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
Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order Preventing Louisiana From Defunding Planned Parenthood
A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal from defunding Planned Parenthood in the state. “Planned Parenthood is engaging in classic misdirection regarding the millions they have repaid in Medicaid fraud and their own admissions in the baby parts trafficking videos,” Mike Reed, Jindal’s communications director, said in a…Kate Scanlon -
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Indiana Man Says IRS Fined Him $2,344 for Violating Obamacare’s Individual Mandate
An Indiana man’s IRS bill went viral after he posted a photograph to his Facebook page of a $2,344 fine he claimed was from the federal government for not purchasing health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Benjamin Miller said his insurance skyrocketed after President Barack Obama’s health care law took effect so he decided…Natalie Johnson -
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Should Some High School Teachers Have to Have a Masters? In Minnesota, That’s a Fight
Minnesota educators, legislators, and students took turns at an unusual October legislative hearing, schooling the Higher Learning Commission’s top official on the “crippling effect” of a new HLC requirement for high school faculty teaching college-level classes to get master’s degrees. “The key to the Minnesota model for concurrent enrollment or dual credit programs is that they…Tom Steward -
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Idaho Legislature Wants Stronger Protections for Parents. Idaho School Boards Say No.
A new Idaho School Board Association resolution reveals that the group wants the Idaho Legislature to “hold at bay any expansion of the parental rights in regard to education.” The resolution, one of a handful like it passed by the group’s central committee, suggests that parents’ rights might conflict with districts’ attempts to comply with federal…Dustin Hurst -
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Texas Democratic Party Chairman Defends Man Charged With Criminal Vote Fraud
The original headline incorrectly described the person facing criminal charges. A client of Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa is facing 16 criminal charges of rigging votes in a Rio Grande Valley election. Lupe Rivera Sr. illegally handled ballots and envelopes in his closely contested Weslaco City Commission race, according to the state attorney general’s…Kenric Ward -
- Opinion
Washington Sets the Stage for Another Financial Crisis
My 13-year-old son told me at the dinner table the other day that Franklin Roosevelt was one of America’s “greatest presidents” because “he ended the Great Depression.” He’s usually a good student, so I checked where he got this tripe, and sure enough, the fairy tale was right there in his American history book. The textbook tells kids that the New Deal ended…Stephen Moore -
- Opinion
Report Shows Michigan Police Seized Over 23 Million In Property and Cash Last Year
Last month, as the Michigan Senate debated a host of reforms to the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws, the Michigan State Police released its Asset Forfeiture Report, the annual publication required by state law that details Michigan’s drug-related forfeiture activities. The report aggregates data from 629 local police departments, sheriff’s departments, and multijurisdictional task forces,…Jason Snead -
- Opinion
How the Indiana Pizza Shop Responded After Being Tricked Into ‘Catering’ a Gay Wedding
Much of the media today roundly disparage any business-person who even voices his or her religious beliefs regarding same-sex marriage. This is the consistent narrative by which many presumptuously judge small business owners’ (often wedding vendors) motives in affirming their religious convictions as animating their business lives. Critics reject out of hand their claims that they…Travis Weber -
- News
Florida Family Policy Council Calls on Gov. Rick Scott to Defund Planned Parenthood
The Florida Family Policy Council has launched a campaign to defund Planned Parenthood in the state. In an interview with The Daily signal, John Stemberger, the president and general counsel for the Florida Family Policy Council, said that the statewide campaign is an effort to call on Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to fully defund Planned Parenthood…Kate Scanlon -
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Amid Ongoing Legal Battle, Savannah to Vote on Requirement That Tour Guides Pass Test
Under pressure from a federal lawsuit, Savannah, Ga., may bow out of an ongoing legal battle Thursday that would dismantle the city’s tour guide regulations and allow anyone to speak to willing customers about the city’s rich history. The Savannah City Council is voting this afternoon to repeal its decades-old ordinance that bars tour guides…Natalie Johnson -
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Group Challenges California Law Forcing Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers to Comply With ‘Pro-Abortion Agenda’
Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit legal organization that works to defend religious liberty, has filed a complaint in federal court against a California law that forces pro-life crisis pregnancy centers to promote abortion providers. The Reproductive FACT Act, recently approved by the California Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., requires pregnancy centers to…Kate Scanlon -
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Another Obamacare Collapse: Kentucky Health Co-Op Goes Under
In a new blow to Obamacare, the Kentucky Health Cooperative has decided not to offer health insurance plans for 2016. The Kentucky co-op (Consumer Oriented and Operated Plan), a nonprofit health insurer created with federal taxpayer funds under Obamacare, announced its fold on Friday. “It is with sadness that we announce this decision,” said Kentucky Health Cooperative…Leah Jessen -
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Washington Post Reporter Convicted in Iran, Reigniting Republican Criticisms of Nuclear Deal
Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian was convicted in Iran on espionage charges after being detained in Tehran for more than a year, Iranian media reported Sunday. The verdict sparked immediate backlash from U.S. lawmakers, reviving GOP-led charges against President Barack Obama’s signature Iran nuclear agreement. Republican Reps. Lee Zeldin of New York, Peter Roskam of Illinois,…Natalie Johnson -
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Disability Rights Advocates Fight Back After California Passes Assisted Suicide
Disability rights advocates are fighting back after Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., authorized assisted suicide in California. In a letter to lawmakers explaining his decision, Brown wrote that he considered “what I would want in the face of my own death.” “I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating…Kate Scanlon -
- Opinion
No, Alabama Closing Part-Time DMVs Is Not ‘New Jim Crow’
Many on the left are in a ferment over Alabama’s closure of some part-time Department of Motor Vehicles offices. It’s being done for budgetary reasons, but liberals are claiming it’s being done to raise a “barrier for poor and minority voters” in getting an ID to vote, according to the Washington Post. Former Secretary of…Hans von Spakovsky -
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NY Times Report: Number of Oregon Natives Want Guns After Massacre
The tragedy at Umpqua Community College in Oregon has reignited the national gun debate. Unlike President Barack Obama, who called for stricter gun control, The New York Times reports that many residents of Roseburg, Ore., “want to have a gun.” Passion and tension have gripped the nation as Americans fight for what they believe would be…Sara Jones -
- Opinion
Fair Pay Act Will Hurt Women in California
California’s attempt to reduce the so-called pay gap through its recently passed Fair Pay Act will hurt women. Women should be paid the same amount as men when they perform the exact same job. No one disputes that. Equal pay for equal work has been the law in California for 66 years. But now, under…Rachel Greszler -
- News
New York Gov. Cuomo Rejects New Evidence, Continues to Forbid Fracking
For officials in the economically depressed region of New York state known as the Southern Tier, two recent hydraulic fracturing studies gave them the slightest glimmer of hope that the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo would reverse the state’s ban on hydraulic fracturing. But in a brief email to Watchdog.org, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation shut the door on…Rob Nikolewski -
- News
Late-Night Removal of 10 Commandments Monument in Oklahoma Reignites Controversy
The monument of the Ten Commandments that previously stood on the Oklahoma state capitol grounds was removed late Monday night. According to the Associated Press, the state paid a contractor $4,700 to remove the monument following the 7-2 decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court on June 30 that found the monument in violation of the…Sara Jones -
- Opinion
California Democrat Governor’s Conservative Move
Enough is enough when it comes to overcriminalization. That is the message expressed in California Gov. Jerry Brown’s recent letter to the California legislature. In it, he refused to sign nine bills that “multiply and particularize” existing crimes. More than that, he rebuked the practice of overcriminalization. His directive to the legislature was simple: no…John-Michael Seibler