The same nonprofit that distributed nearly $420 million in privately funded pandemic and operations grants to election offices nationwide before the 2020 elections is orchestrating a refashioned program for the 2024 election cycle.  The Chicago-based Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) said its U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence will funnel $80 million to local…

The vote went quickly without a hitch and the incumbent was reelected House Speaker amid near-total bipartisan consensus and hand-shake pledges to work together in the legislative session to follow. The 145–3 tally to reinstall Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) to a second term as speaker—the most powerful position in the Texas House—on Jan. 10 was…

It’s no secret that states compete with each other to attract “family wage” employers that provide health insurance and other benefits, especially in manufacturing and high-tech sectors.  The standard competitive toolboxes offered by state legislatures usually include tax credits, assorted regulatory waivers, and a host of other “fine print” incentives to induce corporations and businesses…

It’s no secret that states compete with each other to attract “family wage” employers that provide health insurance and other benefits, especially in manufacturing and high-tech sectors.  The standard competitive toolboxes offered by state legislatures usually include tax credits, assorted regulatory waivers, and a host of other “fine print” incentives to induce corporations and businesses…

Forty-five state legislatures will convene 2023 sessions by Jan. 18, with 35 doing so on or before Jan. 11—including 18 this week. By the time deliberations conclude in December, the nation’s 7,383 state lawmakers will introduce on average a collective 110,000 bills—250,000 across two-year biennium sessions—and adopt more than 30,000 new laws and regulations. While…

President Joe Biden will be in Covington, Ky., on Jan. 4 to tout the launch of an Ohio River bridge project that will receive a $1.64 billion federal funding boost from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) adopted by Congress in November 2021. Biden will be joined by Senate Minority Leader Mitch…

With state legislatures entering their third sessions since the 2020 pandemic pumped trillions in federal recovery and stimulus assistance into state and local government coffers, tax reform across a range of levies is among front-burner priorities for lawmakers in 2023. During 2022 sessions, Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation reports at least 38 states adopted “noteworthy tax…

Rep. Brian Seitz (R-Branson) will enter his third session when the Missouri General Assembly convenes in Springfield on Jan. 4 and, for the third time, he is sponsoring a bill that would require state lawmakers to scrutinize and, potentially disregard, some presidential executive orders. Under his proposed House Bill 174, the Missouri House must review…

Delegate Marie March (R-Floyd) enters her second session in Virginia’s General Assembly with lessons learned during her freshman year about the futility of half-measures on her mind. That is why she will carry a “personhood” bill when, on Jan. 11, the 100-member Virginia House of Delegates convenes in Richmond, one of 45 state legislatures that…

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) continues to gain momentum nationwide with voters in several cities approving referendums during the midterm elections to implement the non-partisan multiple-choice ballot system in future elections. In addition to voters in Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Fort Collins, Colorado, endorsing RCV electoral systems, Nevadans also adopted by 52.9-to-47.1 percent margin a proposed Top-Five…