• 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.

• Marijuana Driving Limits Pass Colorado Legislature After Several Attempts
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   May 8, 2013
• The bill approved was the sixth try in the past three years to pass a stoned-driving limit, which supporters say will give prosecutors a tool to combat an increase in stoned-driving cases.

• 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.

• Indiana Gov. Pence Signs School Resource Officer Bill
• Source: Indianapolis Star   |   Indiana   |   May 8, 2013
• The bill sets aside $10 million in state money to allow public schools to apply for matching grants to hire police officers for schools that don’t already have them.

• 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.

• Road Deaths Increase for 1st Time Since 2006
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   May 7, 2013
• A newly released federal report reveals that the number of people who died in traffic accidents inched up last year, reversing a downward trend in road deaths that began in 2006.

• 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

• California Supreme Court: Cities Can Ban Pot Dispensaries
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   May 7, 2013
• The California Supreme Court gave local governments the power Monday to zone medical marijuana dispensaries out of existence, a decision that upholds bans in about 200 cities but does little to solve Los Angeles' struggle to regulate hundreds of storefront pot outlets.

• 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

• Phoenix Police to Destroy Guns Before New Law Takes Effect
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   May 7, 2013
• Three months before a new state law goes into effect requiring police to sell any weapon they receive, Phoenix officials plan to destroy as many guns as residents bring them.
• 2 Comments

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• U.S. AG Holder, Gov. Brownback Spar over Kansas' New Gun Law
  
  "RE: your response to me - I understand your confusion. Our tendency to devalue historical..."
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  "well that exulated quickly......"
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  "How many more lives would be saved if automobile riders would wear helmets. We are talking..."
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