislation (SB 3) to raise the Golden State minimum wage to $15.00 by 2022 for larger companies and 2023 for smaller businesses. And he thinks other states will follow their...
A top aide to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) resigned last week amid allegations she and the governor were having an affair. But Bentley himself is so far resisting a growing number of calls that he resign. Bentley made an appearance in northern...
Cuomo Says No-Go to NC NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) issued an executive order last week (EO No. 155) that bars state employees from any state-sponsored non-essential travel to NORTH CAROLINA . The order came after the Tar Heel State adopted legislation...
Every state works hard to get tourists to come their way. A common tool these days is a cool video that shows folks just how awesome their state is. So it was with much glee that Rhode Island officials released such a video online last week. Alas, as...
Yes, not only is children’s bingo really a thing, one New Hampshire lawmaker wants to open up the kiddie games to adults. Under Granite State law, hotels and campgrounds can hold bingo games for kids or for adults as long as the two don’t...
The folks at Mohawk High School in Sycamore, Ohio were recently very happy to welcome state Sen. Izaha Akins to talk to students about the joys of being in government. The school had been expecting Sen. David Burke, but went along when Akins told them...
Hey Yalies, are you sick of paying the big Connecticut tax bill on that mega-endowment of yours? Well, you have options! Taking a page straight from the Rick Perry playbook, Florida Gov. Rick Scott says you are more than welcome to move the 300-year-old...
Young people are told ad nauseum these days they won’t get a good job without a college degree. But the skyrocketing cost of getting that diploma has begotten the nation’s $1.2 trillion gorilla: a crushing student loan debt burden so large...
Sixty-nine percent of graduating college seniors nationwide in 2014 had some amount of student loan debt, averaging about $28,950, according to the Institute for College Access & Success. But some states had more 4-year college graduates in more debt...
According to the Congressional Research Service , the Department of Defense spent $285 billion on federal contracts in 2014—more than all other U.S. government agencies combined. With so much money at stake, bribery and corruption risks soar, and...
March Madness® . You thought of basketball, didn’t you? Well, while all of your friends were watching which college basketball team would inch closer to the NCAA championship title, the media was mad about a much different race – the...
It has been described as the biggest leak in history. More than 11.5 million files from the database of the world’s fourth largest offshore law firm—Mossack Fonesca—were obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung and the International Consortium...
Whether we like it or not, the adage that “these days, we sell our candidates like we sell our soft drinks” is largely true. Any political strategist—especially those in the rarefied air of a presidential election— knows the importance...
In some ways, the non-profit sector faces similar challenges every year: How do we find the internal staffing, the right research tools and adequate financial resources to launch the initiatives we have in mind so we can more aggressively pursue our mission...
Business In CA CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown(D) signs SB 3 , which will raise the Golden State minimum wage to $15 by 2022, with so-called “off ramps” for years in which the economy is struggling (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). Business in NY...
The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. But with states missing out on billions of dollars in sales and use taxes from online and catalog purchases, and Congress unable to agree on a national framework, states...
At least a dozen states have introduced legislation in 2016 related to out-of-state, or remote, sales taxes, according to LexisNexis State Net’s legislative tracking database. Most of the bills have been aimed at expanding the definition of a state...
Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich have all promised major tax cuts to stimulate the U.S. economy. Cruz’s plan, which includes a 10 percent flat income tax, would cost the federal treasury $768 billion but...
The United States often disparages countries that allow the wealthy to conceal their assets from tax authorities. But America is emerging as a tax haven rivaling notorious refuges like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands, say some tax reformers. ...