• Transit Funding Faces Uncertain Future
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   February 8, 2012
• Transportation stakeholders say that House bill would make long-term transit investments a challenge.

• New Pensions for New Times
• BY: Charles Chieppo   |   February 8, 2012
• Traditional defined-benefit state retirement plans no longer are sustainable. Arguments that alternatives are unfair don’t hold water.

• Will Air Quality Rules Put Power Reliability At Risk?
• BY: Daniel Lippman   |   February 8, 2012
• Do new air quality rules announced by the EPA raise the risk that some electrical utilities could have reliability issues in keeping the lights on? That was a chief question debated by attendees at a utilities forum in Washington, D.C. Tuesday.

• San Francisco Expands Plastic Bag Ban
• BY: The Associated Press   |   California   |   February 8, 2012
• Shoppers in San Francisco will have to pay 10 cents per bag and more retailers are now banned from handing out plastic bags under a proposal approved Tuesday by the city's Board of Supervisors.
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• Texas Primary Likely Delayed as Court Redraws District Maps
• BY: The Associated Press   |   Texas   |   February 8, 2012
• Last-ditch negotiations to save the April 3 Texas primary appeared dead Tuesday, throwing the state's messy redistricting battle back to a federal court that must now sort through a widely panned partial deal and pick a new primary date.

• Senate Struggles to Pay for Highway Programs
• BY: The Associated Press   |   Nation   |   February 8, 2012
• The U.S. Senate was scheduled to take up a bill to extend federal highway and transit programs later this week even though Democrats were still struggling Tuesday to find a way to pay for the programs.

• D.C. Council Repeals Internet Gambling Law
• Source: Washington Post   |   District of Columbia   |   February 8, 2012
• The D.C. Council voted to repeal the city’s first-in-the-nation Internet gambling law, capping a year-long debate about whether city officials improperly slipped the concept past the public without proper vetting. The vote means it will probably be years before the District and Congress agree to authorize Internet gambling in the District.
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• MSU Requiring Freshmen to Have Health Insurance or Join Its Plan
• Source: Detroit Free Press   |   Michigan   |   February 8, 2012
• If Michigan State University freshmen don't prove they have health insurance by the end of the month, the university will automatically enroll them in a plan and tack the cost onto their tuition bills. The state's second-largest public university is the first in Michigan to make such a move -- and it isn't going over well with Republicans in the Legislature.

• Arizona Supreme Court Bars Candidate with Limited English
• Source: Los Angeles Times   |   San Luis, Ariz.   |   February 8, 2012
• The Arizona Supreme Court upholds a Superior Court ruling that Alejandrina Cabrera may not appear on the San Luis City Council ballot because her English language skills are insufficient.

• Virginia Gov. Signs Bill Requiring Insurance for Autistic Children
• Source: Washington Post   |   Virginia   |   February 8, 2012
• Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed a bill — again — to provide insurance coverage for families with autistic children McDonnell had originally signed a bill into law last spring, but Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli determined that the legislation contained imprecise language that legislators needed to correct. At least 29 states require insurance coverage for autism treatment.

• Pennsylvania Gas Drilling Fee Bill Debate Ends Without Vote
• BY: The Associated Press   |   Pennsylvania   |   February 8, 2012
• Pennsylvania, the only major gas-producing state that does not tax the taking of natural gas from its soil, moved closer Tuesday to imposing a fee on the drilling in the vast Marcellus Shale reserves that have transformed the state in recent years.

• Pittsburgh City Council Wants to Pay $75K in Teen Beating Claim
• BY: The Associated Press   |   Pennsylvania   |   February 8, 2012
• The Pittsburgh City Council is considering a bill that would pay $75,000 to a former performing arts student who says in a civil rights lawsuit against the city that he was wrongly beaten by three undercover officers.

• Pennsylvania Gov.'s Budget Seeks Spending Cuts, But No Tax Hikes
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   Pennsylvania   |   February 8, 2012
• The spending blueprint for the fiscal year that begins July 1 echoed Corbett's first budget proposal by slashing aid to colleges and scaling back programs for the poor, elderly, and disabled - while reducing corporate taxes as a route to job creation and adding some money for public schools. His spending plan also represents a slight decrease from last year's. And it is noteworthy for what he left out: He did not renew a call for tuition vouchers or privatization of the state liquor system.

• Colorado Court Nixes Medical-Pot Use for Probationers
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   February 8, 2012
• Probationers in Colorado may not use medical marijuana, even if they have a medical-marijuana identification card authorizing them to do so, the Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled.

• House Panel Approves Keystone Pipeline Bill
• Source: The Hill   |   Nation   |   February 8, 2012
• The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would reverse President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. The bill is the latest GOP-led effort to advance the Alberta-to-Texas pipeline that they call a way to create jobs and boost energy security.