Editor’s Picks From Around the Web

IN: Indiana governor proposes B in new road and bridge improvements

indystar.com

Republican Gov. Mike Pence proposed spending $1 billion more on Indiana’s roads and bridges over the next four years, with the money coming from the state’s reserves and borrowing.

MA: Massachusetts Senate to take up bill to curb ‘re-homing’ of adopted children

bostonglobe.com

The bill would block the Internet-enabled practice of “re-homing”—Massachusetts families passing off, without oversight, adopted, usually troubled children they can no longer handle. It would impose fines of $5,000 to $25,000 for advertising children for re-homing and sentences of up to 20 years in prison for actually placing children.

LA: A third of Louisiana’s uninsured in Obamacare ‘coverage gap’

nola.com

A third of Louisiana’s 582,000 residents without health insurance are in a “coverage gap.” They can’t qualify for the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion because the state declined to participate, and their incomes are too low to receive subsidized coverage under the Obamacare marketplace.

TX: Stalling oil boom cutting into Texas revenue

texastribune.org

A stalled boom in oil drilling is forcing Texas to lower its income predictions — though not by enough to force any cuts in the state budget. The state comptroller lowered the estimate of state revenue by $2.6 billion, which would leave the state with $4.22 billion in the bank at the end of the current two-year budget cycle.

MI: Guns in Michigan churches? Bars? Schools? Maybe

freep.com

Michigan lawmakers are taking up a bill that would allow people with licenses to carry concealed pistols to carry their weapons in places now off-limits, such as schools, churches and taverns. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed similar legislation in 2012.

CO: Denver proposes sales tax to help students pay for college in Colorado

denverpost.com

If voters approve it, a new College Affordability Fund would collect about $10.6 million a year to provide scholarships to Denver students and make grants to those who need help paying off loans. The need-based aid would be capped at $4,000 a year, and students would have to demonstrate progress toward a degree or certificate at a Colorado college or a post-secondary program.

WI: Wisconsin gun shop ordered to pay millions to wounded police officers

ap.org

Jurors ordered a Wisconsin gun store to pay nearly $6 million in a lawsuit filed by two Milwaukee police officers who were shot and seriously wounded by a gun purchased at the store.

IA: Hungry Iowans flock to food pantries for help

desmoinesregister.com

The Food Bank of Iowa, which serves 55 counties, doubled its distribution, from 5.6 million pounds of food in fiscal year 2010 to 11.1 million in 2015. The growing problem has prompted officials to launch new anti-hunger initiatives in the state.

OH: Ohio Supreme Court often rules against making records public

bucyrustelegraphforum.com

The Ohio Supreme Court rules against people requesting public records from government officials more often than not, a new review of cases finds. But court officials say the justices are limited by the laws that legislators pass.

IL: Illinois governor wants to auction off state’s distinct office building in Chicago

chicagotribune.com

The James R. Thompson Center, architecturally significant to some and an emblem of bureaucratic government excess to others, would be sold and likely demolished to be rebuilt as a privately owned residential, office and retail space under a plan proposed by Illinois Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

CA: California governor signs ban on using ‘Redskins’ name at high schools

sportingnews.com

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown made California the first state to ban using the Redskins name as a mascot for high school teams. The ban starts in 2017 and affects four schools.