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A New Jersey Senate panel rejected the second of two men nominated by Gov. Chris Christie to the state’s highest court, dealing another blow to the governor’s attempt to reshape what he has criticized as an overly liberal and activist institution.
If most of the ACA is implemented in 2014, there’s real concern in the Bay State about the viability of the Massachusetts Health Connector, the state’s health insurance exchange.
The House defeated a bill today to ban sex-selective abortion, a controversial measure opposed by President Barack Obama and abortion rights activists.
Online retail giant Amazon.com will invest $130 million in New Jersey, build two warehouses, and bring 1,500 full-time jobs to the state, Gov. Christie announced.
The Justice Department told Florida election officials that they must stop their non-citizen voters purge. Florida argues it is not violating any law.
Individuals who use medical marijuana -- even those without state-issued medical marijuana cards -- to treat certain health problems can tell a jury they are allowed to use the drug under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, under a Michigan Supreme Court ruling.
Some question whether the cash-strapped school should give the hip-hop mogul's son a free ride. UCLA says the scholarship awarded to Justin Combs, 18, doesn't come from state funds.
Facing sentencing on 14 criminal counts, Republican state Sen. Jane Orie resigned from the seat she has held for more than a decade.
Joey Miller, 21, is doing something a little unusual for his age: running for mayor.
The Atlanta-based Conference of National Black Churches and the Congressional Black Caucus hosted a conference that focused on what they call a proliferation of legal hurdles to voting this year, including cost-cutting reductions to early voting; and ID laws.
Arkansas’ online procurement system cuts paper usage by 117,000 pages a year, and reduces processing time from three months to less than six weeks.
State fairs are facing a budget crunch, and one solution is to turn them over to private ownership.
While most governments have made cuts, some states have added public sector jobs since the start of the recession.
The Assembly passed hotly contested legislation to regulate and restrict how money generated by California's new "cap-and-trade" program of marketing carbon emissions can be spent.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer and biggest seller of firearms in the United States, is dropping out of a conservative advocacy group in the United States that has been criticized for promoting "Stand Your Ground" gun laws.
New York City plans to enact a far-reaching ban on the sale of sodas and sugary drinks larger than 16 fluid ounces at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts, in the most ambitious effort yet by the Bloomberg administration to combat rising obesity. The first-in-the-nation plan could take effect as soon as next March.
The Sunlight Foundation is out with a new project, dubbed Politwoops, which captures tweets deleted by the official accounts of politicians and presidential candidates.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said that he supports the use of military-style drones to help local police monitor the commonwealth, but that it would be important to ensure that drone use for things such as traffic surveillance would ensure civil liberties, such as privacy.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed Rep. Charlie Rangel – giving the longtime congressman a high-profile boost in his difficult reelection bid.
Two months after Democrats rejected Gov. Christie's nominee for one of two vacant seats on the State Supreme Court - a historically unprecedented move that marked a major setback for his administration - the Republican will nominate Bruce Harris - a Yale Law graduate, an African American, and a gay Republican who plans to recuse himself on the issue of same-sex marriage.
Gov. Corbett signed into law House Bill 1610, making Pennsylvania the first state to set standards for preventing sudden cardiac arrest and death in student athletes and children.
A new poll from Marquette Law School showed the Republican governor leading 52% to 45%, while the liberal Greater Wisconsin Committee, which supports Tom Barrett, also released a partisan poll showing the race at 49% to 49% with 1% undecided.
King County Superior Court Judge Bruce Heller has ruled the voter-approved requirement that two-thirds of the Legislature approve tax increases is unconstitutional.
Just putting measurement tools in place can improve existing processes — not months or years down the road, but right away.
Plus: Questions about restructuring, and more management news
Estimates range from $3.1 billion to $15.8 billion, as states look toward implementing for the 2014-2015 school year.
Wisconsin election officials are projecting a record level of voter turnout when the recall election for Gov. Scott Walker is held.
The House is set to vote on a controversial bill that aims to ban sex-selective abortions by fining or imprisoning doctors who perform them.
Former city Rep. Beto O'Rourke bucked a nationwide trend Tuesday night by ousting eight-term U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes in the 16th Congressional District race. Nationally, challengers rarely defeat incumbents in primary elections, and only a few exceptions have occurred so far this election cycle.
From North Carolina to Washington State, communities have designated swimming pools, parks and school bus stops as “child safety zones,” off limits to some sex offenders. The proliferation of such restrictions reflects the continued concerns of parents and lawmakers about potential recidivism among sex offenders. But it has also increasingly raised questions about their effectiveness, as well as their fairness.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst failed to capture the 50 percent necessary to win the Republican nomination Tuesday, forcing him into an unpredictable nine week run-off campaign with former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz, a tea party favorite who garnered the blessing of conservative luminaries such as Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum and Sen. Jim DeMint.
Mitt Romney will win the 1,144 delegates required to secure the GOP nomination for president Tuesday with an easy victory in Texas’s Republican primary.
When Newark Mayor Cory Booker went on "Meet the Press" earlier this month and called President Obama’s attacks on Bain Capital "nauseating," he put himself in the crosshairs of everyone from national political figures to liberal pundits.
The Illinois Senate has given final passage to a measure that will hike the state tax on cigarettes by $1, to a total of $1.98 per pack, with the income to be used for state health care costs.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority voted to hire as its new chief executive a former Caltrans director who now works for a leading private contractor on the state rail project.
County leaders believe charges like pillow cases shouldn't be credited towards team's portion of construction bill.
Text messaging has become the backbone behind a new mobile health program in Clackamas County, Ore.
Authorities in southwestern Arkansas have launched a manhunt for two murder suspects who escaped from jail before dawn on Monday by cutting through the window bars of their second-story cell with a hacksaw.
Newt Gingrich’s advice to Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley if he runs for president in 2016: “Raise a lot of money.”
With campaign contributions to Rep. Charles Rangel, the Harlem congressman since 1971, dropping precipitously — he barely broke $60,000 over the last three months — his political fate has become a source of concern for colleagues in Washington who are suddenly opening their wallets for him.
Three years after the recession officially ended, most of the nation's safety-net programs finally are serving fewer people, an analysis of government data shows. Only Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor, remains at its peak.
Under the legislation, anyone using a cell phone, camera or video camera while driving within 500 feet of an emergency area, including all areas where emergency vehicles are parked with their lights turned on, will receive a traffic citation and fine of up to $75.
A handful of cash-strapped states are getting more aggressive about collecting every tax owed - hiring more collectors, hounding scofflaws and exploiting corners of their tax laws that haven't been enforced in years. It's an effort to avoid what politicians from both parties are dead set against: raising taxes.
With California voters poised to vote next week on a tobacco tax hike, a new federal study concludes that the state has used relatively little of the billions of dollars in tobacco money it already takes in to prevent kids from smoking or to help smokers quit.
The state is finalizing a four-year construction project for one of the world's oldest schools for deaf and blind students.
Some state officials say they believe the health exchange funding would continue, but the Obama administration remains silent.
House Republicans want to eliminate American Community Survey or drop its mandatory requirement.
If a cell phone user takes a pollster’s call, he or she is more likely to be a Democrat. If a land-line user takes a pollster’s call, he or she is more likely to be a Republican.
Term limits and redistricting could result in high turnover in 2013.
The barely 2-week-old campaign for governor has gotten off to a raucous start, with a lawsuit, threats of "evisceration" and the two national parties wading in playing hard ball.
Though much maligned nationally, the state's Stand Your Ground law at the center of the Trayvon Martin shooting case is supported by 56 percent of Florida's registered voters, according to a new poll conducted by Quinnipiac University.
Next-generation traffic data is providing travelers with detailed real-time roadway conditions, hazard messages and expected travel times.
States spend just 2.3 percent of tobacco-related revenue on anti-smoking initiatives, according to a CDC analysis.
Solar-powered parking pay stations in the city of Lake Geneva, Wis., let drivers pay for parking by credit card and extend parking time via text message.
Among the business left unresolved as Oklahoma’s legislature winds down its session is what to do about expensive, long-delayed repairs for the state Capitol building and nearby state office buildings.
Since its first stretch of track opened in 1990, the Los Angeles County light rail system used what amounted to an honor system for its tickets. Now, the board of the county's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has voted to make the system work like it does in every other big city by approving locking gates.
A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that the longer people drive to work, the more likely they are to have poor cardiovascular health.
A Portland produce distributor announced it is voluntarily recalling bagged lettuce that could be tainted with listeria.
Felix Roque, the Democratic mayor of West New York, N.J., and his son allegedly accessed and cancelled the domain registration for Recallroque.com, a website that was critical of the mayor and associated with a movement to recall him in early February.
Gov. Nikki Haley said that she found the recent video of an AFL-CIO leader smashing a piñata of her “creepy,” and the South Carolina governor described the incident as typical behavior of “union thugs.”
The Senate rejected two competing bills that would prevent interest rates on federal student loans from doubling starting in July.
The Agriculture Department wants to curb the practice of food-stamp illegally selling their benefit cards for cash and then asking for replacement cards by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards.
Combining government functions seems like a good idea, but it doesn’t always save money and it rarely improves results. There are alternatives worth considering.
The self-proclaimed "ayatollah" of the California Assembly, Speaker Willie Brown, was a prime target in the successful campaign to pass legislative term limits 22 years ago. Ballot arguments at the time talked of stripping power from "legislative dictators" and ousting the "speaker's cronies."
For the first time in a major California poll since Brown took office, a plurality of likely voters disapproves of the job he is doing, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday.
Ohio's voter-initiated ban on indoor public smoking, the first enacted in the Midwest and among the strictest in the nation, is constitutional and enforceable, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled.
Councilman Dale Fritchen, often criticized for his stance as being dead-set against taking Stockton into bankruptcy, said his plan will balance the city's deficit budget without laying off any police officers.
Commerce Department issues wish list for board members who will guide a national broadband framework for first responders.
More than 2.7 million children in America are being raised by relatives, and states need to do more to make "kinship families" aware of the benefits and programs available to them, says a new report examined by Stateline.
If Gov. Scott Walker wins in the June 5 recall against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, which polls suggest he’s likely to do, not only will he be lionized by his GOP colleagues for embarrassing Big Labor and forcing the left to pour cash down the drain in a presidential election year, he’ll be credited with making the state more competitive for Mitt Romney.
Missourians will vote Aug. 7 on a proposed constitutional amendment affirming the right to pray in public places.
A college student pleaded guilty in federal court to threatening in a Facebook post to kill President Barack Obama by putting "a bullet through his head." His lawyer Alan Ross said Serrapio will likely face up to 10 months in jail or on probation.
The same anesthetic that caused the overdose death of pop star Michael Jackson is now the drug of choice for executions in Missouri, causing a stir among critics who question how the state can guarantee a drug untested for lethal injection won't cause pain and suffering for the condemned. Missouri will be the first state ever to use propofol as an execution drug.
After this working-class port city became the largest in America to declare bankruptcy in 2008, it began to reinvent itself, and for the first time in five years, the city expects to have enough money to do such things as fill potholes, clear weeds, trim trees and repair tennis courts.
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell recently vetoed a bill that would have made it easier for those providing so-called “kinship care” to enroll children in nearby public schools.
In spite of efforts to crack down on the state’s prescription drug abuse epidemic, a new report shows nearly 18 million prescriptions for controlled substances such as OxyContin and hydrocodone were dispensed in Tennessee last year — a 23 percent increase from the previous year.
In order to close the shortfall and pay for his signature tax cuts, the Christie administration said it will borrow an extra $260 million for transportation projects, marking a reversal by Christie, who pledged last year to cut down on transportation borrowing.
The last roadblock was a federal lawsuit filed by a group of Republican voters seeking to halt the new boundaries from ever going into effect. On Monday, the plaintiffs agreed to adjust their legal challenge and ask the court to prevent the new boundaries from being used in 2013 and beyond.
Gov. Gary Herbert said he remains committed to the goal of having two-thirds of Utahns get a post-high school degree or certification, and touted additional funding for education during the past legislative session.v
Massachusetts is taking a hard look at the tax breaks it hands out for economic development. The result may be a move toward using objective metrics to inform decisions about granting them.
While things appear to be looking up, new questions arise about loans, debts and borrowings from banks.
As you head out of town for Memorial Day weekend, take note of where the nation's most congested corridors and cities are, according to a new study.
Mental disorders are more common than heart disease and cancer combined -- one reason states and localities are teaching their employees how to recognize the signs of mental health problems and how to help.
Several federal deadlines to overhaul states’ driver's licenses systems have come and gone in the past seven years. As another one approaches, should states be concerned about complying?
The McAllen school district is within the nation’s poorest metro area, and it's reduced spending on instruction. But district officials are betting their tech investment will pay off.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is likely the only public official who’s currently hosting a national television program while still in office.
A federal judge rejected part of a law that voter registration groups argued was so onerous it forced them to stop their voter drives in the state.
At least six states this year issued their tax refunds on debit cards, in a move they say will save money for both the taxpayer and the government.
Several Florida cities have on-site clinics that are free for public employees and result in fewer long-term health problems and lower costs for everyone.
President Barack Obama and the 26 states trying to overturn his federal health reform law say no, but some states have some real-world experience that could answer that question.
Severe funding cuts and the record-high numbers of people going to college are forcing state university systems to make tough decisions about financial aid, curriculums, research and more.
Gov. Christie's proposed budget for fiscal 2013 has a $1.3 billion hole in it, the Legislature's top finance officer said. But a Christie administration official said the shortfall is about half that.
The latest round of the Race to the Top grant competition will be open to school districts for offering more personalized instruction for students.
Virginia diverted most of a multimillion-dollar mortgage settlement that was intended to protect consumers and assist state foreclosure prevention efforts to local governments.
The Oklahoma House passed measures to do away with the state Human Services Commission and give the governor greater authority over the state's largest agency.
A San Francisco-based federal appeals court ruled in 2002 that every aspect of an execution should be open to witnesses. Idaho, Arizona, Washington, Montana and Nevada have conducted 15 lethal injections since the ruling, and half of each procedure has been behind closed doors.
The following are a few of the words you will never see on a Maryland license plate, as specified by the state’s Objectionable Plate List: HEROIN, TOILET, SAFESEX, CHUMP.
Solidifying his control over New York Democratic politics, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said that he would seek to install a mayor from upstate and an assemblyman from New York City as the state party’s new leaders.
The states appear to have resolved a months-long dispute that could have kept the president's name off the ballot in November.
What makes some state capitals so much more corrupt than others? New research provides a partial answer to that long-standing question: isolated capitals breed more corruption and lack of news coverage is a major reason why.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law a tax-cut measure that had divided GOP lawmakers in one of the country's most fiscally conservative states, pitting tea-party advocates who argued it would spur economic growth against some fellow Republicans who worried the cuts go too far.
Tea Party-backed Republican Thomas Massie won a hotly contested House primary in Kentucky, edging out an establishment candidate and putting him on an almost certain path to election in November.
The system of regaining voting rights in Florida after a felony conviction is so lengthy and strict that many will likely never vote again.
With no serious opposition left, the former Massachusetts governor easily won both contests. He won all 42 delegates at stake in Kentucky and at least 21 of the 33 delegates at stake in Arkansas.
The owner of a Tennessee-based amusement company placed the winning bid for the State Fair of Virginia, buying both the 150-year-old fair and the event site, which includes where Triple Crown winner Secretariat was born.
Don Borut, who has served as executive director of the National League of Cities since 1990, will retire at the end of the year, the organization announced this week.
In too many instances, they aren’t on the same page -- or even speaking the same language.
Quality measures are transforming everything from billing practices to patient behavior.
States can no longer rely on federal bailouts or taxes. For the latest on state revenues, null
Cities are finding creative uses for these environmentally unfriendly spaces.
Have we lost our capacity to think big? Asia and Western Europe are building a series of infrastructure mega-projects that dwarf our efforts.
Election officials in Central Texas are struggling to find workers to staff the polls with election day only a week away.
The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that state elections officials were correct to disqualify thousands of signatures on petitions previously circulated by the two parties.
The State Legislative Leaders Foundation strives to provide “serious learning experiences” for its core constituency of about 500 legislative officials -- regardless of what party they belong to.
New Mexico residents are almost three times more likely to die from injuries than people from New Jersey. Check to see how your state ranks on injury fatality rates.
The judge determined that North Carolina’s system is “nearly identical” to an Arizona law, which was overturned.
Twenty-five of the 50 states now have laws that revoke the public pensions of convicted criminals.
The Illinois House voted to end a century-old legislative scholarship program long abused by politicians who passed out tuition waivers to children of relatives, political cronies and campaign contributors.
Governments are finding many ways to harness the power of gaming.
A growing number of states have passed laws that allow taxpayer-supported scholarship funds, but they have been twisted at the expense of the neediest.
Declaring that Sept. 11 is a day for reflection, and not for politics, New York has decided to delay this year’s state and local primary election for two days.
The measure sets guidelines for 'autonomous vehicles' to be tested and operated in California. It now goes to the Assembly for consideration next month.
Cory Booker said he was “upset” that Republicans and the Romney presidential campaign were using his criticism of an Obama campaign ad against the president’s reelection effort. “This will cause me to work harder for President Obama,” the mayor of Newark, N.J. said.
Facing sentencing on 14 criminal counts, Republican state Sen. Jane Orie resigned from the seat she has held for more than a decade.
Haslam has signed measures to make confidential the names of all but the three finalists for leadership positions in state colleges and universities, to prevent parents from finding out the evaluation scores of teachers, and to close off information about companies that receive cash grants from the state.
Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Pence announced state Rep. Sue Ellspermann as his running mate, and sources close to Democrat John Gregg's campaign said state Sen. Vi Simpson would be the former Indiana House speaker's pick for lieutenant governor.
Almost 80 percent of schools say their current broadband access is inadequate.
In a revival of the controversy surrounding President Barack Obama’s Hawaii birth certificate, a state official in Arizona says it’s “possible” that he’ll hold Obama’s name off the Arizona ballot if Hawaii officials don’t send him confirmation that the president was born there.
It’s a powerful concept, but governments need to use the right tool for the job at hand.
An uprising in the Adams County Correctional Facility near Natchez left at least one unidentified guard dead and several more transported to the hospital, officials said.
The national database, said to be the largest of its kind, covers the period since DNA testing came into common use. Its sponsors hope to shed light on the legal system's failings.
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell signed highly contentious voter identification legislation and, in a move meant to quell concerns that it would disenfranchise some people, ordered elections officials to send new cards to everyone registered in the state.
A little over a week after President Obama endorsed gay marriage, the board of the N.A.A.C.P. voted to endorse same-sex marriage, putting the weight of the country’s most prominent civil rights group behind a cause that has long divided some quarters of the black community.
As expected, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon topped former Rep. Chris Shays in the state convention fight for the Connecticut Republican Party’s endorsement. McMahon and Shays are running to replace retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman (I).
The average tax bill in the tiny rural Burlington County community will jump nearly $1,000.
Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending.
To address community-level priorities, the state has begun putting its agencies together with key public and private stakeholders. The approach has already produced some victories.
Federal legislation could prohibit agencies from attending multiple conferences hosted by one organization.
At least seven governors are facing reelection this year.
A few states added significant jobs last month. See how your state's employment has changed over the year.
The free online app helps users decide which presidential candidate is most compatible with their political beliefs.
Some states opposed to the Affordable Care Act are still declining to move forward with its implementation, unmoved by new guidance for a federally-run insurance marketplace.
Kansas may soon finish a large tax cut and Oklahoma is likely to approve a smaller one, but both will be short of some lawmakers’ initial aspirations: ending the income tax entirely.
Delaware Governor Jack Markell defended the new Common Core English and math state standards, dismissing the contention that national benchmarks for what students should be learning are part of a “high-level conspiracy from the federal government” to impose its standards on states.
The city is proposing to offer buyouts to a pool of teachers who draw full salaries but have no permanent jobs, abandoning efforts to have them laid off but potentially solving one of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s most intractable education issues.
Last month, the Department of State gave county elections supervisors a list of more than 2,600 voters who are potentially ineligible to vote because they may not be legal citizens.
If the law is upheld, Republicans will take to the floor to tear out its most controversial pieces, such as the individual mandate. If the law is partially or fully overturned they’ll draw up bills to keep the popular, consumer-friendly portions in place — like allowing adult children to remain on parents’ health care plans until age 26.
New York City would have to stop requiring the electronic fingerprinting of food stamp applicants under regulations proposed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has sided with advocates for the hungry who say it discourages people from seeking benefits. New York City and Arizona are the only jurisdictions in the country that require the fingerprinting of all food stamp applicants.
Americans Elect succeeded in getting on the ballot in 29 states, but none of its prospective candidates received the minimum support needed to participate in a Web-based series of primaries that were to be held this month.
Getting caught with a small amount of marijuana would be akin to getting a traffic ticket under a bill that is up for consideration by an Assembly panel on Monday.
