January 21, 2022

Governors Spotlight: Teacher Pay Hikes, Taxes on Retiree Income, Insurance Bad Faith & More

NM Gov Pushes Teacher Pay Hikes Calling her state’s budget surplus “an unimaginable amount of money,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) rolled out an $8.4 billion budget proposal that marks a 13 percent increase over last year’s...
January 21, 2022

Tech Week In Review: State Taxation of Streaming Services, AT&T and Verizon’s Rocky 5G Rollout & More

Cities, State Tax Collectors Target Streaming Services: Local and state governments have been requiring cable TV companies to pay sales taxes and other taxes and fees – such as franchise fees for the easements that let them run cable in public rights-of...
January 21, 2022

Healthcare Roundup: State CON Law Changes, Pop-Up COVID-19 Testing Sites & More

States Retooling Certificate of Need Laws: Thirty-five states currently have certificate of need, or CON, laws, requiring certain healthcare facilities to obtain approval from the state before expanding their service capacity. But with critics of such laws contending...
January 14, 2022

Insurance Week: FL Supreme Court Ruling on Punitive Damage Claims, State Crackdown on Catalytic Converter Theft & More

FL High Court Decision Could Discourage Punitive Damage Claims: The Florida Supreme Court has approved an appellate procedure rule change that, beginning April 1, will allow interlocutory appeals on whether lawsuits can include punitive damage claims. Currently...
January 14, 2022

Labor Week: Ruling on ‘Take-Home’ COVID-19 Cases in CA, New Amazon Unionization vote in AL & More

CA Appeals Court Ruling Could Spur More ‘Take-Home’ COVID-19 Cases: On Dec. 21 the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District gave the go-ahead for a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that poor COVID-19 safety protocols at See’s Candies...
January 14, 2022

Healthcare Roundup: Hospitals Allowing COVID-19-Positive Staff to Stay on Job, Health-Heavy 2022 Ballot in CA & More

Hospitals Allowing Staff Infected with COVID-19 to Keep Working: Health authorities in California announced last week that nurses and other hospital staff who test positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic can stay on the job. The state’s Department of...
December 17, 2021

Governors Spotlight: Gun Laws, Anti-Spoofing, COVID-19 Relief & More

Newsom Urges TX-Style Law on Guns : Saying he is “outraged” at the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a Texas law that bans almost all abortion and allows private citizens to sue to enforce it, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called on Golden...
December 17, 2021

Healthcare Roundup: CA Rethinking Nursing Home Funding, High Court Okays NY Healthcare Worker Vaccine Mandate & More

Nursing Home COVID Death Toll Prompting Funding Change in CA: With nearly 9,400 California nursing home residents having died of COVID-19 - roughly 13 percent of the total number of Californians claimed by the virus - the administration of Gov. Gavin Newsom ...
December 10, 2021

Labor Week: Sweeping Vaccine Mandate in NYC and Push to Protect Fast-Food Workers in CA

NYC Planning Sweeping COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced plans last week to require on-site workers at all private businesses in the city to get vaccinated for COVID-19 in an effort to stem the spread of the new Omicron...
December 10, 2021

Tech Week In Review: Facebook Takes Another Step Toward Metaverse, Favorable Court Ruling for Apple & More

Facebook Widens Access to VR App: Facebook announced last week that it was opening up its virtual-reality world app, Horizon Worlds, to anyone in the United States and Canada who is 18 years old or older. Previously, users had to be invited to access the app...
December 10, 2021

Healthcare Roundup: Pay Parity for Physician Phone Calls, Physician Assistant Name Change & More

Debate over Pay Parity for Physician ‘Virtual Check-in’ Phone Calls: A four-digit medical billing code added during the pandemic has allowed doctors to be reimbursed for 11- to 20-minute telephone calls with patients, $27 for those covered by Medicaid...
November 19, 2021

Governors Spotlight: Electric Cars, Climate Initiatives, Improper Usage of COVID Relief Dollars & More

IL Incentivizes Electric Car Manufacturing : Saying he wants to see Illinois “become a leader in the clean transportation revolution,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed ( HB 1769 ), a bill offering a wide range of incentives intended to boost the Prairie...
November 19, 2021

Labor Week: Vaccine Mandate Exemptions in FL, ID; CA’s $500K COVID-19-Related Judgement against Amazon & More

FL to Consider New COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Exemptions: Florida lawmakers swiftly enacted legislation loosening COVID-19 workplace vaccination requirements in special session last week. The legislation ( HB 1 b ) provides new exemptions from such mandates for...
November 19, 2021

Healthcare Roundup: Congressional Pushback against Surprise Billing Rule, Hospital Expansion Oversight Bill in MA & More

Biden Administration Rule Spurs Revolt in Congress over Surprise Billing: Last December Congress passed the No Surprises Act, aimed at protecting patients from being billed directly for out-of-network medical care not covered by their insurance. After lengthy...
November 12, 2021

Governors Spotlight: Criminal Justice Reform Package, Consumer Debt, Paid Leave, Grocery Tax & More

DE Gov Signs Criminal Justice Reform Package : Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) signed an eight-bill package aimed at addressing longstanding racial inequalities in the state criminal justice system. The bills are a part of the larger agenda Democrats unveiled...