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AR: Arkansas leads nation in anti-abortion laws so far this year
After passing the top priority of anti-abortion groups early in the session and with one of the nation’s toughest bans already tied up in the courts, Arkansas lawmakers closed out the session by passing more abortion restrictions than any other state so far this year.
US: Wealthy donors on the left launch plan to wrest back control in the states
A cadre of wealthy liberal donors aims to pour tens of millions of dollars into rebuilding the left’s political might in the states, racing to catch up with a decades-old conservative effort that has reshaped statehouses across the country.
TX: Texas lawmakers consider private scholarships to pay for school choice
Texas lawmakers are looking at using tax incentives—not taxpayer dollars directly—to coax private donors to fund private school scholarship vouchers for students trying to get out of failing public schools.
KS: Kansas faces shortage of mental health care providers
Mental health centers outside Kansas’ largest cities have had to get creative to deal with a shortage of providers, as 100 counties have a shortage based on federal standards.
OH: Should Ohio school children know how to write in cursive?
Several legislators want cursive to be required again in all elementary schools in Ohio and have proposed legislation mandating handwriting instruction in kindergarten through fifth grade.
MA: Massachusetts governor orders review of ‘onerous’ state regulations
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has ordered a year-long review of nearly every state regulation, which is setting off alarms among environmentalists, consumer activists, and union leaders, who fear it will dismantle some of Massachusetts’ strict regulations governing the state’s water and air quality standards, worker safety requirements, and health regulations.
DE: Delaware debate: Should towns ban sex offenders?
Eight Delaware towns have written rules that effectively ban sex offenders from living within their borders at a time when there are more than 4,500 people on the state’s sex offender registry – about 1 for every 200 citizens in the state.
WA: Washington school districts struggle with kindergarten, class-size mandates
More than 260 Washington school districts are struggling to plan for new classroom space to meet upcoming state mandates for all-day kindergarten and 17-to-1 student-teacher ratios in kindergarten through third grade.
FL: Medicaid expansion plans in Florida face long odds
The Senate is advancing a plan that would let Florida use federal Medicaid expansion money to subsidize a new state-run marketplace for private insurance. But it faces big legislative hurdles in the remaining weeks of the session.
ME: Maine police say they paid ransom to hackers to get files back
Some Maine police agencies say they have had no other choice than to pay a ransom to computer hackers to get their police records back.
WI: Wisconsin considers dissolving science bureau
Wisconsin officials are considering dismantling the state’s science bureau, a move that critics say could eliminate the impartial science that guides natural resource management decision-making.
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