This article represents the opinion of the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board. Florida’s annual two-month legislative session opens Tuesday. Legislators must eventually pass a budget, but along the way they can consider a legion of potential new laws and tweaks to existing ones. Some have merit, others don’t. Here are […]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, takes questions from the media after a visit to Ramona Gardens Recreation Center in Los Angeles to discuss the state’s efforts to vaccinate hard-to-reach and disproportionately impacted communities, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. California’s new system of delivering and scheduling coronavirus vaccines is being rolled out […]

Here’s what you need to know: Jack Dorsey, left, the chief executive of Twitter; Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google; and Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, will appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 25.Credit…Lm Otero Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press The chief executives of […]

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislature will convene Monday with Republicans holding large majorities and promising an agenda that could include tax cuts and changes to voting, gun and school attendance laws. Republicans, who in November expanded their majority in the House and maintained their edge in the […]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana lawmakers are expediting two similar bills intended to ensure schools receive full funding for all students, regardless of whether they are receiving instruction virtually or in the classroom due to the coronavirus pandemic. The draft bills were filed in the House and Senate at the start […]

For their swearing-in session on Monday, Assembly leaders moved their house from the state Capitol to the Golden 1 Center to make sure lawmakers were appropriately spaced. COVID-19 safety concerns meant that families and guests were excluded from the event. Just hours later, however, five California state Assembly members dined […]

COVID-19 has squashed most holiday and vacation plans this year amid travel restrictions and quarantine recommendations to slow the spread of the virus. Yet some California lawmakers have traveled to Maui this week for the California Independent Voter Project’s annual policy conference. A San Diego-based group that works to empower […]

Incoming House lawmakers arrived in Washington, D.C., for new member orientation on Thursday facing a unique set of circumstances compared to their predecessors amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Members traveling to D.C. this year have been forced to get acquainted with their new colleagues while wearing face masks and taking other safety precautions due to the worsening health […]

BOSTON (SHNS) – Three months after Gov. Charlie Baker signed a more than $1.1 billion COVID relief spending bill, the administration has made the final $213 million available for dozens of non-profits, municipal departments, and hospitals to claim with just two months left until much of the federal money used […]