The union that represents school bus drivers agreed to return the money it deducted from the paycheck of a northeast Ohio driver to settle a lawsuit.
The Ohio Association of Public School Employees agreed David Krizon acknowledged quitting the union and would give the money back it collected after he quit in a settlement, according to The Buckeye Institute.
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Republicans currently hold a 49-46 majority in the Virginia House, and the Nov. 7, 2023, election will determine control of the state legislature and Virginia’s trifecta status. Virginia’s trifecta status changed from Democratic to divided as a result of the 2021 elections. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) was elected to succeed term-limited incumbent Ralph Northam (D). Democrats also lost control of the Virginia House. If Republicans maintain control of the House and win the Senate, Virginia would become a Republican trifecta. If Democrats win control of the House or maintain control of the Senate, Virginia would remain a divided government.
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For more than a decade, policymakers in Harrisburg – and the circle of education influencers that they attract – have struggled to define equity for public school students.
Now, with a court mandate baring down, the state must reimagine the free and fair public education system promised in its Constitution – the guarantee envisioned by revolutionary elected officials like Thaddeus Stevens, whose influence still looms large in the halls of the Capitol.
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Minnesota State Auditor General Julie Blaha released the 2022 asset forfeiture report showing a 35% drop in completed forfeitures over the past five years.
“The decrease over the past five years is dramatic,” Blaha said in a statement.
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Connecticut will spend $25 million to replace its aging voting machines ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Gov. Ned Lamont said the State Bond Commission will vote at its Oct. 6 meeting to approve the borrowing to purchase new ballot-counting tabulators for use in elections and primaries statewide. He said the current voting machines are over 17 years old and approaching the end of their useful life.
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Republican Kari Lake is reportedly going to announce her run for United States Senate in Arizona on Oct. 10, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Shortly after the report, a media advisory was sent out from Lake’s team saying the former gubernatorial nominee is “expected to make an announcement about her future alongside thousands of Arizonans” with a rally in the Phoenix area.
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Total encounters reported at both the northern and southwest land borders in August was 304,162, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. It is the greatest total number of illegal entries of any month in recorded U.S. history, according to CBP data.
Total encounter data excludes nearly 30,000 gotaways at the southwest border reported by Border Patrol agents last month. It excludes gotaways reported by Office of Field Operations agents at the southwest border and all gotaway data from the northern border.
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A privately funded passenger rail line that launched last week between Miami and Orlando holds great promise, Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation told The Center Square.
“It shows what can really be done if you approach it as a true business venture,” said Poole, the foundation’s director of transportation policy.
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A group called on the Democrat-dominated Michigan Legislature to boost electric vehicle incentives so the state can reach 2 million registered statewide by 2030.
Illinois leads the Midwest race to register EVs with nearly 80,000 EVs, while Minnesota has 41,417 and Michigan has 34,380. For Michigan to reach its EV goal, it must register 280,803 EVs each year until mid-2030, which would require registering 23,400 EVs every month for seven years.
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Pennsylvania higher education is crucial, costly and confusing.
So said state policymakers during a recent meeting with a trio of college leaders invited to share thoughts about the high cost of a degree and how the vision for higher education should look.
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A day after Ford Motor Co. said it would pause construction on its $3.5 billion Marshall electric vehicle battery plant subsidized by $1.7 billion, the state of Michigan allocated the site another $65 million.
The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $65 million Strategic Site Readiness Program Grant to the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance for land acquisition, site studies and water and wastewater upgrades.
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The Pennsylvania Treasury’s “dramatic” revenue gains may soon come to an end, according to a recent independent analysis.
Before 2019, investing unused state funds netted the treasury between $8 million to $72 million in revenue. As an analysis from the Independent Fiscal Office noted, revenue was only $9 million in fiscal year 2020-21.
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has recently touted rising employment rates and general fund surpluses, causing some to wonder how much influence governors have over a state’s economy.
A regional economist from the University of Virginia argues that governors have less impact than people might think.
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A recent report from Florida TaxWatch proposes new measures to help combat storm water runoff and reduce flooding through the use of green infrastructure.
Over the past few years, the Sunshine State has had its fair share of severe storms, as recently as August, when Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend region of the state, causing widespread flooding to coastal towns.
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Arizona state Rep. Barbara Parker, R-Mesa, is opposing the city of Mesa’s plan to buy a hotel and use it for the homeless, a growing trend in the state.
Mesa is eyeing the purchase of the Grand Hotel on 6733 E. Main Street, in order to use the 70-room building for it’s “temporary housing program” known as Off the Streets, according to the city website.
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A group of 20 attorneys general want the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a lower court’s restrictions on local governments enforcing homeless camping bans.
In their petition regarding Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, the attorneys general wrote that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was wrong to prohibit state and local governments from enforcing laws that bar public spaces from being used as homeless encampments.
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Connecticut lawmakers are calling for an investigation and changes in state election laws following allegations of absentee ballot fraud in a mayoral election.
Following the Sept. 12 primary, John Gomes, a Democrat who challenged incumbent Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, released video footage showing a woman depositing absentee ballots into a dropbox a week before the election. Gomes lost to Ganim by 251 mail-in or absentee votes despite beating him at the polls, according to the election results.
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The governor’s administration says the state should encourage the responsible use of artificial intelligence throughout its agencies, rather than turn a blind eye to its capabilities.
Thus, a new executive order was born, Gov. Josh Shapiro said, which represents “the most comprehensive” action taken at the state level to incorporate AI programs.
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The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority is set to receive $100 million in federal funding for another transportation project designed to improve travel in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Drivers traveling from Fredericksburg into the district should be enjoying reduced commute times due to the installation of the long-awaited express lanes along the I-95 corridor. Soon, construction will begin on the Franconia-Springfield Bypass. This rail bridge will allow Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express trains to “seamlessly cross over two freight rail tracks, preventing delays and expanding capacity for additional service,” according to a press release from U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine’s office.
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As the shipping containers along the southern border in Yuma, Arizona, came down months ago, the two federal cases against the state have been dismissed.
The Ducey administration placed the containers at the gaps last year and agreed with the federal government to take them down under the condition that a replacement barrier was created, The Center Square reported in December. However, the federal government took months to make progress on its own barrier, KYMA reported.
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Local jurisdictions might need to rethink their minimum lot and home size requirements given the state’s growing population and apparent need for “adequate workforce housing.”
That’s the upshot of a new Georgia Public Policy Foundation report.
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To combat what is referred to as “environmental injustice,” the Biden Administration is giving out $1 billion in grants to put up trees in areas of cities that serve mostly minorities that have been robbed of the environmental benefits of shade due to alleged racism.
The funding is part of a $1.5 billion investment from President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act focusing on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program.
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Although the launch of online hunting license sales started off rocky this year, the agency responsible says they have taken steps to improve the process.
Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans acknowledged issues with rollout on June 26, but said he expected the process to be smoother in the future during a recent Senate Game and Fisheries Committee hearing.
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Starting January 1, Michigan minors will be screened for lead poisoning unless a parent or guardian objects.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 31, which requires children be tested for lead poisoning at certain ages, the testing be recorded on their certificate of immunization and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) develop rules to implement the bill’s requirements.
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Wages will rise for hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers in Connecticut next year under a 2019 law that pegs the state’s minimum wage to the federal employment index.
Beginning Jan. 1, Connecticut’s wage floor will rise from $15.00 per hour to $15.69 per hour as a result of the state’s first-ever economic indicator adjustment.
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The 2023 fiscal year is on track to average the highest number of individuals on food stamps in the U.S. since 2016.
There were 42,329,101 on food assistance on average each month on through the first nine months of the fiscal year, as of June 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The fiscal year is completed at the end of September.
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Tennessee’s fifth-largest city wants all municipalities to be able to follow the same rules at the Tennessee Legislature and not the sunshine laws municipalities currently have to follow.
Clarksville passed its 2023-24 legislative agenda with an amendment to ask the Tennessee Legislature to make those changes for all local governments.
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has issued an Executive Directive requiring the state’s Office of Regulatory Management to develop protocol and guidance for the use of artificial intelligence in the commonwealth, both by the state government and educational institutions.
While lawmakers nationwide are eager to understand AI and respond with appropriate legislation governing its use, Youngkin wants Virginia to move faster.
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The U.S. exported more natural gas in the first six months of 2023 than in any other previous six-month period, the U.S. Energy Information Agency reported.
U.S. companies averaged 12.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in the first six months of this year, an 11% increase from their average over the same period last year. This is after in May of this year, the U.S.’s “net natural gas exports as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and by pipeline averaged a monthly record high of 13.6 Bcf/d.”
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A new survey says Michigan’s small businesses mostly oppose a mandated paid family leave program of up to 15 weeks per employee funded by a new tax.
A Small Business Association of Michigan survey found small businesses expect increased costs associated with the program Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed in August.
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Georgia is likely “the most important state in American politics” heading into the 2024 election, a leading intellectual historian said.
Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, narrowly defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2018 and decidedly defeated her in a rematch in November to win a second term. He won despite drawing former President Donald Trump’s ire for his response to the 2020 election.
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Two Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol want to make it clear people have the right to grow vegetables and flowers in their yard.
State Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, and State Sen. Andre Jacque, R-DePere, appeared before an Assembly committee to pitch their plan that would guarantee a right to garden in Wisconsin.
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Thanks to an agreement between Norfolk Southern and Amtrak — and a $200 million investment from the commonwealth — western Pennsylvania will have more passenger rail coming through Pittsburgh.
On Friday, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a passenger rail expansion for Amtrak’s New York City-Harrisburg-Pittsburgh service, going from once daily to twice daily.
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The Sunshine State is quickly outpacing the rest of the country as a top solar energy installer, which looks to continue in coming years.
According to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association, Florida was ranked third in the country in 2022 behind Texas and California, installing around 12,000 megawatts of generation capacity since 2013, enough to power 1.51 million homes.
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Lt. Governor Burt Jones promised lawmakers would work to cut Georgia regulations during next year’s legislative session.
“One of our main initiatives this upcoming session is going to be — we’re calling it the ‘red tape rollback,'” Jones, a Republican, said to applause during Americans for Prosperity-GA’s inaugural Pathway to Prosperity Summit.
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Arizona taxpayers are giving $10 million to the Nogales Police Department as concerns about ports of entry mount.
Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the decision Friday to help the border community buy “communications technology” to bolster its border efforts following changes in the federal port of entry policies.
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Diesel fuel prices continue to rise, hiking the cost of transporting goods to market as American consumers pay the price.
According to the latest data from AAA, the current national average price for a gallon of diesel is $4.56, up from $4.53 a week ago and $4.35 a month ago. As those prices rise, the costs are passed on to consumers.
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A Florida House subcommittee met this week to discuss implementing some of the elements of a bill that passed during the 2022 session designed to promote responsible fatherhood.
House Bill 7065 was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April of 2022 and was designed to “aid in creating and sustaining safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for children and families that allow children to grow up to their full potential,” and also focuses on responsible fatherhood.
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a supplemented legal opinion regarding school discipline laws after dozens of police departments pulled school resource officers.
Ellison said the new opinion addresses “good-faith” concerns about the law.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law three bills that effectively bans marriage of those under 18.
Previously, Michigan residents could get married as young as 16 with parental consent, and someone under 16 could with court approval.
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State grants issued this week will help counties feed some of the 1.5 million residents facing food insecurity every day.
On Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced that $1.6 million will go to 40 food banks, pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens to make emergency meals easier to get in 26 counties.
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes determined that a Phoenix city ordinance allowing the transfer of guns to Ukraine is unlawful.
Republican state Reps. Quang Nguyen and Selina Bliss filed a complaint in July, asking the office to look at the legality of the ordinance.
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On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his energy plan. It includes reversing all Biden administration policies to get gasoline prices at the pump back to $2 a gallon in 2025.
Gas prices and all other household goods reliant on petroleum have soared to over 40-year highs since President Biden implemented new energy policies in 2021. They include canceling the Keystone Pipeline on his first day in office, halting offshore and onshore lease sales, advancing EPA and other regulatory restrictions solely on U.S. oil and natural gas companies, halting investments in the industry by imposing environmental, social governance policies to restrict lending to U.S. oil and natural gas companies, among other policies.
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Wages will rise for hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers in Connecticut next year under a 2019 law that pegs the state’s minimum wage to the federal employment index.
Beginning Jan. 1, Connecticut’s wage floor will rise from $15.00 per hour to $15.69 per hour as a result of the state’s first-ever economic indicator adjustment.
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A push to reform the oversight of Pennsylvania’s half-dozen homes for veterans would create an advisory board to improve care and watch over the dwellings.
Senate Bill 933 would give a 15-member Veterans Home Advisory Board the responsibility to provide input on quality of care concerns for the more than 1,300 Pennsylvania veterans living in the six homes across the state.
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Arizona’s border port authorities issued a joint resolution Monday emphasizing the need for border security to sustain economic growth in the region.
The resolution came from the Douglas International Port Authority, the Greater Nogales and Santa Cruz County Port Authority, and the Greater Yuma Port Authority, with specific ideas during their Board of Directors joint session in Tucson.
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U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tennessee, is a co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation to increase the amount schoolteachers can deduct for classroom supplies to $1,000 per year.
The Educators Expense Deduction Modernization Act of 2023, is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Illinois, and the companion bill is sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
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New rules approved by officials in Florida this week are designed to increase accountability from pharmaceutical companies when it comes to drug pricing.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that he and the Florida cabinet approved rules that will allow the implementation of provisions within Senate Bill 1550, the Prescription Drug Act.
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House lawmakers held a hearing to investigate the Chinese Communist Party’s alleged efforts to influence American classrooms.
The Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee held the hearing, led by Chair Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla. The lawmakers brought scrutiny against Confucius Classrooms, a program with ties to the CCP, which promote teaching things like the Chinese language and culture, among other things, in hundreds of classrooms around the country.
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A bill seeking to prevent Florida women from being prosecuted for seeking abortions out of state was filed last week as the state Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the state’s six-week abortion ban.
In a news release, Florida Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Davie, said she had filed legislation to prevent pregnant women and girls from being criminally charged and imprisoned for obtaining an abortion, stating that the new bill — Senate Bill 34 — was in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ claim that only abortion providers would be prosecuted.
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