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Where did all the water go? New study explores water use in the Colorado River basin.
This story first appeared in the Utah News Dispatch. Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the West are grappling with drought that’s worsening because of climate change. The final 100 miles of the Colorado River is a shell of its former self — nearly 10 miles wide at the turn of the century, steamboats would transport […] The post Where did all the water go? New study explores water use in the Colorado River basin. appeared first on Stateline.
As drag shows go ‘mainstream,’ some red states look to restrict them
Drag performances used to be found mostly in the confines of nightlife venues such as clubs and bars. But drag has stepped into the daylight, with elaborately costumed and made-up performers appearing at library readings and kid-friendly brunches, and a newfound visibility for gender-bending entertainment and self-expression. “Drag now versus 15 years ago is like […] The post As drag shows go ‘mainstream,’ some red states look to restrict them appeared first on Stateline.
Georgia’s Medicaid work requirements costing taxpayers millions despite low enrollment
This story first appeared on KFF Health News. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s plan for a conservative alternative to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion has cost taxpayers at least $26 million so far, with more than 90% going toward administrative and consulting costs rather than medical care for low-income people. Kemp’s Georgia Pathways to Coverage offers government […] The post Georgia’s Medicaid work requirements costing taxpayers millions despite low enrollment appeared first on Stateline.
Vets fret as private equity snaps up clinics, pet care companies
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — About a year ago, veterinarian Melissa Ezell started noticing subtle changes at the midsized animal clinic in Huntsville, Alabama, where she works. She said she and other vets were feeling pressure from management to make a certain amount of money from every appointment. If a pet owner wasn’t going to spend enough, […] The post Vets fret as private equity snaps up clinics, pet care companies appeared first on Stateline.
States rush to combat AI threat to elections
This year’s presidential election will be the first since generative AI — a form of artificial intelligence that can create new content, including images, audio and video — became widely available. That’s raising fears that millions of voters could be deceived by a barrage of political deepfakes. But, while Congress has done little to address […] The post States rush to combat AI threat to elections appeared first on Stateline.
Disabled workers can be paid less than the minimum wage. Some states want to end that.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — High-fives, fist-bumps and hugs come with the ice cream at the Golden Scoop. Tucked into a shopping center in suburban Kansas City, the shop employs 15 people with developmental disabilities. While customers first come for the sweet treats, many are drawn in by the Golden Scoop’s mission and friendly environment.
Deadly fires from phone, scooter batteries leave lawmakers playing catch-up on safety
For a decade, Illinois state Sen. Sue Rezin has recognized the technological and economic potential of lithium-ion batteries. Rezin, a Republican who serves in a district that is a major chemical and energy industry hub southwest of Chicago, also recognizes the possible dangers. In June 2021, a Morris, Illinois, warehouse in her district with roughly […] The post Deadly fires from phone, scooter batteries leave lawmakers playing catch-up on safety appeared first on Stateline.
Few states cover fertility treatment for same-sex couples, but that could be changing
Elizabeth Bauer was working out at the gym one morning last August when she got a phone call from her fertility nurse. It was a call that Bauer and her wife, Rebecca, had long been waiting for. Elizabeth dialed in Rebecca so they could listen together: They were pregnant. The...
HIV is no longer a death sentence. But states still have laws targeting people who live with it.
This article originally appeared on The 19th. The morning of Feb. 4, 2007, started off like any other for 25-year-old Lashanda Salinas. She got up and made the 20-minute commute to her job as a front desk clerk at a Nashville hotel where she greeted guests and checked them in. Hours later, her life changed. […] The post HIV is no longer a death sentence. But states still have laws targeting people who live with it. appeared first on Stateline.
School voucher proponents spend big to overcome rural resistance
AUSTIN, Texas — In rural Texas, public schools are the cultural heart of small towns. People pack the high school stadium for Friday night football games, and FFA classes prepare the next generation for the agricultural life. In many places, more people work for the school district than for any other employer. For years, many […] The post School voucher proponents spend big to overcome rural resistance appeared first on Stateline.
Fearing political violence, more states ban firearms at polling places
Facing increased threats to election workers and superheated political rhetoric from former President Donald Trump and his supporters, more states are considering firearm bans at polling places and ballot drop boxes ahead of November’s presidential election. This month, New Mexico became the latest state to restrict guns where people...
Taxpayers were overcharged for patient meds. Then came the lawyers.
Stateline’s Shalina Chatlani examined the health care system in Mississippi as a part of The New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship. In 2018, when Mike DeWine was Ohio’s attorney general, he began investigating an obscure corner of the health care industry. He believed that insurers were inflating prescription drug prices through management companies that operated […] The post Taxpayers were overcharged for patient meds. Then came the lawyers. appeared first on Stateline.
To boost Trump, GOP attorneys general charge into battle over state election rules
With less than six months before voting begins, the legal jousting over the rules for the 2024 election is already underway. And former President Donald Trump’s campaign is getting support from allies who have stayed mostly under the national radar: red-state attorneys general. In court filings made in recent months, these chief state legal officers […] The post To boost Trump, GOP attorneys general charge into battle over state election rules appeared first on Stateline.
As feds stand down, states choose between wetlands protections or rollbacks
For 200 miles, the Wabash River forms the border between Illinois and Indiana as it meanders south to the Ohio River. On the Illinois side, lawmakers are scrambling to pass a bill that would protect wetlands from development and pollution, in order to safeguard water quality and limit flooding. But in Indiana, state policymakers hastily […] The post As feds stand down, states choose between wetlands protections or rollbacks appeared first on Stateline.
Texas’ new immigration law is blocked again
This article first appeared in The Texas Tribune. A federal appeals court late Tuesday night stopped a state law allowing Texas police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border — hours after the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed it to go into effect. Earlier in the day, the high court had allowed […] The post Texas’ new immigration law is blocked again appeared first on Stateline.
States rethink ambitious projects as tax revenues shrink and pandemic aid ends
From health care for immigrants in California to universal school vouchers in Tennessee, states are being forced to rethink expensive projects as tax revenues decline and federal pandemic aid ends. State tax revenue fell last year by 4%, according to a Stateline analysis of U.S. Census Bureau estimates released this month. Revenue is still up […] The post States rethink ambitious projects as tax revenues shrink and pandemic aid ends appeared first on Stateline.
‘Tough-on-crime’ policies are back in some places that had reimagined criminal justice
Fueled by public outrage over the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and other high-profile incidents of police violence, a seismic shift swept across the United States shortly afterward, with a wave of initiatives aimed at reining in police powers and reimagining criminal-legal systems. Yet less than half a decade later, […] The post ‘Tough-on-crime’ policies are back in some places that had reimagined criminal justice appeared first on Stateline.
Working-class people rarely have a seat ‘at the legislative table’ in state capitols
In her first few months as a Minnesota state legislator in 2021, state Rep. Kaela Berg often wondered: “What the hell am I doing here?” A single mother and flight attendant without a college degree or prior political experience, Berg now had a seat at the legislative table, shaping policy decisions in her home state. […] The post Working-class people rarely have a seat ‘at the legislative table’ in state capitols appeared first on Stateline.
New way for states to cover pricey gene therapies will start with sickle cell disease
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration late last year approved two breakthrough gene therapies for sickle cell disease patients. Now a new federal program seeks to make these life-changing treatments available to patients with low incomes — and it could be a model to help states pay for other expensive therapies.
Two women needed to end their pregnancies. Only one got to do it on her terms.
Editor’s note: This is the third installment of an occasional States Newsroom series called When and Where: Abortion Access in America, profiling individuals who have needed abortion care in the U.S. before and after Dobbs. The first installment can be found here, and the second installment is here. Jennifer Vollstedt and Ariel Cavanaugh-Okhah have never met, […] The post Two women needed to end their pregnancies. Only one got to do it on her terms. appeared first on Stateline.
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Stateline provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy. Since its founding in 1998, Stateline has maintained a commitment to the highest standards of nonpartisanship, objectivity and integrity. Its team of journalists combines original reporting with a roundup of the latest news from sources around the country. In 2023, Stateline transitioned from its longtime home at The Pew Charitable Trusts to States Newsroom.
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