The 2008 Kansas Legislative session was dominated by one issue and one issue alone: Coal-burning power plants.Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent lobbying the issue. Unrelated bills were delayed. Sebelius vetoed all three coal bills passed by the Senate and House. The Senate generated the required two-thirds majorities to override the governor, but the House couldn't.Gridlock all because
Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the automotive crisis is not so much the specter of impending financial doom, overcrowded bread lines, or the end of Automotive Life As We Know It. No, it’s the up-close and too-personal look at the men and women who run our country, and, by extension, at some members of the mainstream media who report stories now and ask questions later, if at all.
Public-
Owego Tioga County legislators have approved the $87.3 million 2009 budget, which will increase the tax levy by 2.84 percent or $524,069. The budget passed by a 6-3 vote with no votes coming from George Penney, ...
The Issue: The California Budget passed in late September is now in the red by almost $12 billion for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called a special session of the Legislature to deal with the budget gap. Despite the effort, no one should expect to see any movement on the before the [...]
California voters approved the gay marriage ban in that state, by voting for Proposition 8, during their election last week. Meanwhile, Democratic legislators are asking the California Supreme Court to void Proposition 8, in what the manager of the Proposition 8 campaign derides as a "Hail Mary" pass: Democratic legislators ask state Supreme Court to void Prop. 8 - Los Angeles Times. Som
California voters approved the gay marriage ban in that state, by voting for Proposition 8, during their election last week. Meanwhile, Democratic legislators are asking the California Supreme Court to void Proposition 8, in what the manager of the Proposition 8 campaign derides as a "Hail Mary" pass: Democratic legislators ask state Supreme Court to void Prop. 8 - Los Angeles Times. Som
Any variation from current policies within these two agencies would create a ripple effect that will be felt by all mortgage institutions and appraisers large and small. They either hold these mortgages in their own portfolios or package them into mortgage-backed securities for resale to investors. FMLC and FNMA buy mortgages from all facets of the mortgage industry. America?s two largest mortgag
Bob Ray Sanders has an editorial at Star-Telegram.com calling for the commutation of the death sentence of Jeffery Lee Wood. Wood was not tried with his co-defendant, one Reneau, who was found guilty of murder and has already been executed. A clemency petition that has been submitted to the governor and the Board of Pardons and Paroles thus complains that the State seeks to execute Wood "for the s
The U.S. should stop arresting responsible marijuana users, Rep. Barney Frank said Wednesday, announcing a proposal to end federal penalties for Americans carrying fewer than 100 grams, almost a quarter-pound, of the substance. read more | digg storyLiberty Central- Conservatism's Blog of Choice
This, and photo, from the Herald-Leader:Lawmakers who switch jobs get pension boost FRANKFORT — Thanks to a provision lawmakers quietly approved in 2005, many former legislators who switch to judicial or executive branch jobs will see their annual retirement benefits double, quadruple or even increase six-fold.Most recently, Democratic state Rep. Frank Rasche of Paducah chose this week to leave
An online gaming consultant and the director of e-Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance told a gather of state legislators that state governments should start regulating the industry rather than banning it.
Frank Catania, who is also the former assistant attorney general and the director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, told the annual [...]
Lawmakers opposed an item in a draft bill that could force Vietnamese to pay higher mandatory health insurance fees at the National Assembly’s most recent two-day debate. Most legislators said the proposed increase on compulsory health insurance fees would prevent residents from obtaining proper health care. In Vietnam, workers are put under the compulsory health insurance program, which require
One lawmaker wants to restrict driving by truants and high school dropouts. Another would regulate where global positioning system devices can be installed. Another wants a new state committee to study the danger that silent-running electric cars pose to blind pedestrians.These ideas follow new laws banning computer and cellphone use by teenagers while driving, restricting adult drivers to hands-f
by Mike Wiegert
Regardless of anyone’s political contentment or not, it’s undeniable that the Federal government is concerned about the housing and mortgage credit crisis. Two new bills...
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Bringing in a professor expert in online gambling laws clarifies and perhaps obscures a lot of problems. All this has come about due to the excitement among California’s politicians in regard to Representative Levine’s new bill. What happens in California could affect the rest of the states in the Unites States.
Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and former Speaker of the House Dan Blue of Raleigh along with over two dozen North Carolina legislators endorsed Barack Obama today, two weeks before the primary."I hope this is not what we can should expect to come to North Carolina in the next two weeks," Blue said. "Tired old political tactics aren't going to bring about the kind of change we need."Obama currently leads in the state 15-25 points and is widely expected to win. The legislators will help get out the vote and raise money.
With apologies to my brother and his family who no doubt voted for some of the representatives in the South Carolina legislature, the state should be embarrassed for its constant attempts to make the state fit someone’s view of morality.
Just a few short days after South Carolina passed a law to give married [...]
By Mrs. Snoop
“Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please. Rules, laws - always for other fellow. A murky part of us, something we had before we came down out of trees, and failed to shuck when we stood up. Because not one of those people [...]
Struggling to reduce the negative impact of the present mortgage crisis, Congress finally feels confident that a bill providing safe alternatives to subprime housing loans will soon be sent to the President for signature.
The news just keeps getting better…
Four state senators — President Pro Tem Hinton Mitchem, D-Union Grove; Rules Chairman Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe; Judiciary Committee Chairman Rodger Smitherman of Birmingham; and Dean of the Senate Bobby Denton, D-Muscle Shoals — received subpoenas, their attorney, Michel Nicrosi, said Thursday.
They all have the same attorney? And most of [...]
The National Mandate Party (PAN) faction at the House of Representatives has invited Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X of Yogyakarta to address faction members on Friday in Jakarta.The party has recently hinted the sultan, also the Yogyakarta governor, could be its presidential candidate in 2009."I have been invited to deliver a speech on Friday to PAN faction members," the sultan confirmed Tuesday."But I don't think I will be officially offered the chance to be the (PAN) presidential candidate. I think it is not the time yet to name presidential candidates."Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
If you have a website that lets people lookup U.S. Government legislative districts or find representatives, you've probably been frustrated with finding a good way to get people to get their ZIP+4 Code. Since the +4 Code is pretty much required to find the correct congressional and legislative districts, it's a problem that a lot of webmasters face.A lot of people end up directing their visitors to find the ZIP+4 Code on the USPS Lookup. This is an OK solution, but it isn't the best solution. It takes the visitor away from your site and is inconvenient.By using the Qualified Address API, you can implement a better solution. Our Address Verification API can be integrated into any website form in as little as 15 minutes and would allow the visitor to enter their address and get their ZIP+4
The National Conference of State Legislatures has taken a hard line against any form of national academic standards, declaring last week that any national attempt to unite school curricula across states would be unacceptable until perceived flaws in the federal No Child Left Behind Act are fixed.The strongly worded new policy against national standards—even voluntary ones—prompted virtually no debate and was approved on a voice vote during the Denver-based group’s business meeting at its annual conference here, which drew nearly 9,000 attendees from Aug. 5-9. NCSL policies such as the new one on national standards set the Washington lobbying agenda of the legislative group.The policy reads, in part: “We need rigorous state standards that are anchored in real world demands. … This can be most readily accomplished through individual state refinement of standards … not through federal action—which flies in the face not only of the role of states since the inception of our sy
The National Black Caucus of State Legislators, a bipartisan nonprofit focused on educating, empowering, and unifying African-American state legislators nationally, is looking for an Executive Assistant. Responsibilities include: assisting the Executive Director in her scheduling and call list, filing, answering phones, ordering office supplies, event planning, speech writing, research, and mailings. The ideal candidate has administrative experience, interest in politics, is well-organized, able to multi task, and dedicated. Candidate needs knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook. Please send cover letters and resumes via fax (202-508-3826) or email (atiba@nbcsl.org). No phone calls please.
Hyderabad, June 24 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Tuesday denied making derogatory remarks about opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu as the issue continued to create an uproar, leading to TDP members being suspended from the assembly for the day.
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kaisernetwork.org
Physicians and health care officials on Wednesday called on Nevada lawmakers to support a bill (SB 266) that would guarantee all pregnant women in the state have access to an HIV test as part of routine prenatal care, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Steven Horsford (D) and Rep. David Parks [...]
A proposed law restricting the number of teen passengers a driver under 18 is allowed to transport has been held up in the Florida House Of Representatives. The bill, which would prevent underage drivers from having more than one underage passenger in the car, was originally presented by Representative Kelly Skidmore, a Democrat from Boca Raton.
The House of Representatives leaders canceled Tuesday to give legislators with free laptops following protests from public.Metro TV station reported the House speaker Agung Laksono deemed the cancellation was necessary due to numerous questions over the use of the laptops.Some comments from the public:"There are many more urgent needs than buying a laptop.""The laptop model selected (high end Toshiba model) is not exactly suited for simple word processing applications""House members who sleep during sessions or are absent from meetings do not deserve laptops, they deserve to be fired by the people""The House is the most corrupt institution in the country. Confirmed"
By Mimi Rothschild
Problem: Children don’t like going to school.
Solution: Make it mandatory!
Problem 2: Children still don’t like going to school.
Solution 2: Make them stay longer!
From the HSLDA:
“Senate Bill 171 is a legislative proposal which would raise North Carolina’s compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 17, until the child graduates from high school. If enacted, this legislation would require homeschoolers to comply with the law for an additional year, including an additional year of standardized testing. Home School Legal Defense Association believes that Senate Bill 171 should be opposed, because it represents an expansion of the state’s control over education, particularly homeschooling.”
When will they ever learn! Studies show that students who lack the motivation to attend school are not benefited by this policy. All this will do is take resources away from students who actually want an education.
Perhaps the worst part of this leg
Legislators in Washington, D.C. are considering several credit-related consumer protections as outlined in The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 (H.R. 2622). If approved, consumers could benefit from the most wide-ranging changes to the rules covering consumers and credit in decades.
One of the most important changes would be the right to receive a free annual copy of your credit
Authorities Investigate Anonymous Mailings...Authorities are investigating a "suspicious mailing" containing a computer disc and a cryptic message that was sent to Iowa legislators.At least one legislator's computer was damaged when the disc broke inside the disc drive, according to Eugene Meyer, the commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety. His staff warned lawmakers about the mailing Thursday night and Friday morning.Written on the cover of each compact disc are the messages "Prevent another Holocaust" and "Due to adult content and because of copyright considerations, only persons 18 years of age and older who are directly involved in legislative or judicial proceedings of state government are permitted to view the documentary report."Meyer said Friday morning that three members of the Iowa Legislature had so far reported receiving a CD - two found the mailing in their home mailboxes and one said it arrived at the Capitol.All three are Republicans: Sen. Mark Zieman of P
