• Post-Bloomberg: Will Innovation in NYC Dry Up?
• BY: Tod Newcombe   |   June 19, 2013
• A new report gives the next mayor of New York City a set of innovative reforms that have proven effective and scalable in other cities.

• Supreme Court Rejects Arizona's Citizenship Requirement for Voters
• BY: J.B. Wogan   |   June 19, 2013
• A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court blocks proof-of-citizenship requirements on federal voter registration forms, but leaves open the possibility of amending the form to include Arizona's stricter standard for verifying citizenship.

• In Obama's Forgotten States, Dissent Festers
• Source: New York Times   |   Nation   |   June 19, 2013
• Barack Obama’s near-complete absence from more than 25 percent of the states, from which he is politically estranged, is no surprise, in that it reflects routine cost-benefit calculations of the modern presidency. But in a country splintered by partisanship and race, it may also have consequences.

• Some States Get to Delay Using Tests in Teacher Evaluations
• Source: Education Week   |   Nation   |   June 19, 2013
• The U.S. Department of Education will allow some states that have gotten waivers from pieces of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to postpone using student growth on state tests as a factor in personnel decisions for up to one additional year —until the 2016-17 school year.
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• John Morse Will be 1st Colorado Lawmaker to Face Recall
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   June 19, 2013
• State Senate President John Morse is the target of a recall for his leadership on the party's passage of tougher gun control laws in this year's legislative session

• U.S. Dems Urge DOJ to Recognize Legal Marijuana in Washington State
• Source: Seattle Times   |   Washington state   |   June 19, 2013
• Seven congressional Democrats from Washington are pressing the U.S. Department of Justice to honor the state’s new recreational-marijuana law — the delegation’s first collective public statement on the issue.

• Lawmakers Must Pay Fines for Walkout, Indiana Supreme Court Rules
• Source: Indianapolis Star   |   Indiana   |   June 19, 2013
• Indiana House Democrats won’t recoup any of the more than $233,000 in fines levied against them over their legislative walkouts in 2011 and 2012, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

• Bill to Require Notification of Spying Operations Advances in New Jersey
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   June 19, 2013
• A state Senate panel advanced legislation that would require out-of-state law enforcement agencies to notify New Jersey authorities before conducting counterterrorism operations within its borders.

• Governments Offer Amazon Millions in Tax Breaks it Doesn't Need
• Source: Miami Herald   |   Nation   |   June 19, 2013
• When Amazon expands, state and local governments practically line up to offer to pay the company to move.

• Washington Legislature Closer to Avoiding Government Shutdown
• Source: Seattle Times   |   Washington state   |   June 19, 2013
• State officials predict rapid progress in budget negotiations after two forecasts on Tuesday gave the Legislature an additional $320 million to spend over the next two years.

• The Rider and the Elephant: Making Change Happen
• BY: Russ Linden   |   June 19, 2013
• A remarkable book provides leaders with a practical, simple framework, based on the latest brain research, for turning an organization to a new direction.

• Maine Gov. LePage Refuses to Talk to 3 Newspapers
• Source: Portland Press Herald   |   Maine   |   June 19, 2013
• A spokesperson for the administration said that responses from the administration could be gleaned from reports by The Associated Press or through document requests using the Freedom of Access Act.

• Illinois' New Fracking Regulations Some of Nation's Strictest
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Illinois   |   June 18, 2013
• Gov. Pat Quinn has signed signed sweeping legislation to regulate horizontal hydraulic fracturing Illinois, which includes some of the tightest restrictions on oil and gas companies in the nation.

• States Go Different Directions on the Death Penalty
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2013
• Supporters and opponents of capital punishment agree: The current death penalty is expensive, inefficient, and arbitrary. Some state legislatures have reacted to those faults by abolishing the death penalty, while others are trying to speed it up.

• Florida Blocks Local Votes on Mandatory Paid-Sick-Time Measures
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Florida   |   June 18, 2013
• Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Friday that would block local governments from enacting mandatory paid-sick-time measures, such as the one pending in Orange County.