By: - February 5, 2015 12:00 am

CA: California lawmakers urge repeal of vaccination law’s ‘opt-out’ provision

mercurynews.com

Two state senators plan to introduce legislation to eliminate a controversial “personal belief exemption” that allows California parents to refuse to vaccinate their children.

TN: Governor’s health plan Insure Tennessee dead

tennessean.com

Tennessee will not expand health benefits to hundreds of thousands of low-income residents, after state senators rebuked Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s controversial health care proposal.

AZ: Arizona measure would curb open meetings by officials

azcentral.com

A bipartisan bill in the state Senate would allow city councils, school boards and other leaders to talk in secret, discussions that Arizona law now requires be open to the public.

AL: Alabama works to fill high-wage jobs

montgomeryadvertiser.com

The state revealed a plan to help funnel more Alabamians into the most in-demand jobs that pay $40,000 to $70,000 a year and close a gap that could be stunting the state’s employment growth.

MO: What do Rams do for the state? Missouri House committee will analyze that

stltoday.com

As the debate over public aid for a new stadium to keep the Rams in St. Louis rages, a Missouri House committee soon will begin analyzing the benefit of having an NFL team in the city.

IL: Rauner: Agenda will make Illinois more competitive

dailyherald.com

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner laid out a first-year agenda that he said will help Illinois better compete with its neighbors, largely by stripping power from labor unions, shrinking the size of government and making the state more attractive to companies looking to create jobs.

LA: Jindal hammers Obama for proposed cuts in Louisiana offshore revenue sharing

nola.com

Louisiana is counting on its share of the royalties to help pay for a $50 billion plan for coastal restoration and hurricane protection. The proposed reduction in the share of royalties for Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states is included in President Barack Obama’s federal budget proposal.

GA: Georgia lawmakers pursue stronger effort against sex trafficking

ajc.com

Lawmakers launched a new attack on Georgia’s child sex trafficking problem, proposing that the state help victims get back on their feet while also hitting convicted traffickers and the businesses they haunt where it most hurts: their wallets.

NV: Educators object to bill allowing guns in cars at schools

lasvegassun.com

Gun advocates clashed with educators over a bill to allow weapons secured in vehicles on Nevada school campuses.

WI: No limits on school vouchers in statewide program in governor’s budget

madison.com

Republican Gov. Scott Walker is proposing to eliminate a cap on Wisconsin’s voucher program, which would allow an unlimited number of students to use taxpayer money to attend private schools.

KS: Retirees rally against slashing Kansas state pension contributions

cjonline.com

Dozens of Kansas pension system beneficiaries denounced Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s recommendation to slash state contributions to the system by $58 million this year to help cover a state budget shortfall.

MD: Governor calls for halting automatic increases in gas tax, repeal of ‘rain tax’

washingtonpost.com

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan proposed halting automatic increases in the state’s gas tax, creating a tax exemption for small businesses, providing tax relief for military, police and fire retirees, and repealing a stormwater mitigation fee he has long derided as the “rain tax.”

KY: Kentucky coal jobs slide to lowest point since 1920s

kentucky.com

Kentucky coal production and jobs, once an employment mainstay for the state, continued to slide in 2014 to 11,574, the lowest since the state began keeping records in the 1920s.

OH: Governor says Ohio’s school funding formula unsustainable

dispatch.com

Republican Gov. John Kasich proposed yanking public school districts off a guaranteed funding system that has assured school systems they wouldn’t receive less money than the year before.

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Stateline staff
Stateline staff

Stateline’s team of veteran journalists combines original reporting with a roundup of the latest news from sources around the country.

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