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...