Editor’s Picks From Around the Web

MO: Black drivers in Missouri stopped at even higher rate

stltoday.com

The rate at which African-Americans were stopped on Missouri roads relative to their share of the population last year was the highest it has been since the state began collecting data in 2000. Black drivers were 75 percent more likely than white drivers to be stopped. That gap is up from 2013 and well above the 31 percent recorded in 2000.

AZ: U.S. Supreme Court rejects bid to revive Arizona no-bail law

azcentral.com

Justices declined to review a lower court’s decision that struck down an Arizona constitutional amendment that denies bail to illegal immigrants who are charged with serious crimes. The measure was adopted in 2006 by the state’s voters.

VT: Vermont’s Shumlin signs same-day voter registration bill

burlingtonfreepress.com

Vermonters will be able to register to vote at any polling place on Election Day beginning in 2017 under a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin. He approved the bill despite concerns by municipal clerks that it could lead to fraud.

NV: Nevada Senate sends $1.5 billion tax plan to governor

lasvegassun.com

The Nevada Senate concurred on a $1.5 billion omnibus tax plan, sending Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval a measure that would bolster education funding by more than $600 million in the next two years by raising payroll, sales and cigarette taxes.

SC: Bill to settle North Carolina border in limbo in South Carolina House

thestate.com

A bill 20 years in the making that would clarify once and for all the 333-mile border between South Carolina and North Carolina has run into a roadblock in the House Judiciary Committee. Also in limbo: Nearly 150 residences and four businesses, which aren’t certain which state they lie in.

CA: California Senate backs $13 minimum wage

latimes.com

The Senate passed a bill that would raise California’s $9 minimum wage to $11 an hour on Jan. 1 and boost it again to $13 in 2017.

MD: Maryland state employees can get leave to volunteer

washingtonpost.com

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan announced an initiative that offers state employees four hours of paid leave to perform community service through the end of August. The initiative is partly in response to recent civil unrest in Baltimore.

TX: Despite early momentum, Texas immigration bills fall flat

texastribune.org

Campaign promises to enact immigration-enforcement measures and repeal in-state tuition for undocumented students in Texas didn’t see the light of day this legislative session, but Republican lawmakers who championed the measures said they’ll try again next session.

ND: Increase in oil prices means more state dollars for North Dakota

bismarcktribune.com

North Dakota’s treasury will have nearly a half-billion dollars more than forecast by year’s end because the average price for oil rebounded higher than was needed to trigger a tax exemption for drillers.

LA: Bills would steer more money to Louisiana road projects

nola.com

A package of bills aimed at steering more money to road repairs and bridge work across Louisiana is edging nearer to final legislative passage. The measures would redirect money that currently goes into the rainy-day fund, generating an estimated $21 million over the next five years for transportation projects.

ME: Maine House votes for concealed handguns without a permit

pressherald.com

The House joined the Senate in approving the measure in initial votes, overcoming public safety concerns and keeping Maine on the path of becoming the seventh state to allow people to carry handguns without first having cleared a criminal background check or meeting other requirements.

WI: Wisconsin attorney general creates open government office

jsonline.com

Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel is creating an Office of Open Government to ensure records such as investigations into shootings by police officers are more readily available and that his office is applying state law consistently when a member of the public requests government records.