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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...

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...

Last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a 2013 Texas law requiring doctors and clinics that perform abortions to meet hospital-like standards resulted in the almost immediate effective invalidation of similar laws facing legal challenge in three other states. The same could happen in...

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...

FL PASSES TERM LIMITS FOR JUDGES: The FLORIDA House narrowly approved legislation - the first of its kind in the nation - limiting the terms of judges and Supreme Court justices in the state to 12 years. HJR 1 still has to pass the Senate and be approved by 60 percent of the state’s voters before...

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...

In response to the $10,000 cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) included in the federal tax overhaul, lawmakers in high-tax states like California are considering allowing taxpayers to make charitable contributions to state funds in the amount of their state income tax obligations...

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...

In November voters in Arkansas and North Carolina, two states where voter ID laws have been struck down by the courts, will decide whether such requirements will be enshrined into their respective constitutions. And voters in Montana will decide whether to make it a crime for anyone other than a mail...

GA GOV EXTENDS VOTER REGISTRATION IN FOUR COUNTIES HIT BY HURRICANE MICHAEL GEORGIA Gov. Nathan Deal (R) issued an executive order last week extending the state’s Oct. 9 voter registration deadline for four counties where Hurricane Michael forced election office closures. Under the order, Clay...

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...

It’s been 9 1/2 years since the last U.S. recession - the second-longest period between economic downturns on record. The economy still appears to be going strong. But there are signs trouble may not be far off. The good news for states is that most seem to be reasonably well prepared for it. ...

AK Supreme Court Rules Local Gender Ordinance The ARKANSAS Supreme Court rules that the city of FAYETTEVILLE can’t enforce an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The court said it has already ruled that the measure violates a state law aimed at preventing...

US Supreme Court Declines The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear a challenge to a NEW JERSEY law that bans the use of so-called “conversion therapy,” which seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation, on minors (NJ.COM). NJ Governor Signs AB 1504 NEW JERSEY Gov. Phil Murphy...

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...

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...

GOP STRATEGIST’S HARD DRIVES LINKED TO NC GERRYMANDERING CASE Court documents filed in NORTH CAROLINA by Common Cause allege that computer drives belonging to recently deceased GOP strategist Thomas Hofeller show North Carolina Republicans lied to a federal court when they said state legislative...

SCOTUS UPHOLDS REDRAWN LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS IN VA In a 5-4 decision, with liberal justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan joining conservative justices Thomas and Gorsuch, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a challenge by VIRGINIA House Republicans to districts redrawn under court supervision on technical...

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...

At the start of this year, many observers believed states might be lining up to duplicate California’s tough new data privacy law, set to go into effect next year. That rush didn’t quite materialize, but that doesn’t mean lawmakers completely whiffed on data protection. According...

DESANTIS ORDERS PROBE INTO FL SEX TRAFFICKING CASE FLORIDA Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last week ordered a state criminal probe into the actions of Palm Beach sheriff Ric Bradshaw and former Palm Beach state attorney Barry Krischer for their handling of the 2008 underage sex trafficking case involving millionaire...

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...

This year more than 70 state and local governments have been targeted by hackers that have locked up their computer systems and demanded ransoms to release them. A majority of states have taken legislative action in recent years to protect data held by government agencies. But the current ransomware...

As of October 17, 68 lawsuits had been initiated against the Trump administration via a complaint or petition filed by multiple states, according to data compiled by Dr. Paul Nolette, an associate professor of political science at Marquette University, for the website AttorneysGeneral.org . Democrat...

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...