Editor’s Picks From Around the Web

OH: Ohioans will vote on whether to legalize marijuana

cincinnati.com

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, said a private marijuana investors group has collected enough signatures to put a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana on the Nov. 3 ballot.

IL: Illinois governor signs police body camera bill into law

chicagotribune.com

Illinois drivers will pay an extra $5 fee on traffic tickets to help equip police officers with body cameras under a sweeping new law signed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in response to controversies over police use of force.

KY: Kentucky clerk told to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples

courier-journal.com

A U.S. district judge ruled that a Kentucky county clerk must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite her religious objections or risk setting a “dangerous precedent.”

WI: Wisconsin’s Walker signs bill committing $250 million for new basketball arena

ap.org

Calling it “a good deal overall” for Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker approved $250 million in taxpayer money to help pay for a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks professional basketball team.

NH: Federal judge strikes down New Hampshire’s ban on ‘ballot selfies’

unionleader.com

A U.S. district judge said New Hampshire’s law that bans voters from taking photos of themselves with the election ballots they cast and posting them online violates constitutional protections for political speech.

OR: Growing number of Oregon counties, cities ban marijuana businesses

katu.com

At least a dozen Oregon cities and counties have taken steps to ban marijuana growers, retailers and processors from their boundaries as the state prepares to begin retail sales in October. In some jurisdictions, the ban must go before voters.

NC: North Carolina Legislature extends longest budget impasse in 13 years

newsobserver.com

After trading blame for their budget impasse, the House and Senate voted for a second stopgap spending measure to keep state government running. This is North Carolina’s longest delay in approving a state budget since 2002.

MD: Maryland police can use DNA in other investigations, high court says

baltimoresun.com

The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that police can retain and use a person’s legally obtained DNA to investigate unrelated criminal cases. Maryland’s highest court said the state does not need a warrant to conduct further testing on a DNA sample obtained voluntarily.

NY: 20 percent of New York students opt out of standardized tests

nytimes.com

In a sign of increasing resistance to testing as more states make them harder to pass, 20 percent of New York third- through eighth-graders sat out at least one of the state’s standardized tests this year. New York was one of the first states to introduce tests based on new Common Core academic standards.

NM: New Mexico Court of Appeals overturns ‘aid in dying’ approval

abqjournal.com

A divided New Mexico Court of Appeals reversed a court ruling that allowed mentally competent, terminally ill patients to choose their own time to die with aid from a physician.

MS: Lawsuit filed challenging Mississippi’s same-sex adoption ban

clarionledger.com

Four Mississippi same-sex couples have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a state law that forbids same-sex couples from adopting children.

VT: Vermont starts work on ‘performance evaluations’ proposal for universities

vtdigger.com

A special legislative committee is beginning work on a performance-based funding proposal for Vermont universities, which would tie funding to student retention and graduation rates, cost of instruction, financial aid and job placement.

TX: Texas begins issuing same-sex death certificates

texastribune.org

Texas on Wednesday began issuing death certificates that recognize same-sex marriages, a day after a U.S. district judge gave the state until Aug. 24 to recognize same-sex marriages on death and birth certificates.