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Editor’s Picks From Around the Web
TX: Texas voter ID law violates Voting Rights Act, court says
A federal appeals court ruled that a Texas voter ID law has a discriminatory effect that violates the Voting Rights Act, though it is not an unconstitutional “poll tax.” The case returns to a lower court to decide how the state should fix the law. Meanwhile the law will stand as is.
NH: New Hampshire rejects Planned Parenthood funding
New Hampshire’s Executive Council voted against funding health centers operated by Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, rejecting contracts that would have provided the organization’s centers in the state with about $639,000 over two years.
WA: Washington sets minimum scores for high school graduation
The state Board of Education set new minimum scores that high-school students in Washington must reach on standardized English and math tests to graduate. The scores represent a temporary graduation standard while students transition to new, more rigorous Common Core standards.
IL: Illinois governor ties Chicago’s school pension costs to limiting unions
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner said the state should not help Chicago’s public school district pay for its pension costs without also giving local governments across Illinois the ability to limit unions’ collective bargaining ability.
WI: Wisconsin streamlines process for keeping road kill
The state Natural Resources Department has established a call center that can issue permits any time of day or night to motorists who kill deer in auto crashes and want to keep the game meat.
N.C. North Carolina House backs $3 billion bond proposal
The House gave tentative approval to a nearly $3 billion bond package that would go to North Carolina citizens this fall. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory wants to split the proceeds almost evenly between roads and government infrastructure.
OH: Cleveland to appeal ‘jock tax’ ruling to U.S. Supreme Court
The city intends to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of its “jock tax,” which it levies on visiting professional athletes. The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the tax in April.
PA: Pennsylvania Legislature may borrow to continue its lawmaking
As the impasse over Pennsylvania’s state budget stretches into its second month, lawmakers are drawing up contingency plans in the event the legislative branch runs out of money. Among them: borrowing salary and operating money.
FL: Florida governor reappoints controversial environmental secretary
Republican Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet have reappointed Jon Stevenson as Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection secretary, despite public opposition to Stevenson’s plan for allowing private contractors to manage state parks and possibly allow grazing, hunting and timber harvesting.
KY: Statue of Jefferson Davis to remain in Kentucky Capitol
The state Historic Properties Advisory Commission voted to keep a controversial statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in the Capitol, where it stands with statues of President Abraham Lincoln and three other prominent Kentuckians.
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