One of the first things I learned as a young scribe was that cops and reporters never say no to coffee. Given that my brother was a cop for 30 years and I’ve been kicking around this gig for almost as long, I know this to be as true today as it was then. But there are definitely those who think we all ought to learn to just say no. Case in point comes from California, where Bloomberg reports a judge ruled recently that coffee sellers are required by state law to warn consumers that coffee contains a carcinogen produced in the roasting process. The legal wrangling is far from over, however, and likely won’t be any time soon. But no matter what, my motto remains: you can have my coffee when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.
-- By RICH EHISEN
Well, when it comes to winning the state lottery...everything. Which is why Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery, thought the marketing slogan “Luck yeah!” was a real winner. Alas, as reported by the New Hampshire Union Leader, not everyone agreed. One politico in particular - Executive Councilor Russell Prescott – called the ad campaign profane. And while McIntyre pointed to the campaign’s effectiveness at increasing lottery sales, the powers that be opted to go with a new slogan: “Win-Time.” Yawwwwwnnnn.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) vetoed a controversial bill last week that would have given police the power to pursue hackers who probe computer systems but don’t steal any data. Opponents said the bill would also have prohibited so-called “white hat” hacking by researchers who identify and then report security weaknesses to those operating the computer system.
The bill, SB 315, would have created the crime of “unauthorized computer access,” defined as “intentionally” logging into a computer or website hosted in Georgia without the user first asking permission or being granted authority.
The bill sparked a fierce debate about the use of proactive measures to prevent and respond to cyberattacks, including entering another network in order to track down stolen information. Under SB 315, individuals who engage in “active defense measures that are designed to prevent or detect unauthorized computer access” would have been exempted from the law.
That exception drew strong opposition from companies like Apple and Google, which said the bill would allow – and perhaps even encourage – private companies to hack into other networks “under the undefined guise of cybersecurity.”
“Network operators should indeed have the right and permission to defend themselves from attack, but, before Georgia endorses ‘hack back’ authority in ‘defense’ or even anticipation of a potential attack with no statutory criteria, it should have a much more thorough understanding of the ramifications of such a policy,” they wrote.
They were joined in opposition by a coalition of academics, industry researchers, students and other businesses, which complained the bill was so ambiguously worded it could have decimated the state’s $407 billion cybersecurity industry.
Deal noted those concerns in his veto message, saying “certain components of the legislation have led to concerns regarding national security implications and other potential ramifications. Consequently, while intending to protect against online breaches and hacks, SB 315 may inadvertently hinder the ability of government and private industries to do so.”
Deal further urged lawmakers to “work with the cyber security and law enforcement communities moving forward to develop a comprehensive policy that promotes national security, protects online information, and continues to advance Georgia’s position as a leader in the technology industry.” (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, THE HILL, STATE SCOOP, GEORGIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE)
OHIO Gov. John Kasich (R) signs SB 1, which increases prison sentences for drug offenses involving fentanyl-related compounds by three to eight years (COLUMBUS DISPATCH).
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoes AB 2070, which would have required incoming student orientations at Golden State colleges and universities to include information on intimate partner and dating violence (LOS ANGELES TIMES).
A federal judge in CALIFORNIA rejects an appeal by the Trump administration to indefinitely detain immigrant children caught crossing the border illegally with their parents (LOS ANGELES TIMES).
In a 5-4 decision last month, the Supreme Court ruled that public-sector workers who opt out of joining unions can’t be forced to contribute to those unions’ collective bargaining efforts.
In Abood v. Detroit Board of Education in 1977, the Supreme Court had ruled that forcing nonmembers to pay for unions’ political activities violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, but that it was not unconstitutional to force them to pay for unions’ collective bargaining efforts from which they benefited. Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch overruled that 40-year-old precedent, concluding that the “arrangement violates the free speech rights of nonmembers by compelling them to subsidize private speech on matters of substantial public concern.”
In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan said the majority’s decision “prevents the American people, acting through their state and local officials, from making important choices about workplace governance.”
“And it does so by weaponizing the First Amendment, in a way that unleashes judges, now and in the future, to intervene in economic and regulatory policy,” she said.
The ruling, which could cost public unions tens of millions of dollars, is another blow to organized labor, which has faced political challenges over the last several years and has been losing members for decades. (NEW YORK TIMES, U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO)
The KENTUCKY Board of Education reaches a settlement with Jefferson County Public Schools avoiding a state takeover of the 100,000-student district in Louisville, the Commonwealth’s largest city. The state Education Commissioner, Wayne Lewis, had sought the takeover, citing too many low-performing schools and too large a gap between black and white student performance in Louisville schools. Under the settlement, the locally elected Jefferson County Public Schools board retains most of its power but gives the state some say if the local district wants to make changes in certain areas, including special education, some disciplinary procedures and early childhood education. (ASSOCIATED PRESS, COURIER-JOURNAL [LOUISVILLE])
A three-judge federal panel has ordered MICHIGAN’s Republican-controlled Legislature to redraw at least 34 political districts before the 2020 election - and ordered the state to hold special Senate elections in 2020 instead of 2022 as scheduled - in connection with a lawsuit brought by the Michigan League of Women Voters. GOP lawmakers said they would appeal the decision. (DETROIT FREE PRESS)
Yet-to-be-confirmed TEXAS Secretary of State David Whitley has agreed to end the state’s review of the voter rolls for noncitizens. Whitley’s decision was part of an agreement to settle legal challenges to the review, which began in January and had called into question the citizenship status of nearly 100,000 registered voters (TEXAS TRIBUNE [AUSTIN])
IOWA’s Republican-controlled General Assembly is considering legislation to restrict the state’s Democratic attorney general, Tom Miller, from joining lawsuits targeting the administration of President Donald Trump. Last year Miller joined six lawsuits seeking to block Trump policies, including the separation of families at the U.S. border with Mexico and the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. (DES MOINES REGISTER)
New York City’s Board of Elections has removed voter enrollment books it posted to its website in February to comply with changes in state election law. The city’s election officials had come under fire from elected officials and privacy advocates for posting the information, which included every registered voter’s full name, party affiliation and home address. (NEW YORK TIMES)
-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK
Saying the legislation “creates more problems than it solves,” MICHIGAN Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said she would veto a bill (SB 1) approved in the Senate that would fundamentally change auto insurance in the Wolverine State. (See Hot Issues in this issue for more information on the bill.) In a statement, Whitmer said the bill “preserves a corrupt system where insurance companies are allowed to unfairly discriminate in setting rates, and the only cuts it guarantees are to drivers’ coverage.” She added: “I am only interested in signing a reform bill that is reasonable, fair and protects consumers and this is not it. If this bill comes to my desk, I will veto it.” (MLIVE.COM, DETROIT NEWS)
TENNESSEE Gov. Bill Lee (R) said he would sign a bill speeding toward his desk that would make Tennessee the first state to officially ask the federal government to replace billions in Medicaid money with a new funding mechanism called a “block grant.” Critics say accepting a block grant could lead to the state receiving less federal funding in the future, something Lee said he would not allow. (TENNESSEAN [NASHVILLE]
Citing what officials feel was a drastic undercounting of residents in 2010, NORTH DAKOTA Gov. Doug Burgum (R) issued Executive Order 2019-05, a directive that creates the Complete Count Task Force to ensure a more accurate tally next year. The group will examine ways to better identify workers in the state’s oil patch, residents of the state’s five American Indian reservations, and foreign-born residents, most of whom reside in the state’s biggest city of Fargo. (ASSOCIATED PRESS, NORTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE)
Housing legislation championed by MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) will receive its first hearing this week. The bill, HB 3507, would allow towns to bypass Bay State laws that require zoning changes to be approved by a two-thirds vote. Under Baker’s bill, that would change to a simple majority. Baker says the change is necessary not only to encourage more affordable housing for low-income people, but to also stem the loss of workers of all incomes who can’t afford to live near where they are employed. (CBS BOSTON, BANKER & TRADESMAN [PEABODY])
Responding to legislation she signed that allegedly targets Keystone XL pipeline protesters, the Oglala Sioux tribe published an open letter last week telling SOUTH DAKOTA Gov. Kristi Noem (R) that unless she rescinds her support of those measures she is no longer welcome on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Noem could face fines or even jail time if she is banished and then violates that prohibition. (CNN, LAKOTALAW.ORG)
Citing his belief that the death penalty is a deterrent to serious crime, NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Chris Sununu (R) vetoed a measure last week that would have abolished capital punishment in the Granite State. That measure, HB 455, passed both chambers with veto-proof margins. It returns to lawmakers for veto override consideration. (UNION LEADER [MANCHESTER])
WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed a package of gun control bills last week, including a prohibition on so-called “ghost guns” that lack serial numbers or are made from plastic and might be invisible to airport scanners. Other prohibitions were enacted on people under psychiatric holds and restraining orders. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
LOUISIANA lawmakers gave final approval last week for a proposed constitutional amendment that would stipulate there is no right to an abortion in the state. The action, part of a wave of recent anti-abortion legislation, assures that the issue will be on the state’s ballot in next year’s presidential election. (ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE])
NEVADA Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) vetoed a bill (AB 186) passed by the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature that would have committed the state to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, pledging its six electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote in presidential elections if enough other states to constitute a majority of the Electoral College do the same. The governor said joining that agreement “could diminish the role of smaller states like Nevada in national electoral contests” and subvert the will of Nevada voters. (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL)
A U.S. district judge has ruled that a lawsuit alleging problems - including canceled absentee ballots, precinct closures and voting machine tampering - in GEORGIA’s gubernatorial race last year can move forward. Election officials in the state had filed a motion to dismiss the suit filed by allies of Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams after she lost to Republican Brian Kemp last year. (ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION)
A pair of bills introduced in the D.C. Council last week would allow residents to cast ballots by mail and allow incarcerated felons to vote. Only felons serving sentences in MAINE and VERMONT are currently permitted to vote. (WAMU [WASHINGTON, D.C.)
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) wasted no time last week addressing the final batch of bills lawmakers sent to him this session, vetoing eight and letting another 10 become law without his signature. Most of the measures Hogan vetoed would have imposed spending mandates or new regulations, or in some cases limited his power.
Those vetoes included:
- HB 994, so-called “ban-the-box” legislation that would have barred Old Line State employers from asking about a job applicant’s criminal history in the initial review process
- HB 1343, which would have abolished the state’s Handgun Permit Review Board, the entity that reviews and makes the final ruling on who can carry concealed handguns
- HB 262, which would have provided college tuition breaks for unauthorized immigrants
- HB 1281, a bill that would have allocated $3.8 million for the state to expand its bike lane program, which Hogan said would have jeopardized federal transportation funding and impeded the state’s ability to expand mass transit.
A trio of the 10 bills Hogan allowed to become law without his signature has drawn national attention:
- HB 109, a bill that makes Maryland the first state to ban the use of polystyrene food packaging.
- HB 768, another first-in-the-nation measure that will create a state board aimed at reducing the rise of prescription drug prices for government employees
- HB 421, a bill that makes Maryland the 11th state to allow drivers to list their gender as binary or undesignated.
Some of the other bills Hogan allowed to become law sans his signature include a measure that expands food stamp benefits through the summer months for students who rely on free meals at school (SB 218); a bill that ensures funding for legal representation for college students who suffer sexual assault (SB 396); and one (SB 249) that codifies the state’s membership in the regional Transportation and Climate Initiative, which is designed to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector. (MARYLAND MATTERS, WASHINGTON POST, MARYLAND GOVERNOR’S OFFICE)
Man, it just ain’t any fun being a kid these days. Case in point comes from Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp last month vetoed a bill that would have required most Peach State schools to schedule recess time for kids in grades K-5. But as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, Gov. No Fun squelched that, saying the mandate was too burdensome for schools. Given that the bill passed overwhelmingly in both legislative chambers – and that parents, a.k.a. voters, also overwhelmingly support it – his veto might end up being too burdensome for lawmakers not to override.
LOUISIANA state Rep. Lance Harris (R), who heads the House majority caucus, introduced legislation last week to roll back the sales tax increase lawmakers approved last year to help shore up the state budget. But Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) opposes the measure, saying tax breaks could jeopardize the state’s fiscal stability. (ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE])
LOUISIANA’s rainy day savings account, public pension systems, higher education programs, and roads, bridges and coasts are among the likely beneficiaries of a projected $400 million-plus budget surplus. The state ended last fiscal year with $308 million in unspent cash and is on track to finish the current fiscal year with another $110 million in unallocated funds. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
NEW YORK legislators are considering legislation to allow betting on sporting events via mobile devices and eventually at sports venues. Gambling analysts and proponents say if the state doesn’t authorize mobile sports betting it will lose hundreds of millions of dollars to illegal wagering and to states where it is already legal, like NEW JERSEY. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The NEW YORK Senate passed a bill that would create a pathway for three congressional committees - the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation - to obtain President Trump’s state tax returns. The measure moved to the Assembly, where it is also expected to pass. (NEW YORK TIMES)
HAWAII’s Legislature has passed bills that would institute all-mail voting and automatic recounts for close races in the state. The bills went on to Gov. David Ige (D), who hadn’t indicated if he would sign them. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Florida state government has long been under GOP rule. But this year, the state’s Republican legislative majority, energized by three new conservative state Supreme Court justices, new legislative leaders and a new governor, accomplished a few items that had been on their to-do list for a while.
Those achievements include private school vouchers, free-market reforms of the state’s healthcare system, a ban on “sanctuary cities” and authorization for teachers to carry guns.
Republicans also succeeded in gutting a voter approved constitutional amendment that would have let felons vote and making it harder to qualify citizen-driven constitutional amendments for the ballot, including two proposed for 2020 that would raise the minimum wage and allow for the expansion of solar energy.
The list of legislative achievements was much different in Colorado, where Democrats had control of both the governor’s office and the General Assembly this year. Those successes include full-day kindergarten, a ban on gay conversion therapy and new gun control measures.
“This is what we ran on,” said freshman Sen. Julie Gonzales (D). “This is the transformative policy we fought for.”
But Republicans and Democrats in both states managed to find some common ground on a few issues, like education, healthcare and even the environment. As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said about his state’s quickly approved $91.1 billion budget, which included record education and environmental spending: “There’s really something in here, I think, for everybody, in one way or another, so that’s a good thing.” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, DENVER POST)
Since 2013, 31 states have raised their gas taxes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Four states - Alabama, Arkansas, Ohio and Virginia - have done so this year. And Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin could be next.
Gas tax hikes are the natural go-to for transportation funding, particularly in cash-strapped states with urgent infrastructure demands. But they’ll provide only diminishing revenues as gas-powered vehicles continue to become more fuel efficient and electric vehicles become more prevalent.
For the long term, states will likely have to consider other alternatives, like the congestion pricing scheme New York City is planning to launch in 2021 or the mileage-based user fee Oregon is testing. (FORBES, NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION)
MONTANA Gov. Steve Bullock (D), signed legislation last week that will create a reinsurance program to help reimburse insurers for high-cost claims so those costs aren't included in determining individual marketplace premiums for the following year. Under SB 125, the state will impose a 1.2 percent tax on major medical supplies. (MISSOULIAN)
Responding to the shooting at a synagogue in Poway, CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said his May budget revision would include an additional $15 million for the State Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps nonprofit organizations that are targets of hate-motivated violence improve security at their facilities. (CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
The GOP-controlled IOWA Legislature sent Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) a bill last week that would allow government entities to opt out of using public money to pay for transition surgery for transgender Iowans. The bill is a response to a state Supreme Court ruling in March that said programs like Medicaid were required to pay for the surgery. Reynolds has the power to line-item veto the amendment, but has not indicated her thoughts on the bill. (DES MOINES REGISTER, METRO WEEKLY [WASHINGTON DC]).
MARYLAND Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed hundreds of bills last week, including SB 679, a measure that bars state officials and registered lobbyists from harassing or discriminating against one another. The measure goes into effect on Oct. 1. (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
MAINE Gov. Janet Mills (D) introduced legislation last week that would create the Maine Climate Council, tasked with developing an action plan for dealing with the effects of climate change in the Pine Tree State. Republican Senator David Woodsome is the bill’s lead sponsor. (MAINE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, PORTLAND PRESS HERALD)
A new Morning Consult poll showed KENTUCKY Gov. Matt Bevin (R) with a 33 percent approval rating, the lowest in the nation. Bevin (52 percent) and Democratic RHODE ISLAND Gov. Gia Raimondo (50 percent) were the only governors with disapproval ratings of 50 percent or more. MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) again topped the list with a 73 percent approval rating, followed closely by MARYLAND Gov. Larry Hogan (R) at 71 percent. (MORNING CONSULT, HILL [WASHINGTON D.C.])
West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry is more than a hallowed jurist. He is also the author of a book decrying political corruption in the Mountain State. Alas, as the Charleston Gazette reports, Loughry himself now stands accused of playing way outside the rules, enough so that he was indicted on 22 federal charges alleging fraud, witness tampering and lying to investigators. He faces almost 400 years in prison and $5.5 million in fines. That is all in addition to 32 additional charges he was hit with by the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission a few weeks prior. And we’re told that investigators aren’t done yet, with maybe more charges on the way. The irony is that most of his alleged transgressions came in efforts to pimp out his book, “Don’t Buy Another Vote, I Won’t Pay for a Landslide.” You cannot make this stuff up.
You have to give Bell County High School valedictorian Ben Bowling straight A’s for both guts and cleverness. As the New York Times reports, the newly-minted Pineville, Kentucky student used his recent graduation address to share the following nugget of inspiration: “Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.” When he attributed the quote to Donald Trump, the crowd cheered. But wait! “Just kidding,” he said. “That was Barack Obama.” The cheering stopped. One person booed loudly. Bowling said later he knew folks would like the quote, but not if they knew it came from Obama. Spoken like a politician in the making.
An IOWA judge grants a temporary injunction on a new Hawkeye State law barring abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected. Polk County District Court Judge Michael Huppert halted implementation of the law while a legal challenge works its way through the courts (DES MOINES REGISTER).
The NEW JERSEY Assembly approves SB 427, legislation that would establish 18 as the minimum age for marriage in the Garden State. It moves to Gov. Phil Murphy (D) for consideration (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK]).
The city of LOS ALAMOS, CALIFORNIA adopts an ordinance exempting itself from the Golden State’s so-called “sanctuary state” law that restricts local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Other Golden State communities are expected to follow suit (LOS ANGELES TIMES).
The NEW YORK CITY Council introduces a bill that would make the Big Apple the first U.S. city to prohibit private-sector employers from requiring their employees to access work-related electronic communications outside of their usual work hours (NEW YORK TIMES).
The Chicago City Council adopts an ordinance allowing condo associations to bypass the 2017 ILLINOIS Condominium Property Act, which mandates Prairie State condominium associations provide the personal phone numbers and email addresses of all unit owners in a condominium association upon written request by a unit owner (CHICAGO TRIBUNE).
There are currently three bills dealing with the collection of sales taxes from out-of-state sellers pending in Congress: the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2017 (SB 976) and the Remote Transactions Parity Act of 2017 (HR 2193), both of which would allow states to collect sales taxes from remote sellers, and the No Regulation Without Representation Act (HR 2887), which would codify the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (1992), prohibiting states from imposing sales taxes on sellers without a physical in-state presence.
But some state tax watchers say action on any of those bills is unlikely while there’s a chance the U.S. Supreme Court will review a decision by the South Dakota Supreme Court last month striking down a 2016 state law (SB 106) requiring out-of-state sellers with over $100,000 in annual sales or more than 200 individual transactions in the state to collect and remit sales taxes.
“At this point, the only scenario in which I can see likely congressional action next year is one in which the Supreme Court reverses Quill, and some members move to reverse such a decision or impose the kind of uniformity and simplification requirements that are included in MFA and RTPA,” said Michael Mazerov, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ State Fiscal Project.
Jamie Yesnowitz, a principal at Grant Thornton LLP who leads the firm’s state and local tax (SALT) practice and National Tax Office, likewise, said, “I think it is difficult to see a path forward to a full vote in the House or Senate on any of these bills [or another alternative] until very late in the current Congressional session at the earliest.”
South Dakota officials have 90 days to appeal the state Supreme Court’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which they said they intend to do. (BLOOMBERG BNA, SOUTH DAKOTA LEGISLATURE, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
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 (CA) Graphic Design: Vanessa Perez Design
Saying that “parenting is often more than a full-time job,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) issued Executive Order 95 last week, which grants up to eight weeks of paid parental leave to many of the estimated 56,000 state employees who work in the agencies under the executive branch. Cooper’s directive would grant the full eight weeks to women who give birth, with spouses receiving four weeks. The order marks a significant change from current rules, which require workers to use accrued sick leave and vacation should they take time off after a birth. The new rules go into effect on September 1. (NEWS & OBSERVER [RALEIGH], ABC11.COM [RALEIGH])
A months-long investigation has failed to say for certain if VIRGINIA Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is the person who appeared in blackface in a 1984 college yearbook photo. Northam originally said the young man in the picture was him, but then later denied it. Investigators for the Eastern Virginia Medical School said they could not uncover any proof it was Northam. (ROUTE FIFTY)
FLORIDA Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed SB 186, a bill that blocks the release of government-held recordings of deaths in mass violence incidents. The measure applies to government photo, audio and video recordings that show the deaths of three or more people, not including the perpetrator, in an incident of mass violence, and blocks such records from being released under the state’s public records laws. (MIAMI HERALD)
After years of failed efforts, pot lounges are coming to COLORADO. Under HB 1230, signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis (D) last week, local jurisdictions will be legally able to license and regulate limited on-site consumption and sales of cannabis products beginning in January 2020. (COLORADO SPRINGS INDEPENDENT)
CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and the Legislature’s two top leaders said they would not follow a commission’s recommendation to change the state’s utility wildfire liability law this year but said they would pursue the creation of a multibillion-dollar fund to help utilities pay for wildfire damages. They also said they were open to legislation that would more clearly define when ratepayers would pick up the bill for claims. (ASSOCIATED PRESS, LOS ANGELES TIMES)