Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that he has asked the Legislature to change Florida law to allow smoking medical marijuana. If lawmakers don’t comply by mid March, he’ll drop the state’s appeal of a court decision that says banning it violates a constitutional amendment. [node:read-more:link]
Moving swiftly, a federal judge on Thursday struck down limits on early voting that Republican lawmakers approved last month in a lame-duck session. In a five-page ruling, U.S. District Judge James Peterson concluded the new limits on early voting are invalid because they so closely mirror ones he struck down as unconstitutional in 2016. His decision also threw out parts of the lame-duck laws affecting IDs and other credentials that can be used for voting. [node:read-more:link]
College will be free for virtually all Cleveland school district graduates starting with this year’s senior class, after the much-anticipated launch today of the Say Yes to Education college scholarship and student support program in the city. A team of city, county, philanthropic and Say Yes leaders announced the scholarships at a rally at John Marshall High School to cheering students this morning, pledging that the ever-increasing cost of tuition will no longer block Cleveland school district graduates from attending college. [node:read-more:link]
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday the recipients of fiscal year 2019 farmland preservation grants. Six localities have been awarded a total of $633,831 from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Farmland Preservation. The funds will be used to permanently preserve working farmland through local Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) programs. PDR programs compensate landowners who work with localities to preserve their land permanently by voluntarily securing a perpetual conservation easement. [node:read-more:link]
Thousands of Oklahomans could lose Medicaid coverage if the state is allowed to implement work requirements for the public health insurance program, according to a study from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The study found anywhere from 4,000 to 13,000 adults could lose coverage. [node:read-more:link]
While hackers and cybercriminals frequently target state computer systems, many states don’t require every employee to get cyber awareness training. Answering a seemingly routine HR email, the Utah workers typed in their credentials as requested.And then they had a paycheck stolen.Cybercriminals had tricked the state workers into opening fake links. [node:read-more:link]
A $200,000 budget request by Gov. Brad Little for an Idaho board that manages money to pay a federal and state agency to kill wolves that attack livestock and big game is sufficient for fiscal year 2020, a board member told lawmakers. "We're fine with the $200,000 this year," Wolf Depredation Control Board member Carl Rey told the budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, noting the board has a surplus this year."I will tell you that I don't think that is sustainable beyond fiscal year 2020," he said.The board contracts with the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission completed the final step in reevaluating five Species of Special Concern, one of six key objectives outlined in Florida’s Imperiled Species Management Plan. s a result, several fish and wildlife species no longer warrant listing.Based on a thorough scientific review, the FWC determined the harlequin darter, Homosassa shrew, southern fox squirrel and the Monroe County osprey population no longer warrant listing as Species of Special Concern.Through the process, FWC biologists and partners agreed that Florida has three distinct species of [node:read-more:link]
More than four months after Missouri became the first U.S. state to regulate the term “meat” on product labels, Nebraska’s powerful farm groups are pushing for similar protection from veggie burgers, tofu dogs and other items that look and taste like real meat. [node:read-more:link]
Maryland’s utility companies on Monday won state approval to install a network of more than 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations — fewer than they had hoped for, but a step toward the state’s ambitious goal of 300,000 electric vehicles on the streets by 2025. The Maryland Public Service Commission authorized BGE, Potomac Electric Power Co., Delmarva Power and Potomac Edison Co. to move forward with a modified, five-year pilot program of residential, workplace and public charging stations, paid for mostly by ratepayers. [node:read-more:link]
