What We’re Reading: Top State Stories 10/11
FL: Federal judge extends voter registration deadline in Florida
A U.S. District Court judge extended Florida's voter registration deadline by another day because of Hurricane Matthew, saying more than 100,000 "aspiring eligible" voters are likely to register in the final week before the deadline.
ND: Work to resume on pipeline in protest area of North Dakota
The company building the four-state Dakota Access pipeline says it will resume construction on private land near Lake Oahe in North Dakota, where protests supporting tribal rights have endured for months.
CA: If Proposition 55 passes, California budget will rely even more on the state’s highest earners
The ballot measure would extend higher taxes on the highest earners in California through 2030. Those taxpayers — individuals making more than $263,000 a year and couples reporting $526,000 a year — contributed about a third of all state general fund revenue in 2014.
NJ: Credit rating agency warns new tax measure will create hole in New Jersey’s budget
Moody’s warns that the measure — which trades a 23-cent-a-gallon increase in New Jersey’s gasoline tax for a series of cuts to the estate, sales and income taxes — will pull more than $1.4 billion annually from a state budget that already underfunds education, public worker pensions and other programs.
OR: Oregon ballot initiative would raise corporate taxes
Measure 97 would generate about $3 billion a year in new revenue by raising taxes on large corporations' gross receipts. That's enough money to swell Oregon’s budget by roughly a third — enough to boost school funding and plug a $1.35 billion budget shortfall driven by pension and health care costs.
US: As Matthew moves out, Zika moves in
As the waters from Hurricane Matthew recede, scientists warn that the Zika virus that has touched down in South Florida is now a greater threat to expand and move up the Southeast Coast.
AR: Arkansas lawmakers told not to look for new method of execution
Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is warning legislators not to explore alternative execution methods after the state's lethal injection protocol and execution secrecy law were upheld by Arkansas' high court. But some lawmakers say drug supplies are drying up and new methods should be looked at.
LA: Louisiana governor hopeful for restored U.S-Cuban relations but hurdles remain
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards says fully restored economic ties between the U.S. and Cuba could result in as much as $500 million in Louisiana products, including rice, poultry and beans, being exported annually to the island nation.
CO, KS: Legal marijuana in Colorado permeates Kansas, attorney general says
Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt reported that since Colorado legalized medicinal marijuana in 2014, the drug has made its way into every corner of Kansas, where it is illegal.
NC: North Carolina legislator calls for special legislative session on Hurricane Matthew relief
A state legislator whose district was swamped by Hurricane Matthew wants the North Carolina General Assembly to return to Raleigh to budget money for recovery efforts.
