All articles tagged with #state government
WBUR provides live results for the contested Massachusetts state House and Senate primaries, with links to live counts for other major races including governor, U.S. Senate and House, district attorney, and the Governor’s Council.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a halt to state funding for Flock AI-powered license-plate cameras after a Texas Tribune investigation found at least $30 million had been spent on the network; funding largely comes from a 2023 auto-insurance law. The pause follows privacy concerns, reported misuse, and contract cancellations as lawmakers weigh guardrails and warrants.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3484 to regulate micromobility devices, creating statewide rules for high-speed e-bikes and scooters along with electric bikes, motor bikes, unicycles and skateboards. The law establishes age minimums, speed limits (up to 28 mph for many devices), and road-use requirements; high-speed models must be registered, titled, insured and operated on roads, with penalties including fines and confiscation for violations. It also aims to standardize rules across communities to improve rider and pedestrian safety as these devices become more common, taking effect Jan. 1.
State Rep. Nate Schatzline, a Fort Worth Republican and hardline conservative, resigned from the Texas House to become Gov. Greg Abbott’s senior adviser on election policy, leading policy development and legislative strategy on election integrity. The role is expected to shape next-session priorities, including efforts to close primaries and tighten voting rules; Schatzline had been floated as a potential secretary of state, a job Abbott sought to fill.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Don Huffines, a former Republican state senator, to be Texas comptroller for the rest of the year after acting head Kelly Hancock resigns; Huffines, who defeated Hancock for the GOP nomination, is running for a full term against Democrat Sarah Eckhardt in November and would oversee taxes, spending audits, contracts and the state’s $1 billion Education Freedom Accounts voucher program.
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock will resign at the end of July, a year after taking the job appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Hancock oversaw the rollout of Texas Education Freedom Accounts, the state’s $1 billion school-choice program. He lost his bid for a full term to Don Huffines, who will face Democrat Sarah Eckhardt in November. Hancock remains confident the agency will continue to function smoothly and that Huffines will build on the ongoing work.
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced she will resign effective July 17, ending a 3.5-year tenure as the state’s top election official. Gov. Greg Abbott will nominate a successor “without delay,” though the reason for Nelson’s departure and potential candidates were not disclosed. Nelson’s tenure included overseeing seven statewide elections with 27 million ballots cast, and managing controversial data-sharing efforts with the DOJ and the SAVE database, which prompted lawsuits from voting-rights groups. Her time in office also coinced with the TEAM election-management overhaul, which officials say still needs fixes.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows urged lifting the state requirement that youth camps install end‑to‑end fiber-optic facilities to qualify for licensure, arguing other reliable connectivity could meet the rule’s goals after a lawsuit by 19 camps; the mandate was enacted following the July 4 Hill Country floods that killed campers, and critics say fiber costs can be prohibitive or impractical for rural camps, with lawmakers planning to revisit camp safety standards in 2027 while there was no immediate comment from the Department of State Health Services.
At a state House and Senate flood hearing, Camp Mystic director Edward Eastland apologized to families whose children died in last year’s flood, saying they tried their hardest and regretting not communicating sooner. Lawmakers heard harrowing accounts from grieving parents, assessed the camp’s preparedness and evacuation plans, and debated license renewal with the Texas Department of State Health Services, with some suggesting shutdown if deficiencies aren’t fixed. The testimony underscored the trauma for survivors and the political pressure surrounding Camp Mystic’s future.
Twelve Republican attorneys general moved to intervene in a Democratic-led lawsuit challenging Trump's March 31 executive order on mail voting, arguing the order would actually bolster state authority by creating federal voter lists with DHS/SSA and restricting ballot delivery via the USPS. The judge’s decision on intervention is pending; notable signatories include Kris Kobach and Steve Marshall. The case is part of broader legal challenges to the EO, including a separate Massachusetts suit by voting-rights groups.
Gov. Greg Abbott warned Houston, Dallas and Austin that roughly $200 million in state public-safety funding could be cut unless their police policies fully cooperate with ICE, ranging from $110 million for Houston to about $2.5 million for Austin and $32+ million for Dallas plus World Cup funds. The move catalyzes pushback from city leaders and a Paxton-led investigation and lawsuit against Houston, as officials defend SB 4-compliant policies and emphasize public safety and constitutional rights. The dispute underscores tensions between state immigration enforcement and local policing policies.
Houston's ordinance to curb police cooperation with ICE sparks a state funding cutoff threat and an AG investigation, illustrating how Texas cities are navigating the Trump-era immigration crackdown; Austin and other cities are crafting policies to protect residents while complying with Senate Bill 4 and balancing state leadership.
Maryland’s House and Senate approved a bill banning the sale of pistols that can be converted into machine guns with Glock switches, sending the measure to Gov. Wes Moore for signature. The ban targets semiautomatic pistols with a cruciform trigger bar and would bar future sales while exempting current owners, law enforcement, and military. California’s Glock ban is being challenged in court, and Maryland’s proposal is expected to face legal challenges from gun-rights groups if enacted; supporters say it moves the state closer to eliminating ‘weapons of war’ from the market.
Texas hemp industry leaders have sued the state to halt new regulations from the Department of State Health Services and the Health and Human Services Commission that ban natural smokeable hemp products and sharply raise licensing fees; they argue the agencies overstepped their authority by redefining hemp and by counting total THC (including THCA) for compliance, which would ban popular products like THCA flower and pre-rolled joints and jack up fees for facilities and retailers, while state officials cite youth-safety concerns and rising cannabis-poisoning calls as justification.
The Texas Education Agency directs all public schools to remove mentions of Cesar Chavez from lesson plans and to cancel or redirect Chavez Day events amid sexual abuse allegations; the move accompanies ongoing revisions to Texas social studies standards, with districts like Austin shifting observances to Dolores Huerta and Houston renaming Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day.