State Politics & News
Coverage of state politics, elections, and conservative policy battles across all 50 states shaping America’s future.
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- News
Alabama Eases Licensing Restrictions for Vendors Selling Funeral Supplies and Merchandise
Alabama residents looking to purchase environmentally friendly and cheaper caskets are now free to do so in the Yellowhammer State. Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican, signed a bill this week lifting restrictions on who can sell funeral supplies and merchandise. Under the new law, vendors can sell funeral items like caskets and shrouds without needing…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Arizona Taxpayers Fight to Stop Funding Space Balloon Tourism
Taxpayers in Pima County, Ariz., have filed a lawsuit challenging county officials’ decision to subsidize a private company’s space tourism business. “Pima County has agreed to give $15 million in taxpayer money to a private company that’s a space balloon business,” Jim Manley, a senior attorney at the Goldwater Institute, told The Daily Signal. “Basically…Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
How Washington Politicians Wasted Billions Trying to ‘Invest in Our Future’
The federal government has wasted billions on energy projects promising to usher in a new energy future. All Washington can do is play favorites when picking energy options (think Solyndra). Why? Because revolutions don’t come from the government—they come from the people, and the same holds true for energy. Despite many attempts to force it,…Nicolas Loris -
- Opinion
New Chicago Schools Bathroom Policy Courts Controversy
Chicago Public Schools announced on Monday that students and staff must be granted unfettered access to intimate school facilities based on their chosen gender identity. Because both transgender and non-transgender students have valid interests at stake, accommodation with private facilities is the sensitive and sensible solution, but advocates on the left say that’s discrimination. Put…Roger Severino -
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California Teachers Unions Force Nonmembers to Pay for LGBT, Other Political Goals
A large California teachers union and its national affiliate are forcing nonunion teachers to pay for political activism, according to a disclosure form acquired by The Daily Signal. Under a category called “human rights,” both the National Education Association and the California Teachers Association require nonunion teachers to finance LGBT leadership training and other political…Kevin Mooney -
- Opinion
New York Times Promotes Myth That Man-Made Climate Change Refugees Exist
The New York Times has declared the first American climate refugees. The article, published on May 2, tells the story of families living in southeastern Louisiana on the Isle de Jean Charles who will have to relocate (apparently due to man-made climate change). The article begins by warning that, “Around the globe, governments are confronting the…Nicolas Loris -
- News
51 Families Sue Over Illinois High School’s Transgender Bathroom Policy
A group of 51 families whose children attend a high school in Illinois filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday, attempting to reverse a policy that allows a transgender student to use girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and other sex-specific facilities. The families are challenging a policy at Township High School District 211 that was mandated by the…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Tennessee on the Road to Becoming Income Tax-Free
Many people already think Tennessee is one of only a handful of states with no income tax, but as middle-class retirees can attest, it is anything but. While the state does not tax income from labor, it has levied a 6 percent tax on investment income since the establishment of the Hall Income Tax in 1929….Justin Owen -
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It Takes 300 Hours to Become a Shampooer in Tennessee
Tammy Nutall-Pritchard had been braiding hair with her older sister, Debra Nutall, since she was 18 years old. Nutall taught Nutall-Pritchard the craft when she was 15, and the sisters would stand side-by-side behind the chairs of scores of clients at Nutall’s Memphis, Tenn., salon who came in to get their hair braided while chatting…Melissa Quinn -
- News
California Looks to Cover Illegal Immigrants Under Obamacare
In an unprecedented move, California legislators look to extend Obamacare health coverage to the state’s estimated 2.6 million illegal immigrant population. If passed and signed into law, California would be the first state in the nation to request illegal immigrants be covered through a state exchange, the Los Angeles Times reported. It is against the…Leah Jessen -
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Attempt to Send Religious Liberty Bill Straight to the People Fails in Missouri
A measure that attempted to take the power away from Missouri lawmakers and give it to the people to decide how to handle the marriage and religious liberty debate died in committee Wednesday after three Republicans voted against it. “It is unfortunate that Republican representatives who typically campaign as conservatives refused to govern that way,”…Kelsey Bolar -
- News
Colorado Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Christian Baker’s Appeal on Gay Wedding Cakes
The Colorado Supreme Court will not review the case of a Denver-area “cake artist” ordered by the state government to bake and decorate cakes to celebrate same-sex marriages. Lawyers for Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo., said they are evaluating his legal options. “We asked the Colorado Supreme Court to take this…Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
Liberal Groups Continue to Repeat North Carolina Bathroom Bill Lies
Apparently, the strategy of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and other opponents of privacy and freedom, is to continually repeat a big lie in the hopes people will eventually come to believe it. That’s how they have attacked a new law in North Carolina known as the Bathroom Privacy and Safety Act (HB 2). The…Tami Fitzgerald -
- News
Oregon Bakers Continue Legal Fight, Challenging ‘Gag Order’
The Oregon bakers who were ordered to pay $135,000 for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding filed a brief with the Oregon Court of Appeals on Monday, arguing the ruling against them was biased and violates both the Oregon and U.S. constitutions. “In America, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” said Kelly Shackelford,…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Kansas Required Work for Food Stamps. Here’s What Happened.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “No country can sustain, in idleness, more than a small percentage of its numbers. The great majority must labor at something productive.” Over the past several years, the number of Americans on food stamps has soared. In particular, since 2009, the number of “able-bodied-adults” without dependents receiving food stamps more than…Rachel Sheffield -
- Opinion
Nebraska Abolishes Civil Forfeiture
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, has signed a major state forfeiture bill into law. Like New Mexico before it, the Cornhusker State now requires a criminal conviction before property can be forfeited. Civil forfeiture is the law enforcement tool, which allows property suspected of being involved in, or derived from, criminal activity to be…Jason Snead -
- News
A Family-Owned Business Braces for California’s Minimum Wage Hike
SAN DIEGO—Elvin Lai has been in the hospitality business his entire life. The San Diego hotel where he serves as chief executive officer has been in his family for four generations, and Lai can rattle off childhood memories of his younger years spent at the beachfront property. Lai asked that his hotel name not be…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Texas Governor Predicts Supreme Court ‘Politics’ Will Prevent States’ Outright Win on Obama Immigration Actions
The governor of the state leading the legal fight against President Barack Obama’s executive actions protecting illegal immigrants from deportation predicted today that “the best we can hope for” is a deadlocked decision by the Supreme Court. That’s the difference the vacancy on the court left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia makes, Texas…Josh Siegel -
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The ‘Chilling’ Reason This Doctor Says Georgia Fired Him
A public health official, who says he was fired by Georgia’s health agency for the content of his sermons, filed a lawsuit today against the state claiming religious discrimination. Dr. Eric Walsh accepted a position as the Georgia Department of Public Health’s director for the northwest part of the state in May 2014. A week later, state officials requested copies…Leah Jessen -
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How These Texas Muslims Help Lead the Fight Against Terror
HOUSTON—Like most millennials, the 25-year-old Muslim man giving the evening sermon at the Madrasah Islamiah mosque in Houston is obsessed with getting the word out. Each sermon delivered by Mufti Mohammed Wasim Khan represents a different verse of the Quran, so the audience can look forward to something new. As the mosque fills up for…Josh Siegel