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...

AL Governor Signs SB 236 ALABAMA Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signs SB 236 , which will create a commission to study the effects of medical marijuana and renew a current state law that allows cannabis oil to be used for treating seizure disorders in children (WHNT [HUNTSVILLE]). FL Governor Signs HB 487...

ME Senate Gives Final Approval to SB 285 The MAINE Senate gives final approval to SB 285 , which would implement a system for the Pine Tree State to oversee student loan servicers, including requiring those servicers to be licensed by the state. It is now with Gov. Janet Mills (D) for consideration...

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.

Reducing the soaring prices of commonly used prescription drugs has become a political priority in the nation’s statehouses. So far this year, 258 bills that sponsors hope will assist consumers in managing pharmaceutical costs have been filed in 47 states, with 29 of them enacted. Many of...

MA House Endorses HB 3904 The MASSACHUSETTS House endorses HB 3904 , a bill that would establish a framework for licensing and regulating appraisal management companies in the Bay State. It is now in the Senate (STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE [BOSTON]. NJ Governor Signs AB 5321 NEW JERSEY Gov....

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...

NJ GOV AGAIN FAILS TO OBTAIN PASSAGE OF MILLIONAIRE’S TAX For the second year in a row, NEW JERSEY Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has failed to get a tax on the state’s top earners through the state’s Legislature, controlled by lawmakers of his own party. The $38.7 billion budget approved...

When San Francisco-based Lyft driver Roosevelt Thomas recently got a message from the company urging him to sign a petition opposing California Assembly Bill 5 – which would turn rideshare drivers from independent contractors into employees – he knew right away he wouldn’t sign it....

OR Senate Approves HB 2005 The OREGON Senate approves HB 2005 , which would grant workers up to 12 weeks of paid time off that they could also use to recuperate from their own serious illness, care for new adopted or foster children, or deal with domestic violence. The measure moves to Gov. Kate Brown...

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...

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...

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...

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia will abide by a deal reached in July by California and four major global automakers to require new vehicles to average approximately 37 miles per gallon by 2026. The Trump administration, meanwhile, is seeking to freeze mileage standards at 2021 levels of...

Bypassing the Trump administration, California has reached agreement with four of the world’s largest automakers to improve fuel efficiency and reduce automobile emissions that contribute to global warming. And more are likely to follow. “This is about leadership, California asserting...

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...

FEDERAL COURT RULES CO PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS DON’T HAVE TO VOTE IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE ELECTORATE The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled last month that COLORADO’s presidential electors don’t have to vote for the candidate chosen by the state’s electorate...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and executives of other big tech companies have been saying recently that they want a federal data privacy law. But this year the companies and their lobbyists helped kill data privacy bills introduced in at least 13 states, according to analysis of lobbying records and committee...

A group called Voter Choice Massachusetts has proposed a ballot measure for the state’s 2020 election that would replace the state’s current winner-take-all election system with a ranked-choice system. Under a ranked-choice system, voters are asked to rank the candidates for each applicable...

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...

There was a time when, if you weren’t in Las Vegas and you wanted to put some money down on a football game – say $100 that the Rams would cover the spread on Sunday – you needed to talk to a bookie. So, you picked up your phone. That bookie – maybe a guy who looked a little...

A special committee in Kansas is looking into ways to control the rising cost of healthcare in the state. This month the members of the House and Senate Special Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance got a crash course on healthcare cost control measures other states have taken from Colleen...

ME Voters Approve Transportation Funding MAINE voters approved $105 million in bond funding for transportation projects, primarily the overhauling of the state’s roads and bridges. The bond money will be matched by $137 million in federal and other funding. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Public Pensions...

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...

It’s the holiday season, and if most voters are thinking about politics at all they are probably pondering more about how to get through family festivities without a major blowup over differing political philosophies than they are about next year’s legislative agendas. But rest assured...