• New Jersey Gun Task Force Sees Little Need for Change
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   New Jersey   |   April 11, 2013
• Gov. Christie should tighten some gun laws but doesn't need to enact major initiatives such as expanded background checks, a ban on Internet gun sales, or new limits on high-capacity magazines, according to a report from a task force he commissioned.

• 1st Gun Manufacturer Leaves Connecticut in Wake of New Law
• Source: Hartford Courant   |   Connecticut   |   April 11, 2013
• Under the new law, the sale of most military-style rifles is banned, but firms are allowed to make and ship firearms that are banned in the state. Gun makers, though. say they may be forced to leave by a backlash from customers.
• 3 Comments

• Iowa GOP Offers Education Concession
• Source: Des Moines Register   |   Iowa   |   April 11, 2013
• There’s no deal yet on education reform, one of Gov. Terry Branstad’s top priorities, but House Republicans have offered a major concession aimed at compromising with Senate Democrats.

• Wisconsin GOP Lawmakers Want to Limit Court's Influence
• Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   |   Wisconsin   |   April 11, 2013
• With some of their major legislative achievements thwarted by the courts in the past two years, Wisconsin Republicans are advancing a bill that would limit the ability of circuit judges to block state laws for the long term.
• 2 Comments

• North Dakota AG Seeks $400k to Defend New Abortion Laws
• Source: Inforum   |   North Dakota   |   April 10, 2013
• The state’s top attorney is asking lawmakers to include $400,000 in his budget to fight any litigation resulting from passage of what some say are the most restrictive anti-abortion measures in the country.
• 2 Comments

• 2nd Republican Rep. Announces Support for Gay Marriage in Illinois
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Illinois   |   April 9, 2013
• State Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. said he will support a bill to allow gay marriage in Illinois, becoming the second House Republican to do so and first among leadership.

• Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal Scraps Plan to Nix Income Tax
• Source: Politico   |   Louisiana   |   April 9, 2013
• Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, head of the Republican Governors Association and widely viewed as a presidential hopeful for 2016, announced Monday that he's abandoning his controversial plan to eliminate the state's income tax -- but he's calling on the legislature to do it instead.

• Maryland Lawmakers OK Medical Marijuana, Early Voting on Last Day of Session
• Source: Washington Post   |   Maryland   |   April 9, 2013
• The final day capped an extraordinarily productive 90-day session that was filled with several high-profile bills.

• South Dakota Pays Lawyers to Attract Them to Rural Areas
• Source: New York Times   |   South Dakota   |   April 9, 2013
• The American Bar Association called on federal, state and local governments to stem the decline of lawyers in rural areas. Last month, South Dakota became the first state to heed the call.

• Arkansas' Game-Changing Medicaid Expansion Plan
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   April 8, 2013
• A lot of information is floating around about the state's first-of-its-kind plan to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. Arkansas' Medicaid director sets the record straight.
• 1 Comments

• Behind Maryland Gov. O' Malley's Political Risk to Push Gun Control
• Source: Washington Post   |   Maryland   |   April 8, 2013
• After the mass shootings at a Newtown, Conn., elementary schools, Martin O’Malley wanted to attempt something no state had attempted to enact in nearly two decades.

• Oil and Gas Bills Pit Legislature vs. Governor in Colorado
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   April 8, 2013
• For Gov. Hickenlooper, who supports oil and gas development, the Democrat-sponsored and -supported bills create a dilemma.

• More States Explore Tanning Bed Bans for Teens
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   April 5, 2013
• California, Vermont and New York all enacted their bans in 2012, and in the current legislative session, lawmakers in 29 states have introduced measures that would tighten restrictions on teen tanning.

• Is Maryland the New Massachusetts or California?
• Source: Washington Post   |   Maryland   |   April 5, 2013
• Over the past two years, Maryland has enacted laws that represent a dramatic liberal shift, even for a state long dominated by Democrats.

• Massachusetts Governor Vows to Veto Scaled-Back $500M Transportation Plan
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   April 5, 2013
• The bill was significantly more modest than a proposal Gov. Deval Patrick made in January that called for major investments in new transportation projects.