The Pew Charitable Trusts
08/02/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/02/2021 09:15
Top State Stories 8/2
Georgia Republican lawmakers took a key step in a long and untested process that could trigger an extraordinary takeover of the elections system of one of the state's biggest Democratic strongholds.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order giving parents the right to ignore any COVID-19 school mask mandates such as the one in Broward County. He said the Parents' Bill of Rights he signed into law last month gave him the authority to issue an emergency rule 'protecting the rights of parents to make this decision.'
California leaders say federal agencies that view burns, planned or otherwise, as a necessity to decreasing fire risk in the future, are minimizing the risks of fires mushrooming, especially in forests and grasslands transformed by climate change.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security is dealing with a variation on unemployment fraud in which qualified people start getting their benefits and then somebody directs that cash elsewhere. The department has declined to provide figures on how many people have reported being robbed of their benefits, and how much money was taken.
The Montana Department of Labor and Industry offered guidance on a new state law barring discrimination against people based on vaccination status. Government agencies and private employers are barred from requiring proof of vaccination as a condition of receiving goods, services, public assistance or employment.
More than 100 Democratic state legislators from across the country will assemble in Washington, D.C., with their Texas counterparts to push the Senate and President Joe Biden to act on voting reform legislation. The lawmakers represent more than 20 states, including some in which Republican-led legislatures have passed or are considering new voting restrictions.
Washington is recovering from the COVID-19 recession so strongly that labor shortages are showing up in industries ranging from food service and warehouses to accounting and finance. Yet amid that boom, a surprisingly large number of people have struggled to find work-some since the start of the pandemic.
More people are about to get sick from COVID-19 in Michigan. But Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, says her hands are tied, after GOP lawmakers and activists successfully repealed an emergency powers law she had used to issue orders.
Minnesota spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on construction, but contractors rarely meet state goals for hiring a diverse workforce. In dozens of instances over the past two years, companies contracting with the state did not employ a single woman or person of color as part of their construction team.
The retired Wisconsin Supreme Court justice tasked with leading a review of the 2020 presidential election said there are enough concerns about the integrity of the election to warrant a 'very thorough examination.' Michael Gableman was hired by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, as a special counsel in charge of the investigation.
If Texas Democrats hold ranks in Washington, D.C., for long enough, they could further complicate the redistricting process that awaits lawmakers after the debates over voting, critical race theory and other contentious issues are settled. Redistricting is expected to occur in a special session this fall.
A handful of nonprofits whose leaders have falsely alleged widespread voter fraud led to President Joe Biden's win in the 2020 election have poured more than $5.6 million into the Arizona election audit so far, according to the company running the audit. That list includes nonprofits associated with several of former President Donald Trump's allies and supporters.
Tens of thousands of people in New Mexico who are behind on their gas and electric bills could lose power as soon as mid-August after a pandemic moratorium on utility shutoffs ended. More than 47,000 residential customers of Public Service Company of New Mexico have outstanding balances of about $448 on average for electricity, the company said.
A group of University of Delaware researchers have been studying microplastics in Delaware for years, finding them in numerous waterways. The overall concentration of microplastics in the bay is high, even compared to other places around the world, the team found.