Source: The Washington Post | Nation |
February 15, 2013
Citing the growing threat from cyberattacks, President Obama on Tuesday announced that he had signed an executive order that calls for the creation of voluntary standards to boost the security of computer networks in critical industries such as those that keep trains from colliding and drinking water clean.
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama pledged to support state efforts to expand early education access to all American children.
Gov. Mark Dayton, House Speaker Paul Thissen and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk all say it is time for Minnesota to lift the minimum wage, which now stands at $6.15 -- one of only four states with a wage less than the federal minimum.
Instead of accepting the Medicaid expansion and the billions of federal dollars that would come with it, the governor proposed an ambitious plan to cut the number enrolled in the state Medicaid program by moving some people into the federal-run health exchange, where they can get private insurance.
Source: Arizona Republic | Arizona |
February 14, 2013
Arizona lawmakers are bidding to make the state a center for aerial-drone research, but they also want to make sure local police don’t use the unmanned surveillance aircraft to spy on Americans.
Federal law generally bars illegal immigrants from being covered by Medicaid, but a little-known part of the state-federal health insurance program for the poor pays about $2 billion a year for emergency treatment for a group of patients comprised mostly of illegal immigrants.
Source: Denver Post | Colorado |
February 13, 2013
States — not the federal government — should lead in regulating natural gas production, Gov. John Hickenlooper told a Senate committee, angering environmentalists and drawing applause from energy groups who are fighting the Environmental Protection Agency.
A statewide attendance investigation shows that nine Ohio school districts manipulated their student data, perhaps in an attempt to inflate their state report-card grades, and the findings are being turned over to federal officials.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | Pennsylvania |
February 12, 2013
The commonwealth has often underperformed so profoundly in the timely handling of unemployment insurance forms and other matters, according to the feds, that the federal government may consider sanctions that would restrict budget money to the state.
Source: New York Times | Nation |
February 12, 2013
Companies have complained about waste or unfair competition, like building fiber networks where they already exist, in a federal grant program intended to extend high-speed Internet access to parts of the country that had little or none of it.
The executive order would establish a voluntary program in which companies operating critical infrastructure would elect to meet cybersecurity best practices and standards crafted, in part, by the government.
California, the nation's earliest and most aggressive adopter of the federal health-care overhaul, doesn't have enough doctors to treat a rush of newly insured patients. To avoid a doctor shortage, lawmakers in California -- and other states facing the same problem -- are working on altering what health professionals may do.
Source: Newark Star-Ledger | New Jersey |
February 11, 2013
If last week’s brouhaha after an appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman” is a guide, Christie will continue to be dogged by a key political question: Can America’s voters overlook all those extra pounds if he makes a bid for the White House in 2016?
Source: Newark Star-Ledger | New Jersey |
February 11, 2013
Gov. Chris Christie today announced he signed an executive order for his administration to track billions of dollars in federal aid for Hurricane Sandy that will flow through the state.
Is your state ready for Marketplace open enrollment in October 2013?
In a few short months, millions of uninsured Americans will qualify for affordable healthcare coverage either through Medicaid, CHIP or tax subsidies.