State Chambers

A new report from the Women and Politics Institute at American University examines a question that may be familiar to observers of state legislatures. Why aren’t there more women in public office?

TAX AND BUDGET BEAT: For decades, South Carolina governors have been trying to consolidate power by killing the states Budget and Control Board. This year, it may finally happen.

Job creation once again is dominating talk in statehouses as governors propose sweeping plans to jumpstart state economies. The proposals often illustrate the philosophical differences between the two parties.

Some states are considering doubling down or cashing in on a new Justice Department opinion regarding online gambling.

TODAYS TAKE: Facing opposition from fellow Republicans for another term, Utah Governor Gary Herbert used his state of the state address yesterday to celebrate Utahs economy and to attack the federal government.

Creation of a health exchange under the new federal law is a challenge for many states. But some are learning how to do it.

A list of states and their uninsured population, grouped according to the progress they have made in establishing health insurance exchanges, a linchpin for expanding coverage under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.

Is it fair to require workers to pay union fees? That’s the polarizing issue this winter at the state Capitol in Indianapolis.

Is the United States in decline, as so many seem to believe these days? Or are Americans in danger of committing pre-emptive superpower suicide out of a misplaced fear of their own declining power? A great deal depends on the answer to these questions.

Government-managed health care programs, such as Medicaid, pay for emergency room visits, but there is limited dental coverage.

TODAYS TAKE: Texas Governor Rick Perry dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination Thursday (January 19), but it is unclear what the retreat will mean for Texas’ longest-serving chief executive.

A number of states have tried to make redistricting less partisan by taking the job away from state legislators and giving it to independent commissions. The process is different, but the politics often look the same.

Obama offered a proposal during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night concerning the age at which high school students are allowed to drop out. But in doing so, he left an important question...

TODAYS TAKE: President Obama wants to link federal funding to colleges and universities to their ability to hold down costs for students. Some higher education officials are skeptical.

Federal education data show that states differ widely in how many students they designate for special education. Those differences could have a financial impact for some states in the face of possible cuts to federal aid.

Mitch Daniels was seen as a potential challenger to President Obama until he opted out of running last year. After his rebuttal of Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday, some GOP elites are openly longing for a Mitch Daniels candidacy.

MANAGEMENT BEAT: A Democratic boycott has once again stalled all action in the Indiana House. Republicans are hoping that steep fines will jolt the House back into motion.

The news will come as no surprise to the public college administrators and faculty members who've seen their budgets slashed over the past year. But an annual study of state spending on higher education finds that state appropriations for colleges and students sunk by 7.6 percent in 2011-12, the largest such decline in at least a half century.

 

PUBLIC SAFETY BEAT: In an effort to rein in "activist justices," legislators in New Hampshire and Tennessee are attempting to get rid of judical review of legislation.

At a moment of reduced federal clean energy investment, state clean energy funds offer a source of funding for clean energy development.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT BEAT:  A new effort is underway to break the logjam that is complicating energy transmission in much of the West and Midwest.