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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 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: 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: 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: Half of States Use Commissions for Redistricting

    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...
  • Blog Post: More Than Half of States Allow Marijuana Use

    Twenty-nine states have passed laws broadly legalizing the use of marijuana. Twenty of those states allow the use of the drug for medical purposes, such as pain relief or the control of nausea. Nine states have legalized recreational use of marijuana by those over the age of 21 in addition to medical...
  • Blog Post: More States Considering ACA Medicaid Expansion

    Thirty-two states have expanded Medicaid in accordance with the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act but letting states decide whether or not to implement the Medicaid expansion provided for by the federal law. A budget proposal that includes Medicaid expansion has also...
  • Blog Post: Half of States Have Considered Internet Privacy Bills in 2017-18

    At least 27 states have considered but only two, Oregon and Virginia, have passed legislation dealing with internet privacy in the current session, according to information compiled from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net. Many of the measures were introduced last...
  • Blog Post: Will State Elections Bring Statehouses Closer to Balance?

    Lauren Arthur is not a household word, except perhaps in the neighborhood of suburban Kansas City, Missouri, where she lives. But Arthur, who on June 5 won a special election to fill a vacancy in the Missouri state senate, epitomizes the high hopes of the Democratic Party in this year’s midterm...
  • 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: Democrats Seem Poised for State Election Gains

    The pendulum of politics that in many states has swung Republican for the last eight years appears to be heading in a Democratic direction in the Nov. 6 midterm elections. Nonpartisan analysts and pollsters give Democrats a solid chance to win nine to 15 legislative chambers and as many as 11 governorships...
  • Blog Post: Democrats Gain in State Elections

    Buoyed by the votes of suburban women and independents, Democrats gained hard-won ground in the nation’s statehouses in Tuesday’s midterm election. Democrats won seven governorships and six legislative chambers previously held by Republicans. They also took outright control of...
  • Blog Post: More States Under Unified One-Party Control in 2019

    As a result of the November elections, in 2019 Republicans will control both the legislature and the governor’s office in 23 states, three less than the number of states under unified GOP control this year. Democrats will control the legislative and executive branch in 14 states, twice as many...