Gov. Pat Quinn has signed signed sweeping legislation to regulate horizontal hydraulic fracturing, better known as "fracking," in Illinois. The legislation includes some of the tightest restrictions on companies in the nation.
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 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.
Source: The Los Angeles Times | Los Angeles, Calif. |
June 18, 2013
Since his victory last month, Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti has set himself to the task of being a more low-key public official than his predecessor. He is not using a transition team studded with big names and has scraped plans for a black-tie inaugural ball, opting instead for a public party in Grand Park with music and food.
Source: The Tampa Bay Times | Florida |
June 18, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill into law Friday aimed at accelerating the pace of the death penalty process in Florida, which could make the governor the most active executioner in modern state history.
Source: The New York Times | Nation |
June 18, 2013
Under President Obama’s health care law, it is becoming clear that the millions of people purchasing policies in the exchanges will find that their choices vary sharply, depending on where they live.
Gov. Rick Perry has signed a bill that will subject Texans applying for unemployment benefits to a drug test if their responses to a screening questionnaire indicate possible drug use.
Constituents frequently contact their Congress members with questions or requests for help with Medicare, Social Security and other government programs. But when it comes to Obamacare inquiries, some GOP lawmakers say they won't assist constituents or will forward the calls to the Obama administration.
Source: The Seattle Times | Seattle, Wash. |
June 17, 2013
Seven months after Washington voters legalized recreational pot, supporters are growing increasingly aggrieved over the dearth of effort by the state’s congressional lawmakers to reconcile the state law with the federal prohibition against marijuana.
Source: The Indianapolis Star | Indiana |
June 17, 2013
The state legislature has delayed debate on an amendment banning gay marriage in the state while it waits to see the outcome of the pending Supreme Court ruling. But barring a sweeping decision by the court, both sides expect the fight over the proposed change to the state constitution to continue.
Source: AP/Reno Gazette-Journal | Nevada |
June 14, 2013
In his veto message, Gov. Brian Sandoval said the universal background checks provision "imposes unreasonable burdens and harsh penalties upon law-abiding Nevadans, while doing little to prevent criminals from unlawfully obtaining firearms."
Source: Arizona Republic | Arizona |
June 14, 2013
Whether it was exhaustion, resignation or a decision to save the fight for another day, the bitter tirades that dominated the budget and Medicaid fight on Wednesday and into Thursday morning were replaced by hugs and handshakes.
Source: Newark Star-Ledger | New Jersey |
June 14, 2013
A three-judge appellate panel has rejected a challenge to Gov. Chris Christie’s decision to call a special election to fill the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s seat in October, three weeks before the regularly scheduled November election.
Source: Washington Post | Virginia |
June 14, 2013
A complex legal dispute over mineral rights in Virginia’s coal country has become the latest battleground in the state’s bitterly fought gubernatorial race, with Democrats accusing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II of improperly siding with out-of-state energy companies against Virginians who say the firms cheated them out of natural gas royalties.
Nationally, six straight years of revenue declines have put enormous pressure on state and local governments, nevertheless, some are thriving. Standard & Poor's, the credit-rating agency, reports that it issued more bond upgrades than downgrades in 2012.
The Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act are in full swing. With the influx of people who will be applying for benefits and the ACA requirement for online enrollment, it is more important than ever to verify the identities of those accessing benefits up front.