• Vermont Passes Aid-in-Dying Bill
• Source: New England Cable News   |   Vermont   |   May 14, 2013
• The Vermont House voted Monday evening to make the state the first in the U.S. to legislate allowing physicians to provide lethal medication to terminally ill patients who request it.

• GOP States Struggle With Use of Budget Surpluses
• Source: AP/Yahoo   |   Nation   |   May 14, 2013
• Republicans who won control over state legislatures on principles of small government are facing pressure to spend budget surpluses on roads, schools and buildings that were cut or neglected during the recession.
• 2 Comments

• Kansas Legislature Seeks Changes to Judicial Nomination Process
• Source: AP/The Republic   |   Kansas   |   May 14, 2013
• Legislators who believe the Kansas Senate should have the power to confirm appellate court judges, including Supreme Court justices, have a new plan that they hope will get approved before lawmakers adjourn this year, an influential senator involved in drafting the measure said Monday.

• Alabama State Democratic Party Faces Financial Ruin
• Source: AL.com   |   Alabama   |   May 14, 2013
• Following a fight over the direction and control of the party that saw party chairman Mark Kennedy resign to form a new organization to be called the Alabama Democratic Majority, the new leader of the party announced at a meeting Monday that the party is broke and unable to pay it's bills.

• Minnesota Passes Same-Sex Marriage
• Source: The Minneapolis Star-Tribune   |   Minnesota   |   May 14, 2013
• The Minnesota Senate voted 37-30 to legalize same-sex marriage. The measure next moves to Gov. Mark Dayton, who will sign it in a ceremony at 5 p.m. today on the south steps of the Capitol.

• Arizona Governor Refuses to Sign Bills Over Medicaid Expansion Delays
• Source: The Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   May 14, 2013
• Gov. Jan Brewer has told lawmakers she's done signing bills until they get moving on Medicaid expansion and the state budget.

• HHS Secretary Criticized Over Private Fundraising for Health Law Implementation
• Source: The Tennessean   |   Nation   |   May 14, 2013
• U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is taking aim at Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, saying her fundraising efforts and coordination with private entities to implement President Barack Obama's new health care law "may be illegal."

• California Struggles With Experiment to Shift Inmates
• Source: AP/The Fresno Bee   |   California   |   May 14, 2013
• The shift in California's penal system, referred to as "realignment," is one of the nation's largest criminal justice experiments and has done its job in at least one respect: The population in the state's 33 adult prisons has dropped so much that the system now ranks second to Texas in the number of inmates.

• Baltimore City Council Approves Bill Requiring Contractors to Hire Residents
• Source: The Baltimore Sun   |   Baltimore, Md.   |   May 14, 2013
• In a unanimous vote, the City Council gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would require businesses getting large city contracts or financial support to hire 51 percent of new workers from Baltimore.

• Cities Fight States Over Mandatory Sick Leave Policies
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   May 13, 2013
• Mandatory sick leave is being championed by several localities across the nation. At the same time the progressive public health measure is sparking fierce opposition in several state legislatures.

• GOP-Controlled Wisconsin Legislature Targets Milwaukee
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Wisconsin   |   May 13, 2013
• Recent moves by the republican-controlled legislature that could hurt the city's finances has raised speculation that it being targeted as part of a political vendetta.
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• Counties Worried About Potential Costs of Immigration Reform
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   May 13, 2013
• Local and state officials believe the immigration overhaul bill will encourage those in the country illegally to come out of the shadows and turn to local services during the proposed 13-year-long pathway to citizenship.

• Report: IRS Targeted Groups Critical of Government
• Source: The Washington Post   |   Nation   |   May 13, 2013
• At various points over the past two years, Internal Revenue Service officials targeted nonprofit groups that criticized the government and sought to educate Americans about the U.S. Constitution, according to documents in an audit conducted by the agency’s inspector general.

• New Bill Proposed to Boost Penalities on IRS Lawbreakers
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   May 13, 2013
• In the wake of an admission by an IRS official that conservative groups had been targeted for additional scrutiny, Rep. Michael Turner will introduce legislation Monday that would increase the penalty for singling out ideological organizations —including the possibility of jail time.

• Minnesota Poised to Become 12th Same-Sex Marriage State
• Source: Reuters/Yahoo   |   Minnesota   |   May 13, 2013
• The Minnesota Senate is expected to give final approval on Monday to a bill that would make the state the 12th in the United States to allow same-sex couples to marry and only the second in the Midwest.

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