A leading Georgia lawmaker supports a recommendation that state lawmakers “adequately” fund the Georgia Composite Medical Board.
The Georgia Senate Study Committee on Occupational Licensing included the medical board funding guidance in recommendations it compiled for state lawmakers to consider during the upcoming legislative session.
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Since the pandemic began, Michigan has embarked on an “unsustainable” spending spree, says James Hohman, the Director of Fiscal Policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy,
“Michigan lawmakers will spend every dollar that they receive in revenue and state taxes have increased faster than residents’ ability to pay since the pandemic began,” Hohman said in a statement. “This is fundamentally unsustainable and lawmakers should practice restraint. Spending less would protect taxpayers, stabilize the budget and ensure that lawmakers have flexibility to meet unexpected needs.”
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Milwaukee’s new 2% sales tax has spawned a war of words between the city’s mayor and the county executive in Washington County.
It began New Year’s Day when Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann posted a message on social media welcoming people to shop in his county.
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a $13 million settlement with Cox Communications over “disguising price increases” as fees.
Roughly $10 million of that settlement will be paid to the state government, but $3 million will be doled out to Cox customers who “signed up for television services” from 2017 to March 2021, even if they are still using the company’s services.
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When the pandemic hit, state and federal governments upped financial aid to the public with more welfare benefits, stimulus checks and loans.
That aid is still high in some cases, with no signs of changing.
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Former President Donald Trump’s legal team alleged Thursday that federal prosecutors have deliberately violated a stay order in his Washington D.C. case to thwart his presidential bid.
In the defense’s clearest attack yet, they alleged special counsel Jack Smith and his team were trying to interfere with the 2024 presidential election.
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A new report shows the number of police officers shot on the job hit a new high in 2023.
The National Fraternal Order of Police, a national police group with nearly 400,000 members, released the report, which showed 378 officers were shot in the line of duty in 2023, up 14% from the previous year, when 330 were shot.
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The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors elected Supervisor Jack Sellers to be its next chairman.
As Maricopa County is considered the nation’s “second largest voting jurisdiction” and is extremely competitive, Sellers said he’s focused on election operations this year.
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As another Republican congressional delegation arrived in Eagle Pass, Texas, Wednesday to hold another news conference and meet local residents, many Texans living at the border say they are fed up and want Congress to shut down the border.
If Congress continues to use taxpayer dollars to fund policies that facilitate the border crisis, they argue, Congress is complicit in creating it and a national security threat.
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A new lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania asks the state court to scrub Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry from the upcoming primary ballot.
Gene Stilp, a Harrisburg-based activist, filed the legal challenge in Commonwealth Court on Tuesday, claiming Perry – who represents the 10th Congressional District in south-central Pennsylvania – violated the Constitution’s 14th Amendment for his support of 2020 election fraud “conspiracy theories.”
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The Florida Legislature’s research arm released a report documenting issues with some of the Sunshine State’s economic development incentives and programs.
A review of Florida’s entertainment industry incentives by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability showed that 1,409 production companies had reported spending an estimated $1.3 billion on average. Companies also saved around $22 million in sales tax, and 57% of production companies said the incentives affected their decision to work in Florida.
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In 2024, Minnesota has the highest corporate tax rate in the United States at 9.8%.
The National Federation of Independent Business called on state lawmakers to create a tax system that reduces the burden on small business owners.
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A judge in Dane County says absentee ballots in Wisconsin don’t need a full address to be counted this year.
Judge Ryan Nilsestuen ruled local election managers need not reject absentee ballots if the absentee witness’ address is incomplete.
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Michigan State Police have given 1,563 citations and written warnings for the new distracted driving law over about five months.
From July through late November 2023, MSP issued 720 citations and 843 verbal warnings for the law to keep drivers focused on the road to prevent distracted driving and road deaths, according to documents obtained through records requests.
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A majority of Connecticut voters oppose a Democrat-led push to phase out the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the state, according to a new poll.
The poll commissioned by the Specialty Equipment Market Association — a trade association representing aftermarket auto manufacturers and retailers — found that nearly 60% of the voters surveyed opposed proposed legislation to phase out the sale of gas- and diesel-powered cars and trucks over the next decade.
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Embattled U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is facing new federal charges alleging that he worked as an agent for Qatar in exchange for monetary bribes.
Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, was charged with receiving gifts from Qatar in a new superseding indictment made public Tuesday by the U.S. Justice Department that alleges the bribery and extortion scheme continued into 2023, nearly a year longer than initially alleged by federal prosecutors.
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The Republican who led the first investigation into Wisconsin’s 2020 election says she does not trust the effort to count the state’s absentee ballots early because she doesn’t trust election officials in Milwaukee.
State Rep. Janel Brandtken told The Center Square there are serious security concerns with the Monday Count plan moving ahead at the Wisconsin Capitol.
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The Republican primary’s Iowa caucuses are scheduled for January 15, the first chance for voters to determine who they want to represent their party in November’s presidential election.
Iowa’s January caucuses are a regular tradition for a presidential primary season that – this time around – has been unusually enshrouded in indictments, impeachment inquiries and lawsuits heading into election year.
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The best New Year’s resolutions are difficult but achievable, new research from the University of Oregon suggests.
Setting tough and specific goals can help one reduce attention lapses and perform better during tasks, researchers from the school found in a recent study published in the journal Attention, Perception & Psychophysics.
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Four high school female track athletes in Connecticut have stood against the influx of transgender athletes seeking to compete against girls in school sports, likely setting up a defining legal battle of 2024.
The U.S. Court of Appeals rescued the legal challenge, Soule v. Connecticut Association of Schools, in December after a lower court dismissed the case. Now, the case will be heard in federal district court and will be a defining moment in the ongoing debate, which has been ramped up by a string of injuries to female athletes at the hands of transgender athletes in recent months.
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Nashville spent nearly $700,000 out of pocket on four lawsuits challenging state laws this year along with 1,645 hours of the department’s time, according to a new report from The Tennessean.
The $682,949 in out-of-pocket expenses included paying for outside counsel, expert witnesses, filing fees and court reporters, the newspaper said.
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A former Knox County Governmental Library employee was paid more than $100,000 for work time she did not complete while more than $40,000 worth of additional compensation is being questioned over a 10-year span.
Ashley Satterfield was indicted on a charge of official misconduct and theft of over $60,000 before resigning her position on Jan. 27.
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Some Border Patrol agents will now get increased overtime pay thanks to an amendment pushed by Arizona Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, as well as Republicans and Democrats.
The increase put into the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act applies to GS-12 agents who will get 50 percent more of their “hourly rate of basic pay or extra ‘half-time’ pay for any hour(s) worked between 81-100 per pay period.” The boost is in addition to their normal hourly rate, the National Border Patrol Council explained in a statement.
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by T.A. DeFeo A state lawmaker said he plans to push stronger penalties for anyone who makes a swatting call, a hoax 911 call reporting a fake emergency prompting authorities to respond to an unsuspecting house. The move comes after several Georgia lawmakers were swatted during the Christmas holiday. “I plan to work with Senators from both sides of the aisle during the 2024 Legislative Session to introduce legislation strengthening penalties for false reporting and misuse of police forces,” State Sen. Clint Dixon (pictured here), R-Gwinnett, said in a statement. “This issue goes beyond politics — it’s about public safety and preserving the integrity of our institutions,” Dixon added. “We will not stand for these threats of violence and intimidation. Those involved in swatting must be held accountable under the full extent of the law.” Dixon, state Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, State Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, and Lt. Governor Burt Jones, a Republican, were among the lawmakers swatted. “It serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by our law enforcement agencies in distinguishing between genuine threats and false alarms,” Kirkpatrick said in a statement. A push for new legislation addressing swatting…
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With the ongoing migrant border crisis affecting rail traffic, agriculture officials are worried about future rail line closings.
Grains are once again moving into Mexico after a multi-day closure of two important rail lines, but officials say it could take months to recover.
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Beginning January 1, illegal immigrants will be able to qualify for and use Medi-Cal, California’s taxpayer-funded free and low-cost healthcare plan for low-income residents. Experts warn that the state is already facing a healthcare shortage as a new $25 healthcare minimum wage threatens to reduce staffing levels — and doctors who accept Medi-Cal’s low reimbursement rate — even further.
By expanding Medi-Cal eligibility to illegal immigrants between the ages of 26 and 49 under SB 184, an omnibus spending bill, California will add an estimated 700,000 users to the Medi-Cal system at a cost of $2.7 billion per year.
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The Tucson Sector continues to struggle with an influx of migrants as 2024 could mark a new chapter in Arizona’s border crisis.
The sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday that there were 16,800 apprehensions this week alone.
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The new year signals change, specifically new laws which will take effect in Virginia, especially in the health care sector.
The Commonwealth will see a slew of new laws aimed at improving health insurance coverage, recognizing specific out-of-state counseling licenses, streamlining home studies for adoption and changes to the state’s medical marijuana oversite.
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Nonviolent offenders in the Sunshine State could be part of a new incentive program if a new bill becomes law.
Senate Bill 1048 is sponsored by state Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills. It would expand the Florida Department of Corrections’ incentivized prison program, which provides education, life skills, and discharge planning to reduce recidivism.
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One Republican state senator wants more answers from the University of Wisconsin about the porn-producing former chancellor at La Crosse.
Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, the legislature needs to find out just what the UW knew about Joe Gow’s porn videos.
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Rural EMS agencies respond to, and train for, more drug-related calls. But they can’t always get people the help they need.
In northwest Pennsylvania, Elk County EMS has had training sessions to learn more about drug use as a disease and how to use overdose-reversal drug naloxone (also known as Narcan).
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The Colorado Republican Party is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case where the state Supreme Court ruled to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot.
The appeal automatically places the former president on the March 5, 2024, primary ballot when certification takes place on Jan. 5, 2024, due to a stipulation in the Colorado Supreme Court ruling, according to a news release from Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold. However, if the U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear the case or if it affirms the Colorado Supreme Court, Trump would not appear on the ballot.
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Taxpayers in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are going to start paying more for a lot of things in the New Year.
The city and county’s sales tax increases begin Monday.
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A fifth and final audit of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency found the agency “undercounted fraud penalties by at least 49.4%” because it didn’t fix programming issues with the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System.
The audit from the Office of Auditor General Doug Ringler marked two “material conditions” – the most severe rating finding that the agency didn’t protect agency funds.
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Pennsylvania has had a significant year for energy development, with hundreds of millions of federal dollars coming into the commonwealth.
Though the status of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the first mandatory market-based program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States, remains mired in a legal fight, hydrogen hubs and natural gas have kept legislators and the public busy.
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Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in a head-to-head matchup poll in several swing states, including Arizona.
A Morning Consult poll among registered voters shows Trump with 46% and Biden with 42%. Their numbers are the same in Michigan and similar in Wisconsin. But Trump leads Biden by 9% in North Carolina, 6% in Georgia and 3% in Nevada. However, Trump only leads Biden by 2% in Pennsylvania. The margins of error in polls range from 3-5% and asked at least 437 people per state from October to December.
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A new bill has been filed in the Florida Legislature that would increase penalties for criminal migrants who reenter the United States illegally.
Senate Bill 1036 was introduced by state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, ahead of Florida’s legislative session which begins on Jan. 9.
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Tennessee saw a slight increase in Title IX complaints at the 11 state agencies that reported those complaints, according to an audit from the Tennessee Comptroller.
There were 269 complaints from those 11 entities, compared to 265 in fiscal year 2022 and 171 in fiscal 2021.
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The Commonwealth Court recently heard arguments in a case regarding a state worker and the public sector union she says discriminated against her during an employer dispute.
The lawsuit, filed in May 2021 by the Fairness Center, alleges Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, violated its duty of fair representation when it negotiated an unfavorable settlement without the consent of the worker it involved, Penny Gustafson.
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Planned Parenthood is looking to label the possible ballot question on abortion before voters in Wisconsin ever get to see it.
Planned Parenthood reacted to news Republican lawmakers are looking to vote early next year to add a statewide referendum on abortion to the April ballot.
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Georgia saw its population increase by 1.1% from 2022 to 2023, though new numbers show the rate of its increase trailed that of several neighboring states.
According to the latest estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau, Georgia’s population stood at more than 11 million people in 2023, up from 10.9 million in 2022. Census numbers show that the state’s population has grown more than 2.9% since 2020.
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The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is facing a looming budget shortfall, and Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen are hoping to ease operational costs related to national security and counterterrorism efforts.
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As Harvard faces increasing pressure to fire its embattled president, the university’s insular culture and one-sided politics are under the microscope.
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Tennessee’s financial position improved again over the past year, as the state’s combined ending fund balance was $23.9 billion, up $4.8 billion from the year before in the recently released Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.
That’s after the state’s balances increased by $5.4 billion in the year that ended June 30, 2022.
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Of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories that received unaccompanied alien children (UAC) primarily from the southern border, 15 received more than 10,000 since 2015.
Since 2015, the most UACs have been sent to Texas (82,391), California (68,249), and Florida (60,192). Rounding out the top ten were New York (47,982), Maryland (32,324), Virginia (31,391), New Jersey (31,323), Georgia (23,160), North Carolina (21,772), and Tennessee (20,715). Rounding out the top 15 were Louisiana (14,588), Massachusetts (13,877), Alabama (10,760), Illinois (10,755), and Pennsylvania (10,412).
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Tennessee reported an 89.8% graduation rate and an 8.6% dropout rate in a new report with updated numbers from the 2021-22 school year from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office.
The Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability is required to produce the graduation rate numbers annually.
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Ohio plans to give $750 million in taxpayer funds to communities around the state to grow the number of project-ready economic development sites.
The money, included in the state budget signed in July, can be used for one-time local infrastructure costs necessary to prepare sites for future projects.
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The border crisis has hit several milestones, with an estimated 10 million illegal entries since January 2021, increased reports of infectious disease spreading, and a crime wave being reported in states nationwide.
A county executive from Long Island, New York, told U.S. House Homeland Security Subcommittee members at a hearing held earlier this month that illegal foreign nationals released into the U.S. by the Biden administration are dealing drugs, stealing cars, burglarizing and committing violent crimes.
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California is projected to lose four congressional seats after the 2030 Census, with Texas positioned to gain four and Florida to gain three, says the American Redistricting Project based on this week’s new Census data.
According to Thad Kousser, an expert in California and national politics and a professor of political science at UC San Diego, a reduction in California’s congressional delegation could have mixed effects.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered a new record number of illegal border crossers in November as the agency pleaded for help from Congress.
Total illegal border crossers encountered along the southwest border in November were 242,418. The majority of apprehensions, 191,113, occurred between ports of entry.
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