SD: South Dakota AG to investigate complaint against governor
A South Dakota ethics board found that Republican Gov. Kristi Noem may have “engaged in misconduct” when she intervened in her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license. The board referred another complaint, about Noem’s use of a state airplane, to the state Attorney General’s office.
NY: New York to ease school COVID rules in line with CDC guidance
New York state will stop requiring schoolchildren to undergo COVID-19 testing to return to the classroom or quarantine after exposure to someone with the virus, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul announced. The changes are meant to make sure students can stay in school as much as possible, the governor said.
MO: Missouri governor sets special session for income tax cut and farmer tax credits
Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s proposed permanent tax cut would lower Missouri’s top individual income tax rate from 5.3% to 4.8%. The agricultural tax credit plan would reauthorize a variety of tax credits for farmers that would expire after six years.
CA: Governor vetoes bill to set up drug overdose prevention programs in some California cities
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a controversial bill to allow supervised injection site pilot programs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, in efforts to prevent drug overdose deaths and connect people to treatment for addiction. The number of proposed sites could have a “world of unintended consequences,” Newsom wrote in his veto message.
MI: Mysterious illness killing dogs in Michigan
Local, state and federal agencies are urgently investigating a mysterious illness — what the state said has canine parvovirus-like symptoms — that has been killing dozens of dogs in northern Michigan. Animal control officials said the cause is unclear.
CO: Colorado GOP state senator switches party affiliation to Democrat
Colorado state Sen. Kevin Priola said he could no longer support a party that accepted “a violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election and continues to peddle claims that the 2020 election was stolen” and one where his GOP colleagues “would rather deny the existence of human-caused climate change than take action.”
IN: After 2 years of free lunches, many Indiana students will have to pay again
After two years of receiving free school lunches, thousands of Hoosier families will have to pay for them again this fall, including at dozens of eligible Indiana schools that could continue offering free food but chose not to.
NE: Medical marijuana fails to make Nebraska ballot
The latest attempt to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska will not make it onto the November ballot. Both petitions for the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign fell just under 10,000 signatures short of the approximately 87,000 signatures necessary.
PA: Women out-registering men in Pennsylvania since high court abortion decision
Pennsylvania has had one of the nation’s biggest gender gaps in new registrations, according to Democratic voter data firm Target Smart, which said women have outpaced men by about 12 percentage points.
OR: Monkeypox in Oregon is disproportionately hurting Latino men
opb.org
Data from the Oregon Health Authority appears to show emerging racial and ethnic disparities in monkeypox cases. People who identify as Hispanic account for 32 out of the state’s current total of 116 cases. That’s about 28% of all cases, in a state that is 14% Hispanic.
MT: Montana GOP divided on need for special session
Montana’s Republican legislators are divided on calls to assemble in a special session and pass income and property tax rebates, the latest proposal to spend down a substantial state budget surplus.
LA: Louisiana lawmaker will try again to hold back struggling readers at third grade
A Louisiana state legislator plans to make another attempt to stop the promotion of third graders who repeatedly fail reading assessments. He said he will bring back a bill that narrowly failed this year after the latest state test results show a continued decline in reading scores.
WV: Free anti-overdose drug to be distributed in West Virginia in September
Free naloxone will be distributed across West Virginia in September during Save a Life Day, an annual event created to encourage community members and substance users to always carry the overdose-reversing drug.
IA: Iowa crops stabilize with widespread rains
Iowa had above-normal statewide rainfall last week for the first time in more than a month, which helped stabilize the conditions of corn and soybean plants, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.
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