CA TAKES ANOTHER SHOT AT KEEPING TRUMP OFF BALLOT The CALIFORNIA Legislature has passed a bill ( SB 27 ) that would require candidates for president to release five years’ worth of tax returns before their name could appear on the state’s primary ballot. The measure is similar to one passed...

At least 26 states have introduced bills this session dealing with the collection and use of biometric information, such as fingerprints, speech patterns or gait, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net. Three of those states - Arkansas, New York...

Legislation dealing with medical balance billing - the charging of patients by healthcare providers for services not fully covered at the providers’ rate by the patients’ insurance - has been introduced in 32 states this year, according to analysis by LexisNexis State Net . Seven of those...

COOPER SIGNS NC GUN ORDER NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Roy Cooper (D) issued an executive directive ordering that state Bureau of Investigation and other state agencies to take more action against gun violence. The order directs the BOI to conduct more threat assessment training for local police and provide...

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...

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...

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...

At least 18 states allow sports betting either in-person at casinos and other gambling facilities, or online via computer or mobile phone, according to the website BettingUSA.com. Eleven of those states allow both, while six allow only in-person sports wagering and one, Tennessee, allows such betting...

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...

Wyoming has the largest estimated fiscal year 2019 rainy-day fund balance as a percentage of total state expenditures, at 109 percent, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers’ Spring 2019 Fiscal Survey of States . California has the largest FY 2019 rainy-day fund balance...

Many states have learned lessons from the Great Recession of 2007-09 and are better prepared for the next economic downturn, according to findings by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) and other analysts. “Rainy day funds are growing as a share of state budgets,”...

The Missouri Department Of Social Services Makes Announcement The MISSOURI Department of Social Services announces that people participating in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program who hold a doctor-issued medical cannabis card allowing them to legally purchase pot would not lose their...

At least 27 states have considered legislation this year dealing with the privacy of consumer data, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . Consumer data privacy bills were enacted in six of those states, while measures are still pending in several others, including California, where...

United State Court of Appeals Upholds Ruling The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upholds the power of the Federal Communications Commission to roll back net neutrality rules, but also upholds the power of states to set their own neutrality laws. Several states have...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, both Democrats, said they will work together to develop a consistent regulatory framework for recreational marijuana use in their respective states. The governors said they believed they could find common ground on issues like age restrictions...

IN COMMENCES ONLINE SPORTS BETTING DraftKings and Rush Street Interactive launched mobile sports wagering platforms throughout INDIANA last week, making the state the eighth to offer legal online sports betting. Sports betting became legal in the state on Sept. 1, but only in-person wagering was authorized...

‘OPPORTUNITY ZONE’ PROGRAM NOT HAVING DESIRED EFFECT IN PA A program included in the 2017 federal tax overhaul, granting a tax break for investing in economically distressed areas designated as “opportunity zones,” was supposed to be a boon for struggling Rust Belt cities....

Pennsylvania’s General Assembly approved legislation last week that will bring the biggest changes to the state’s election laws in decades. The election reform bill, negotiated by Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and leaders of the Republican-controlled House and Senate over the past four months,...

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...

Women Chosen to Lead VA House For First Time The VIRGINIA House of Delegates’ newly elected Democratic majority have chosen Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn (D) as speaker and Delegate Charniele Herring (D) as majority leader. They will be the first women and the first Jewish American and African...

Massachusetts House and Senate Approve HB 4203 The MASSACHUSETTS House and Senate overwhelmingly approve HB 4203 , which would ban Bay State drivers from talking on a handheld device while behind the wheel. It moves to Gov. Charlie Baker (R), who is expected to sign it into law (STATE HOUSE NEWS ...

NC Dems Contest New Congressional Map NORTH CAROLINA’s Republican-led General Assembly approved a new court-ordered congressional district map this month that could cost the party at least two seats in the U.S. House. But Democrats still immediately contested the new map, saying it “fails...

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...