State Lawmakers | featured news

Two fake Democrats were defeated and four others trailed in early election results Tuesday against Democrats supported by the party in the first recall elections targeting nine Wisconsin state senators.

Democratic lawmakers passed a rare on-time state budget Wednesday over Republican objections, but the plan — balanced with a blend of taxes, cuts and clever accounting — faces an uncertain fate at the hands of Gov. Jerry Brown.

A Wisconsin judge struck down that state's controversial new collective bargaining law Thursday, ruling that GOP legislators failed to provide sufficient public notice before passing the measure this year.

Talks between Gov. Jerry Brown and a group of Republican lawmakers looking for a budget compromise hit a wall this weekend, and no further talks with the five lawmakers are scheduled.

The Assembly is set to pass the bill limiting collective bargaining rights for government workers in Wisconsin after a Senate procedural move ended the standoff on Wednesday.

The Colorado House of Representatives is scheduled to review a bill this week that would amend the state's anti-bullying laws to require dress codes that "encourage school pride and unity," and mandate that teachers receive regular lessons in how to deal with bullying. The legislation would also create a cash fund aimed at the problem of bullying and suicides in schools.

While a bill limiting collective bargaining rights was passed in the Wisconsin Assembly, the measure stalled because Senate Democrats remained out of the state.

California will enter the fourth month of its fiscal year on Friday without a state budget in place after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and top lawmakers failed to agree on Thursday on a spending plan.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers ended talks Thursday night without reaching a deal on how to close California's $19 billion deficit, breaking a state record for the longest budget impasse.

In a recession, state lawmakers are taxing personal vices. It’s good for you, they say, but it’s really better for their budgets.