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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.
If schools won’t ban kids’ cellphones, some lawmakers say, they will
At David H. Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri, the rule is that students must keep their cellphones out of sight during class. In reality, the teachers tasked with enforcing the rule are no match for teenagers’ “almost compulsive” need to be on their phones all the time, said science teacher Noelle Gilzow. Gilzow confiscates […] The post If schools won’t ban kids’ cellphones, some lawmakers say, they will appeared first on Stateline.
Deep red Utah wants to keep voting by mail
When it comes to voting by mail, Utah is not your typical deep red state. In 2020, when many states scrambled to implement mail-in voting so voters had a safe way to cast a ballot during the pandemic, Utah already had a system. Republican conspiracy theories questioning the integrity of voting by mail in the tumultuous aftermath of the […] The post Deep red Utah wants to keep voting by mail appeared first on Stateline.
Facing public backlash, some health care companies are abandoning hospital deals
Worried about hospitals closing and higher costs for patients, state lawmakers are increasingly tangling with hospitals over potential health care mergers, in some cases derailing deals they think don’t serve the public interest. Financially strapped hospitals often look to merge with or be acquired by other systems. After a...
Allowing more juice to flow through power lines could hasten clean energy projects
If the thousands of proposed solar, wind and battery energy projects got built, they would more than double the amount of electricity that is currently produced nationwide and get the U.S. much closer to its clean energy targets. But there’s one big problem: America’s power lines can’t carry that much...
Fluoride in public water has slashed tooth decay, but some states may end mandates
Kentucky state Rep. Mark Hart has been drinking fluoridated water his entire life. In 1954, five years before Hart was born, his home state mandated adding or adjusting levels of the mineral, which occurs naturally in water, in drinking water systems of populations larger than 3,000. But after hearing from a constituent a few years […] The post Fluoride in public water has slashed tooth decay, but some states may end mandates appeared first on Stateline.
Colorectal cancer is rising among younger adults. Some states want to boost awareness.
Responding to new research on the rising incidence of colorectal cancer among younger adults, some states are trying to boost public awareness of the deadly disease with a focus on Black and rural residents. In 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force changed the routine screening age for colorectal cancer to 45 from 50, based […] The post Colorectal cancer is rising among younger adults. Some states want to boost awareness. appeared first on Stateline.
Absence of AI hospital rules worries nurses
For nurse Judy Schmidt, the beeping monitors hooked up to critical patients at the Community Medical Center in Toms River, New Jersey, were just a normal part of the whirlwind of activity in the intensive care unit. But looking back on her work about a decade ago, Schmidt said she realizes those machines were using […] The post Absence of AI hospital rules worries nurses appeared first on Stateline.
As xylazine surges, some lawmakers want jail time for dealers and people who use the drug
Legislators in a handful of states are offering bills to address the rise in the misuse of xylazine, a cheap animal sedative not intended for human consumption. Xylazine, or “tranq,” can induce blackouts and cause lesions that sometimes result in severe infections or amputations, and it can even lead to death. The opioid overdose-reversal drug […] The post As xylazine surges, some lawmakers want jail time for dealers and people who use the drug appeared first on Stateline.
‘The lifeblood of the community’: States invest to save rural grocery stores
EMERSON, Neb. — Corliss Hassler rushes in the front door of Post 60 Market and heads straight for the produce case. “I’m back,” she announces. It’s around lunchtime, but it’s already her second trip in today — this time, she’s picking up a few items for the Friday fish fry at the local Catholic church. Hassler […] The post ‘The lifeblood of the community’: States invest to save rural grocery stores appeared first on Stateline.
States consider menthol cigarette bans as feds delay action
CLERMONT, Fla. — It was just after sunset, and the evening traffic was buzzing on Highway 50 as 24-year-old Elijah Kinlaw popped into his local Walgreens in Clermont, Florida, to pick up some smokes. He had just finished a long day working at a local roofing company, and he was still wearing his neon green […] The post States consider menthol cigarette bans as feds delay action appeared first on Stateline.
Transparency bills seek to reveal the true costs of college
University students in Alaska kept asking Republican state Sen. Robert Myers why they were being blindsided with requirements to buy expensive textbooks after they signed up for classes, he said. Students complained to Myers that universities warned them about high tuition but not about the costs of textbooks, lab fees and equipment that also add up. Often, students sign up for […] The post Transparency bills seek to reveal the true costs of college appeared first on Stateline.
Chicago is the latest city rethinking disputed technology that listens for gunshots
Chicago has joined a growing list of cities that have cut ties with a controversial company that tries to reduce urban gun violence with 24/7 technology that listens for the crack of gunshots and immediately notifies police. This month, Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the city would not renew its contract with SoundThinking, the […] The post Chicago is the latest city rethinking disputed technology that listens for gunshots appeared first on Stateline.
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