Texas Rep. Dawnna Dukes is in some hot water, facing misdemeanor corruption charges for giving one of her aides a taxpayer-funded raise for shuttling Dukes’ daughter back and forth to school. But that is hardly the most interesting thing about her...
KY Federal Court Rules A federal court rules that a KENTUCKY law requiring clinics where abortions are performed to have written agreements with a hospital and an ambulance service in case of medical emergencies. U.S. District Judge Greg Stivers said...
Saying “we only have so much dollars, and we’re trying to manage that as best as we can,” Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) said he has indefinitely deferred virtually all highway projects to expand capacity and reduce congestion clogging Aloha...
California Signs AB 1110 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 1110 , which requires energy retailers to reveal the greenhouse gas emissions of the products they sell (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). California Signs AB 2800 Also in CALIFORNIA , Brown...
MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signs SB 879, a bill that requires radiologists to provide patients with written summaries of a mammogram, including about *** density (LEXIS NEXIS STATE NET, MICHIGAN GOVERNOR'S OFFICE). • Also in MICHIGAN, Gov...
After all the protests and then all the recall elections and attendant attack ads sparked by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) union-busting policies three years ago, you'd think Wisconsinites would be burnt out on politics. But in the last presidential...
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) seems to be reading from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) playbook when it comes to dealing with his state's budget troubles. Last month he said he was "looking at everything," including a tax increase...
Declaring, “I was elected by the people of this state to do a job, and I intend to do it,” Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) announced at a press conference last month he would not consider resigning from office. His assertion came in response...
The MASSACHUSETTS House unanimously approves HB 3944, legislation that would among several things give doctors a 24-hour window to conduct a substance abuse evaluation on patients who enter an emergency room showing symptoms of an opioid overdose. They...
WV SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES TAX REFORM PLAN WEST VIRGINIA’s Select Senate Committee on Reform approved a bill ( SB 335 ) last week that would replace the state’s current 6-percent sales tax with an 8-percent general consumption tax and...
STATES TURNING TO TOLLS At least a half-dozen states, including COLORADO and FLORIDA, are imposing tolls on roads that used to be toll-free or building new toll-only lanes this year, and more are expected to do the same next year. With transportation...
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...
Former major league pitcher Curt Schilling was never shy about running a fastball in high and tight, nor has he ever been hesitant to run his yap until people practically cover their ears and beg for mercy. His latest round of self-serving bloviation...
A federal judge sentenced former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) to two years in prison for his conviction on a long list of corruption charges last fall. The sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer was significantly less severe...
Citing voters’ rejection of a similar proposal in 2012, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said he opposes HB 1991, so-called “death with dignity” legislation under consideration by lawmakers. That proposal would let terminally ill...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a package of eight bills last month aimed at combatting gender discrimination in the Empire State. Five of those were specific to the workplace. They include AB 6075, which prohibits employers from threatening workers...
Speaking of fiscal responsibility, somebody in the North Carolina Legislature has some explaining to do. As the Fayetteville Observer reports, the General Assembly website went offline last week, creating a fair amount of havoc for the lobbyists, reporters...
DATES SET FOR VA HOUSE RECOUNTS: Recounts of three close VIRGINIA House races on Nov. 7, in the 40th, 94th and 68th districts, have been set for Dec. 13 and 14, 19, and 20, respectively. A preliminary hearing for a potential fourth recount in the 28th...
When California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed AB 19 , the California College Promise, waiving the first year of fees for all first-time, full-time students at the state’s community colleges, into law last month supporters sang the measure’s...
LA House Endorses HB 78 The LOUISIANA House unanimously endorses HB 78 , which would ban hazing at Pelican State schools and universities. Individual violators would face felony charges, while schools, fraternities and other organizations could be...
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) called for a special election on June 12 to fill vacancies in the state Legislature created when two GOP lawmakers joined his administration in December. That action only came after three separate court rulings in a single...
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed off on a controversial deal granting almost $3 billion in incentives to lure Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn to build a new plant in the Badger State. If Foxconn follows through on its plan to invest $10 billion...
Nursing homes in Illinois have been among the most understaffed in the nation, according to an investigation last year by Kaiser Health News and the Chicago Tribune . But that could change as a result of legislation passed by state lawmakers this month...
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...
With a budget surplus of as much as $1 billion expected in Minnesota, consensus is building there for tax cuts in 2016. The state ranked 9th highest in the nation in tax collections in 2013, its highest position since 2000 when it ranked 8th, before...