Some progressive Democrats outside Washington, D.C. are jumping on the bandwagon for making the District the 51st state. Dan Pfeiffer, an aide to former president Barack Obama, has been advocating for statehood on the “Pod Save America” podcast...
After suffering a major setback at the U.S. Supreme Court in June , organized labor scored a decisive victory at the ballot box in Missouri last week. In a referendum ( Proposition A ) vote that was part of the state’s Aug. 7 primary, Missourians...
West Virginia’s House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment for all four sitting justices on the state’s Supreme Court of Appeals: Chief Justice Margaret Workman, Justice Allen Loughry, Justice Robin Davis and Justice Elizabeth...
ID Supreme Court Rules The IDAHO Supreme Court rules that an injured worker’s status as an unauthorized immigrant does not prevent them from receiving long-term disability payments if hurt on the job. The high court ruled that immigration status...
CA Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals Rules The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in CALIFORNIA rules that the Trump administration endangered public health by keeping a widely used pesticide on the market despite extensive scientific evidence that...
CA Air Resources Board Unveils Pollution Proposal The CALIFORNIA Air Resources Board unveils a proposal for new rules that would force automakers to meet the Golden State’s existing standards on car and truck pollution even if weaker ones are...
OH Governor Signs SB 216 OHIO Gov. John Kasich (R) signs SB 216 , which makes dozens of changes to the Buckeye State education system, including how teachers are evaluated, allowing third-graders to take tests on paper, softening the law on excessive...
OH Attorney General Announces New Online Site OHIO Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) announces the creation of a free, online system will allow victims to anonymously check the status of their rape kits from the time they are collected at a medical...
Going On In CA A federal appeals court upholds a CALIFORNIA law that requires new models of semi-automatic handguns to stamp identifying information on bullet casings when fired. The 9 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law was a reasonable...
Forty-three states currently allow restaurant operators to pay employees who receive tips, such as waiters and bartenders, less than the state minimum wage, with the minimum hourly rate for such tipped workers set by the federal government at $2.13. This...
In June, Washington D.C. voters strongly endorsed Initiative 77 , a ballot referendum to require District eateries to pay workers that rely on tips the same minimum wage as other employees. But amidst furious pushback from the restaurant industry, a majority...
Danske Bank and Siemens have appointed chief compliance officers to their boards of directors this summer. We explore why compliance has become accepted as a critical function in any company. At the next board meeting of Denmark’s biggest...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is good at ruffling more than eagle feathers. The Federal Highway Administration is also angry with him, this time over hundreds of “I Love NY” signs on Empire State highways. As the Associated Press reports , the...
For New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the bald eagle feather he brought home was a fantastic memento of a great canoe trip he took with his youngest daughter. He liked it so much he placed that feather on the mantle above his fireplace. But as ABC News reports...
There is no love lost between Ohio Gov. John Kasich and the man who bested him to win the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, Donald Trump. The latest ruffle came after Kasich used an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to argue that...
With the session winding down last month, Massachusetts lawmakers passed a bill extending authorization of the Bay State horse racing industry. But with the hour late and everyone exhausted, lawmakers neglected to send it to Gov. Charlie Baker, inadvertently...
TX City Council Approves Proposal The SAN ANTONIO City Council approves a proposal to require all employers except government entities to provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 34 hours worked. Employers with more than five...
NY Governor Signs AB 6823 NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs AB 6823 , which relieves Empire State prosecutors from having to prove force, fraud or coercion was used to involve a minor in prostitution. (NEW YORK POST)
IL Governor Signs HB 5245 ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs HB 5245 , legislation that requires hospitals to train enough medical providers in how to treat sexual assault patients that when a victim arrives, a trained provider is present within...
IL Governor Signs HB 4843 ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs HB 4843 , which makes it a crime to import, sell, buy or trade any ivory or rhino horn within the Prairie State. (ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S OFFICE)
IL Governor Signs SB 486 and SB 2591 ILLINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signs two solar energy bills: SB 486 , which creates a standard tax assessment value for Prairie State solar farms, and SB 2591 , which sets standards for the construction and deconstruction...
NY Governor Signs AB 5200 NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs AB 5200 , anti-hazing legislation that bars certain physical contact or physical activity in any organization’s initiation ceremony when such activity creates a substantial risk of...
SCOTT DECLARES FL ALGAE EMERGENCY FLORIDA Gov. Rick Scott (R) declared a state of emergency last week after a growing “red tide” algae bloom left Sunshine State beaches covered with dead fish and marine animals. His declaration will make...
MA Governor Vetoes Section of HB 4732 MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) vetoes a section of a $1.1 billion economic development package ( HB 4732 ) that would have barred “bad faith” allegations of patent infringement by so-called “patent...
A Tennessee appeals court ruled last Wednesday that a key element of Gov. Bill Haslam’s (R) 2016 overhaul of the Volunteer State probation system is unconstitutional. The Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals said Haslam’s wide-ranging...