The Florida House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education discussed workforce incentives, teacher incentives and apprenticeship programs Tuesday night.
Kevin O’Farrell, Chancellor of the Division Career and Adult Education at the Florida Department of Education provided the subcommittee with an update and a presentation on funding programs across Florida.
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The Michigan House will be deadlocked 54-54 after two Democratic House members won local mayoral races.
After Reps. Lori Stone of Warren and Kevin Coleman of Westland won their respective mayoral races, House Democrats will still craft legislative agendas but won’t have the votes required to enact legislation without Republican votes until a special session is called to fill those seats.
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Days after the Michigan House and Senate passed a plan for the state to use 100% clean energy by 2040, Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, said a goal of reaching 100% green energy by 2040 is “simply too late.”
“The problem is this legislation [SB271] is going to be billed as 100% clean energy, and that’s just false,” Wegela said in a statement. “This legislation had carveout exceptions for natural gas, carbon capture and even a trash incinerator. None of these are carbon free or clean, and all of them disproportionately impact communities of lower income and communities of color. 100% green energy by 2040 is simply too late. We need a Green New Deal.”
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Convictions for driving past school bus stop arms in Pennsylvania increased 47% in 2022, according to state data.
Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary for Driver and Vehicle Services Kara Templeton said that 511 residents faced penalties for violating the law, up from 348 in 2021. During the agency’s Oct. 18 event to raise awareness for school transportation safety, she said law enforcement and bus drivers witnessed 164 incidents in just one day.
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State education leaders released their 2024 legislative priorities, a list they say would increase funding for public schools in Georgia, help attract teachers and keep students safe.
However, the state’s association of teachers is raising some concerns about the list.
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Four Salt Lake County residents face accusations of participating in the purchase of or attempted purchase of many firearms in Utah and attempting to supplying them to Mexico.
Jose Manuel Barbosa Torres, 36, of West Valley City, Utah; Armando Figueroa Jr., 20, of Magna, Utah; Cecilio Luis Arriaga, 27, of West Valley City; and Iliana Dennis, 20, of West Valley City, were charged in a sealed indictment last month, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
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A recent federal report shows food insecurity is on the rise in the U.S. while some organizations are pushing to increase the amount for food stamp benefits for families.
The Farm Bill that currently funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has ended, leaving negotiations to continue. SNAP was formerly known as the food stamp program.
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The Florida Legislature’s special session began Monday, with lawmakers aiming to work through several issues facing the state.
Florida lawmakers will be tackling a series of bills ranging from disaster relief to the expansion of school vouchers for children with disabilities. Other bills could impose sanctions on businesses involved with Iran.
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Attorney General Kris Mayes wants to propose red flag laws, but Republican lawmakers say it will not stand a chance in the Legislature.
The laws Mayes wants would be targeted toward those who would be determined to be a risk to the safety of schools, according to Arizona’s Family. The report said that Mayes would be proposing legislation that would also allow firearms belonging to adults could be targeted if there is evidence that a minor in their household poses a risk of misusing those weapons.
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On the heels of $22 million in federal cash for energy efficiency projects, Pennsylvania will get another $4 million more.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that $3.6 million will support another 30 projects for efficiency upgrades and renewable energy projects “to lower energy costs, generate new income, and strengthen the resiliency of their operations in rural Pennsylvania.”
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The former head of the Wisconsin Assembly’s elections committee is, once again, blasting Speaker Robin Vos for his handling of the state’s elections administrator.
State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, on Monday criticized Vos despite his decision last week to move forward with articles of impeachment against Meagan Wolfe.
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With early in-person voting concluded, Ohioans head to the polls Tuesday to decide on constitutional amendments on reproductive rights and marijuana legalization.
Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
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As municipalities across the United States consider acquiring and converting parking lots into homeless encampments with social services, some oppose the programs, citing high costs and poor safety, while others promote them as better than sidewalk encampments and a stopgap measure as more overall housing is built.
In California, whose homelessness programs serviced 315,487 different individuals in 2022, faces a 4.5 million home shortage and is adopting alternative housing options that states and local governments across the country are now considering and implementing on their own. One such program is the conversion of parking lots to homeless housing options, whether so-called “safe sleeping sites” where homeless can park their cars or set up tents and receive services, or more involved accommodations such as city-provided RVs.
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Tennessee ultimately retained 898 statewide due to its new third-grade reading retention law.
Less than 40% of third-graders statewide scored high enough on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program test to be promoted to fourth grade while many of the others used the various pathways to advance allowed by the state.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis’ police recruitment program, launched last year, has now drawn police officers from all 50 states and two U.S. territories to relocate to Florida.
Recruits have either moved to Florida or joined the profession since Florida launched its Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program last year. This year, the legislature allocated additional funding to expand and continue the program.
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Overcrowding at the Fulton County jail costs taxpayers millions of dollars on top of making for a dangerous environment.
“There’s a fiscal impact of the overcrowding,” Amelia Joiner, chief counsel to Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat, told the Fulton County Jail Subcommittee. “It’s caused an increase in medical costs, food costs; we’ve had to contract and hire supplemental security. Our staff has to spend more of their off time supporting the jail and making sure that it is as safe as we can have it.”
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Anyone in Ohio can now get up to $3,000 in taxpayer funds to pay for a workforce training or tech-focused credential.
The grants, which reimburse training providers like two-year and four-year colleges and universities, began for only low-income, partially employed or unemployed people in the state and has been expanded to everyone today.
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The issue of abortion has loomed large in this year’s General Assembly general election, as Virginia is the only state in the South not to impose additional restrictions on abortion after the release of the Dobbs decision.
As Virginia has a chance of a Republican trifecta after Nov. 7, Democrats this election season have captured national attention as they fight to preserve abortion freedoms in the state.
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A Tennessee committee is scheduled to begin its review on the state’s use of federal funding for K-12 education at 2 p.m. on Monday with presentations from Tennessee’s Office of Research and Educational Accountability and the state’s Fiscal Review office.
The Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding is scheduled to hear from education and financial experts during two weeks of committee meetings as state leaders evaluate the possibility of rejecting federal education funding coming to Tennessee.
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President Joe Biden has signed an executive order requiring that Artificial Intelligence technology advance “equity and civil rights.”
Biden signed the order this week, putting more regulatory guidance in place for A.I., a rapidly developing technology that some experts warn could be used for harm for everyday Americans.
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The plan that would add protections for election workers in Wisconsin, including a felony charge for anyone who assaults a poll worker, is bringing Republicans and Democrats together.
The Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections held a hearing on a series of election bills, including AB 577 that would expand protection for frontline election workers throughout the state.
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After a record $82 billion budget that nearly depleted a $9 billion surplus, two bills aim to make Michigan’s budgeting process more transparent.
Reps. Tom Kuhn, R-Troy and Donni Steele, R-Orion Township, introduced House Bills 5296 and 5297 that aim to require that lawmakers can’t change existing laws through an appropriations bill.
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Pennsylvania’s rainy day fund will receive a big deposit after lawmakers settled a dispute with the governor’s administration this week over the definition of “surplus.”
State Treasurer Stacy Garrity said the $898 million contribution into the account, which helps agencies and programs withstand economic downturns, will keep the government operational for 48 days before running out of money – 3.5 days above the national median.
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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is allocating $2.3 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act in order to support state elections ahead of 2024.
In addition, the governor issued three Executive Orders pertaining to elections on Thursday. One will allow state employees to take time off as paid leave in order to be poll workers, one prompting “state agencies to provide voter registration information and assistance” to Arizonans, and another allowing state government buildings to be used as voting locations.
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Georgia lawmakers are weighing whether the state should act to legislate or regulate artificial intelligence, following similar actions in other states and at the federal level.
“Artificial Intelligence is a pretty hot buzzword these days, and being a technology person by background, sometimes we put these big words out there, and people don’t really understand what they mean,” state Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, said during a joint meeting of the Senate Committees on Public Safety and Science and Technology.
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The Americans for Prosperity Foundation filed a court action Tuesday against the Biden administration, claiming they have failed to respond properly to a request for information on oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The Trump administration approved the oil and drilling leases in January 2021, shortly before the former president left office. The Biden administration canceled them last month, citing concerns about climate change.
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The rate of infants dying in the U.S. increased for the first time in two decades, raising concerns about infant and maternal health across the country.
The infant mortality rate for the United States rose 3% from 2021 to 2022, the first year-to-year increase in the rate since 2001 to 2002, according to figures the National Center for Health Statistics released Wednesday. The provisional report does not explain why infant deaths increased and said more research was needed.
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There is a new round of criticism for Gov. Tony Evers for his latest round of federal coronavirus spending.
On Thursday, the governor announced plans to spend $36 million on a list of projects.
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Commonwealth Court struck down Pennsylvania’s entry into an emissions regulatory program Wednesday, agreeing with critics that it’s an unconstitutional tax.
The decision delivers a blow to supporters of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – a multi-state program that charges power generators for the pollution they produce – who had hoped Pennsylvania might join the rest of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast in the agreement.
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Michigan lawmakers approved a spending bill that aims to pay off $114 million of school debt in five districts.
House Bill 4292 is a supplemental bill aiming to pay $42 million of debt for Ypsilanti Community Schools, $31 million for Muskegon Heights School District, $18 million for Pontiac City School District, $12 million for the former Inkster School District and $10 million for Benton Harbor Area Schools.
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As daylight saving time nears an end, some Ohio lawmakers aren’t ready to let it go.
The Ohio House State and Local Government Committee passed a resolution that calls on Congress to make the transition to longer periods of sunshine permanent.
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Former President Donald Trump said he would end the funding for homeless immigrants in hotels if elected president.
“Under crooked Joe Biden, the U.S. government has spent nearly $1 billion to house illegal aliens and foreign migrants in expensive, luxury hotels courtesy of you, the American taxpayer, and they want to spend billions and billions more,” Trump said in a video message posted on his social media platform. “In many states, we are running out of hotel space because the rooms are all booked up with illegal aliens living in a very large way on the American taxpayers’ dime.”
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U.S. private employers grew their payrolls by 113,000 workers in October versus September’s 89,000 new hires, a month-over increase of 21%, according to the October ADP National Employment Report, a collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.
“No single industry dominated hiring this month, and big post-pandemic pay increases seem to be behind us,” said Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, said in a statement. “In all, October’s numbers paint a well-rounded jobs picture. And while the labor market has slowed, it’s still enough to support strong consumer spending.”
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A new report says Wisconsin is outpacing the rest of the country when it comes to smaller families.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum is out with a new report that says Wisconsin families have shrunk faster than other states for about the last 50 years.
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The Michigan Senate passed financial disclosure bills voters approved in November 2022 through Proposal 1 to expose conflicts of interest but one lawmaker says the rules are all “smoke and mirrors.”
Senate Bills 613, 614, 615, and 616 aim to require lawmakers and candidates for public office to disclose assets and income above certain thresholds. The bills seek to require candidates and officeholders to disclose their spouse’s employment, including their status as a registered lobbyist.
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A coalition of 19 attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of a local Maryland board of education’s policy that does not allow parents to opt their children out of LGBTQ+ inclusive texts. The lawsuit was filed by three families against the Montgomery County Board of Education, with two of the three families suing on behalf of policies for their second grade children, while the third did not list the grade level of its elementary school children. The parents, who are Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox, filed their lawsuit on religious freedom grounds.
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A proposed long-term care staffing rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would not improve care but would force nursing homes to close, 14 Republican governors said in a letter to CMS.
The rule changes would require long-term care facilities to conduct a facility assessment that includes a staffing plan within 60 days of the rule’s implementation. The second phase of the rule mandates a registered nurse must be onsite 24 hours a day.
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Wisconsin’s governor is criticizing Republican lawmakers for not following science and what he is calling an “antipathy” toward LGBTQ people.
The governor said in an interview with WisEeye he will veto the Republican-backed plan to ban sex change operations and hormone therapy for children in Wisconsin.
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The Walt Disney Company responded Monday to the state of Florida’s motion to get its lawsuit dismissed over what the company says is a violation of its free speech rights.
The court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida says that Gov. Ron DeSantis “and his allies are engaged in an ongoing constitutional mutiny,” adding that the state openly rejects the First Amendment rule that a state cannot use official powers to punish opposing political views.
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The state House agreed Tuesday to boost support of Pennsylvania’s four state-related universities in exchange for a tuition freeze in the 2024-25 academic year.
Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, and Lincoln University will receive $640 million more from the state after months of legislative wrangling.
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People with opioid addictions in Ohio could receive treatment without leaving their homes.
A bill in the Ohio House would have the state spend $1.5 million over the next two years to fund a pilot program for remote treatment of opioid use disorder.
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Nine governors are asking the National Collegiate Athletics Association to rewrite its policy on transgender participation in sports, saying it is unfair to female athletes.
The NCAA updated a 2010 policy last year that requires transgender females to show they have undergone a year of testosterone suppression treatment. Testosterone levels are also checked before competitions.
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The head of Wisconsin’s economic development office isn’t worried about the state’s big businesses and artificial intelligence. She is worried about the number of small businesses which may not be prepared.
Gov. Evers Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence held its first meeting Monday.
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As an Ohio House committee begins to review occupational licenses, a Columbus-based policy group believes many can be modified or eliminated.
In the last four years, the state has eliminated or reduced the requirements for 55 licenses that follow recommendations from The Buckeye Institute.
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A recent report says Pennsylvania’s distracted driving laws lag behind other states when it comes to preventing crashes.
And, there’s at least one proposal on the table that could improve that ranking and make roads safer.
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Nashville’s Metro Council plans to continue to keep close tabs on East Bank public spending with a new ad hoc East Bank Committee.
The group will build on work done last council term by Metro Nashville’s East Bank Stadium Committee, then led by at-large Council Member Bob Mendes, who is now part of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s development team.
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The state of Florida has placed another company, Morningstar-Sustainalytics, on its list of “Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel.” The company, which rejects the accusation, has 90 days to respond or be subjected to Florida’s divestment and contract prohibitions.
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Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol say students need free speech protections on University of Wisconsin campuses.
The Assembly Committee on Colleges and University held a public hearing on a pair of plans Republicans say will not only make sure the Universities of Wisconsin are respecting the First Amendment but will also open the campus to more students.
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Florida’s Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book has filed three pro-abortion bills for the 2024 legislative season.
Senate Bill 256 focuses on crisis pregnancy centers – clinics that provide a variety of reproductive services for free to the community, including prenatal care and anti-abortion counseling. The clinics are not required to be licensed or inspected and Book, D-Plantation, wants regulation.
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by Bethany Blankley More than 10 million people have been reported illegally entering the United States since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the greatest number in history and of any administration. They total more than the individual populations of 41 states. The number of people illegally entering the country surged after Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas halted many preexisting border security policies, advanced sweeping parole and other policies to release the greatest number of illegal foreign nationals into the country, encouraged people from all over the world to use a phone app to enter the U.S., and facilitated U.S. entry application processes in foreign countries, among others. Official U.S. Customs and Border Protection data includes 3,201,144 apprehensions in fiscal 2023; 2,766,582 in fiscal 2022; 1,956,519 in fiscal 2021; and 471,954 in the nine months Biden was in office in fiscal 2020. CBP’s fiscal year is from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. Combined, official apprehensions total 8,396,199. They exclude gotaway data, which CBP does not report publicly. The Center Square has been reporting preliminary gotaway data solely reported by Border Patrol agents at the southwest border. The information is obtained from a Border Patrol agent…
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