Business The VERMONT House and Senate give final approval to HB 313 , a measure that would extend for two years an earlier executive order by Gov. Phil Scott (R) allowing for the curbside pickup and delivery of alcohol. It is with Gov. Scott now for...

SCOTUS Narrows Scope of Federal Hacking Law: The U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the reach of the 34-year-old federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act last week, ruling that it is not a violation of that law for someone who is authorized to access a computer...

CO Seeking to Shut Down Stand-Alone ERs: A decade ago free-standing emergency rooms began cropping up around the country with the promise of providing emergency care in areas where there were no hospitals or where hospital ERs were overcrowded. But...

Abbott Signs TX Power Grid Overhaul : Months after a deadly February storm killed hundreds of people, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a pair of bills that together overhaul the governance of the Lone Star State power grid that many blame for their...

FBI Likely Hacked Colonial Pipeline Hackers, Not Bitcoin to Recover Ransom: The FBI was likely able to recover $2.3 million in bitcoin that Colonial Pipeline paid ransomware hackers in April because of poor password storage by the hackers rather than...

FDA Approval of Alzheimer’s Drug Sparks Controversy: Last week the FDA granted conditional approval of the first new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease in almost twenty years. Although the decision may have come as welcome news to the millions...

Business New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signs AB 3350 , which makes Empire State contractors on construction projects jointly liable for wages owed to employees of their subcontractors. The law further allows contractors to demand payroll information...

Noem Orders SD Abortion Restrictions : South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R)issued an executive order imposing significant restrictions on abortion in the Coyote State. Under Executive order 2021-12 , doctors not licensed in South Dakota are barred from...

WY Gov Allocates Federal Funds for Health Staffing : Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) announced he is allocating $30 million in federal funds to provide bolster heath care staffing across the state. The first $20 million will be utilized by facilities on...

Business California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs AB 1480 , which expands a state law barring employers from using criminal detentions that did not result in a conviction as a factor in employment to include those already employed as nonsworn members...

Hochul Kickstarts NY Legal Weed Process : After months of delay by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), the New York Senate acted quickly to confirm Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) two appointments to head the agencies that will oversee the Empire State’s...

Majority of Insurers No Longer Waiving Copays for COVID-19 Hospitalization: Seventy-two percent of the two largest insurers in each state are no longer waiving cost-sharing requirements for COVID-19 hospitalizations as they were early in the pandemic...

Rollback of Out-of-State Medical Practice Restrictions Creating Roadblock for Telemedicine: During the darkest days of the pandemic, many states temporarily waived rules requiring licensed healthcare practitioners to hold a valid license where they...

Business Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs SB 817 , a bill that bans discrimination in schools based on hairstyles historically associated with race, ethnicity, or hair texture braids, locks and twists. Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) signs HB...

IL Gov Okays NDA Reforms : Illinois Gov. Pritzker signed legislation earlier this month that makes significant changes in Prairie State law governing the use of non-disclosure and non-compete agreements between businesses and workers. Under SB 672...

Signs of Progress on Combatting Cybercrime Although cybercrime isn’t going away any time soon, there appears to be some headway being made on combatting it. “We are seeing a new level of collaboration between the public and private sectors...

COVID-19 to Drive Healthcare Costs Higher Long-Term: The health implications of COVID-19 are likely to inflate healthcare costs and insurance premiums for decades, according to a report from Fitch Ratings. The ongoing treatment of chronic conditions...

Hochul Vows Less ‘Toxic’ NY Gov’s Office: New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said she is “fully prepared” to take over for the current Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) who announced he will step down on August 24 th . “I want...

Vaccine Mandates Force Employers to Ponder Religion: The surge in COVID-19 cases across the United States largely due to the Delta variant has prompted a growing number of major companies, including Google parent Alphabet, Tyson Foods and Walmart, to...

Nursing Home Staffing Worries Hinder COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in KY: In late July and early August, the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities & Kentucky Center for Assisted Living conducted a survey of 283 skilled nursing facilities, assisted...

Cuomo Likely to Face Impeachment : In the wake of a damning report from the state attorney general’s office, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is almost surely going to face an impeachment vote over allegations he sexually harassed at least 11 women...

CT Eyes Older Workers to Fill Manufacturing Jobs: With up to 6,000 manufacturing jobs open in Connecticut, officials, educators, and others in the state are looking to workers 50 and older interested in making a career change to fill those positions...

CA Vaccination-or-Test Requirement to Apply to Private-Sector Healthcare Workers: Under a new rule taking effect in California next month, an estimated 246,000 state employees and at least 2 million public- and private-sector health care workers and...

Just-Signed Insurance Reform Bill Already Working in FL: A bill ( SB 76 ) reforming property insurance and roofing contractor practices in Florida was just signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on June 11 and won’t officially take effect until...

Big Question Remains with New Federal Surprise Billing Law: The federal No Surprises Act, passed late last year as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (HR 133), will allow providers to bill patients for out-of-network care under certain...