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CA: California could lose billions in Medicaid funding
If California and the federal government can’t agree on a plan to fund reforms in the public health insurance program for low-income and uninsured patients by Saturday, the state could lose $7.25 billion.
FL: Few sex traffickers go to prison in Florida
Florida has increased penalties for sex trafficking, directed additional resources to treatment for child victims, and made it easier to convict traffickers of juveniles. But the state isn’t convicting many people of sex trafficking—while hundreds of prostitutes, including children, get arrested.
MO: St. Louis stadium deal would give NFL team two-thirds of tax revenue
St. Louis officials have committed to giving about two-thirds of the city taxes generated by a new riverfront football stadium to the team that plays there. The provisions, crafted with the Missouri governor’s office, are intended to ensure the deal is generous enough to keep an NFL team in the city.
TX: Texas House leader plans investigation of child-support computer contract
A Texas House leader plans to investigate the state’s oversight of a major technology contractor after the state attorney general alerted lawmakers to cost overruns in a contract to upgrade computers in the child support division. The project will cost an estimated $310 million, nearly 50 percent more than estimated six years ago.
NY: New York governor nixes World Series fundraisers after criticism
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo canceled two ,500-a-ticket World Series fundraisers in New York after being accused of exploiting the national pastime and civic pride for a chance to raise cash from wealthy insiders.
AZ: Federal judge demands details of Arizona execution drugs
A U.S. district judge ordered Arizona to specify what drugs it will use for lethal injections before he will reinstate a lawsuit that could allow the state to resume executing death row prisoners.
WA: Washington faces deadline for noncompliant driver’s licenses
Washington state has only three months to comply with federal regulations that require proof of legal U.S. residency for driver’s licenses. The federal government denied the state’s request for an extension to make its licenses and IDs valid for federal purposes, including, eventually, boarding commercial aircraft.
MN: Judge tells Minnesota to prepare to release sex offenders
A federal judge ordered Minnesota to evaluate more than 700 sex offenders in a treatment program with a goal of releasing those who are ready. The judge’s plan could lead to the first releases from the program in its more than two decades of existence.
MD: Unemployment insurance tax rate drops in Maryland
Some businesses in Maryland will pay less in unemployment insurance taxes next year because fewer people are applying for unemployment benefits. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund has grown by million since January.
AR: Arkansas lawmakers promise plan for universal broadband access in one year
Arkansas lawmakers on a joint House-Senate technology committee say that by October 2016, they’ll have a plan to connect every home and business in the state to high-speed broadband Internet. The panel defined “broadband” as 25 megabits per second, a speed only 58 percent of Arkansans have access to now.
VA: Attorneys challenge Virginia recall of Confederate flag license plates
Following a Virginia court ruling that allows the state to ban license plates featuring the Confederate battle flag, attorneys representing a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans are taking aim at the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles and its recall of the plates.
NE: Nebraska domestic violence programs reconsider traditional shelters
Several Nebraska domestic violence programs are rethinking the traditional “safe house” model for emergency shelters, shifting clients in need to temporary refuge in hotels and apartments instead.
GA: State University System to award Georgians retroactive degrees
The state’s university system said it would help some Georgians receive associate degrees they may not know they’ve earned. The project is part of the state’s goal to increase the number of residents with college credentials by 250,000 in five years.
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