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Editor’s Picks From Around the Web
US: Puerto Rico says it can’t pay debt, setting off potential municipal bond crisis
Puerto Rico has said it cannot pay back more than $70 billion in debt, setting up a financial crisis for the U.S. commonwealth that could rock the municipal bond market and lead to higher borrowing costs for states and cities across the U.S.
TX: Texas attorney general: Clerks can deny same-sex marriage licenses
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called the Supreme Court decision giving same-sex couples the right to marry a “lawless ruling” and said county clerks can cite their religious objections in denying marriage licenses — though they could face litigation or a fine.
NJ: New Jersey Supreme Court ruling to determine future of abused immigrant children
The New Jersey Supreme Court will decide whether immigrant children must prove they have been abused, neglected or abandoned by both parents to remain in the U.S., or whether demonstrating mistreatment or neglect by one parent is sufficient. The court’s decision could determine the future of roughly 500 to 700 children in New Jersey and could affect immigration cases nationwide.
KS: Court rules Kansas’ new block-grant funding of schools unconstitutional
Kansas’ block-grant funding of public schools is inequitable and unconstitutional, a special three-judge panel ruled. The court ordered the state to reinstate parts of the school-finance formula that the Legislature and Republican Gov. Sam Brownback repealed earlier this year and replaced with the block grants.
MD: Maryland governor begins chemotherapy treatment
Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said he has completed his first round of chemotherapy to treat an aggressive cancer of the lymph nodes and that he’s felt no side effects. The Maryland governor has an aggressive form of stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
MO: The wolves of Jeff City: Sexual harassment at Missouri’s Capitol
Although lawmakers and staff are required to take sexual harassment training and a process for handling complaints exists, dozens of women — current and former interns, legislative aides, lobbyists and lawmakers — say lechery and harassment is commonplace in the Missouri Capitol.
US: State marijuana laws complicate federal job recruitment
Although it is legal in Colorado, Washington and elsewhere to possess and smoke marijuana, federal job recruiters are telling potential hires in those states that marijuana use will not be tolerated.
CA: Lawsuits over California water rights challenge a century of claims
The drought has highlighted the arcane workings of California’s water rights system, one that rewards those who arrived first and underpins agriculture’s position as the state’s dominant water user.
FL: Florida vetoes stirs up bad blood between governor, lawmakers
Republican Gov. Rick Scott blindsided legislators in wiping out $461 million for nearly every type of program, from free medical clinics to college construction and programs to help ex-offenders rejoin society.
MN: In Minnesota, the advent of medical pot doesn’t mean easy access
Minnesota makes the drug available for medical purposes on Wednesday, but the state’s restrictive approach is likely to mean high costs, long drives for patients and doctors reluctant to prescribe it.
MI: Big issues remain before Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature still faces some big agenda items, including how to pay for needed road repairs that run about $1.2 billion a year and whether to repeal the state’s prevailing wage on public construction projects.
MS: Mississippi may benefit from Louisiana’s cap on tax credits for film production
The head of Mississippi’s film office director says Louisiana’s decision to cap the tax credits it offers movie and television production companies could send more business to Mississippi and Georgia.
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