• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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