On June 11, 2019, 10 state attorneys general (AGs), in California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Virginia and Wisconsin filed a lawsuit opposing the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, claiming that its approval would lead to increased consumer prices and decreased competition. In six of those states, the public utility commission (PUC) […]
On the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision to legalize sports betting, the Hawkeye State has delivered another exciting reason to celebrate. Yesterday, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-Iowa) signed SF 617 into law, making Iowa the ninth state to fully legalize sports gambling. In comparison to other proposals weighed by the legislature, this law provides […]
California state legislators have a solution to fulfill Gov. Gavin Newsom’s bloated $209 billion budget: tax anything and everything under the sun. Taking more money from taxpayers should not be a surprise from the state with the highest income tax in the country. Just last year, California lawmakers proposed to reverse the positive economic gains […]
The Green New Deal and its associated hyperbole have commanded most of the recent attention that is paid to energy policy. Yet the Green New Deal has no chance to pass until 2021 at the earliest; even its Senate sponsor, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, says he won’t vote for it when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell […]
In 2015, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio asked his wife, First Lady Chirlane McCray, to lead an effort to tackle mental health challenges in the city. Called ThriveNYC, it purported to offer a “roadmap for mental health for all.” Yet records show Ms. McCray failed to keep track of how her program spent […]
Governors and legislators new and old taking office this month will be inundated with advice from all directions. Each special interest and left-wing or right-wing single-issue activist group will have scheduled meetings between its highest-paid lobbyists and the most important legislators; prepared its talking points and social media campaigns; and made its first campaign contributions […]
On Tuesday, November 6, South Dakota voters will decide whether to approve Initiated Measure 25 (IM 25). This measure would increase taxes on cigarettes by $1 per pack and increase the wholesale tax on tobacco products from 35 to 55 percent. The revenue, it is claimed, will be devoted to the state’s four technical schools. […]
Montanans will decide the fate of Initiative 185 when they vote this November. The ballot measure is needed, proponents say, because it will finally accomplish the most noble, yet elusive, of goals: reducing smoking and raising revenue for the expansion of Medicaid in Montana, so that thousands more can realize the benefits of healthcare. It […]
In May 2018, in Murphy v. NCAA, the Supreme Court invalidated a 1992 law called the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which prohibited most states from legalizing sports betting. (PASPA did not apply to the states of Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana, where sports betting was legal in 1992.) The Court ruled that […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to make it easier than ever for communities across the nation to bring cutting-edge wireless service to millions of Americans. On September 26, 2018, the FCC will vote on a proposed rule that will hasten nationwide implementation of 5G cellular infrastructure. If adopted, the rules would limit the burdensome […]
