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Missouri Policy Shows Way to Safely Reducing Probation and Parole Populations
© Getty Images Missouri’s General Assembly created the policy to incentivize probationers and parolees to follow the rules of their supervision and, in the process, reduce officer caseloads so limited resources can be directed at those most at a higher risk of re-offending. John Gramlich, a research officer, evaluates and analyzes state corrections policy for The Pew […]
Updating State Theft Laws Can Bring Less Incarceration—and Less Crime
© Getty Images/iStockphoto The Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson. Mississippi raised its felony theft threshold from $500 to $1,000 in 2014. Lawmakers made a similar change in 2003, raising the state’s threshold from $250 to . This story has been updated to correct the number of states that raised their felony theft thresholds, the number […]
Social Debates Rage in State Legislatures
Photo AP ‘Let’s be civil,’ Governor Bob McDonnell told Virginia legislators at the start of this year’s session. They didn’t always follow his injunction.. The legislative session that Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell wanted this year was very different from the one he wound up getting. McDonnell, a Republican, kicked off the session in January by […]
Would ‘Obamacare’ Demise Mean End of ‘Romneycare,’ Too?
All states are watching to see how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the federal health insurance law. But Massachusetts may be watching more closely than most, since it was Massachusetts that approved the state-level health insurance program on which the federal Affordable Care Act is modeled. With the conservative majority of the Supreme […]
In New Jersey, Christie Keeps Up His Confrontational Style
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has had many tough words for his political opponents over the course of his two years in office. The notoriously blunt Republican has called one state lawmaker “numbnuts,” another a “jerk” and criticized a law student and Iraq war veteran as an “idiot” after the student questioned one of his […]
Legislative Leaders Expect Another On-time Budget in New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders in New York say they are putting the finishing touches on a state budget of roughly $132.5 billion, with lawmakers set to beat their April 1 deadline for the second year in a row. Last year’s budget, approved in the early morning hours of March 31, marked the first […]
Same-Sex Marriage Remains Law in New Hampshire
A long-running attempt to eliminate gay marriage in New Hampshire suffered an overwhelming defeat on Wednesday (March 21), with the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives defeating the measure by a 211-to-116 vote. The repeal effort was always a long shot, with Democratic Governor John Lynch vowing to veto any repeal bill that emerged from the […]
Utah is Fifth State to Adopt ‘Health Care Compact’
With Governor Gary Herbert’s signature on Tuesday (March 20), Utah has become the fifth state to enter into a compact designed to get the federal government out of the health care business, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. The so-called “Health Care Compact” would transfer control of Medicare and Medicaid from Washington to the states and […]
‘Stand Your Ground’ Law Criticized After Fatal Shooting of Florida Teen
Federal authorities have launched an investigation into the fatal shooting of an unarmed 17-year-old boy in Florida late last month. The boy, Trayvon Martin, was shot to death in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, by a 28-year-old security guard, George Zimmerman, who believed Martin was suspicious and posed a threat to the safety of […]
Tennessee Republicans See Threat in U.N. Plan
A 20-year-old United Nations plan aimed at fostering sustainable development around the world is “destructive and insidious,” in the words of a resolution that won approval in the Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday (March 15). Tennessee Republicans say the plan, known as “Agenda 21,” amounts to “extreme environmentalism, social engineering and global political […]
Surging Gasoline Prices Hurt Push for Higher Tax in Maryland
Martin O’Malley has acknowledged all year that his push for a higher gasoline tax in Maryland would be a tough sell. But the Democratic governor may not have anticipated that gas prices would rise precipitously across his state and the nation just as he was hoping to persuade lawmakers to raise the levy. O’Malley testified […]
Connecticut’s Pro-Worker Measures Leave Business Feeling Resentful
Photo IStockphoto Democrats in Connecticut have pushed a range of measures to help the working class, including the nation’s first statewide law requiring paid sick leave for workers in private industry. HARTFORD — Larry Cafero, the Republican minority leader in the Connecticut House of Representatives, believes all workers should have access to paid sick days. […]