State News

Kentucky State Rep. Charles Booker called on his colleagues in the state legislature Wednesday to pass House Bill 6, a proposed constitutional amendment that could restore the voting rights of tens of thousands of ex-felons who have completed their sentences.... Read More

WASHINGTON - States will now have the ability to convert part of their Medicaid funding into a block grant under a new program announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday. According to Seema Verma, administrator of... Read More

ALBANY, N.Y. — A pair of New York lawmakers want to lower the legal limit for drivers’ blood alcohol content. Currently, the legal driving blood alcohol limit .08, reflecting the percentage of alcohol, by volume, in the blood. But Assemblyman... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The chairman on an Ohio legislative committee Wednesday told a packed room that he wouldn’t hear spoken testimony on a bill that most in the audience believe is intended to stifle protest. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the matter ended... Read More

As the longest economic expansion in American history continued last year, state governments increased salaries for teachers and other public employees, authorized new construction projects and — recognizing good times won’t last forever — added to reserve funds. Cash reserves... Read More

ATLANTA — Three federal judges hearing a legal challenge to a Florida measure allowing felons to vote asked tough questions of the attorney for Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, repeatedly asking about the fairness of a subsequent bill that levied... Read More

A divided federal appeals court overturned election rules in Arizona Monday on the grounds they discriminate against black, Latino and Native American voters. In a 7-4 ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an Arizona requirement that... Read More

WASHINGTON - The story is a familiar one if you've been reading or talking about battleground and swing states this election cycle. Thanks to a combination of Donald Trump’s razor-thin wins and Hillary Clinton's narrow losses in 2016, and the... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Speaking before the U.S. Conference of Mayors Wednesday, former New York City mayor and current Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg promised local leaders will always have "a seat at the table" if he is elected president. Particularly when... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court removed legal barriers to sports betting, California voters could be asked in November to join 14 other states in allowing legal wagers on athletic contests, creating a lucrative industry worth... Read More

CHICAGO — Since recreational weed went on sale in Illinois three weeks ago, long lines have formed outside dispensaries, stores have established buying limits, and some have run out of product. All that was expected, based on what’s happened as... Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court will review a Philadelphia federal judge’s decision last year to block new Trump administration rules that would have let almost any employer deny female workers no-cost birth control coverage by citing religious and moral objections. In... Read More

RICHMOND, Va — Thousands of mostly white men — many decked out in camouflage and armed with assault-style rifles — packed Richmond’s streets Monday, circling the gun-free Capitol Square, where thousands more waved signs and listened to speeches, all wanting... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday will wade into a thorny battle over school-choice programs and state aid for religious schools as it weighs a request from three Montana families to allow a state scholarship program to fund their... Read More

LOS ANGELES — In a new twist to one of the most high-profile — and longest — beach access battles in California, Hollister Ranch sued state officials Thursday over a new law designed to open its exclusive coastline to the... Read More

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court confirmed the status quo for ex-felons in Florida, ruling Thursday they must pay all fines, fees and restitution before their right to vote is restored under Amendment 4. In an advisory opinion following... Read More

WASHINGTON - Two months ago, Cincinnati City Councilmember P.G. Sittenfeld told attendees at the NewDEAL Leaders Conference in Washington that he had a plan to remove a significant barrier to housing affordability in his city. This week, he and his... Read More

Virginia Delegate Marcia Price has introduced legislation to create an independent redistricting commission to draw new legislative lines after the 2020 census. Delegate Price, whose district includes parts of the cities of Hampton and Newport News, said during a press... Read More

PHILADELPHIA — Early voting is coming to Pennsylvania in time for the presidential election. Sort of. Under a new law, people will have the option of requesting and submitting an absentee ballot during one in-person visit to county elections offices,... Read More

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week declared the burgeoning space industry is one of her nine economic growth sectors for the state. “New Mexico is truly breaking barriers in the space industry,” the governor said as she opened... Read More

WASHINGTON - "The first thing you have to understand about Florida is, it's a complex state," the political operative said. "Trump won by just 1.2 percentage points," she said, speaking on background as she assessed the 2016 presidential race. "That's... Read More

The New York State Senate on Thursday approved a measure that would automatically register state residents to vote when they file applications at the Departments of Health or Motor Vehicles. The bill, which passed by a 40-20 vote, builds on... Read More

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a voter challenge to a law that allowed the state Republican Party to list only President Donald Trump on GOP primary ballots. In a case that threatened to disrupt next week’s... Read More

A state appeals court in Wisconsin said this week it intends to stay out of a closely watched legal dispute over the planned purging of up to 209,000 from voter rolls in the battleground state. The District 4 Appeals Court,... Read More

SAN DIEGO — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Wednesday a special election will not be called to fill the congressional seat that will be vacated when Rep. Duncan Hunter resigns from office Monday. “The Governor’s Office received Rep. Hunter’s resignation... Read More

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday that the state is waiving testing fees for residents seeking to earn a GED. The fee, which is $120 for all four courses required to get a GED in Kentucky, has long been seen... Read More

Two Democrats and one Republican have failed to qualify for certification to appear on ballots in the 2020 Ohio presidential primary election. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Tuesday that entrepreneur Andrew Yang and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney... Read More

ORLANDO, Fla. — The thousands of inmates at the federal prison complex in Sumter County, Fla. — including serial child molester Larry Nassar and former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, serving time on corruption and fraud charges — may not seem... Read More

Let's face it, for all the attention paid the early caucus and primary states, no one seriously expects the voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina to have the final say on who is ultimately chosen to be... Read More

Shoshanah Bewlay, former chief legal officer at the New York State Office of Information Technology Services, has been selected as the new executive director of the state's Committee on Open Government. The committee, housed in the Department of State, oversees... Read More