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MA: Senate to vote on drug screening for Massachusetts students
The state Senate is expected to vote next week on a bill that would require all public school districts in Massachusetts to screen seventh- and 10th-graders for potential drug use. The screening would not involve a drug test; screeners would talk to students about risky behavior and try to move them to treatment.
FL: Florida redistricting hearing begins
As a three-day hearing into Florida’s latest congressional redistricting map began, three black communities in Miami-Dade County emerged as ground zero for differences over the final map.
MN: Task force looks at spike in Minnesota incarceration rate
A new task force has been designed to come up with solutions to Minnesota’s prison overpopulation problem. Since 2000, the rate of incarceration—the number of inmates per 100,000 residents—went up 42 percent.
NJ, NY: Port Authority still divided on plan to replace famous New York bus terminal
Two years after starting to plan for the replacement of the main bus terminal in Manhattan, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey still does not have a plan, its leaders admitted.
ID: Hoping for more snow, Idaho plans cloud seeding
The Idaho Water Resource Board has approved spending $200,000 for a one-year aerial cloud seeding project. If the pilot program succeeds, the state may continue it and ask water users in the area to share the cost.
PA: House passes $11 billion stopgap Pennsylvania budget
The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed an $11 billion stopgap spending plan as the state approaches month three of a budget impasse. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf plans to veto it.
MT: Montana finally meets national Internet access rates
A recent study commissioned by the Greater Montana Foundation has found that 84 percent of Montanans have Internet access at home, the first time the state has met the national average.
IN: New data show sharp slide in teacher licenses in Indiana
New data released by the Indiana Department of Education suggest a continuing slide in the number of people entering the teaching profession. The state issued 21 percent fewer initial practitioner licenses for the 2014-15 school year.
TX: Texas, breeders clash over fatal deer disease
When a fatal, incurable disease was found among deer at a Texas breeding facility, state wildlife officials moved quickly to limit its reach. But breeders say the state’s cure might be worse than the disease, and some are threatening to sue.
ND: North Dakota delays flaring goal in 2016, raise overall target for 2020
North Dakota regulators voted unanimously to push back next year’s deadline for reducing the flaring of natural gas, in exchange requiring oil producers to capture more of the byproduct of drilling by 2020.
WV: ‘Sovereign citizen’ arrested after threatening to take over West Virginia Capitol
A self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” has been arrested and charged with threatening to commit a terrorist act after he advocated a violent takeover of the West Virginia Capitol during multiple conference calls with associates and an undercover officer.
MI: Michigan lawmakers split on inspections for prison kitchens
Michigan lawmakers are split on proposed legislation—prompted by reports of maggots and other sanitation issues—that would require local health departments to regularly inspect prison kitchens.
OK: Worries build as Oklahoma moves to privatize Medicaid
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority is exploring cost-saving options that could lead to partial privatization of the state’s $2.4 billion Medicaid program for aged, blind and disabled people.
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