The Pew Charitable Trusts
08/05/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/05/2021 09:21
Top State Stories 8/5
New Jersey's eviction moratorium will end early for families above a certain income threshold under a sweeping bill Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law. The measure will also provide $750 million in aid for residents who have struggled to keep up with rent and utility payments during the coronavirus pandemic.
Georgia election officials released a new absentee ballot request form that requires voters to submit a driver's license number or other ID, a change mandated by the state's voting law. The updated absentee application, created by the office of Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, also adds a warning that voters face imprisonment or fines up to $100,000 if they falsify information.
The Hawaii Department of Education imposed a vaccination mandate for all student athletes, coaches and volunteers and pushed back the start of the athletic season to Sept. 24.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom can describe the recall effort against him as Republican-led in the official statewide voter guide, a Sacramento judge said in a tentative ruling. The decision is a win for Newsom, who for months has worked to paint the effort as a radical power grab by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Broward County Schools may be gearing up for a battle with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis over the issue of masks for students. The school district issued a statement walking back a previous statement indicating it would comply with DeSantis' executive order blocking schools from requiring masks.
Colorado health officials have reinstated a mask mandate for everyone who enters a nursing home, regardless of vaccination status. The restriction, while affecting only a limited number of people, is another hint at the worsening coronavirus situation in Colorado and across the country.
Republican Gov. Mark Gordon will not issue another statewide mask mandate and won't require Wyoming school districts to implement one, he announced. Gordon said he is standing behind the authority of local school districts.
While state and industry leaders forecast doom for energy development and rural employment due to President Joe Biden's moratorium on new leasing on public lands, Utah's oil and gas sector is waking up from its pandemic-induced slumber.
Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a new mask mandate for preschool through high school students and staff, and a vaccine mandate for employees in state prisons, veterans' homes and other congregate settings.
A Kansas legislator accused of kicking a high school student in the testicles has surrendered his state substitute teacher's license and said that 'extreme' stress caused him to have 'an isolated episode of mania with psychotic features' in a classroom. Republican state Rep. Mark Samsel disclosed in a Facebook post that he has seen mental health professionals over the past three months.
Wisconsin state employees will have to wear face masks because of a surge in coronavirus cases, state officials announced. The move came shortly after the two largest University of Wisconsin schools, in Madison and Milwaukee, put mask requirements in place.
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that a state law requiring individuals to have a permit to carry a handgun in public is constitutional and does not violate the Second Amendment.
Oregon health care workers will have to get vaccinated for COVID-19 or face weekly testing, Democratic Gov. Kate Brown's office said-an apparent step to fight the state's run-away coronavirus case numbers fueled by the delta variant.
While COVID-19 upended and ended the lives of thousands of Michiganders, taking a profound emotional toll, the challenges of 2020 did not seem to bring about a rise in suicides, which early data indicates dropped last year after rising significantly over the previous decade.
Iowa Republicans said they're sticking by their law forbidding schools and local governments from imposing mask mandates.
A Republican lawmaker is asking the Texas attorney general to issue an opinion on whether teachings on race in public schools, universities and state agencies are unconstitutional. Depending on what Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton does next, educators and activists may have to prepare for a legal fight.
A new mandate by Arizona's Phoenix Union High School District that students and staff wear masks remains in effect, at least for the time being, as do similar policies being adopted by other districts. Measures banning mask mandates adopted by the Arizona legislature do not take effect until 90 days after the end of the session. This year, that day falls on Sept. 29.
A rural New Mexico school board was suspended by the state Public Education Department for not going along with Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's mask mandate for children as schools prepare for classes to resume this month and COVID-19 cases rise.
The pace of coronavirus vaccinations in Tennessee nearly doubled in the past month as the delta variant sparked new outbreaks and spurred fears of a reinvigorated pandemic. However, even if this pace continues to accelerate, it will take months to catch up with the rest of the nation.