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ME: Maine governor files court-ordered plan to expand Medicaid in Maine – and asks feds to reject it
The administration of Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage complied with a court order and finally submitted required documents to the federal government to expand Medicaid to 70,000 Mainers – but there’s a catch. LePage, an expansion opponent, is asking federal officials to deny the application.
CA: California may ban short-term health insurance plans
Other states have policies banning plans that do not comply with the Affordable Care Act, but California would be the first to explicitly prohibit the sale of short-term policies. Under the bill on Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, all current short-term plan policies that don’t include consumer protections outlined in the ACA would terminate by the end of the year.
TN: Tennessee county jail quietly stops obeying ICE requests to hold immigrants
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has quietly stopped obeying federal requests to hold suspected unauthorized immigrants in jail past their scheduled release dates. Local Tennessee officials say the county government might be violating the U.S. Constitution if it did hold them.
FL: Spanish-language ballots an ‘impossibility,’ 32 Florida counties say
Election supervisors in 32 Florida counties say it’s an “impossibility” to produce ballots and other voting materials in Spanish for the November general election. They will face off in a Tallahassee courtroom Wednesday with several advocacy groups who say the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires those counties to produce bilingual ballots.
MD: Maryland governor hires school ‘accountability’ investigator
On the first day of school in Maryland, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan renewed his criticism of public school management, saying he sees a culture of unchecked corruption across the state and announcing that he has hired a new investigator to serve as a public watchdog.
WV: Leadership turnover, missing reports trouble West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy
A state office with a history of short-lived leadership failed to submit a report, required by law, on how to reduce the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse in West Virginia.
NC: More disaster relief money for Hurricane Matthew victims is coming to North Carolina
Money for families who lost their homes in Hurricane Matthew has finally started trickling into North Carolina, nearly two years after the storm devastated much of the eastern part of the state with intense flooding.
VT: Vermont’s prisoners in Pennsylvania may soon move to Rhode Island or Mississippi
The approximately 228 inmates will be moving to a new facility in October after a three-year contract between Vermont’s and Pennsylvania’s departments of corrections dissolved early. The Vermont Department of Corrections put out bids earlier this year for a new contract to house inmates that they say do not fit in Vermont’s in-state facility.
CO: Campaign finance measure makes Colorado ballot
Coloradans will vote this fall on a ballot initiative that allows opponents of candidates who give or loan their campaign more than $1 million to accept contributions that are five times greater than the current limits in state law.
NJ: New Jersey is first state to regulate toxic PFNAs in drinking water
New Jersey has become the first state to regulate its drinking water for a man-made, toxic chemical compound once used in making nonstick cookware and now linked to a variety of health problems.
SD: South Dakota, cities place few limits on farm and urban runoff into rivers
Pollution has caused nearly three-quarters of South Dakota rivers to be labeled impaired by the federal government. South Dakota’s largest industry, agriculture, is one of the biggest contributors to the impairment of state rivers. The polluting occurs with almost no consequence to producers, even those who openly flout best management practices.
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