Ohio law and the planned date for the Democratic National Convention could keep President Joe Biden off the state’s November ballot.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s chief legal counsel wrote Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters over the weekend, explaining the deadline to certify a presidential candidate in Ohio is Aug. 7.
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More cities have hit the $1 million mark amid rising home prices, especially in California.
A year ago, real estate marketplace Zillow found 491 cities where the typical home value was $1 million or more. That number grew to 550 cities this year, according to Zillow.
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School districts across the country are laying off teachers, citing high inflationary costs, budget deficits, and federal COVID-era funding running out after receiving windfalls in federal subsidies for three years.
The federal COVID-era subsidies were funded through ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) grants administered by state education agencies. Financed through the CARES Act and supplemental appropriations, the grant funding expires Sept. 30.
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The federal government reported hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars in improper payments last fiscal year and trillions over the last two decades.
According to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, the federal government reported $236 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2023. The true number, though, is actually much higher, but federal reporting is often lacking.
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The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Rules of Practice and Procedure listened to a proposal to keep alternate jurors on even after deliberations begin in a criminal case during its Friday public meeting.
Circuit Court Judge Russ Parkes said the proposal came so cases did not have to be delayed or declared a mistrial if a juror becomes ill or is unable to continue after deliberations have begun in a case.
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Two Ohio lawmakers want to make sure state schools follow federal law and allow groups like the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts to be present during the school year.
Proposed legislation in the House of Representatives requires schools to allow U.S. Title 36, which permits patriotic organizations to provide information to students. Those organizations could be the Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, 4-H, Future Farmers of America, Civil Air Patrol, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and many other groups.
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Requiring publicly traded companies to make climate-related disclosures has voluntarily been put on hold by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC’s move came before a decision was reached by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. John Rady, counsel for the SEC in the case, notified the court in a letter.
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A Tennessee bill banning incentives for companies from countries of concern advanced in Senate committee after another costly part of the bill was removed.
Senate Bill 2426 previously banned tax credits for companies already receiving credits that are from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela or Syria, along with adding tax credits for research and development from energy and tech companies.
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People living in states with more Republican voters were more likely to report COVID-19 vaccine side effects than those in states that lean blue.
That’s according to a new study that looked at 620,456 COVID-19 vaccine adverse event reports from adults reported to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. The study was published in JAMA.
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Arizona House Democrats faced yet another resignation on Thursday with Rep. Marcelino Quiñonez of Phoenix stepping down.
“I have had the fortune of being here for three sessions, and I take so many lessons with me,” the Legislative District 11 Democrat said on the House floor. “Amongst them, we cannot let perfection be the enemy of progress.”
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Though lawmakers applied pressure to the governor this week by publicly calling on him to act, companion bills creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Board for Virginia were conspicuously missing from the list of 150 bills he signed on Thursday evening.
The Senate bill, introduced by veteran Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, is meant to reduce the price of expensive medications for Virginians. SB 274 would authorize an appointed board to restrict what the state and other payers pay manufacturers for certain drug products in the commonwealth. Those medications are then sold to wholesale distributors, government purchasers, or pharmacy benefit managers, next to pharmacies, and finally, to the consumer.
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State Auditor Keith Faber placed a southwest Ohio school district in fiscal emergency Friday after it projected an operating fund deficit of nearly $11 million.
A fiscal analysis by the Auditor of State’s Local Government Services Section certified a projected operating deficit of $10.8 million for the Mt. Health City School District in Hamilton County, near Cincinnati. The figure represents 26% of the district’s general revenue funds for the fiscal year that ends June 30.
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A Georgia Public Service Commission hearing officer has ruled a railroad can take private land from several Sparta property owners, saying its proposed rail spur “serves a legitimate public purpose.”
The Sandersville Railroad, a Class III short line railroad that has served the area since 1893, petitioned the PSC on March 8, 2023, to condemn land for a proposed 4.5-mile-long spur. The railroad subsequently moved to condemn additional land.
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A plan to more stringently scrutinize voter registration data and citizenship verification during Ohio’s elections sits before the Ohio House of Representatives.
The proposed legislation, which has yet to be assigned to a committee, also focuses on security of individual voting machines and would require the state’s board of voting system examiners to contain a person with cybersecurity expertise and credentials.
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The South Carolina Senate did not pass a measure aimed at stemming lawsuit abuse, likely killing the push for the legislative session.
Senate Bill 533, the South Carolina Justice Act, would have amended the South Carolina Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act and moved the state toward a model in which a defendant is financially liable based on their percentage of fault. Proponents say this would reduce excessive damage awards in civil cases.
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Pennsylvania’s orphan oil and gas well problem has gotten much attention in recent months.
So too has the commonwealth’s legacy of hazardous mine lands. Now, the federal government is sending hundreds of millions of dollars to deal with them.
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The State Bar of Wisconsin isn’t ending its diversity clerkship that faced a federal discrimination lawsuit, instead it is changing the definition of diversity.
The State Bar agreed to tweak the program and make it about the diversity of ideas and experiences, rather than base the clerkship on race and gender.
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Georgia lawmakers have passed legislation that ostensibly bans “foreign adversaries” from owning agricultural land or property near a military base or airport, but one expert said it’s not clear the measure can stand up to judicial scrutiny.
Proponents say they crafted Senate Bill 420 in response to a Department of Agriculture report from 202 that found that China had roughly 384,000 acres of agricultural land across the country, a 30% increase from 2019 to 2020.
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Former President Donald Trump called for special counsel Jack Smith to be sanctioned or censured for “attacking” the judge in Trump’s classified documents case.
Trump’s comments on Thursday come after Smith and his team of prosecutors made it clear they think Judge Aileen Cannon’s latest ruling was based on “an unstated and fundamentally flawed legal premise.” Prosecutors objected to Cannon’s order to produce proposed jury instructions under two different legal scenarios. Smith said both legal scenarios were flawed.
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Virginia agricultural producers may stand to receive more funding from the Department of Agriculture’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program, as the organization announced another $1.5 billion is available for eligible conservation and climate projects throughout the country.
The program looks to help producers implement “climate-smart agriculture,” or farming practices that replenish natural resources and minimize climate change. This latest tranche of funding comes from the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, which the Biden administration has dubbed the “largest climate investment in history.”
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The number of Chinese nationals illegally entering the U.S. – primarily single, military age men – has skyrocketed under the Biden administration.
Of the more than 140,000 Chinese who’ve illegally entered the country since fiscal 2021, one recently was apprehended at a Marine Corps base at the southwest border.
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A Hamilton County judge now must decide on parts of Ohio’s heartbeat law after Attorney General Dave Yost agreed the law banning nearly all abortions is unconstitutional.
In court filings, Yost said Ohio’s 2019 law that banned most abortions in the state was unconstitutional after voters guaranteed the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution in November.
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Agents arrested 23 people in relation to a cartel-linked drug operation in Texas that dealt in cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and meth.
The arrests came after a five-year investigation that started in 2019. Prosecutors said the drug ring operated in the Houston and Galveston areas and was under the control of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
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A bill that would require adult pornographic websites to verify the age of those viewing the website in Tennessee advanced in the Senate on Tuesday after a change to lower the costs of its implementation.
Senate Bill 1792 initially had a fiscal note saying it would cost the state more than $4 million in the first year and then $2 million each year after that.
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Two Ohio Republican lawmakers want to make it easier for criminals to have records sealed to help the state’s workforce participation.
Sponsors say the plan – Getting Rehabilitated Ohioans Working or Grow Act – could also reduce revictimization and create an environment of safer and healthier communities and families.
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South Carolina Lt. Governor Pamela Evette is chairing the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association’s 2024 Executive Committee.
Utah Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson will serve as the vice chair, while Nevada Lt. Governor Stavros Anthony will serve as the group’s finance chair. Florida’s Jeanette Nuñez, Indiana’s Suzanne Crouch, Iowa’s Adam Gregg, Ohio’s Jon Husted and Oklahoma’s Matt Pinnell will also serve on the committee.
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Twenty-five Michigan lawmakers oppose President Joe Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandate through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA rules for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles phased in from 2027 through 2032 will require about 67% of new car sales to be electric by 2032.
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New legal documents filed recently in an ongoing union corruption case in Pennsylvania say officials funneled $1.8 million into a trust fund that’s yet to be recovered and then destroyed evidence of its existence.
The lawsuit, filed in 2020 by The Fairness Center on behalf of three workers at a state prison in Huntingdon, accused the treasurer of the local chapter of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association of misappropriating $20,000 between 2009 and 2018.
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State and federal officials are awaiting President Joe Biden’s disaster declaration to help recovery from tornadoes and severe storms that impacted 11 counties in mid-March.
Gov. Mike DeWine, along with Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, wrote asking for a FEMA presidential disaster declaration to open federal aid for those impacted not already reimbursed by other government programs or private insurance.
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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill on Friday of galactic proportions.
“Pluto is the official state planet,” House Bill 2477 simply states.
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Two Ohio Republican lawmakers want to make it easier for criminals to have records sealed to help the state’s workforce participation.
Sponsors say the plan – Getting Rehabilitated Ohioans Working, or “Grow Act” – could also reduce revictimization and create an environment of safer and healthier communities and families.
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The Tennessee Senate approved a bill that would put state law on college athletics name, image and likeness rules in line with a lawsuit brought against the National Collegiate Athletic Association by the Tennessee Attorney General.
The bill would change Tennessee law to allow prospective students to hire an agent and would eliminate fair market value limitations on athlete pay.
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Former President Donald Trump’s supporters plan to back him even if he’s convicted of a felony before the November election.
The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, found that 84 percent of Trump voters would vote for him in November even if he was convicted of a felony before the election.
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Georgia lawmakers signed off on the fiscal year 2025 budget in the final hours of this year’s legislative session but did not pass a bill to allow sports betting.
Lawmakers gave the nod to a more than $66.8 billion state budget for fiscal 2025, which starts July 1. The spending plan, which anticipates $36.1 billion in state money and $19 billion in federal taxpayer funds, includes pay raises for public school teachers and state law enforcement officers.
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Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed bills Thursday that would have raised Virginia’s minimum wage to $13.50 per hour in 2025 and $15 in 2026.
The companion bills were among the first to be prefiled by General Assembly Democrats, indicating their status as high-priority legislation.
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Israeli Consul General to the Pacific Southwest Israel Bachar will be addressing the Arizona State Legislature on Wednesday.
Bachar is expected to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas War in the joint protocol session, according to a news release. The Israeli-born diplomat is part of the Consulate General in Los Angeles who also operates a consulting firm.
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Nearly two-thirds of voters think parents should be informed if a student wants to change their name or pronoun at school.
According to The Center Square Voter’s Voice Poll conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, the majority of likely voters say they disagree with allowing schools to affirm a student’s gender change without notifying parents.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Wednesday that he says will end the problem of squatters taking over homes in the Sunshine State.
DeSantis stated that squatters have taken over homes in states like New York and in some cases, have been murdering the homeowners when they attempt to evict them from their properties.
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Wisconsin’s most-recent former governor says elections in the state must be fair and free from outside money posing as election aid.
Former Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday said voters need to approve a constitutional amendment banning so-called “Zuckerbucks” in order to keep politicians from sapping faith from voters.
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Gov. Henry McMaster signed a measure to help ensure students read at their appropriate grade levels.
S. 418 builds on the Read to Succeed measure lawmakers passed a decade ago and requires the South Carolina Department of Education to implement a “scientifically based reading instruction” approach to reading education. The program includes professional development, administering universal screeners and summer reading camps.
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Ohio’s job market remained neutral in February, better than falling like the national figures, according to analysts.
The new numbers from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services bucked a trend of rising unemployment in the state that covered six months.
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An Illinois lawsuit has led Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and attorneys general from 11 other states and the District of Columbia to notify gunmaker Glock to preserve 37 years of documentation regarding its handguns.
Earlier this month, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against Glock alleging the company failed to change the design of a pistol. Chicago claims Glock knew a do-it-yourself “switch” could make the handguns a “machine gun” and resulted in a “proliferation of illegal machine guns.”
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A polarized America, increasingly dissatisfied with the current political duopoly and lack of choices, might open doors wide enough for third parties and independents to wield greater influence in elections.
Stepping into that space and gaining momentum is the Forward Party.
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Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs addressed possible concerns about lower than requested funding in the spending deal signed by President Joe Biden last week.
Hobbs, as well as Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, welcomed the news of $650 million being allocated toward the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Shelter and Services Program, The Center Square reported. However, the trio first asked for $752 million to go toward the fund, as it ends up being distributed.
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Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday afternoon signed into law a controversial bill meant to allow Puget Sound Energy to start planning how to move away from natural gas.
“This bill creates the roadmap and tools for our state’s largest utility to get out of the fossil fuel business and achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” Inslee said of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1589 during the bill-signing event from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46 in Kent.
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More than 124,000 people enrolled in Ohio’s Medicaid program were also enrolled in Medicaid programs in other states, a new report from state Auditor Keith Faber said.
The audit that examined four years’ worth of data also showed the state paid more than $1 billion to medical providers for services to people enrolled in multiple states.
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Some Arizona leaders are breathing a sigh of relief as the federal government passed funding that will presumably go toward transporting migrants out of border communities or caring for them while there.
There was widespread concern about daily mass migrant street releases starting in April, as federal funding for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Shelter and Services Program was set to expire on April 1, The Center Square previously reported.
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Virginia is beginning to experience some of the impacts from the cargo ship crash that brought down Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, closing a vital shipping lane leading to one of the eastern seaboard’s busiest ports.
Shortly after on Thursday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin offered to assist neighboring Maryland. Within hours, the commonwealth’s ports were already preparing to absorb some of the diverted shipping traffic.
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Three people have filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service for refusing to take cash for park entrance fees alleging its NPS Cashless program violates federal law.
The complaint, filed in federal court earlier this month, seeks to have a judge declare NPS Cashless unlawful. The suit alleges that three visitors were denied entrance to national parks in Arizona, New York and Georgia. The complaint further alleges that the “National Park Service no longer accepts American money at approximately twenty-nine national parks, national historic sites, national monuments, and national historic parks around the country.”
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The vast majority of people think schools should focus on traditional subjects like math, reading and science, and a majority also say critical race theory should not be taught, a new poll shows.
According to The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll conducted by Noble Predictive, most surveyed said they want schools to focus on core subjects instead of hot-button topics like critical race theory.
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