• Pennsylvania Plan to Stop Government-Funded Abortions Wins Bipartisan Support
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   Pennsylvania   |   April 25, 2013
• The state House gave bipartisan support to a bill that would block insurance plans offered through the state’s new health insurance exchanges from covering abortions.
• 1 Comments

• Michigan Seeks to Redirect Film Tax Credits to Road Repairs
• Source: Detroit News   |   Michigan   |   April 25, 2013
• The Republican-controlled state House wants to eliminate tax incentives for making movies in Michigan so the money can be shifted to repairing roads.

• GOP Businessman Enters Minnesota Governor's Race
• Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune   |   Minnesota   |   April 25, 2013
• Businessman Scott Honour became the first high-profile Republican to challenge DFL Gov. Mark Dayton’s bid for re-election.

• Can Vocational Education Produce the Citizens We Need?
• BY: Charles Chieppo   |   April 24, 2013
• Students on the technical track need solid academics, not just job training. It's important to spend these public-education dollars wisely.

• Just How Screwed is the Highway Trust Fund?
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   April 24, 2013
• A new report from the Congressional Budget Office warns that Congress will have to dramatically cut transportation spending or raise the gas tax.
• 4 Comments

• States Consider Drug Testing Lawmakers
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   April 24, 2013
• In connection to the ongoing debate about drug-testing welfare recipients, lawmakers in Minnesota, Alabama, Illinois and Texas are considering requiring it of state legislators too.
• 4 Comments

• States Press Ahead on Bills Expanding Voter Access
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   April 24, 2013
• Amid the legal battles over Voter ID laws and the Voting Rights Act, legislation to expand voter access and decrease election day lines is active in 21 states.

• L.A. City Council Votes to Accelerate Move Away from Coal Power
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Los Angeles, Calif.   |   April 24, 2013
• The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to begin moving away from coal-fired energy, despite warnings from a Department of Water and Power watchdog that the shift could cost more than $650 million.
• 1 Comments

• Motorcycle Deaths Rise as States Rethink Helmet Laws
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   April 24, 2013
• The number of motorcyclists killed in traffic accidents jumped 9 percent in 2012 and have gone up in 14 of the last 15 years. Experts say more states should enact universal helmet laws to reverse that trend.
• 9 Comments

• Will Ex-Montana Gov. Schweitzer Replace Baucus?
• Source: Politico   |   Montana   |   April 24, 2013
• Now that veteran Sen. Max Baucus (D), the two-term governor who left office in January is the prospect national Democrats are hanging their hopes on in the now-open Montana Senate race.

• NRA Takes Political Aim at 2 States Gun Laws
• Source: Baltimore Sun   |   Nation   |   April 24, 2013
• National Rifle Association President David Keene said the organization will pursue lawsuits in New York and Maryland where Democratic governors are believed to have presidential aspirations
• 3 Comments

• Amazon Fights Old Ally eBay over Online Sales Tax
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   April 24, 2013
• Amazon is now fighting eBay in an all-out civil war in the U.S. Senate, where a bill to set national sales tax standards for online retailers is up for debate.

• Kansas' Kobach: Immigration Bill Would Ease Terrorists' Path
• Source: The Wichita Eagle   |   Kansas   |   April 24, 2013
• Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach told a Senate panel in Washington that a pending immigration reform bill could make life easier for terrorists like the alleged bombers of the Boston Marathon.

• Watered-Down Homeless Bill of Rights Advances in California
• Source: Sacramento Bee   |   California   |   April 24, 2013
• Citing the need to ensure equal treatment for indigent Californians, lawmakers advanced a homeless rights bill that they said has been narrowed to assuage the concerns of businesses and city governments.

• Critics Call for Ban on New Micro-Apartments in Seattle
• Source: Seattle Times   |   Seattle   |   April 24, 2013
• The new, tiny unites aren’t required to provide any parking and avoid design and environmental review as well as notice to neighbors that usually is required for big, multifamily projects.