Free subscription to the Capitol Journal keeps you current on legislative and regulatory news.
CA to Cap Health Care Providers’ Annual Price Increases at 3% California’s Health Care Affordability Board voted to limit annual price increases from doctors, hospitals and health insurers...
VT Retailers Fight Data Privacy Bill Orvis and other online retailers based in Vermont are mounting an effort to scale back comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation ( HB 121 ) that has been passed...
Even as states are falling behind on their greenhouse gas emissions goals , that topic remains a top priority in legislatures across the country. Numerous bills have been introduced this year that would...
States Loosening Occupational Licensing Laws In an effort to boost their workforces, states are advancing legislation to loosen their occupational licensing laws. For example, the Louisiana House passed...
ME House Passes Restrictive Data Privacy Bill Maine’s House narrowly approved a bill ( LD 1977 ) that would impose restrictions on the digital information that companies can collect. Businesses...
The FLORIDA Senate fails to reach concurrence on HB 969, a comprehensive data privacy measure that would have allowed consumers to know what personal information companies have collected on them and to demand they delete it. The measure passed both chambers, but lawmakers could not reach an agreement on changes made in the Senate (CBS [MIAMI]).
ARIZONA Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signs SB 1453, which will allow the state’s community colleges to offer limited four-year college degrees. The law takes effect this fall (ASSOCIATED PRESS). The LOUISIANA House Education Committee rejects HB 542, which would have barred transgender youth from participating in women’s K-12 sports (ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE]).
WEST VIRGINIA Gov. Jim Justice (R) signs SB 542, which requires coal-fired power plants owned by public electric utilities to keep at least 30 days of coal supply under contract for the lifespan of those plants. Justice also allows HB 3310, which specifies that solar energy facilities located on and designed to meet only the electrical needs of the premises of a retail electric customer do not constitute a public service, nor is the output subject to a power purchase agreement with the retail electric customer, to become law without his signature (CHARLESTON GAZETTE-MAIL).
The RHODE ISLAND Senate approves SB 37, a bill that would ban single-use plastic bags and straws. It moves to the House (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL). WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signs SB 5145, legislation prohibiting seabed mining for hard minerals, including precious metals, metal-rich sands, and gemstones, within three miles of the Evergreen State’s shores (PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE).
Social Policy: VERMONT Gov. Phil Scott (R) signs HB 128, which bars a defendant at trial or sentencing from justifying violent actions by citing a victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity (VERMONT DIGGER).
The FLORIDA Legislature gives final approval to HB 403, which bars local governments from imposing new regulations on home-based businesses. It moves to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for consideration (MIAMI HERALD). PHILADELPHIA Mayor Jim Kenney signs Bill No. 200625, a measure that bars employers from requiring prospective employees to undergo testing for the presence of marijuana as a condition of employment, under certain terms and conditions. Employees in certain safety sensitive positions, such as police officers and/or those who supervise children or medical patients, will be exempt from the policy, as will those employees who are mandated to be drug tested under federal drug testing guidelines (NORML).
-- By RICH EHISEN