What do free bus rides, new taxes on the wealthy and a stiff drink in a movie theater have in common? All three have the support of lawmakers in the New York State Legislature. These ideas and thousands of others were tucked into the Senate and Assembly budget proposals released this week, offering a glimpse […]
Read MoreTag: State Legislatures
It’s Getting Harder to Sue Pesticide Companies for Making People Sick
The EPA’s pesticides office seems to suffer from a severe case of regulatory capture. One EPA official reportedly told a Monsanto lobbyist in 2015 that he was trying to stop another agency’s investigation into glyphosate, and added, “If I can kill this I should get a medal.” And a retired EPA scientist told Al Jazeera […]
Read MoreSick Because of Roundup? These Bills Could Make Suing Impossible.
The EPA’s pesticides office seems to suffer from a severe case of regulatory capture. One EPA official reportedly told a Monsanto lobbyist in 2015 that he was trying to stop another agency’s investigation into glyphosate, and added, “If I can kill this I should get a medal.” And a retired EPA scientist told Al Jazeera […]
Read MoreThe Billionaires’ Secret Plan to Solve California’s Housing Crisis
Fact-checking by Susan Lee. The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle […]
Read MoreNY Senate Democrats Propose a Plan to Fix the Housing Crisis
To address a growing housing crisis, leaders in New York’s State Senate are set to propose sweeping legislation on Monday that would encourage new construction, establish new tenant protections and also revive some older ideas for building affordable housing. Among them: the creation of a new public benefit corporation that would finance housing construction on […]
Read MoreTakeaways From the Texas Primary: Ken Paxton Ousts Some of His Enemies
The primary election in Texas on Tuesday was among the most expensive and hard-fought in state history, as factions of the Republican Party battled for control. It was in large part a referendum on the fate of moderate Republicans in the Texas House, which impeached the Republican attorney general and blocked some hard-right priorities last […]
Read MoreAlabama IVF Protection Bill Will Reopen Clinics but Curb Patient Rights
The Alabama legislature on Wednesday is expected to pass legislation that will make it possible for fertility clinics in the state to reopen without the specter of crippling lawsuits. But the measure, hastily written and expected to pass by a huge bipartisan margin, does not address the legal question that led to clinic closings and […]
Read MoreWith Sweeping New Laws, Louisiana Embraces Tough-on-Crime Approach
In 2017, Louisiana overhauled its criminal justice system with broad bipartisan support, all in an effort to lose the distinction of having the nation’s highest incarceration rate. Sentences were reduced. Opportunities for parole were expanded. Alternatives to prison were introduced. But seven years later, the state is sending a very different message: Those days are […]
Read MorePaid Family Caregivers in Indiana Face Steep Cutbacks
Kacey Poynter doesn’t have to commute far to clock in for work. She’s a paid caregiver and simply rolls out of bed to tend to her charge: her 2-year-old son, who sleeps in a portable playpen right beside her. Sonny was born with a congenital malformation that impaired his brain development and needs near continuous […]
Read MoreAlbany Should Pass Parole Reforms
Scientists have found that most cells in our bodies regenerate every seven to 10 years on average. This includes certain cells in the heart and brain. Can we assume, then, that our moral and emotional compasses are also capable of transforming over time? As a New York State parole commissioner for 12 years, I evaluated […]
Read MoreWhy ‘Fetal Personhood’ Is Roiling the Right
In vitro fertilization creates life, in the most literal sense. The procedure offers a chance to make a baby, with eggs that are fertilized and develop into embryos in a lab. I.V.F. has helped countless people have children, including couples struggling with infertility and an increasing number of L.G.B.T.Q. parents. In a sense, it’s the […]
Read MoreIn Texas Primary, a Brawl Among Republicans for Party Control
Rarely have intraparty battles between Republicans in Texas been as bitter, protracted and consequential as the primary contests culminating in Election Day on Tuesday. The fights have primarily focused on members of the Texas House who angered many conservative voters last year by impeaching the Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, on charges of corruption and […]
Read MoreAlabama Lawmakers Advance Bills in a Race to Protect IVF
Alabama lawmakers overwhelmingly advanced legislation on Thursday that would shield doctors, clinics and hospitals offering in vitro fertilization treatment, clearing a major hurdle in their race to enshrine protections for reproductive medicine into law. The scramble comes after a State Supreme Court ruling this month found that, under Alabama law, frozen embryos should be considered […]
Read MoreNew Wisconsin Legislative Maps Diminish G.O.P. Advantage
Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin signed into law on Monday new legislative maps that could drastically alter the state’s balance of power, giving Democrats a chance to win control of the state’s legislature for the first time in more than a decade. “When I promised I wanted fair maps — not maps that are better […]
Read MoreOhio Law Forces Transgender Candidate to Use Deadname on Ballot
Ari Faber has lived as a man for nine years. But because of a state law, Mr. Faber, a Democratic candidate for the Ohio Senate, will appear on ballots in a March primary election with a woman’s name. The law, which was passed in 1995 to prevent deception, requires candidates who have changed names in […]
Read MoreUtah School Board Member Is Censured After Questioning Student’s Gender
A Utah State Board of Education member was stripped of her committee assignments and asked to resign this week after she questioned the gender of a high school basketball player in a Facebook post. Natalie Cline, the board member, posted a flyer for a high school basketball team in Salt Lake County on Feb. 6 […]
Read MoreTo Save San Francisco, a Democrat Wants to Scrap Environmental Reviews
Not long ago, it would have sounded preposterous: A San Francisco Democrat asking to peel back California’s treasured environmental protections in the heart of the city. It would have been like painting the Golden Gate Bridge gray or cheering on the Los Angeles Dodgers. It just would not have flown. But as California grows more […]
Read More$2.4 Billion Is Not Enough for New York’s Migrant Crisis, Adams Says
With the migrant crisis continuing to roil New York City, Mayor Eric Adams appeared to score a win last month when the governor vowed to commit $2.4 billion — more than double last year’s proposal — to cover the costs of caring for the tens of thousands of people who have arrived in New York […]
Read MoreOregon’s Decriminalized Drugs Debate Is Full of High Stakes
In February 2021, Oregon decriminalized possession of small amounts of all drugs, via a ballot initiative known as Measure 110. The idea was to treat addiction as a public health problem, based on overwhelming evidence that jailing people for having small amounts of drugs for personal use is both ineffective and counterproductive. Since then, decriminalization […]
Read MoreThis Florida Mall Has Gucci, Prada … and Soon, Affordable Housing?
In Bal Harbour, Fla., an oceanside village north of Miami Beach, a luxury mall says it wants to help tackle one of the nation’s — and Florida’s — most intractable problems: a lack of affordable housing. It is an unexpected move for a retail temple where Gucci, Chanel and Rolex are on offer. Affordable? Here? […]
Read MoreProvidence Officials Approve Overdose Prevention Center
More than two years ago, Rhode Island became the first state in the nation to authorize overdose prevention centers, facilities where people would be allowed to use illicit drugs under professional supervision. On Thursday, the Providence City Council approved the establishment of what will be the state’s first so-called safe injection site. Minnesota is the […]
Read MoreAnxiety, Mood Swings and Sleepless Nights: Life Near a Bitcoin Mine
On a sweltering July evening, the din from thousands of computers mining for Bitcoins pierced the night. Nearby, Matt Brown, a member of the Arkansas legislature, monitored the noise alongside a local magistrate. As the two men investigated complaints about the operation, Mr. Brown said, a security guard for the mine loaded rounds into an […]
Read MoreTennessee’s Legislature Can’t Move Past the Bitter Clashes of 2023
When the Tennessee legislature convened on Thursday, custom dictated that Representative Justin Jones, the Nashville Democrat who was expelled last year, take his turn to lead the House in the Pledge of Allegiance. He quietly declined, and once again drew the ire of Republicans. Saying that Mr. Jones’s behavior was a “disgrace,” State Representative Jeremy […]
Read MoreUtah Bans D.E.I. Programs, Joining Other States
The News Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah signed a sweeping bill that pared back diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the state’s educational institutions and government offices — the latest state to take action amid the broader national backlash against such efforts. The law prohibits any program, office or initiative that has “diversity, equity and […]
Read MoreUtah Sets Restrictions on Transgender People’s Bathroom Use
The News Utah will prohibit transgender people from using bathrooms in public schools and government-owned buildings that align with their gender identity, after Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill on Tuesday imposing the restrictions. Background The bill, House Bill 257, which passed the Legislature last week, set sweeping restrictions for transgender people. Under the bill, […]
Read MoreVirginia Moves to End Legacy Admissions at Its Public Universities
Virginia is on track to ban legacy preferences at its public universities, which give a boost to children of alumni who apply for admission. The state’s House of Delegates unanimously approved a bill on Tuesday that would eliminate the preferences; the State Senate did so last week. Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office signaled that he would […]
Read MoreOhio to Ban Transition Care After Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto
Ohio lawmakers on Wednesday overrode Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill that would bar transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender transition surgery. The move by the Republican-controlled state legislature comes less than four weeks after the Republican governor’s veto. The state House voted on Jan. 10 to override Mr. DeWine’s […]
Read MoreVermont Becomes Latest State to Propose Wealth Taxes
Lawmakers in Vermont are introducing legislation this week that would impose new taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents, joining a growing national campaign being pushed by Democrats who believe that the measures will gain traction as states reckon with post-pandemic budget squeezes. One proposal in Vermont would tax people with more than $10 million in […]
Read MoreHow to Steal the Presidential Election
What happens when you stress-test America’s system for electing a president? How well does it hold up? After the assault on the nation’s Capitol three years ago, we worked through every strategy we could imagine for subverting the popular will by manipulating the law. What we found surprised us. We determined that the most commonly […]
Read MoreHow Nikki Haley’s Lean Years Led Her Into an Ethical Thicket
Nikki Haley had been serving in the South Carolina legislature for less than two years when she applied for a job in late 2006 as an accounting clerk at Wilbur Smith Associates, an engineering and design firm with state contracts. She needed work. Her parents’ clothing business, where she and her husband, Michael Haley, had […]
Read MoreLouisiana Lawmakers Pass Congressional Map That Empowers More Black Voters
Louisiana lawmakers on Friday approved a new congressional map that would create a second district with a majority of Black voters, after a federal court found that the existing map appeared to illegally undercut the power of Black voters in the state. Given that Black voters often back Democratic candidates in the state, the new […]
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