HOGAN PROPOSES MD SENTENCING LEGISLATION Responding to what he called “out of control” violent crime in Baltimore, MARYLAND , Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said he plans to introduce a major package of anti-crime legislation when lawmakers reconvene next year. That package would include a so-called...

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) met with the Pine Tree State’s 16 county sheriffs last week in an effort to reach a compromise over his order for them to hold suspects for federal immigration officials. In September LePage sent all of the sheriffs a letter ordering them to hold suspects for federal...

LEPAGE SIGNS REVISED ME FOOD SOVEREIGNTY LAW : MAINE Gov. Paul LePage (R) signed legislation last week that allows anyone living in or visiting one of 22 designated Pine Tree State communities to make a face-to-face purchase at a farmer’s or processor’s farm or home without state oversight...

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said he will not accept a voter-approved ballot measure to expand Medicaid to cover approximately 80,000 more residents unless lawmakers find a way to pay for it without raising taxes or drawing on state reserves. Pine Tree State voters endorsed the measure (Question...

WALKER SIGNS OFF ON CLOSURE OF WI YOUTH PRISON : After years of accusations of ongoing abuse and neglect of its inhabitants, the lone WISCONSIN prison complex for teen offenders is now set to shut its doors for good. Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed bipartisan legislation last week to close the controversial...

BROWN REACHES DEAL ON CA NATIONAL GUARD USE...OR DOES HE? After a week of jousting with the Trump administration, it is still unclear if CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) will order the deployment of the California National Guard to the state’s border with Mexico to assist in battling “transnational...

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...

A Superior Court judge has ordered Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) to take the necessary steps to implement voter-approved expansion of Medicaid in the Pine Tree State. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy gave LePage until June 11 to file an expansion plan with the federal government. The court’s...

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...

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) rejected 36 bills last week, adding to the record 500-plus vetoes he has accumulated during his eight years in office. As expected, the governor’s vetoes included legislation that would have funded voter-approved Medicaid expansion . LePage has feuded with lawmakers...

Maine lawmakers overturned 23 of Gov. Paul LePage’s (R) 43 vetoes, but failed to turn back his rejection of startup funding for voter-approved Medicaid expansion in the Pine Tree State. The successful veto marks the seventh time that LePage has blocked Medicaid expansion. As has often been...

ME, KY, MS GOVS FILE WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION BRIEF MAINE Gov. Paul LePage (R), KENTUCKY Gov. Matt Bevin (R) and MISSISSIPPI Gov. Phil Bryant (R) join the attorneys general of 13 other states in an Aug. 23 brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that companies can fire workers based on their sexual...

RAIMONDO ISSUES RI SCHOOL GUN BAN RHODE ISLAND Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) issued an executive order last month barring anyone except police officers from carrying firearms at public schools and grounds in the Ocean State. The order closes a loophole in legislation adopted last year, a loophole that allowed...

Responding to Medicaid expansion advocates who are urging eligible Mainers to sign up for the insurance plan, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said he will reject those applications until lawmakers fund the program to his satisfaction. Expansion supporters have filed suit seeking to force the governor to adhere...

For the seventh quarter in a row, polling by Morning Consult shows that the ten most popular governors in America are all Republicans. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker topped the list with a 70 percent approval rating, followed closely by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, at 67 percent. That pair has topped...

BAKER URGES NEW STEPS FOR REPORTING MA HATE CRIMES Taking a cue from the recommendations of a state task force, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said the Bay State will create a new website to track hate crimes and urged police chiefs to designate at least one officer to coordinate responses to...

CUOMO CALLS FOR NY ABORTION AMENDMENT With Democrats now in control of both legislative chambers, NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called on Empire State lawmakers last week to pass a constitutional amendment codifying a woman’s right to legal abortion. Dems have vowed to pass bills strengthening...

Saying it was “inevitable” that her state would soon be surrounded by states that have legalized recreational cannabis use, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) joined a growing number of her Democratic colleagues in proposing to follow suit. Raimondo was hardly enthusiastic about the...

MILLS REJECTS ME MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS MAINE Gov. Janet Mills (D) sent a letter to federal officials rejecting new work requirements for Medicaid recipients that were requested by former Gov. Paul LePage (R) and approved by the Trump administration just days before LePage left office. “Maine’s...

NEWSOM WANTS TO STEP UP CA POT ENFORCEMENT Citing a lack of cohesive enforcement to stamp out CALIFORNIA’s illegal marijuana market, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced expanded efforts by the state National Guard to work with federal officials to target black market dealers, including illegal drug...

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...

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,...

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed a series of far-reaching bills last week aimed at reducing the rising cost of prescription drugs and boosting the use of renewable energy across the Pine Tree State. Mills called the rising cost of prescription drugs “intolerable” and “unsustainable...

Saying “we should be protecting all of our children, including those who identify as LGBTQ, instead of subjecting them to a dangerous practice,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) issued Executive Order No 97 , a directive that bars state money from being used to pay for gay conversion therapy...

COURT SAYS KY GOV CAN REJECT PRIVATE LAWYERS The KENTUCKY Supreme Court rules that Gov. Matt Bevin (R) and legislative leaders were within their legal authority to cancel an employment contract that Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear awarded to private lawyers to help his office sue the pharmaceutical...