Between 2014 and 2015 death rates due to opioid overdose rose by over 25 percent - more than twice the national average (11 percent) - in five states and the District of Columbia. The five states with the highest opioid death rates in 2015 were West Virginia (36 deaths per 100,000 people), New Hampshire...

TX Lawmakers Approve Changes to Voter ID Law The TEXAS Legislature approved a bill ( SB 5 ) loosening the requirements of the voter ID law passed by the state in 2011, which the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year discriminated against minority voters. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is expected...

Despite the unusual amount of uncertainty heading into this year’s state legislative sessions, a few of the issues we predicted last December might receive particular attention from lawmakers, such as cybersecurity and transportation funding, have done so. But others, like soda taxes, have stalled...

The practice among out-of-network healthcare providers of billing patients when the patients’ insurance carriers don’t cover the full cost of the providers’ services - known as “balance billing” - isn’t the healthcare story that has been dominating the headlines lately...

On Nov. 7 voters in 7 states will consider a total of 22 statewide ballot measures, bringing the count for the year - with measures on the ballot last month in two states - to 27. That continues a downward trend in the number of measures on the ballot in odd-numbered years since 1987, when voters considered...

Voters in seven states considered a total of 22 statewide ballot measures on Nov. 7. Texas voters weighed seven of those measures, the highest number of the seven states. All seven measures passed, which isn’t too unusual in the Lone Star State, where voters have approved 91 percent of the 152...

As of Oct. 30 at least 43 states had introduced over 240 bills and resolutions related to cybersecurity this year, according to analysis of LexisNexis State Net data by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Twenty-seven of those states have enacted bills, and four have adopted resolutions. Among...

The shadow of President Donald Trump and the Republican tax bill will hover over state governing bodies in 2018, a year of midterm elections that Tim Storey, political analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures, says will be “a referendum on the president.” Long before...

Commissions, rather than legislatures, have primary responsibility for drawing state legislative and/or congressional districts in 13 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In another 12 states, commissions either assist legislators with redistricting or take over the process...

Today, a visitor to a Bon Appétit cafe will have no problem finding plenty of tasty things to nosh on. But finding a plastic straw for their soda or a plastic stirrer for their coffee will soon be impossible. San Francisco-based Bon Appétit Management Company announced in May it would...

California will have the highest cybercrime losses of any state this year, according to analysis of data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Insurance Information Institute by Website Builder Expert. The website development adviser estimates that total cybercrime losses by individuals in...

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...

Legislation dealing with consumer data privacy has been introduced this year in at least 25 states, according to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net. As of April 3, such measures had been passed by their chambers of origin in five states - Arkansas...

TX Senate Approves SB 11 The TEXAS Senate approves SB 11 , a broad school safety measure that would, among several things, require that classrooms be equipped with phones and establish threat assessment teams to help identify potentially dangerous students and determine the best ways to intervene...

ME House Approves HB 594 The MAINE House approves HB 594 , which would require Medicaid private insurance companies to pay for abortion services. It moves to the Senate (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). GA Governor Signs HB 481 GEORGIA Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signs HB 481 , which would...

So far this year, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, one state, New Mexico, has enacted legislation dealing with balance billing, the practice of charging consumers for medical costs not paid by their insurance. Balance billing measures have also failed in five states and are pending...

By some accounts, insurance fraud has reached epidemic proportions, costing insurance companies and their policyholders tens of billions of dollars each year. State lawmakers have taken several measures in recent years to combat the problem, but this year they’re stepping up their efforts even...

ME Senate Approves HB 798 The MAINE Senate approves HB 798 , which would abolish all but purely medical exemptions from the state’s school vaccination law. It moves to Gov. Janet Mills (D), who is expected to sign it (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD). MD Governor Signs HB 1169 MARYLAND Gov. Larry...

IL Governor Signs SB 25 ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs SB 25 , which codifies that women in the Prairie State have the “fundamental right” to have an abortion, and that a “fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights” (CNN). RI Senate Approves...

At least 40 states have introduced legislation in 2019 aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs, according to LexisNexis State Net ’s legislative tracking system. Fifteen of those states have enacted such measures.

In May the Board of Supervisors for the City and County of San Francisco approved an ordinance banning the use of facial recognition technology by all city departments. It’s the only major U.S. city to have taken such action against the emerging technology. But the measure is part of a larger and...

When SNCJ reported in August 2017 on medical balance billing - the direct charging of patients by healthcare providers for services that aren’t fully covered at the providers’ rate by the patients’ insurance - nearly half of the states had passed legislation addressing the practice...

At least 37 states have introduced legislation this year dealing with the cybersecurity of government agencies, 24 of which have enacted such measures, according to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net. The measures deal with a range of issues, including...

As of mid-October, 26 states had introduced legislation this year dealing with the privacy of consumer data, according to analysis of LexisNexis State Net legislative data by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Seven of those states had enacted such measures, including Hawaii, where a consumer...