• Bills to Increase Oversight of Oil and Gas Industry Fail in Colorado
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   May 9, 2013
• The administration of Gov. John Hickenlooper, as well as the oil and gas industry, opposed several of the bills.

• Oregon Secretary of State Tweaks Automatic Voter-Registration Bill in Search of Support
• Source: Oregonian   |   Oregon   |   May 9, 2013
• Kate Brown said she has agreed to changes to address privacy concerns, as well as worries from minor political parties faced with rapidly increasing their numbers to keep their ballot status.

• Voter ID Bill Rejected in Iowa Senate
• Source: Des Moines Register   |   Iowa   |   May 9, 2013
• The effort failed on a 26-24 vote with Democrats against and Republicans in support.

• North Carolina Carefully Weighs Fracking Options
• BY: Stateline   |   May 8, 2013
• As the legislature considers lifting a decades long ban on unconventional drilling which would allow hydraulic fracturing the state's unique geography is prompting concerns about disposal of the wastewater the drilling produces.
• 1 Comments

• Food-Stamp Bill to Encourage Healthy Purchases Advances in Wisconsin
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Wisconsin   |   May 8, 2013
• The Wisconsin legislature has passed a bill requiring recipients of food stamps to spend at least two-thirds of their assistance money on state-defined healthy foods. A separate bill re-addressing food stamp fraud was also passed.

• Voucher Funding Unconstitutional, Rules Louisiana Supreme Court
• Source: New Orleans Times Picayune   |   Louisiana   |   May 8, 2013
• Act 2, part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's 2012 package of education reforms, diverts money from each student's per-pupil allocation to cover the cost of private or parochial school tuition.

• Obama's Cigarette Tax to Fund Preschool Up in Smoke
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   May 8, 2013
• Presidential budgets are all about theater. But this year’s was more theatrical than most: Its biggest single new proposal — the sin tax to generate $78 billion to fund a preschool education program — vanished almost as soon as Obama announced it four weeks ago.

• Ex-South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford Makes a Political Comeback
• Source: The State   |   South Carolina   |   May 8, 2013
• Mark Sanford is headed back to Congress after trouncing Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch with 54 percent of the votes, a 9 percentage point victory that dashed predictions of a close race.

• Gay Marriage Approved in Delaware as Lawmaker Comes Out
• Source: Delaware News Journal   |   Delaware   |   May 8, 2013
• Delaware is the 11th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

• Public Hearing in New York Held Without the Public
• Source: New York Times   |   New York   |   May 8, 2013
• Something was missing at a public hearing held by the State Senate to examine New York City’s campaign finance system: the public.

• Why Christie's Surgery Carries Political Weight
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   May 8, 2013
• Political experts say the New Jersey governor's decision to undergo stomach surgery in an effort to lose weight could help his chances at a presidential run in 2016.

• Illinois GOP Chairman Resigns After Supporting Gay Marriage
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Illinois   |   May 7, 2013
• Pat Brady, the chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, announced his resignation Tuesday amid a simmering controversy over his support for gay marriage legislation.
• 2 Comments

• Illinois Looking to Stop Outsider Access to Pension System
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Illinois   |   May 7, 2013
• No longer just concerned with saving the state's underfunded pension system money, reform efforts now seek to stop allowing interlopers who aren't state workers into the taxpayer-supported retirement systems.
• 1 Comments

• Florida Gov. Scott Urged to Call Special Session on Medicaid
• Source: Miami Herald   |   Florida   |   May 7, 2013
• At stake is $51 billion in federal funding to provide insurance coverage to 1 million low-income Floridians. House Republicans blocked that from happening during the regular session, which ended Friday.
• 1 Comments

• 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.

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