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  • Blog Post: States Still Divesting from Iran

    Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have laws on the books prohibiting at least some state pension or retirement funds from investing in companies that do a certain amount of business in Iran. Ten of those states also have laws on the books prohibiting at least some government contracts with...
  • Blog Post: Majority of States Have Good Samaritan Laws

    States have enacted numerous laws to combat the epidemic of opioid-related deaths plaguing much of the United States. Most common are so-called “Good Samaritan” laws that generally give a person civil or criminal immunity for seeking help for someone who has overdosed. Most require the caller...
  • Blog Post: Few States Focusing On Self-Driving Vehicles

    Since 2011, when Nevada became the first state to authorize the operation of self-driving cars, five other states -- California, Florida, Michigan, North Dakota and Tennessee -- have enacted legislation, and Arizona’s governor has issued an executive order, pertaining to such vehicles, according...
  • Blog Post: More States Oppose Obama Immigration Policy Than Support

    Texas and twenty-five other states have filed suit to block President Obama’s executive actions in November shielding undocumented immigrants from deportation for three years, according to the Pew Research Center. Twelve states have filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief in...
  • Blog Post: Majority of States Looking at Daily Fantasy Sports

    Thirty-three states have considered legislation related to daily fantasy sports this year, according to LegalSportsReport.com and LexisNexis State Net legislative data. DFS bills have been passed in four states, including Virginia, which enacted two. DFS measures have also failed in 13 states, but DFS...
  • Blog Post: Majority of States Have Minimum Wage Higher Than Federal Standard

    As of last month, 29 states had a minimum wage that was higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Two of those states, California and New York, have also passed laws that will gradually raise their minimum wages to $15 per hour...
  • Blog Post: Texas et al Win Challenge To Obama Immigration Policy

    Twenty-five states joined Texas in challenging President Obama’s executive actions on immigration policy in November 2014, expanding temporary relief from deportation for undocumented immigrants. Fifteen states also filed amicus, or “friend of the court,” briefs supporting those executive...
  • Blog Post: Most States Allow Transportation Network Companies

    Thirty-seven states have passed laws regulating transportation network companies (TNCs), according to the R Street Institute and LexisNexis State Net’s legislative tracking database. The most recent addition to that group is Delaware, where Gov. Jack Markell (D) signed SB 262 last week. TNC legislation...
  • Blog Post: Politics In Brief - October 2 2017

    DHS CONTACTS STATES ABOUT 2016 ELECTION HACKING The Department of Homeland Security directly notified election officials in 21 states last month that they had been targeted by hackers connected to the Russian government during the 2016 election campaign. The states that confirmed they were targeted...
  • Blog Post: More Familiar Issues Likely to Draw State Lawmakers’ Attention in 2018

    As SNCJ ’s Rich Ehisen reported last week, some of the issues likely to receive the most attention from state lawmakers next year are those that are already familiar, such as health care, the opioid epidemic and sexual harassment. Here are several more issues that generally fall in that same category...
  • Blog Post: Most States Taking Action on Cybersecurity

    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...
  • Blog Post: 2018: A Year of Living Dangerously

    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...
  • Blog Post: More State Cybersecurity Regulation Ahead for Financial Services Industry?

    Developments in 2017, including the highly publicized Equifax data breach and adoption of cybersecurity requirements for insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions by New York’s Department of Financial Services, have the financial services industry bracing for more state cybersecurity...
  • Blog Post: Legislative Efforts to Arm Teachers Bog Down in States in 2018

    At least 20 bills dealing with the arming of teachers and other school employees have been introduced in 12 states since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, according to legislative information from the National Conference of State Legislatures...
  • Blog Post: Governors in Brief - July 16 2018

    DUCEY DECRIES ‘RECKLESS’ CALLS TO ABOLISH ICE In an op-ed in USA Today last week, ARIZONA Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said calls from a growing number of Democratic officials to abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were “reckless” and “misguided.”...
  • Blog Post: Baker Remains Most Popular Governor

    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...
  • Blog Post: More Democratic Women Candidates Than Republican Ones in Most States

    Of the 3,388 women running for legislative office in 46 states this year, 70 percent are Democrats. In 19 of those states, there are about twice as many Democratic female candidates as Republican ones. In 15 states, there are three times more. In five, there are four times more. In Alabama there are...
  • Blog Post: States Taking Action to Ensure Complete 2020 Census Count

    Although the decennial census is a federal responsibility, with states having so much to gain from an accurate tally, 30 have established committees - either through legislation or executive order - to ensure their populations are fully counted, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures...
  • Blog Post: Over Half of States Have Passed Private-Sector Data Security Laws

    As of the start of this year, at least 25 states had passed laws requiring businesses that handle personal data to implement security procedures to protect that information from unauthorized access, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. LexisNexis State Net’s legislative tracking...
  • Blog Post: Many States Looking at Occupational Licensing Reciprocity

    At least 28 states have considered legislation this session addressing reciprocity with other states in occupational licensing, according to LexisNexis State Net’s legislative tracking system . Such measures have been enacted in half of those states, including Arizona, where Gov. Doug Ducey (R...