Fuel retailers sue state over requirement that stations post signs advertising gas tax freeze
A trade organization that represents gas station owners alleges in a lawsuit that a requirement that businesses display signs advertising a freeze on the state’s gas tax violates their freedom of speech and is unconstitutional.
chicagotribune.comTunnel contractor pokes through Virginia Capitol ceiling
- A contractor working on a $25 million tunnel that will connect Virginia's Capitol to a nearby legislative office building "inadvertently" poked through the ceiling of a subterranean Capitol extension earlier this year, causing debris to fall into the visitors center cafe, a state official said.
War in Ukraine spurs bid to take a closer look at UN vetoes
Two days into Russia's attack on Ukraine, a majority of U.N. Security Council members voted to demand that Moscow withdraw. It was the latest in decades of vetoes — on issues ranging from the Korean War to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to climate change — that at least temporarily stymied the council that was designed to be the U.N.'s most potent component. A round of venting followed over the veto power afforded to just five of its 15 members: China, the United States, Russia, France, and Britain.
news.yahoo.comGov. J.B. Pritzker takes shot at GOP as he signs $46B election-year budget, $1.8B in largely temporary tax relief
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a $46 billion spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1, delivering $1.8 billion in largely temporary tax relief as he seeks a second term.
chicagotribune.comAfter long being mired in politics, Lincoln museum has ‘potential to be incredibly great’ under restructuring plan
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield has long been mired in political shenanigans, but advocates hope a bill just passed by state legislators will lead to better and more transparent institution.
chicagotribune.comMaryland lawmakers override gov's veto of abortion expansion
Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's veto of a measure to expand access to abortion in Maryland was overridden on Saturday by the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats. It creates an abortion care training program and requires $3.5 million in state funding annually. Del. Emily Shetty said she was supporting the measure on the House floor as a mother who had experienced a high-risk pregnancy.
news.yahoo.comUN taking up 3 resolutions on Ukraine humanitarian crisis
The United Nations is facing three resolutions Wednesday on the worsening humanitarian situation in Ukraine after Russia decided to call for a vote on its Security Council resolution that makes no mention of its attack on its smaller neighbor
washingtonpost.comGov. Glenn Youngkin wants Virginia lawmakers to suspend gas tax for 3 months
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that he wants the divided General Assembly to pass legislation that would suspend the state gas tax for three months, a move he estimated would save drivers 26 cents per gallon at a time when prices have skyrocketed.
Budget battle continues as Virginia lawmakers prepare for close of General Assembly session
Virginia lawmakers will return to the State Capitol Saturday to hammer out what’s left for the General Assembly session. More than a dozen lawmakers from the House and Senate serve as negotiators for the two-year spending plan.
UN Assembly to vote on resolution demanding Russia stop war
Country after country, from Europe’s economic powerhouse to a tiny Pacific island nation, have lined up to lash out at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and urge support for a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate halt to Moscow’s offensive and withdrawal of all Russian troops
washingtonpost.comMany nations support UN resolution to demand Russia stop war
From a tiny Pacific island nation to Europe’s economic powerhouse, country after country are lashing out at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and urging support for a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate halt to Moscow’s offensive and withdrawal of all Russian troops
washingtonpost.comNC Rep. Cawthorn returns to run in far-mountain district
North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn refiled candidacy papers on Monday and will now run for reelection in a district that largely follows the boundaries of the far-mountain district that the first-term Republican currently represents. Cawthorn, 26, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory and has voiced false claims of election fraud. In December, Cawthorn had filed to run for an open seat further east that had been created by the state legislature in November for the once-a-decade redistricting process. It was considered a more pro-GOP district than the district covering where he lives in Henderson County.
news.yahoo.comNC judges uphold legislative maps, change Congress lines
A panel of trial judges made additional changes to North Carolina's congressional district map Wednesday, declaring that the latest U.S. House redistricting performed by the General Assembly fails to meet standards of partisan fairness set recently by the state Supreme Court. The three trial judges accepted the recommendations of special masters they appointed to assist them with scrutinizing legislative and congressional boundaries that were approved last week by the Republican-controlled legislature. Superior court judges Graham Shirley, Nathaniel Poovey and Dawn Layton did uphold the new General Assembly districts, confirming their experts' recommendation that statistics associated with the lines show them to “meet the test of presumptive constitutionality.”
news.yahoo.comThe Recorder Online
• Tuesday, the Bath County School Board accepted the retirement letter for superintendent Sue Hirsh. The board will soon take steps to search for a new superintendent. • New legislation proposed by the General Assembly was listed at the school board meeting: school construction and funding, funding and budget, school meals, FOIA, athletics, board of education, school board elections, governor’s […]
therecorderonline.comIran, Venezuela and Sudan lose UN voting rights with 5 more
Iran, Venezuela and Sudan are in arrears on paying dues to the United Nations’ operating budget and are among eight nations that will lose their voting rights in the 193-member General Assembly, the U.N. chief said in a letter circulated Wednesday. Also losing voting rights are Antigua and Barbuda, Republic of Congo, Guinea, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the letter to General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid.
news.yahoo.comJune primary election hovers over Illinois legislative session as lawmakers try to finish budget and other work by April
Illinois lawmakers are on a fast-track schedule in an election-year session as they attempt to pass a budget and complete other tasks against an early April adjournment date.
chicagotribune.comHogan vetoes congressional map; override votes upcoming
Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed a redrawn Maryland congressional map on Thursday, and the General Assembly was scheduled to gather for votes to potentially override his veto later in the day. The Republican governor criticized the map approved this week by the House and Senate, which are both controlled by Democrats. Hogan said the new boundaries for the state's eight U.S. House seats are drawn even more unfairly than they were a decade ago, and he said they will be challenged in both federal and state courts.
news.yahoo.comFauci says COVID diverted resources from fighting AIDS
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, says the COVID-19 pandemic has diverted scientific and financial resources from the fight against AIDS, seriously impeding global efforts to achieve the U.N. goal of ending AIDS by 2030
washingtonpost.comByron’s nuclear plant has generated jobs and revenue for decades. Now its future is on the line in Springfield: ‘We’re pawns in a big chess game’
The nuclear plant outside Byron, Illinois, supports hundreds of jobs and provides the majority of tax revenue that funds local schools. For residents, the political bickering over an energy deal that could save or kill the plant presents a direct threat to their future.
chicagotribune.comJudge rejects GOP effort to invalidate Democratic-drawn legislative map, but warns Democrats to make fixes that address minority concerns
A federal judge has rejected a Republican effort to immediately invalidate a Democratic-drawn map of new Illinois legislative districts, but warned Democrats to address their concerns.
chicagotribune.comKentucky Supreme Court: New laws limiting Beshear’s emergency powers are valid
In a momentous legal defeat for Gov. Andy Beshear, the Kentucky Supreme Court in a rare Saturday decision ruled on the Democratic governor’s challenge of Republican-backed laws that limit his authority to enact emergency orders to help control the coronavirus pandemic.
news.yahoo.comVirginia lawmakers approve budget for COVID-19 relief money
Virginia lawmakers gave final approval Monday to a spending plan for $4.3 billion in federal coronavirus relief money, including funding for initiatives aimed at helping small businesses, increasing broadband access and replenishing the state's depleted unemployment trust fund.
Virginia lawmakers convene in person for special session
The entire General Assembly returned to the state Capitol for the first time in over a year Monday, kicking off a short special session to elect judges and adjust the state budget to account for billions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief money.
Legal marijuana, revoking the death penalty and 16 other laws that go into effect across Virginia on July 1
Most of the new laws passed earlier this year by the Democrat-controlled Virginia General Assembly will take effect Thursday, including measures that legalize the recreational use of marijuana, largely ban police use of facial recognition technology and forgive certain unemployment overpayments.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign measure allowing college athletes to hire agents and be paid for endorsements
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is poised to sign a measure into law that would allow college athletes to sign endorsement deals, making Illinois the latest of nearly two dozen states to enact policies allowing student-athletes to profit off the use of their names and likenesses.
chicagotribune.comVirginia lawmaker encourages some school districts to reject adopting inclusive transgender policies
The General Assembly passed a law last year requiring school systems to adopt inclusive policies for transgender and gender non-conforming students by fall 2021, but some lawmakers are encouraging districts to reject this.
Fitch shifts Illinois’ state government’s economic outlook from negative to positive
Fitch Ratings maintained the state’s credit rating at one step above junk-bond status, but reversed its forecast outlook from negative to positive reflecting improved post-pandemic economic recovery and tax revenues and a new state budget that avoids delaying bills and accelerates paying debt.
chicagotribune.comProbe of Virginia parole case finds no outside interference
An outside probe into how Virginia's government watchdog agency conducted an investigation of a controversial parole decision found no inappropriate political interference by Gov. Ralph Northam's administration and concluded the lead investigator was likely biased.