Lawmakers on the Legislature’s budget committee met Tuesday to sign off on funding for dozens of additional bills that still need final approval before they can be sent to Gov. Janet Mills. The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee moved dozens of bills from what’s known as the special appropriations table, where bills requiring funding go before they can get final approval from the Maine Senate. Lawmakers are expected to take up the bills the committee approved when they meet Friday to take up vetoes from Mills. Any amended bills would...

A bill to address a weakness in the Alabama’s public records law received final passage in the Legislature on Tuesday. The law says citizens have a right to inspect and obtain copies of public records but is silent on when state agencies are required to respond to requests for records. The Senate gave final passage to SB270 by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, to put some timelines in the law. The bill goes to Gov. Kay Ivey, who can sign it into law. The Alabama Press Association, which has worked for...

OVERLAND PARK — Leaders of a new politically diverse coalition said Tuesday they were committed to supporting candidates for the Kansas Legislature dedicated to ending the state’s prohibition on recreational cannabis and to expunging criminal records tied to marijuana. Prairie Village City Council member Inga Selders, founder of the Cannabis Justice Coalition, said it was frustrating to observe inertia of elected officials who failed to deliver “fair and equitable” laws and policies recognizing the social, medical and financial benefits of fully legalizing cannabis.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday signed a controversial bill into law that critics say would make it “more difficult” for voters to cast ballots, including and especially for the upcoming presidential election in November. The passage of Senate Bill (SB) 189 means in part that people without a permanent address will need to re-register to vote; challenges to those voter registrations will be easier to initiate; and, perhaps most consequential, requires counties to tally all absentee ballots within an hour of polls closing. Taken together, civil rights leaders have...

With little debate two years ago, state lawmakers passed a complex energy bill that enabled a sweeping change in how most Californians are billed for electricity. The legislation was what Pacific Gas & Electric from the state public utilities commission three months before: a transformation of electric rates so that households would pay a fixed charge each month in exchange for lower rates for each kilowatt hour they used. Gov. Gavin Newsom submitted the bill as part of a massive 2022 budget revision. In four days, it was passed out...

With two full days of events and programs along with performances by Wu-Tang Clan, Redman, and Thundercat, the 2024 National Cannabis Festival will be bigger than ever this year. Leading up to the festivities on Friday and Saturday at Washington, D.C.’s RFK Stadium are plenty of can’t-miss experiences planned for 420 Week, including the National Cannabis Policy Summit and an LGBTQ happy hour hosted by the District’s Black-owned queer bar, Thurst Lounge (both happening on Wednesday). On Tuesday, the Blade caught up with NCF Founder and Executive Producer Caroline Phillips,...

A bill that would require New Jersey employers to better protect their workers from dangerous heat on the job moved closer to becoming law Monday. It could have big implications in particular for New Jersey’s billion-dollar farming sector and fast-growing warehouse industry. The state’s farms depend largely on migrant workers, who — unlike in some other states — are not protected by any formal requirements that say employers must provide breaks. Representatives from farming and industry groups are opposing the legislation, which they argue is redundant and a strain on...

Tennessee lawmakers have sent a "blended sentencing" bill to Gov. Bill Lee's desk that will crack down on lenient punishments for the worst of the worst juvenile offenders by handing them adult punishments after they age out of the juvenile system. Under current law, the juvenile justice system loses jurisdiction over a young offender after his or her 19th birthday. The blended sentencing bill gives serious offenders a maximum of three to five additional years in adult prison if they meet certain negative criteria after aging out. "If they're 17...

Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley is hoping to win a second public office. She was one of four candidates who filed on Monday for a state Senate seat representing Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Green Bluff and northeastern Spokane County , after longtime incumbent Mike Padden announced last month his intent to retire when his term ends in December. Candidates hoping to win public office in Washington began filing Monday to appear on the Aug. 5 primary ballot. The deadline to file is on Friday. Candidates emerged Monday for most legislative...