Category: US Governors

‘Fairness formula’ dead, but push for school aid changes isn’t

Gov. Chris Christie appears to have given up on his ‘fairness formula,’ though not the broader goal of revamping how New Jersey distributes school aid. Christie has called since last June to equalize per-pupil school aid across all districts, rather than give additional aid to districts with higher levels of poverty and homes where English isn’t the main language.

Democratic response pitched to middle-class white voters who went for Trump

Former Gov. Steve Beshear, D-Ky., followed up President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress late Tuesday surrounded by white, presumably middle-class Americans in what may have been an appeal to a demographic the Democratic Party lost to Trump in the election. Beshear sat casually at a table inside a diner in Lexington, Ky., while he lectured Trump on how his actions as commander-in-chief have hurt the working class in his red state.

Twitter mocks Democrat response

Twitter lit up late Tuesday night to mock former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who delivered a stilted response to President Trump’s speech from a coffeehouse. Beshear appeared to be picked to respond because he’s from a working-class state that Democrats are now desperately looking to win back.

Tennessee lawmakers respond to Trumpa s speech to Congress

The storms could produce damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes in the northwest area of the region in Tuesday and all across the mid-state on President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, as Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., listen. “An effective speech.

Ahead of Trump speech, McConnell takes swipe at Beshear on Obamacare

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a swipe Tuesday at former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, the Democrat chosen to deliver the party’s response to President Donald Trump’s speech tonight to Congress. Beshear, governor from 2007 to 2015, championed the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Kentucky, and he was tapped in part as a rebuttal to McConnell , a Kentucky Republican who’s one of the law’s biggest foes.

Judy Woodruff says VP Pence sees benefits of public media

PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff told public broadcasting executives Tuesday that at least one person in President Trump’s administration is “clearly aware of the many benefits” of public media. Woodruff said she “thought it was significant” that Vice President Mike Pence gave NewsHour his first interview after being nominated at the Republican National Convention, as well as his first interview after taking office.

The Latest: Trump meets with states’ attorneys general

Trump met with approximately two dozen members of the National Association of Attorneys General, which is comprised of states’ top law enforcement officials. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a longtime Trump ally who served on his transition team, stood next to the president and thanked him for his kind words.

President’s first joint Congressional talk tonight

With Vice President Mike Pence stuck in the middle, President Donald Trump shakes hands with House Speaker Paul Ryan on Jan. 26. Trump will speak to Congress at 8 p.m. today. President Donald Trump is addressing a joint session of Congress at 8 p.m. today and the usual outlets will be on hand live until 9:30.

Activist to address immigration, health after Trump speech

An activist who will deliver a Democratic response in Spanish to President Donald Trump’s first speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday plans to address his administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants and the need for affordable health care. The remarks from Astrid Silva, a so-called Dreamer who was brought into the country illegally as a child, will come as Trump’s efforts have spread anxiety among immigrants and led many to fear arrest.

Report warns of gaps if federal health care dollars are cut

A sobering report to governors about the potential consequences of repealing the Obama-era health care law warns that federal spending cuts probably would create funding gaps for states and threaten many people with the loss of insurance coverage. The Affordable Care Act has two main components for expanding coverage: subsidized private health insurance available in all 50 states, and an optional Medicaid expansion that has been accepted by 31 states and the District of Columbia.

Report: State money fallout from law repeal

A sobering report to governors about the potential consequences of repealing the Obama-era health care law warns that federal spending cuts probably would create funding gaps for states and threaten many people with the loss of insurance coverage. The Affordable Care Act has two main components for expanding coverage: subsidized private health insurance available in all 50 states, and an optional Medicaid expansion that has been accepted by 31 states and the District of Columbia.

Kansas Legislature’s lurch to center cuts governor’s clout

In this Feb. 22, 2017 file photo, Gov. Sam Brownback takes questions from the media after signing the veto of the tax bill sent to him from the legislature in Topeka, Kan. Debates in the Kansas Legislature over taxes, expanding the state’s Medicaid program and restoring guaranteed tenure for public school teachers illustrate how much clout Brownback and his allies have lost.

Sound Off for February 25, 2017

Hey all you developers and contractors! I saw some green in North Columbus yesterday! Better get your concrete mixers busy and do something about it before it spreads! Donald Drumpf opens his mouth and shoots out a tweet. Clean up on Aisle 7! Then he blames the media for his own ignorance.

New Jersey Oks gas pipeline through protected Pinelands

New Jersey environmental regulators on Friday approved a hotly contested plan to run a natural gas pipeline through a federally protected forest preserve amid raucous protests that included drums, tambourines and choruses of “This Land Is Your Land.” The 15-member New Jersey Pinelands Commission voted to approve a plan by South Jersey Gas to run the pipeline through the federally protected Pinelands preserve, where development is drastically restricted.

CPAC once considered Trump a joke

Six years ago, as the “money, money, money, money” chorus of his reality TV show’s theme song blasted, Donald Trump stepped out before the nation’s largest gathering of conservative activists for the first time. The crowd was less than adoring, occasionally laughing at and booing the longtime former Democrat.

Democrats facing re-election are skipping out on town halls

Only a few of the ten Democratic senators who are on the ballot in 2018 are hosting such town halls, which in other election cycles were routine, the Associated Press reported . “Seems to me that all these members of Congress are afraid to face their constituents,” Hillary Shields, a member of Kansas City Indivisible, said after Sen. Claire McCaskill declined the group’s invitation to attend a town hall.

Vote expected on hotly contested New Jersey pipeline project

New Jersey regulators are set to vote on whether a natural gas pipeline should run through the state’s federally protected Pinelands region, which includes more than a million acres of farms, forests and wetlands. The Pinelands Commission is expected to make a final determination Friday morning on the proposal that has touched off a classic jobs-versus-environment battle in the nation’s most densely populated state.

Montana abortion bill would make doctors try to save fetus

Montana lawmakers pushed forward with a measure Thursday that would effectively ban all abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy, regardless of the medical risks to a woman, by requiring doctors to deliver the fetus and try to save it. Critics of the bill said it could be among the most extreme anti-abortion laws in the nation, even as other states consider their own proposals that would reduce the window for legal abortions.

Oklahoma Senate panel approves Real Id compliance measure

Members of an Oklahoma Senate panel criticized the costs of bringing the state’s drivers licenses into compliance with a federal anti-terrorism law before deciding to send the proposal to the floor for a final vote. Following more than one hour of discussion and debate, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 34-9 for the House-passed measure and sent it to the full Senate for consideration.

LePage asks Trump ‘to make Maine woods great again’

Maine’s governor has asked Republican President Donald Trump to undo Democratic former President Barack Obama’s designation of a national monument. Republican Gov. Paul LePage asked Trump to take the unprecedented step of returning land in the northern part of the state to private ownership in a Feb. 14 letter.

Day editor got it wrong on Republicans dealing on budget

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: The Day’s editorial page editor allowed Republican lawmakers 11 days to come up with a $40 billion budget response to the tax and spending plan laid out by Gov. Malloy Feb. 8. It took the Malloy’s bureaucratic budget experts presumably all fall and into the winter to create a universally disliked proposal – most Democrats not living in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport don’t support it either – that shovels much of the state’s looming $3.6 billion deficit onto to towns and cities and builds in concessions from state employees.

Democrats face fierce urgency of 2018

Near a nadir of political power, Democrats across the country say their comeback must begin with key races next year – and warn that failure to make big gains in state races in 2018 will doom them to another decade in the minority in Washington. More than three-dozen states will choose governors in the next two years, while voters pick state legislative candidates in thousands of districts across the country.