• Freedom of '3 Strikes' Law Prisoners Varies by County in California
• Source: AP/Sacramento Bee   |   California   |   May 7, 2013
• Majorities in every California county voted last fall to scale back the state's Three Strikes law so thousands of inmates serving life sentences for relatively minor third offenses would have the chance to be set free. Five months later, there is no such unanimity among counties when it comes to carrying out the voters' wishes.

• Lottery Privatization Can Happen Without New Jersey Legislature's Approval Now
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   May 7, 2013
• Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have required his administration to get the state Legislature's approval to go ahead with a plan to privatize parts of the New Jersey Lottery.

• GAO: Nashville Spent Millions on Courthouse it Doesn't Need
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   May 7, 2013
• A GAO report found that 10 of the 12 planned courthouses, including Nashville’s, were not justified.

• Georgia Doled Out Economic Incentives Despite Red Flags
• Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution   |   Georgia   |   May 7, 2013
• State officials who awarded hundreds of millions of dollars to lure jobs here sometimes missed critical red flags in vetting the grant recipients.

• Christie Underwent Weight-Loss Surgery
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   May 7, 2013
• Gov. Chris Christie — whose weight has long been the subject of public worry and late-night talk show jokes — said he underwent lap-band stomach surgery in February.

• Online Sales Tax Bill Passes Senate
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   May 7, 2013
• It's the first time any version of the legislation, which state and local leaders have long fought for, has ever been approved by either chamber of Congress.
• 7 Comments

• Youth Unemployment Rate, Figures by State
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   May 6, 2013
• View youth unemployment figures and graphs.

• SEC Charges Harrisburg with Securities Fraud
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   Harrisburg, Pa.   |   May 6, 2013
• Pennsylvania's capital, which is under receivership after nearly going bankrupt, is the second municipality or state to get charged with securities fraud this year.
• 1 Comments

• States' Seek Limits on Undisclosed Political Donations
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   May 6, 2013
• States are trying to figure out ways to stem the tide of the secret money that played an unprecedented role in the 2012 election cycle. The first step is to force tax-exempt advocacy organizations and trade associations out of the shadows.

• States Make Needed Upgrades to Capitol Buildings
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   May 6, 2013
• At least ten states are considering renovations to their capitol building. Though repairs and upgrades are expensive and can take years, more than two-thirds of the states have carried them out since 2000.

• U.S. Forest Service Asks States to Return Funds Due to Sequestration
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   May 6, 2013
• The U.S. Forest Service has asked a dozen states to return $17.9 million in federal revenue-sharing funds, so the agency can meet its sequestration budget cut obligations.
• 2 Comments

• Texas Gov. Perry: NRA is Voice of Reason
• Source: Texas Tribune   |   Texas   |   May 6, 2013
• As members of the National Rifle Association gathered with a wide array of national figures in Houston, Rick Perry talked up Texas' gun-friendly nature and again called for weapons manufacturers to come to his state.
• 1 Comments

• Former Indiana Gov. Bowen Dies
• Source: Indianapolis Star   |   Indiana   |   May 6, 2013
• Otis “Doc” Bowen, the small-town doctor who succeeded in providing property tax relief as Indiana governor in the 1970s and then became one of the first federal officials to seek funds to battle the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, has died.

• New Jersey Seizes Affordable Housing Funds from Municipalities
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   New Jersey   |   May 6, 2013
• Amid objections from municipal officials and housing activists, the Christie administration has begun the process of seizing $150 million or more in subsidized housing money from municipalities around the state and is keeping a tight lid on its policy objectives.

• Prisons Test Crisis Intervention for Dealing with Mentally Ill
• Source: Raleigh News & Observer   |   North Carolina   |   May 6, 2013
• Over the past 25 years, crisis intervention team training has spread among law enforcement agencies across the country. Now it is being tested in the nation’s prisons, which have become the largest repositories for people with mental health problems.