• Maryland Gov. O'Malley Endorses Booker for N.J. Senate
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   June 13, 2013
• In the first of what is likely to be a string of national endorsements, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said he is endorsing Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s candidacy to replace U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

• FEMA Rejects Texas' Request for More Aid After Plant Blast
• Source: Dallas Morning News   |   West, Texas   |   June 13, 2013
• Officials across Texas are scrambling to reverse the federal government’s decision not to free up more funds to help rebuild the town, where a fertilizer plant explosion killed 15 and destroyed schools and homes.
• 3 Comments

• Bid to Legalize Marijuana in Arizona Begins
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   June 13, 2013
• The initiative needs 259,213 valid signatures by July 3, 2014, to qualify for the November 2014 ballot.

• Judge Rules Tennessee Violated Occupy Nashville's 1st Amendment Rights
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   June 13, 2013
• Occupy protests spread around the country in 2011, mostly by citizens who were taking aim at the country’s income disparities and what they saw as an overly cozy relationship between federal politicians and Wall Street financiers.

• Making Obamacare Work in the States
• BY: Robert K. Ross   |   June 13, 2013
• In creating its health-benefit exchange under the Affordable Care Act, California has gotten off to an encouraging start
• 4 Comments

• Jersey Shore Town Bans Baggy Pants on Boardwalk
• Source: Press of Atlantic City   |   Wildwood, N.J.   |   June 13, 2013
• The Wildwood City Commission on Wednesday adopted new "decency standards" for the Boardwalk to outlaw sagging pants and to require shirts during the evening hours.

• What Areas Are Growing Oldest the Fastest?
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   June 13, 2013
• New Census data shows most regions are seeing their age 65 and older population climb. But for some jurisdictions, the growth has been far more pronounced than others. View new demographic data for states and counties.
• 1 Comments

• Will the NSA Leak Hinder Open-Data Efforts?
• BY: Government Technology   |   June 13, 2013
• The controversy surrounding the National Security Agency's online spying program, PRISM, has some state and local open-data proponents concerned it will negatively impact their image.
• 1 Comments

• When Your Government Job Isn't Yours Anymore
• BY: Heather Kerrigan   |   June 12, 2013
• Tennessee is asking its 1,600 IT employees to reapply for their jobs. The state may learn from Colorado and Hillsborough County, Fla., which have both overhauled their workforces in this way.
• 1 Comments

• Do Cities Need a Chief Resilience Officer?
• BY: Tod Newcombe   |   June 12, 2013
• The Rockefeller Foundation is awarding $100 million to cities willing to create chief resilience officers to prepare for and recover from disasters, which have increased in frequency and intensity due to climate change.
• 1 Comments

• Is it Constitutional to Treat Truancy as a Crime?
• BY: The Texas Tribune   |   Texas   |   June 12, 2013
• On behalf of seven Dallas-area students, Texas Appleseed, Disability Rights Texas and the National Center for Youth Law will ask the Justice Department to declare that the state's process of prosecuting truancy as a crime is unconstitutional.

• Nonprofits Draw States' Money, But Not Much Oversight
• BY: The Center for Public Integrity   |   Nation   |   June 12, 2013
• Ethics experts say questionable ties between nonprofits and politicians are on the rise, but state scrutiny is often ineffective.

• Washington State Prepares for Shutdown as Special Session Begins
• Source: Seattle Times   |   Washington state   |   June 12, 2013
• With the legislature headed into a second special session and no budget yet approved, the governor is making plans for a possible government shutdown should the current state budget expire without a new one.

• Arizona Gov. Brewer Calls Special Session for Budget, Medicaid Expansion
• Source: Arizona Capitol Times   |   Arizona   |   June 12, 2013
• Some denounced the governor’s decision to call a special session as unnecessary and antagonistic, while many avoided the floor and instead sat in the gallery. Others left their respective chambers in protest.

• Ballot Initiative to Expand Gun Background Checks Submitted in Washington State
• Source: AP/Oregonian   |   Washington state   |   June 12, 2013
• Both federal and state lawmakers passed on similar proposals.