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WV: West Virginia Senate votes to give addicts medicine to reverse overdoses
The legislation would authorize doctors to prescribe the medicine — called naloxone — to drug users, as well as their friends and family members, who also could legally administer the medication for the first time. West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the nation.
NY: Cuomo seeks ethics reform after New York Assembly speaker’s arrest
Declaring that New York’s government faces a crisis of public trust, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo challenged the legislature to pass a thorough clean-government program in the aftermath of Democratic Speaker Sheldon Silver’s arrest and vowed not to sign a budget this year that lacks a full slate of ethics reforms.
MN: Minnesota’s higher taxes on top earners didn’t spark exodus
The number of top Minnesota earners who filed 2013 tax returns was higher than initially projected, a sign that Gov. Mark Dayton’s push to raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest earners did not cause many wealthy Minnesotans to flee.
FL: Florida governor proposes repeal of new hospital funding law
Republican Gov. Rick Scott wants to repeal the so-called “hospital tiering” law set to take effect later this year. Under the controversial policy, counties that use local dollars to attract federal matching funds for health care would have to share the money with counties that don’t raise local funds.
AL: Governor tells Alabama legislators, business leaders he will propose tax increases
Republican Gov. Robert Bentley said additional tax revenue is needed to plug a million shortfall in the budget that pays for noneducation expenses like prisons, Medicaid and public safety.
OR: Foster youth ask legislators for extracurricular activities, savings accounts
Two bills introduced to the House Committee on Human Services and Housing would ensure that foster youth have access to at least one extracurricular activity and to savings accounts in their names once they reach the age of 12.
KS: Kansas legislators rush to stave off cash-flow crisis
Kansas lawmakers appear set to fast-track legislation that would take millions from state funds, including highways, to stave off a cash-flow crisis that hits in the middle of the month.
OH: Governor’s budget would have larger businesses pay for small business tax breaks
Some small businesses would not have to pay state taxes on income reported on individual tax returns while larger businesses would pay a little more in taxes under the state budget Republican Gov. John Kasich proposed.
ND: Tobacco tax fight brewing
North Dakota legislators who have filed bills attempting to hike the state’s tax on tobacco say they know they are in for a big fight with business groups.
TX: In state contracting, failure is an option
Since Texas began pushing to privatize many state services, contracting scandals have erupted with some regularity. But a history of cost overruns or bad performance hardly bars a company from winning future jobs.
AR: Black Caucus airs concerns over state takeover of Little Rock district
Members of the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus raised concerns about the state Board of Education’s vote last week to take over the Little Rock School District, a move that dissolved the locally elected school board and shifted the superintendent to interim status.
MO: St. Louis’ call for state highway patrol help denied
The top state trooper has turned down St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson’s call for help patrolling downtown, saying that the Missouri Highway Patrol cannot afford it. Dotson said the city will be safe even without troopers.
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