Calling capital punishment “ineffective, irreversible and immoral,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order on Tuesday all but abolishing the death penalty in the Golden State for the foreseeable future. Newsom joins governors in Pennsylvania, Oregon and Colorado...

Countering a growing trend among retailers toward accepting only credit cards or other forms of electronic payment, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed legislation last week requiring brick-and-mortar retail operations to accept cash and imposing potentially big fines on those that don’t go...

NEWSOM TO PARTNER WITH CA CITIES ON HOUSING CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced his administration would partner with a handful of Golden State cities to help develop affordable housing on state-owned properties. The announcement came after the state Department of General Services completed...

MI GOV SIGNS STREAMLINED MEDICAL WEED OVERSIGHT BILL MICHIGAN Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed legislation ( SB 203 ) that requires only those with 10 percent or more of an ownership stake in a medical marijuana business to undergo the state’s background check process. Previous law required...

A report from a special “strike force” to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) says the Golden State should ease its strict liability laws for utilities found to have caused devastating wildfires. The report came in the wake of the bankruptcy filing by Pacific Gas & Electric, the state’s...

BULLOCK SIGNS MT REINSURANCE BILL MONTANA Gov. Steve Bullock (D), signed legislation last week that will create a reinsurance program to help reimburse insurers for high-cost claims so those costs aren't included in determining individual marketplace premiums for the following year. Under SB 125...

In a move framed as another step toward universal single-payer health care in the state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposed expanding Medicaid coverage to low-income young adults aged 19 to 25, regardless of immigration status. Newsom made the proposal as part of his May budget revision. ...

Cooper Signs NC Pay Leave Order Saying that “parenting is often more than a full-time job,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) issued Executive Order 95 last week, which grants up to eight weeks of paid parental leave to many of the estimated 56,000 state employees who work in the agencies...

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...

Saying that “Maine people value their privacy, online and off,” Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed one of the toughest data privacy measures in the nation last week. Under SB 275 , which Mills signed last Thursday, Pine Tree State Internet providers will be prohibited from using, selling,...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) issued a long-awaited plan for addressing the state’s chronic challenges from wildfires and the role the state’s largest utilities play in those catastrophes. The plan Newsom put forth would create a $21 billion insurance fund to help pay for future...

TWO DOZEN GOVS RESIST TRUMP CLEAN CAR ROLLBACK Two dozen governors – including three Republicans – signed a letter to President Donald Trump last week urging his administration not to move forward on a plan to roll back auto emissions standards nationwide. The letter comes on the heels...

NEWSOM SIGNS OFF ON CA CLEAN DRINKING WATER FUND CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 200 , legislation that authorizes the use of $130 million in funds initially targeted for greenhouse gas reduction to instead pay for a clean drinking water program. The funds, which will be drawn on over the...

After months of negotiations, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced an agreement last week among charter school advocates, teacher unions and legislative leaders on a bill that will impose new restrictions on the state’s charter schools. California charters are privately run but publicly...

With the legislative session winding down, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has been steadily working behind the scenes to broker deals on a number of high-impact measures lawmakers are close to sending to his desk. After negotiating a deal between state teacher unions and charter school advocates...

VA GOV VOWS END TO LAWSUITS AGAINST PATIENTS VIRGINIA Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said he would work with University of Virginia James Ryan to end the widespread practice of aggressively pursuing former patients for unpaid medical bills. A recent investigation by Kaiser Health News revealed that that UVA...

Amid a growing number of vaping-related deaths and serious illnesses, Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gavin Newsom of California, both Democrats, launched efforts last week to ban the products. The actions come days after the Trump administration announced plans to impose a federal ban on the...

WA GOV ORDERS VAPING BAN Citing a rising number of illnesses and deaths linked to e-tobacco use, WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said he will ask the state board of health to adopt emergency rules enacting a statewide ban on flavored vaping products. At least four other states – MICHIGAN, NEW...

Surrounded by a bevy of athletes including LeBron James, Diana Taurasi and Katelyn Ohashi, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation last week that makes the Golden State the first to allow college athletes to profit from the use of their image and likeness. Newsom signed SB 206 in spite...

Calling it a “a profoundly important moment,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed one package of bills last week aimed at protecting Golden State renters from excessive rent increases and unprovoked evictions and another intended to spark the building of new housing. The most significant...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) inked his name to five bills to further amend the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) before the law takes effect next January. Although lawmakers weighed numerous proposals to dramatically change the CCPA this legislative session, none of the measures Newsom...

Calling it “a step in the right direction," California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the state would closely monitor the NCAA’s decision to move toward allowing college athletes to profit from the use of their likeness, image or name. The move is a response to first-in-the-nation...

Cuomo Threatens NYC Utility NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) threatened to revoke the license of a utility that provides gas to New York City and Long Island unless it begins providing natural gas to new customers on Long Island. Cuomo also vowed to take legal action against the utility National Grid...

North Dakota is currently the only state to have created a public bank, which it did way back in 1919. But momentum for more is growing at both the state and local level. The latest effort was launched last week in New Jersey, where New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) ordered the state to develop a...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the Golden State government will no longer buy cars from carmakers that don’t adhere to the state’s strict emissions rules. The boycott is a direct response to a bevy of car companies that recently sided with the Trump administration in its attempt...