Grisham ranks 50th among governors for economic freedom

(The Center Square) – Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s defense of the governor’s COVID-19 executive orders in court is expected to be an election issue raised by the Republican nominee who brought many of those challenges. With very little political capital, Attorney Thomas DeVore won the GOP primary...

(The Center Square) – Over 1 million Coloradans cast ballots in the 2022 primary election on Tuesday. As of Wednesday afternoon, voter turnout was almost 28.5%, according to unofficial results from the Colorado secretary of state's office. The state has almost 3.8 million active voters. In the governor's race,...

(The Center Square) – Iowa ranked last in the nation for business friendliness, according to a June report from TOP Data. The company, which delivers business, consumer, and marketing insights, ranked states across more than 50 job-related metrics in its “Best States to Find a Job” report. Categories included business friendliness, compensation and benefits, job market, quality of life and state economy.

The Arizona State Legislature voted to place a measure on the general election ballot to create a 0.1% sales tax, which would be levied from Dec. 31, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2042, that would fund fire districts. The measure passed the state House on June 22, 2022, by a 34-25...

(The Center Square) – The Arizona ACLU is challenging a new “personhood” clause, which seeks to give constitutional rights to the unborn in the state. The ACLU’s challenge runs alongside numerous subsequent hearings taking place in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as state legislators and abortion providers attempt to understand what is currently legal.

A fourth person has died following the derailment of a Chicago-bound Amtrak train. The train traveling from Los Angeles struck a dump truck Monday in a remote area of Missouri, sending seven cars off the tracks to land on their sides. The driver of the truck was killed. There was...

(The Center Square) – A major change in public records requirements for some of Pennsylvania’s best-known universities is working through the General Assembly. Yet, while expansive, it would leave the public with less information about higher education than is available in other states. Senate Bill 488 would require...

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s governor says recent updates to the state’s 1849 law banning abortions means it cannot be enforced. Gov. Tony Evers and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul on Tuesday filed a lawsuit to stop the state’s near total ban on abortions from taking effect.

(The Center Square) – Arizona will soon make landmark investments in public education, border security and state infrastructure through Gov. Doug Ducey's signing of the 2023 fiscal budget. "We're making fiscally-responsible decisions and targeted commitments that will leave a legacy long after this administration," said Gov. Ducey. "And it...

(The Center Square) – Whether a Michigander woman can get an abortion without being criminally charged under a 1931 law might depend on the county prosecutor. Confusion now abounds, which is why Gov. Gretchen Whitmer again urged the Michigan Supreme Court to hear her lawsuit to strike the 1931 law triggered by the United States Supreme Court overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

(The Center Square) – A majority of New Hampshire voters are increasingly confident about the integrity of the state’s electoral system but have concerns about voter fraud nationally, according to a new poll. The analysis, conducted by the University of New Hampshire's Survey Center, found that nearly two-thirds...

(The Center Square) — Some Georgia district attorneys say that if a federal court allows Georgia's fetal heartbeat law to take effect, they won't prosecute violators. However, the state's top prosecutor said such an approach "undermines the rule of law." Last week's U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v....

(The Center Square) – With a new national mental health crisis hotline slated to subsume state efforts in July, Illinois is scrambling to prepare. Also known as 988, the new hotline is slated to go live July 16 and will build upon the Prairie State’s existing infrastructure. “The...

(The Center Square) – Abortion providers in Ohio challenged the state’s six-week abortion ban with a lawsuit filed in the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday. The ACLU of Ohio and Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed the suit after a federal judge, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, lifted an injunction in place since 2019 on the state’s heartbeat bill.

(The Center Square) – Arizona is likely to become the first state in America that empowers students to take tax dollars with them to a school of their choosing. Lawmakers sent House Bill 2853 to Gov. Doug Ducey on Friday. When the governor signs the bill, all of Arizona’s school-age children will be eligible for the Empowerment Scholarship Account. An ESA is a state-funded account that parents can spend on tuition and other education expenses. The program is currently limited to disabled students, those in failing schools or others that qualify in a handful of other methods.

(The Center Square) – One Connecticut-based firearms industry trade group has spent more on lobbying than the National Rifle Association. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade association based in Newtown, has spent 40% more than the NRA lobbying Congress since 2019. For 2021 alone, OpenSecrets – a nonpartisan nonprofit tracking money into politics – reports an estimated $5 million spent by NSSF on lobbying; the NRA spent $4.92 million.

(The Center Square) — The potential for a veto override session in July is unlikely and unnecessary, according to one Legislative leader, though others believe the decision will ultimately rest with lawmakers in the Senate. The Louisiana Constitution requires a veto override session to be held 40 days after...

(The Center Square) – Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin did not enter Virginia into an offshore wind energy coalition led by President Joe Biden, but will still support offshore wind energy, according to a spokesperson for the governor. Biden formed a coalition with 11 east coast governors designed to grow...

(The Center Square) – Gov. Chris Sununu has vetoed a proposal seeking to tighten environmental rules for new landfills, arguing that the plan would drive up the New Hampshire's solid waste costs. The proposal, which was approved by the state Legislature with bipartisan support, called for setting a buffer...

(The Center Square) – Ohioans in the state’s Appalachian region can expect a half billion-dollar investment after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill that dedicates federal funds to infrastructure, health care and work force development. The $500 million, which is on top of more than $645 million sent...