OR Water Conservation Review Faced with worsening drought conditions, OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) directed all state agencies to review their water usage, implement conservation plans and report their progress to the state Water Resources Department. Brown has declared a drought state of emergency...

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said he plans to ask the Obama administration to allow the Grand Canyon State to require about 350,000 able-bodied adults currently on Medicaid to pay co-pays for some of their health care services and to put 2 percent of their annual income into a health savings plan. ...

LGBT Protection in LA LOUISIANA Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards (D) said he will issue an executive order to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender state employees and government contractors from discrimination. His planned directive would protect those workers from firing, discrimination and...

Ducey Fires Lobbyists ARIZONA Gov. Doug Ducey (R) issued an executive order ( EO 2016-05 ) last Thursday terminating state contracts with lobbyist firms contracted with various state commissions and boards. The governor’s office said it had verified the state spent at least $1 million on lobbyists...

Ducey Seeks to Repeal AZ Welfare Limit : Just six months into a new policy that limits welfare recipients to no more than a year on public assistance, ARIZONA Gov. Rob Ducey (R) proposed last week returning to the previous limit of two years. The one-year limit is the most stringent in the nation...

Greitens Calls MO Abortion Special Session MISSOURI Gov. Eric Greitens (R) said he will call a special session this week to consider new abortion regulations, in part to counter a St. Louis city ordinance he said made it an “abortion sanctuary city.” In a statement the governor said the...

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) has asked the Trump administration for a Medicaid waiver that would allow the Bluegrass State to require able-bodied adults without dependents to work at least 20 hours a week to qualify for coverage. The request is an amendment from one made previously that would have...

President Donald Trump said his administration is preparing to declare a federal emergency aimed at addressing the national opioid abuse crisis, but what that means to beleaguered governors seeking to quell the crisis remains unclear. The president made his remarks on Aug. 10 during a self-described...

SNYDER SIGNS MI POLICE MICONDUCT LAW Looking to prevent police agencies from hiding misconduct that leads to terminations, MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed legislation last week that requires law enforcement agencies to keep records of the circumstances surrounding an officer’s firing. An...

BROWN SIGNS CA DAM INSPECTION MEASURE : One year after the near failure of the Oroville Dam, CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation ( AB 1270 ) last month to codify and strengthen the Golden State’s dam inspection standards. A significant erosion of the dam’s spillway forced the evacuation...

INSLEE SIGNS QUARTET OF WA #METOO BILLS : Saying “We must do better to make sure employers understand there is no place for these behaviors in the workplace,” WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed four bills last month that address sexual harassment, including one that bars nondisclosure...

AZ GOV SIGNS OFF ON TEACHER PAY RAISE ARIZONA Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed budget legislation last week that will hike the pay of Grand Canyon State teachers by 20 percent over the next three years. The wage increase came after dozens of the state’s school districts canceled classes as part of...

REYNOLDS SAYS SHE ISN’T BEHOLDEN TO IA GOP PLATFORM : Saying the issue of same-sex marriage has been settled by the courts, IOWA Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said last week she doesn’t have to abide by state GOP platform proposals that favor limiting marriage to one woman and one man. The state...

The ongoing controversy over family separations at the U.S. border with Mexico has spurred a bipartisan group of governors to pull back or reject outright President Trump’s request to send National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico. Democrats Andrew Cuomo of New York, Gina Raimondo of...

DUCEY DECRIES ‘RECKLESS’ CALLS TO ABOLISH ICE In an op-ed in USA Today last week, ARIZONA Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said calls from a growing number of Democratic officials to abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were “reckless” and “misguided.”...

DUCEY VOWS VETO OF ANTI-VAX BILLS Breaking a tradition of not commenting on bills that are still in the legislative process, ARIZONA Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said he is “pro-vaccine” and would veto any bills to weaken the state’s vaccination laws that reach his desk. (ARIZONA REPUBLIC...

In his January State of the State address, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) called on lawmakers to pass legislation that would make the Grand Canyon State the first to accept out-of-state professional licenses. Lawmakers responded by sending him HB 2569 last week, a measure he quickly signed. “You...

NV GOV WILL SIGN WAGE, PAID LEAVE BILLS In a statement issued last week, NEVADA Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) said he would sign legislation ( AB 456 ) on his desk that will incrementally raise the Silver State minimum wage to $12 per hour by July, 2024. The governor said he would also sign SB 312 , a measure...