• National Shortage of Large Air Tankers Hampers Firefighting Efforts
• Source: The Denver Post   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2013
• A growing challenge for fire commanders attempting to slow and contain dangerous fires is a continued shortage of large air tankers that are available to them.

• Florida Governor Signs Bill to Speed Up Executions
• 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.

• Fracking Fuels Water Battles in Drought Plagued States
• Source: AP/Politico   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2013
• In Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, the vast majority of the counties where fracking is occurring are also suffering from drought, according to an Associated Press analysis of industry-compiled fracking data and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s official drought designations.

• Choice of Health Plans to Vary Sharply By State
• 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.

• States Rush to Cash in on Cybersecurity Boom
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   June 17, 2013
• As data dragnets and information breaches dominate the news, states are scrambling to cash in on a rapidly expanding business sector by offering tax incentives to firms that protect sensitive information from outside attacks.

• Texas Enacts Unemployment Drug-Testing Law
• BY: The Texas Tribune   |   Texas   |   June 17, 2013
• 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.
• 5 Comments

• New England States Look to Increase Hydropower
• Source: The Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   June 17, 2013
• Hydropower could play a larger role in New England’s energy mix as five of the region’s states, including Massachusetts, move to import more of it -- most likely from Canada -- and at least one has passed a law that could allow electricity from large-scale hydroelectric dams to be classified as green as wind or solar energy.

• California's Inland City Budgets Remain Weak
• Source: The Sacramento Bee   |   California   |   June 17, 2013
• California's monthly report on jobs and unemployment includes a county-by-county breakdown that shows a sharp east-west economic split with cities along the coast recovering well from the recession while inland cities remain mired in deficits and high unemployment.

• Some GOP Lawmakers Refuse to Answer Constituent Questions on Obamacare
• Source: The Hill   |   Nation   |   June 17, 2013
• 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.
• 2 Comments

• Police Increasingly Using State Photo-ID Databases
• Source: The Washington Post   |   Nation   |   June 17, 2013
• The faces of more than 120 million people are in searchable photo databases that state officials assembled to prevent driver’s-license fraud but that increasingly are used by police to identify suspects, accomplices and even innocent bystanders in a wide range of criminal investigations.

• Nevada to Give Tax Credits to Filmmakers
• Source: The Reno Gazette   |   Nevada   |   June 17, 2013
• Gov. Brian Sandoval’s signature Tuesday means filmmakers will now be granted transferrable tax credits in a move he hopes will bring jobs and a new industry to the state.

• Washington Congressional Delegation Not Attempting Reconciliation of Pot Laws
• 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.

• Indiana's Gay Marriage Fight Could Continue Beyond Supreme Court Ruling
• 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.

• EPA Orders Minnesota to Increase Water Pollution Prevention Efforts
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Minnesota   |   June 14, 2013
• About a dozen states face similar petitions pending at the EPA, most filed by citizen groups that say state regulators are not doing enough to enforce the Clean Water Act.

• California's High-Speed Rail Exempt from Federal Oversight
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   June 14, 2013
• California's bullet train agency won a key legal ruling Thursday, obtaining an exemption from regulatory oversight by the federal Surface Transportation Board for construction of the first segment of the rail system that would run 220 mph trains from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

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Comments

• Supreme Court to Reexamine Church-State Separation at Government Meetings
  
  "There is everything in the constituation that says laws may not be written such that your..."
• Texas Enacts Unemployment Drug-Testing Law
  
  "How about testing for alcohol too?
  How about testing for smoking too? People on unemployment..."
• Report: U.S. Teacher Training System is Broken
  
  "What part does a local school board play into all this? These are local people who also..."
• Maine Gov. LePage Vetoes Medicaid Expansion Bill
  
  "It's frustrating when politicians (and demagogues)avoid explaining their rationale. So,..."
• Bill to Keep Dead, Imprisoned People Off Welfare Becomes Michigan Law
  
  "Snyder should also make sure to sign a law restricting dead people from getting driver's..."

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