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AZ: US Supreme Court upholds Arizona election restrictions
Arizona is going to get to keep its laws against “ballot harvesting” and counting only votes cast within the proper precinct. In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded the provisions of the 2016 law do not violate the Voting Rights Act.
OK: Medicaid expansion takes effect in Oklahoma
A Medicaid expansion that Oklahoma voters approved last year went into effect and is expected to result in roughly 200,000 more Oklahomans qualifying for Medicaid benefits.
NM: New Mexico expands child care assistance
Tens of thousands of families are newly eligible for child care assistance in New Mexico. The state announced changes that allow families making $90,000 to now qualify for some form of assistance, nearly double the previous threshold.
IA: Environmental group: Iowa’s waterway cleanup plan could take 22K years
Iowa’s work to clean polluted waterways is so slow it will take as much as 22,000 years to meet some of the goals in the state’s voluntary plan, the Iowa Environmental Council reported. State leaders, including the agriculture secretary, insist the program is making progress.
MI: Michigan announces M in vaccine prizes
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, announced the state’s incentive program, outlining a lottery-style raffle that will give vaccinated Michiganders a shot at about $5 million in cash prizes and a combined total of nearly $500,000 in college scholarships.
CO: Colorado’s county clerks recommend election system changes
Colorado’s county clerks are pushing for changes to the state’s election system in an effort to quash conspiracy theories stemming from the 2020 election, including improvements to ballot-signature verification and making images of ballots available to the public.
KS: Kansas expands eligibility for child care assistance
More Kansas parents will soon be eligible for funding that can help them pay for child care costs, while child care providers can apply for new grants, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly announced. Both programs are funded through federal COVID-19 relief dollars.
DE: Delaware reaches 70% vaccination goal
Some six and a half months after Delaware began vaccinating its most vulnerable residents and workers against COVID-19, the First State reached President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70% of its 18 and older population vaccinated with at least one dose.
NY: Most New Yorkers think Cuomo should not run again, poll finds
Most New Yorkers think Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo should avoid running for reelection to a fourth term, regardless of the results of impending investigations into his personal conduct and his administration’s handling of nursing home data during the pandemic, according to a Siena College poll.
UT: Governor says unvaccinated Utahns ‘should be worried this Fourth of July’
Emergency rooms and intensive care units in Utah could fill over the Fourth of July weekend, state officials and health experts warn—because of a surge in COVID-19 cases as well as typical holiday-related accidents.
WV: West Virginians urged to get vaccinated to before delta variant arrives in state
With cases of the more infectious delta variant of COVID-19 growing nationally, West Virginia’s COVID-19 czar, Dr. Clay Marsh, urged unvaccinated or partially vaccinated West Virginians to take advantage of a small window of opportunity to get their shots.
NH: New Hampshire teachers union will not support mandatory vaccine proposal
New Hampshire’s largest teachers union has taken a stand against a proposal to require COVID-19 vaccines for students and staff. That proposal is on the table at the annual meeting of the National Education Association.
HI: Hawaii extends incentives as vaccination rates slowly uptick
As Hawaii slowly approaches vaccination benchmarks that will trigger loosened coronavirus restrictions, state officials are extending an incentive program.
MO: Missouri attorney general asks US Supreme Court to rule on state’s sweeping abortion law
Missouri’s attorney general asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a state law prohibiting abortions at or after eight weeks of pregnancy. The law was put in place by the Republican-led legislature in 2019, but it has not gone into effect because of ongoing legal challenges.
MN: Minnesota lawmakers laud B budget after weeks of negotiations
Minnesota lawmakers emerged after weeks of dealmaking with a completed two-year, $52 billion state budget, one they say will be essential to lifting the state out of the fog of the pandemic.
MA: Most of Massachusetts is open but statehouse stays closed
Fenway Park is open, Massachusetts’ state of emergency ended June 15, and masking is optional. But the Massachusetts statehouse remains closed to the public.
CA: California governor recall election is set for Sept. 14
Democratic Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis set Sept. 14 as the date for the recall election, leaving it up to California voters to decide whether to oust a sitting governor for just the second time in the state’s history.
WI: Wisconsin governor, Oneida Nation strike deal to offer legal sports betting
The Oneida Nation hopes to become the first entity in Wisconsin to legally offer sports betting under a compact amendment signed by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and tribe Chairman Tehassi Hill. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs will have a 45-day review period before deciding whether to approve the deal.
RI: Rhode Island lawmakers approve bill that would require free feminine hygiene products in public schools
Feminine hygiene products would be available in all Rhode Island public schools for students in grades 5 through 12 under legislation passed by the General Assembly.
AK: Programs for lower electricity costs and scholarships remain unfunded in Alaska budget
Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the state budget, but programs to lower the price of electricity in high-cost areas and to pay for university scholarships won’t be funded because the governor and legislators have not agreed on how they want to pay for the scholarship and energy programs.
FL: Florida’s proposed Holocaust education standards prompt concerns from state experts
Already mired in educational culture wars over critical race theory and civics lessons, Florida has been fighting a similar yet quieter battle over its new initiative to teach students more about the Holocaust.
ME: Supporters of Maine tribal gaming bill fail to override governor’s veto
The decades-long quest by Maine tribes to open casinos or other gambling venues in Maine suffered another setback when lawmakers upheld Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ veto of a tribal gaming bill.
OH: Governor defends allowing medical providers to deny treating LGBTQ Ohioans
Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said that LGBTQ Ohioans can find other medical providers if the first ones they approach refuse to treat them, which is allowed under the newly signed budget bill.
ND: Ballot measure seeks term limits for North Dakota governor, legislature
North Dakota Republican lawmakers and party leaders submitted a petition to the secretary of state for a ballot measure that would limit terms for governors and legislators, but the petition must gain more than 31,000 signatures to put the measure to voters.
WA: Washington jobless claims fall slightly but remain high
New jobless claims fell slightly last week in Washington yet remain at historically high levels, at trend that could change as the state economy fully reopens this month.
MT: Supply worries loom 6 months before Montana’s marijuana market opens
Providers say Montana’s medical marijuana market is booming, and that demand will only increase when it’s legal to purchase recreational cannabis come January.
ID: Idaho will send 5 troopers to Southern border
Idaho GOP Gov. Brad Little will send five Idaho State Police troopers to the U.S.-Mexico border next week, a response to a request from Arizona and Texas Republican governors.
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