Category: Federal-State Relations

Supreme Court Told Puerto Rico Control Board Can’t Refuse to Make Documents Public

Whether Puerto Rico enjoys the same immunity from lawsuits that U.S. states have was considered by the Supreme Court on Jan. 11 in a battle over media access to internal documents of a governmental body. The hearing came after a recent push by congressional Democrats for a statehood referendum in Puerto Rico failed in the…


In ESG Debate, Some See Threat to Livelihood, Traditional Values

Charlie Masters, Kentucky farmer, has watched the prices rise. Diesel fuel and nitrogen fertilizer, two of the most critical ingredients for running his Fleming County beef and produce operation, are still costlier than just two years ago. That’s partly due to recent fluctuations in the prices of oil and natural gas. What’s behind those trends?…


FDA Mifepristone Rule-Change Puts Pending Texas Trial in Spotlight

With the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) this week finalizing a rule-change that allows brick-and-mortar pharmacies to dispense mifepristone online, if permitted under state law, a lawsuit challenging the regulatory review and safety of “abortion pills” bound for trial in the Texas Panhandle assumes added significance. Alliance Defending Freedom filed a 113-page lawsuit on Nov….


States Competing for High-Wage Employers With ‘Workforce Development’ Initiatives

It’s no secret that states compete with each other to attract “family wage” employers that provide health insurance and other benefits, especially in manufacturing and high-tech sectors.  The standard competitive toolboxes offered by state legislatures usually include tax credits, assorted regulatory waivers, and a host of other “fine print” incentives to induce corporations and businesses…


States Compete for High-Wage Employers With ‘Workforce Development’ Initiatives

It’s no secret that states compete with each other to attract “family wage” employers that provide health insurance and other benefits, especially in manufacturing and high-tech sectors.  The standard competitive toolboxes offered by state legislatures usually include tax credits, assorted regulatory waivers, and a host of other “fine print” incentives to induce corporations and businesses…


US Postal Service Can Keep Delivering Abortion Pills Even After Roe Overturned: DOJ Opinion

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) can continue to deliver abortion pills across the United States even after the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a legal opinion on Tuesday. The memorandum opinion (pdf) from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel was sought by the…


States Face Pressure to Spend Taxpayer Money on Infrastructure

President Joe Biden will be in Covington, Ky., on Jan. 4 to tout the launch of an Ohio River bridge project that will receive a $1.64 billion federal funding boost from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) adopted by Congress in November 2021. Biden will be joined by Senate Minority Leader Mitch…



7 Years After Police Shot LaVoy Finicum in Back, Arizona Family Asks Supreme Court to Hear Case

It was senior recognition night at Jeanette Finicum’s daughter’s high school basketball game on Jan. 26, 2016, when Jeanette started hearing that something had happened to her husband, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum. A Mohave County, Arizona, cattle rancher, father of 12, and foster parent, LaVoy Finicum was among a group of people who participated in a…


US Military Members Who Refused COVID Shot Await Answers, Face Challenges

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which awaits President Joe Biden’s signature, ends the requirement for military members to be vaccinated for COVID-19. But it doesn’t say what happens to the people who have refused the COVID shot and were either kicked out of the military or who are in the middle of the separation…