On Monday, June 10, 2013, Gov. Tom Corbett held a press conference to call for an expansion to the human services block grant program introduced in a pilot program for 20 counties last year. The program lets counties spend their human service dollars on whatever programs they see fit, as opposed to having line items [...]

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chairwoman and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and House Intelligence Committee, respectively, appeared together on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, to offer a bipartisan defense for the NSA’s unprecedented-and-questionably-legal-but-unquestionably-creepy secret collection of Americans’ phone records.

Some Wisconsin lawmakers say the have concerns about the “unique relationship” created between a non-profit journalism center and the University of Wisconsin.

By Sheena Dooley | Iowa Watchdog

DES MOINES – Officials at the Iowa Department of Human Services told a state senator Wednesday they have sufficient safeguards in place to prevent fraud among food stamp recipients, but that lawmaker is still concerned about the lack of monitoring in the welfare program.

HARRISBURG – The state Supreme Court ruled Monday that judges still have to retire at age 70, no matter how much they might not want to.
The state constitution includes a provision requiring judges to step down from the bench when they hit the age of 70, but a group of state judges challenged the law [...]

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog
OSAWATOMIE — A Kansas official said outdated standards are partially to blame for a massive increase in the number of residents receiving disability benefits.
Mike Donnelly, director of rehabilitation services for the Kansas Department for Children and Families, said while the state correctly diagnoses disabilities almost 99 percent of the time, the agency [...]

By Rob Nikolewski | New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — A map released by the Tax Foundation confirms what many in New Mexico already know — that the state is heavily reliant on federal dollars.
Using figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Tax Foundation, a pro-business think tank based in Washington D.C., took each state’s intergovernmental revenue and [...]

By Jon Cassidy | Watchdog.org
The jerks at PolitiFact are forever trying to refute the truth.
There’s no way to do this, of course, so they resort to tricks. Rather than flail against unassailable fact, they’ll insist that the fact in question was presented in a misleading context.
This context game may be their favorite technique.
If a conservative [...]

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog

OSAWATOMIE — When faced with scrutiny, it seems the U.S. Department of Labor would rather clam-up than fess-up.

By Jonathan Bechtle | Freedom Foundation
In its 7-2 decision on Monday in the case of Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court missed a clear opportunity to reaffirm the authority of states to protect the integrity of their elections. In fact, the court’s opinion likely moved the ball in the wrong direction, [...]

By Ron Aiken | The Nerve
What Boeing wants, Boeing gets.
On Tuesday, what Boeing got was effectively a rubber stamp from the South Carolina Budget and Control Board to the tune of $120 million in taxpayer-funded state bonds that will allow the Fortune 500 company to finance its latest expansion project when the bonds are sold [...]

By Jack Spencer | Michigan Capitol Confidential
Last week, 28 Republicans in the Michigan House helped pass House Bill 4714 to expand Medicaid in Michigan.
The bill passed 76 to 31, and in addition to the Republicans who voted to expand a key component of Obamacare, all Democrats also voted “yes.” All but one of the “no” votes was [...]

By Len Lazarick | Maryland Reporter
The state pension board on Tuesday lowered its target for investment return on the $41 billion retirement fund from 7.75 to 7.55 percent, a move it’s been considering for over a year
The 14-member board of trustees of the State Retirement and Pension System also lowered its projection of inflation from [...]

By John Hrabe | Cal Watchdog
From social issues to business regulations, Sacramento is considered a national leader in progressive politics. “Conservative” might be the last adjective used to describe the California Legislature — except when it comes to estimating the fiscal impacts of its legislative proposals.
A CalWatchdog.com analysis of several high-profile bills has identified a [...]

By Audrey Spalding | Mackinac Center
On Tuesday morning, the Grand Rapids City Commission will consider transferring 163 or more properties to the Kent County Land Bank. These properties will not go to tax auction, where private individuals could bid on them.
If city commissioners approve this resolution, they will be helping the Kent County Land Bank [...]

By Grant Bosse | New Hampshire Watchdog
The intelligent and hard-working members and staff at the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission are working hard to lower your electric rate.
They’re from the government, and they’re here to help.
The PUC and the New Hampshire Legislature have been trying to reduce New Hampshire’s shockingly high utility bills for a [...]

By John Hrabe | Cal Watchdog
When he isn’t in Sacramento, state Sen. Ed Hernandez is busy treating patients at his five-star rated optometry practice, Hernandez Optometry, in La Puente. The nearby picture is of him on the front page of his website.
For most people, it might be a challenge to balance two full-time jobs. Hernandez, though, has found [...]

By Tom Gantert | Michigan Capitol Confidential
In 2009, a year after signing the nation’s most lucrative film incentive program, then Gov. Jennifer Granholm touted the jobs it would create.
“We are working hard to build a diversified economy and create good-paying jobs in Michigan,” Granholm said. “As a result of our aggressive film incentives we are not [...]