By Staff, Arizona Capitol Times (Phoenix)

Arizona is one of three states that don’t require booster seats after children graduate from car seats, but a Republican lawmaker said she’s determined to change that despite years of failed attempts at the state Legislature.

By Ivy Morris, Arizona Capitol Times (Phoenix)

Calling the measure a “political ploy” and contrary to the wishes of most Arizzonans, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Monday he won’t hear a Democratic senator’s bill to repeal SB 1070.

By Howard Fischer, East Valley Tribune

A state senator wants to erect even more hurdles in the path of women who want an abortion.

By Laurie Roberts, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)

Comes now the parting of the seas in this desert state, a division that will further split Republicans from Democrats, conservatives from liberals.

By Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)

Most Arizonans believe the state can protect water, air and other natural resources without hurting the economy and oppose efforts to weaken protections, according to a poll released Monday by Colorado College for its “State of the Rockies” report.

By Staff, East Valley Tribune

Arizona now has 3,138,327 registered voters, a decrease of 27,231 since the last report in October, according to the latest numbers released by Secretary of State Ken Bennett.

By Jessica Testa, Cronkite News Service

For the past two years, Mary Ann Pogany has been tending the Mediterranean patio gardens at Oracle State Park –not because it’s her job, but because there’s no one else to do it.

By Dustin Volz, Cronkite News Service

WASHINGTON – Operation Fast and Furious was the fourth “gun–walking” investigation run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the Phoenix area, according to a congressional report released Tuesday.

By Andy Ellison, Cronkite News Service

f a proposed bill passes, midwives may have less stringent rules to work with concerning the process of giving life-threatening medication to a pregnant woman.

By Jim Sanders, The Sacramento Bee

The Assembly rejected legislation today that would have required independent expenditure committees to provide more disclosure of their contributors in backing candidates or ballot measures.

By Anthony York, Los Angeles Times

After taking most of 2011 off from the fundraising circuit, Gov. Jerry Brown is now focusing on raising the $30 million he says it will take to pass his initiative to raise taxes, which he hopes to place on the November ballot.

By Staff, The Denver Post

Even with Gov. John Hickenlooper selling it in person, a proposal to privatize Pinnacol Assurance — the state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance fund — got a cool reception Tuesday from a special panel.

By Patrick Malone, The Pueblo Chieftain

Changes on Tuesday to a proposal to legalize the sale of home cooking established another difference between two competing bills in the General Assembly.

By Staff, The Denver Post

For several days, Rep. Laura Bradford has been excoriated for seemingly being above the law when she was pulled over — but not arrested — last week on suspicion of drunken driving.

By Arielle Levin Becker, The Connecticut Mirror

Meriden — If all goes according to plan, the glassed-in attachment to The Arc of Meriden-Wallingford’s building will soon be filled with fish, worms and vegetables.

By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, The Connecticut Mirror

Budget cuts by the Malloy administration will stall some plans to turn around the Department of Children and Families, an agency under federal court oversight for failing too many abused and neglected children, their budget chief says.

By Keith, The Connecticut Mirror

As tax season arrives, advocates for the Connecticut’s new income tax credit for working poor families are trying to keep commercial tax preparers — and revenue-hungry state officials — from getting their hands on it.

By Keith M. Phaneuf, The Connecticut Mirror

The legislature’s top watchdog office is seeking access to confidential state tax information to assist in processing whistleblower complaints filed by state employees.

By Mark Pazniokas, The Connecticut Mirror

The election-year effort by House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, to raise the $8.25 minimum wage and index it to inflation energizes his labor base and creates tension with a less-than-enthusiastic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

By The Associated Press, Connecticut Post

A group of Democratic state lawmakers, including the House speaker, is calling for an increase in Connecticut’s minimum wage.

By Linda Conner Lambeck, Connecticut Post

A plan to give school districts greater flexibility to hire and keep the best teachers and reduce red tape that gets in the way of improving instruction in the classroom was announced Tuesday by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Malloy-Cut-red-tape-for-school-districts-2876801.php#ixzz1l6Dk24Fi

By Doug Denison, The News Journal (New Castle-Wilmington)

The General Assembly’s budget-drafting committee started four weeks of work Tuesday with briefings about the state’s financial situation and Gov. Jack Markell’s $3.54 billion spending plan.

By Doug Denison, The News Journal (New Castle-Wilmington)

The General Assembly’s budget-drafting committee started four weeks of work Tuesday with briefings about the state’s financial situation and Gov. Jack Markell’s $3.54 billion spending plan.

By Staff, The Miami Herald

The map on this page shows not only who won in each of the state’s 67 counties, but, using Patchwork Nation, it shows how the candidates did in each of Florida’s 10 types of county — from the wealthy Monied ‘Burbs to the metropolitan Immigration Nation counties.

By Jeremy W. Peters, The New York Times

Negative ads were so prevalent in the final week before the Florida primary that they accounted for 92 percent of all campaign commercials that ran.

By Marjorie Connelly, The New York Times

TAMPA, Fla. — The economy, not social issues, mattered most to the Republican voters in Florida. A nominee who can win in November, not necessarily a “true conservative,” is the candidate they want.

By The Associated Press, The Miami Herald

A federal appeals court has upheld a Florida constitutional amendment imposing new rules on how congressional districts are redrawn. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a Miami federal judge that voters have the power through a referendum to control how the districts are designed.

By Mary Ellen Klas, The Miami Herald

Voters in the rural counties of Gadsden and Washington became the first in the state Tuesday to agree to install slot machines outside of Miami-Dade and Broward, as voters approved referendums to bring Las Vegas-style slot machines to their local horse and dog tracks.

By Marc Caputo, The Miami Herald

Case closed. Mitt Romney’s lopsided Florida victory over Newt Gingrich — a stunning 14 percentage-point margin — proved the Republican front-runner can win conservatives, triumph in debates and fight a bruising campaign that can lay an opponent to waste.

By Stephen Nohlgren, Tampa Bay Times

When the Legislature decided last year to cap Medicaid funding and turn long-term care over to private managed care companies, some experts warned that growing waiting lists would drive people into expensive nursing homes. A study released Tuesday by the Legislature’s own policy analysts underscores that fear.

By Steve Bousquet and Kim Wilmath, Tampa Bay Times

The first budget confrontation of the legislative session emerged Tuesday when Gov. Rick Scott declared his opposition to an 8 percent tuition increase at state colleges and universities that Republican lawmakers support.

By Kathleen McGrory, The Miami Herald

Cash-strapped school districts may soon have an alternative to the property tax revenue that funds construction and maintenance. A House panel on Tuesday approved a measure that would allow Florida school boards to levy a half-penny sales tax in exchange for a reduction in school property taxes. The revenue could only be used for capital projects.

By Katie Sanders, The Miami Herald

Lawmakers on Tuesday killed a Republican-backed push to move legal notices of foreclosures to the Internet and away from the newspaper industry, which has benefited from the notice requirement for decades.

By Paul West, Los Angeles Times

Mitt Romney rode one of the most negative primary campaigns in modern presidential politics to a landslide victory in delegate-rich Florida, but the Republican contest is likely to rumble on for weeks.

By Walter C. Jones, The Athens Banner-Herald

Voters won’t have to wonder how their lawmakers stand on conservative social issues thanks to an online scoreboard unveiled Tuesday.

By A.G. Sulzberger, The New York Times

DES MOINES, Iowa – The chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa announced his resignation on Tuesday after mounting pressure over his handling of the results of the caucuses that kicked off the presidential nominating process this month.

By The Associated Press, The Muscatine Journal

Funding for a college tuition assistance program for Iowa National Guard members has been increased to meet rising demand.

By The Associated Press, The Muscatine Journal

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn announced Tuesday he would resign in the wake of disputed vote counting in the state’s leadoff presidential caucuses.

By The Associated Press, The Muscatine Journal

Iowa prison and parole supervisors who were laid off under former Gov. Chet Culver’s administration have been paid nearly $500,000 in back pay and counting after a state panel ruled their firings were improper, records show.

By The Associated Press, The Muscatine Journal

The head of the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee says his committee won’t approve any tax cuts until Gov. Terry Branstad signs into law an expansion of a tax credit benefiting lower-income families.

By Jason Clayworth, The Des Moines Register

Sen. Paul McKinley represents Knoxville, where a bus crash Monday seriously injured the district’s driver and sent eight students to the hospital.

By Jason Clayworth, The Des Moines Register

Gov. Terry Branstad last year twice violated the trust of Democrats and now they will not even begin to consider his plan to cut commercial property taxes until he signs into law a tax cut for low-income families, the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee said today.

By Jason Noble, The Des Moines Register

Little bugs opened a big debate in a House subcommittee hearing this afternoon.

By Jennifer Jacobs, The Des Moines Register

The next chairman of the Iowa GOP isn’t sure yet whether he wants to keep the job, which others have described as time-consuming and rather thankless.

By The Associated Press, The Idaho Statesman (Boise)

House Speaker Lawerence Denney faced detractors in his Republican caucus over his handling of an fight over redistricting last week, where he and GOP Chairman Norm Semanko tried unsuccessfully to fire two of their own party’s commissioners .

By Jessie L. Bonner, Spokesman-Review (Spokane)

Republican Gov. Butch Otter has enlisted a former Democratic political operative to help develop his strategy for fighting to preserve new education laws that weaken teacher negotiating power and emphasize online learning.

By Benjamin Yount, Illinois Statehouse News

Illinois lawmakers say they want to hear more from Gov. Pat Quinn than just talk about jobs — they want a plan.

By Dave McKinney and Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun-Times

State and local governments across the country trimmed their overall work forces in 2010 for the first time in two decades, new U.S. Census estimates showed Monday.

By The Associated Press, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)

Gov. Pat Quinn plans to use his State of the State address to propose a bigger tax break for businesses that hire military veterans.

By SteveDaniels, Crain’s Chicago Business

Gov. Pat Quinn remade the state agency overseeing the College Illinois prepaid tuition program seven months ago, and on Friday his commissioners produced a recommendation to save the troubled college savings plan: Form a committee.

By The Associated Press, The Washington Post

INDIANAPOLIS — State lawmakers were poised Wednesday to pass legislation that would make Indiana the Rust Belt’s first right-to-work state and prohibit labor contracts requiring workers to pay union representation fees.

By Douglas Belkin and Jack Nicas, The Wall Street Journal

INDIANAPOLIS — Many union sympathizers see Sunday’s Super Bowl here as a golden opportunity to draw attention to a bill in the Indiana Legislature critics say would deal a serious blow to organized labor.

By Ken Kusmer, The Associated Press, Grand Forks Herald

Indiana’s top elections official signed documents showing he was living at an address different than one he listed on voting records, witnesses testified Tuesday as prosecutors began building their case in a trial that could cost Secretary of State Charlie White his job and his freedom.

By Eric Bradner, Evansville Courier and Press

Drug tests would be mandatory for both public welfare recipients and the state lawmakers who approved the new requirement under a measure that cleared the Indiana House on Tuesday.

By The Associated Press, Evansville Courier and Press

The Indiana Department of Education is challenging teachers to instruct their students digitally.

By The Associated Press, Evansville Courier and Press

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — Indiana’s top elections official committed voter fraud to preserve his political clout and protect his finances, a special prosecutor said Tuesday during opening arguments of a trial that will determine if Secretary of State Charlie White keeps his office — and his freedom.

By The Associated Press, Evansville Courier and Press

Indiana legislators have removed a requirement that doctors prescribe a higher-than-usual dosage of the so-called abortion pill from a proposal aimed at tightening laws on how doctors administer the drug.

By Dan Carden, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)

Homeowners delinquent on their property taxes are almost certain to get a chance to get current without paying fees or penalties.

By The Associated Press, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)

Indiana House lawmakers sent a limited statewide ban on smoking to the Senate for consideration Tuesday afternoon.

By Dan Carden, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)

State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, persuaded the Republican-controlled Indiana Senate on Tuesday to approve two of her education proposals.

By Dan Carden, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)

The Indiana Senate voted 50-0 Tuesday to cut off a rapist from a child created by his crime.

By Dan Carden, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)

The Indiana House voted 96-0 Tuesday to authorize the use of state highway funds to build airport access roads.

By The Associated Press, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)

Indiana’s House of Representatives is advancing a plan to give an additional $5 million to victims of last year’s stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair.

By The Associated Press, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)

The state Senate has deadlocked over whether to support a bill that would largely prohibit Indiana’s public schools from starting their school years until late August.

By The Associated Press, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)

Indiana’s public schools would be allowed to teach creationism in science classes as long as they include origin of life theories from multiple religions under a proposal approved Tuesday by the state Senate.

By Scott Rothschild, The Lawrence Journal-World

Buoyed by the findings of a new poll, Kansas Democrats on Tuesday said Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, is out of touch with Kansans’ priorities.

By The Associated Press, The Lawrence Journal-World

The Kansas Senate president says he questioned whether so-called legislative dinners hosted by Gov. Sam Brownback throughout January violated the state’s open meetings law, but the governor’s spokeswoman insists there were no violations because the meetings were “social gatherings.”

By Gregory A. Hall, The Courier-Journal (Louisville)

In a day of harsh exchanges, Gov. Steve Beshear on Tuesday accused Senate President David Williams of trying to intimidate senators over the casino gambling amendment that the governor is expected to propose soon.

By The Associated Press, Bowling Green Daily News

Kentucky’s deadline for legislative hopefuls to file for election has been postponed for a week while a judge weighs the constitutionality of newly drawn district boundaries.

By Will Sentell, The Advocate (Baton Rouge)

Louisiana is at a historic crossroad with the upcoming debate over sweeping changes in public schools and state employee pensions, Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday. “I think this is one of those critical moments,” Jindal said.

By Michelle Millhollon, The Advocate (Baton Rouge)

A judge ruled in favor of the state Monday in a legal battle over the state’s “rainy day” fund. The ruling by state District Judge Kay Bates is good news for the Louisiana Legislature. A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, who include former state Rep. Ron Gomez, could have blown a $150 million hole in the state operating budget.

By Amy Wold, The Advocate (Baton Rouge)

As part of a settlement agreement signed in December, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry agreed to help people with limited English understand their rights and protections as migrant workers after an unsuccessful attempt by such workers to complain about repeated exposure to pesticides.

By Matt Stout, Boston Business Journal

Kelly Timilty, who served on the Governor’s Council for nearly two decades, died today. She was 49. Timilty, who lived in Roslindale, served District 2 under five governors and was first elected to the council in 1994, officials said. She died after a brief illness early this morning, but no cause of death has been released.

By Dave Wedge, Boston Herald

A who’s who of Boston politicians and business leaders paid their final respects to Kevin Hagan White last night, including a parade of his former friends and staffers who stood watch by his casket as mourners streamed through the legendary mayor’s home away from home — the Parkman House.

By Christine McConville, Boston Herald

A Cambridge activist who says he’s sick and tired of living in a state whose official seal depicts a sword hanging over a Native American’s head has launched the most aggressive effort to date to force the Bay State to redo the 132-year-old image — but Indians and other advocates are distancing themselves from his audacious $24 million lawsuit.

By David Abel, The Boston Globe

In a stern letter, state Transportation Department Secretary Richard A. Davey today told officials at the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy that they should plan to operate without any government money by the end of the decade.

By David Hill, The Washington Times

Democratic lawmakers were reluctant Tuesday to praise or criticize Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to levy a sales tax on gas but acknowledged the idea could prove very unpopular among motorists, business owners and other constituents who have already balked at proposals for smaller gas-tax increases.

By David Hill, The Washington Times

Gov. Martin O’Malley took his same-sex-marriage bill before a Senate committee Tuesday and touted the legislation as a way to bring stability for gay couples and their children without infringing on others’ religious beliefs.

By Marta H. Mossburg, The Sun (Baltimore)

On one hand, Gov.Martin O’Malley publicly advocates religious freedom. On the other, he supports — through his silence — federal rules dictating how religious groups must act.

By Yvonne Wenger, The Sun (Baltimore)

Maryland’s second-largest foster care provider failed to track background checks, training and other requirements for its foster parents, putting the children at risk, according to state officials who are moving to suspend new placements in its homes.

By Annie Linskey, The Sun (Baltimore)

They have the governor’s backing and a rewritten bill, but advocates of legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland have made little progress in quieting the concerns of many faith leaders who adamantly oppose the legislation.

By John Wagner, The Washington Post

Same-sex marriage supporters, including Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, squared off Tuesday in a lengthy legislative hearing against ministers and others who urged that the state not abandon its tradition of limiting nuptials to one man and one woman.

By Earl Kelly, The Capital (Annapolis)

O’Malley, who is pushing for passage of the same-sex marriage bill this year, was the first witness. He said passing the bill was a matter of civil rights.

By Jen Lynds, Bangor Daily News

Approximately three weeks after he was sworn in as the newest member of Maine’s 125th Legislature and as the state’s first Maliseet legislator, David Slagger has begun to settle in to the job.

By Matt Wickenheiser, Bangor Daily News

The structure of the Maine State Housing Authority is ineffective and it focuses on the wrong issues, lawmakers were told Tuesday as they considered a bill to revamp the agency.

By Steve Mistler, Sun Journal, Bangor Daily News

Some Maine lawmakers are hoping to outlaw so-called zapper software that allows businesses to skim sales-tax revenues from customers while hiding it from tax officials.

By Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press

Another skirmish is expected today at the Capitol in an intensifying battle between the forces of management and labor in Michigan.

By Dawson Bell, Detroit Free Press

A majority of Michigan voters oppose the idea of state and local governments providing health care benefits to the domestic partners of public employees, according to a poll released this morning.

By Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press

Gov. Rick Snyder raised $346,000 in campaign donations in 2011 and was able to repay himself $825,000 of the nearly $6 million he loaned his campaign during the 2010 campaign, according to a state report filed today.

By Paul Egan, Lansing State Journal

Gov. Rick Snyder got a big laugh in his Jan. 18 State of the State address when he ridiculed red tape by pointing to a state rule that says outhouse users must leave the seat down.

By Dave Murray, mlive.com

A bill that would make it illegal for all public employees from going on strike cleared a state House committee in a party line vote on Tuesday.

By Rob South, mlive.com

Drivers with three unpaid parking tickets would not be able to renew their driver’s licenses under legislation approved by the Senate today.

By Dave Murray, mlive.com

Gov. Rick Snyder’s approval ratings are still relatively low, but climbing higher since the summer, according to a new statewide poll.

By Josh Hakala, mlive.com

State officials have agreed to pay for up to six months of housing assistance for former Michigan welfare recipients who lost their benefits after exceeding state and federal time limits

By Bob Watson, Jefferson City News Tribune

Missouri’s Legislative Black Caucus members want everyone to understand: They don’t like discrimination, and they don’t like some colleagues’ proposals to change current laws against it.

By Holbrook Mohr, The Associated Press, The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson)

In another twist in the often confusing aftermath of pardons granted by then-Gov. Haley Barbour on his way out of office, Mississippi corrections officials said Tuesday that victims’ relatives were given bad information by the state that fanned their outrage.

By Jessica Bakeman, The Clarion-Ledger, USA Today

JACKSON, Miss. — Attorneys on both sides of the battle over former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s pardons are criticizing each other for distracting from the central constitutional issue with unimportant, unsubstantiated claims.

By Rob Christensen, Franco Ordonez and John Frank, The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Republican House candidate George Holding has raised $462,500 – nearly four times as much as chief rival Paul Coble has raised, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission. Holding loaned his campaign $130,000 and raised the rest through contributions.

By The Associated Press, The Winston-Salem Journal

Two more Democratic elected officials said Tuesday that they will not be running for governor.

By The Associated Press, The Winston-Salem Journal

Pat McCrory formally opened his second campaign for governor Tuesday, vowing North Carolina voters “won’t get fooled again” into rejecting a Republican as they did four years ago and declaring nothing has changed under yet another Democrat in the Executive Mansion.

By The Associated Press, The Winston-Salem Journal

A North Carolina state House member says a decade is long enough in the General Assembly and she won’t seek re-election.

By Staff, The Winston-Salem Journal

Mitt Romney may have won Florida’s Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, but he got trounced by tea partyers in North Carolina.

By Jim Morrill, The Charlotte Observer

Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory kicked off his second campaign for governor Tuesday night, vowing to end the Democrats’ scandal-ridden “good old boy (and girl) network” and fix the state’s “broken economy.”

By Dale Wetzel, The Associated Press, Grand Forks Herald

North Dakota’s lottery may pursue using the Internet to sell tickets directly to buyers, a move touted as the “wave of the future” that some retailers fear will cost them business.

By The Associated Press, Grand Forks Herald

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple reports he raised $824,000 last year for his election campaign.

By The Associated Press, The Forum (Fargo)

North Dakota’s congressional delegation says the Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing a $1 million grant toward flood recovery in Minot.

By Dale Wetzel, The Associated Press, The Forum (Fargo)

A former Ward County commissioner and Republican activist made a last-minute appeal Tuesday to increase the size of the North Dakota Legislature, saying it would help prevent rural districts from becoming too large under a new redistricting plan.

By Garry Rayno, The Union Leader (Manchester)

Republicans were quick to criticize Gov. John Lynch’s final State-of-the-State for suggesting tax increases and more spending, but Democrats said the speech reflects the strong leadership he provided the past seven years.

By Garry Rayno, The Union Leader (Manchester)

Gov. John Lynch touted his accomplishments over the past seven years and the relative good state of the New Hampshire’s economy in his final State-of-the-State speech to lawmakers Tuesday.

By Staff, The Union Leader (Manchester)

In 2010 the Business and Industry Association, New Hampshire’s largest business membership group, watched in silence as legislators passed an income tax on owners of limited liability companies. Now the BIA is doing worse: advocating that legislators pave the way for Obamacare, which would be a disaster for businesses.

By Jenna Portnoy, The Record of Bergen County

Governor Christie apologized Tuesday night after raising the ire of civil rights leaders and his Democratic foes last week for saying people would have preferred to have a referendum on segregation in the South.

By Staff, The Star-Ledger (Newark)

Legislators are in a mad scramble to come up with funding for the state’s tough new law against bullying, and maybe that’s a good thing.

By Barry Massey, The Associated Press, Santa Fe New Mexican

Proposals to overhaul a scandal-tarnished state regulatory agency are off to a fast start in the Legislature and enjoy bipartisan support.

By Steve Terrell, Santa Fe New Mexican

A bill that would give the governor and local governments more power to restrict fireworks during times of high fire risk won praise from several fire chiefs and mayors from around the state.

By Alexandra Berzon and Janet Hook, The Wall Street Journal

After the large and diverse battleground of Florida, the Republican presidential contest moves on Saturday to Nevada, a far smaller playing field where two candidates have been organizing for months.

By David McGrath Schwartz, Las Vegas Sun

With Mitt Romney’s commanding win in Florida on Tuesday, he will face lofty expectations in Nevada as he tries to maintain momentum and cement his status as the Republican presidential front-runner.

By Danny Hakim, The New York Times

The State Assembly has begun an investigation of a little-known government body that plays a major role in setting transportation policy in New York City and its suburbs.

By John Eligon, The New York Times

Tough-on-crime lawmakers, seeking to expand the collection of DNA from people convicted in New York State, point to cases like that of Raymon McGill, who was linked to a rape and two murders after being arrested in 2004 in Schenectady in an attempted robbery.

By The Associated Press, Times Union (Albany)

As some local school districts are nearing agreements with their unions to create tougher evaluations for teachers and principals, an interest group said failure to enact the new evaluations will cost schools $1.7 billion statewide.

By Casey Seiler, Times Union (Albany)

The legislative session is a month old and lobbyists are swarming the state Capitol, but the new Joint Commission on Public Ethics is still trying to get up to speed on its watchdog mission.

By Rick Karlin, Times Union (Albany)

Lawmakers say plans to ax the $25 million Foreclosure Prevention Services program would hurt beleaguered homeowners and compound problems of neighborhood blight.

By Jimmy Vielkind, Times Union (Albany)

Expanding the state’s DNA database cleared the state Senate on Tuesday but it may be impeded by a dispute about whether the change will do enough to help the wrongfully convicted.

By Stephen Koff, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

Early voting for Ohio’s March 6 primary begins today, allowing Republican presidential hopefuls little time to process tonight’s results in Florida before shifting more focus to the Buckeye State.

By The Associated Press, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

Pit bulls in Ohio would no longer be labeled “vicious dogs” under a bill that has cleared the Ohio Senate.

By Joe Guillen, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives said on Tuesday they will continue fighting for the middle class this year with a legislative agenda focused on job creation and rebuilding communities.

By Sabrina Eaton, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich raised twice as much campaign cash last year as his main congressional primary rival, Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. But his re-election campaign ended 2011 with far less money in the bank after spending five times more than Kaptur’s campaign.

By Sabrina Eaton, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

Congressional candidate Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (aka “Joe the Plumber”) is paying himself a salary from campaign funds, according to a Federal Election Commission report filed today.

By Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch

Many ” pill mills” are gone, and some doctors who ran them are headed to prison.

By Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch

Arguing that Ohio House Republicans last year pushed through a “destructive, divisive, disastrous agenda,” House Democrats said they will push legislation this year that focuses on jobs, foreclosures, voting rights and education.

By David Eggert, Jim Siegel and Darrel Rowland, The Columbus Dispatch

A 6-1 majority on the state Supreme Court is not enough for Ohio Republicans.

By David Eggert, The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio’s attorney general would have the power to investigate “grandparent scams” and other cases of cyberfraud as crimes under legislation approved yesterday by the House.

By Jessica Wehrman, Dayton Daily News

WASHINGTON – Between the two of them, Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel are raising the equivalent of $1 million a month in what promises to be one of the state’s top political races of 2012.

By Anthony Shoemaker, Dayton Daily News

WASHINGTON – Between the two of them, Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel are raising the equivalent of $1 million a month in what promises to be one of the state’s top political races of 2012.

By William Hershey, Dayton Daily News

Montgomery and Greene counties are part of something unusual in Ohio — a competitive U.S. House district.

By Michael McNutt, The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City)

With most state employees and public school teachers not getting a raise for several years, it would be inappropriate for lawmakers to allow a 6 percent pay increase for judges and statewide elected officials to take effect, Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said Tuesday.

By Peter Wong, Statesman Journal (Salem)

Oregon lawmakers plan little fanfare today as they open the state’s first regular session in an even-numbered year.

By Staff, The Seattle Times

Former state Sen. Suzanne Bonamici scored a double-digit victory over Republican Rob Cornilles on Tuesday night, enabling Democrats to retain an Oregon congressional seat left vacant when David Wu resigned in a sex scandal.

By Michelle Cole, The Oregonian (Portland)

Add Rep. Terry Beyer, D-Springfield, to the list of long-time state lawmakers who are not seeking re-election this year.

By Justin Runquist, The Oregonian (Portland)

Three Clark County legislators are behind a bill that would require sexual health education programs to incorporate lessons about sexual offenses against minors into their curriculum.

By Ryan Kost, The Oregonian (Portland)

Tualatin businessman Rob Cornilles delivered a concession speech that was both conciliatory and defensive Tuesday night after the race to represent Oregon’s 1st Congressional District had been called for his opponent.

By Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian (Portland)

Democrat Suzanne Bonamici swept to victory Tuesday in Oregon’s 1st Congressional District, continuing her party’s nearly four-decade-long hold on the seat covering the northwestern corner of the state.

By John L. Micek, The Morning Call

About 17,000 jobless Pennsylvanians will run out of unemployment benefits by the end of the week because the state House has yet to approve a bill extending them.

By Staff, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Last week, the state House of Representatives, on a vote of 193-0, passed a resolution declaring 2012 the “Year of the Bible.” As usual, the underworked lawmakers never miss an opportunity to pander to the faithful, especially during an election year.

By Jan Murphy, The Patriot-News (Harrisburg)

Welfare Secretary Gary Alexander’s side business presents no conflict of interest problem with his Cabinet post, the State Ethics Commission ruled.

By G. Wayne Miller, The Providence Journal

Rhode Island bid farewell to former Gov. J. Joseph Garrahy Tuesday with a service steeped in the rituals of the Catholic faith that he and his wife of 55 years, Margherite, embraced so devoutly. The morning funeral Mass at the Cathedral of SS. Peter & Paul, seat of the Diocese of Providence, drew hundreds.

By Thomas J. Morgan, The Providence Journal

Lawyers for the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, which won the Cranston High School West prayer case, on Tuesday asked the U.S. District Court to award them $173,000 in fees.

By Philip Marcelo, The Providence Journal

In a speech covering the past year’s accomplishments and outlining his $7.9-billion proposal for the coming budget year, Governor Chafee used the words of Charles Dickens to argue that Rhode Island was on the right track, moving from a “winter of despair” to “the spring of hope.”

By Staff, Rapid City Journal

A trip to the driver’s license station to obtain or renew a license is not a pleasant experience. After taking a number or waiting in line for a long time, a bad photo is often the result.

By The Associated Press, Rapid City Journal

State legislators could serve up to 12 consecutive years if a resolution passed Tuesday by the full House becomes part of the constitution.

By Josh Verges, Argus Leader (Sioux Falls)

The employment contracts of government workers should be open to the public, a Legislative committee said Tuesday in a 6-0 vote.

By Beth Wischmeyer, US News & World Report

Sioux Falls residents will have the opportunity in April to vote on three proposed changes to the city’s governing document. One change would involve who hears possible conduct violations in city elections.

By The Associated Press, Sioux City Journal

Officials from South Dakota’s public universities are meeting with state lawmakers to discuss the schools’ spending plans.

By Brian Haas, The Tennessean (Nashville)

Tennessee counties will be expected to pick up about a $9 million tab for housing domestic abusers under the governor’s plans to punish repeat offenders with mandatory minimum jail sentences.

By Brandon Gee, The Tennessean (Nashville)

A lawsuit challenging a state law that invalidated Metro protections for gay and transgendered individuals is facing a dismissal in Davidson County Chancery Court.

By The Associated Press, The Tennessean (Nashville)

If Democrats have their way, the Tennessee General Assembly would meet only every second year, lawmakers’ daily expenses would be capped and bill sponsors would have to divulge if their legislation originated with national groups.

By Jason Embry, The Austin American-Statesman

A political committee that tried to help Gov. Rick Perry become president raised $5.5 million in 2011, including hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time from some of Perry’s most loyal donors in Texas.

By Katharine Q. Seelye and Trip Gabriel, The New York Times

ORLANDO, Fla. — Newt Gingrich has been predicting that the battle for the Republican presidential nomination will last “until June or July, unless Romney drops out sooner,” but the magnitude of his loss to Mitt Romney in Florida’s primary on Tuesday could force him to recalibrate.

By Lee Davidson, The Salt Lake Tribune

The Utah House voted Tuesday to close a loophole that some Internet cafes have used to operate games of chance — as long as it isn’t their primary business — which made some seem like casinos.

By Paul Rolly, The Salt Lake Tribune

What would happen if you had a fundraiser for Republicans in Utah and nobody showed up? That actually happened. But the intended recipients of the political contributions are the ones who went AWOL.

By Lee Davidson, The Salt Lake Tribune

Amid Democratic complaints that big-majority Republicans too often debate and work out legislation behind closed doors, House GOP leaders asked their members Tuesday to stop asking to discuss their bills at party caucus meetings.

By Dennis Romboy, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)

State Sen. Casey Anderson called 1913 the worst year in American political history. That’s the year the states ratified the 17th Amendment, which established direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote. Under original provisions in the Constitution, state legislatures elected U.S. senators.

By Marjorie Cortez, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)

Julie Anderson gulped back tears to explain to state lawmakers why they need to amend Utah’s child custody statute.

By Amy Joi O’Donoghue, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)

The Utah Media Coalition is ranking selected legislation and government actions during the 2012 Legislature when it comes to openness and accessibility.

By Wesley P. Hester and Jim Nolan, Richmond Times-Dispatch

A bill to require voters without proper identification to cast provisional ballots is poised to pass the House of Delegates today after advancing on a 66-28 vote Tuesday following passionate debate and a protest at the state Capitol that drew nearly 300 people.

By Jeff E. Schapiro, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Let’s stipulate that Virginia governors, Democrats and Republicans, pick legislators for high-paying state jobs — always have; always will. They do so for many reasons: payback, sympathy, gamesmanship and, on occasion, because a lawmaker is qualified.

By Wesley P. Hester, Richmond Times-Dispatch

The House of Delegates is expected today to approve repealing the state’s one-handgun-a-month law, with the state Senate likely to follow suit Thursday.

By Julian Walker, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)

The Senate postponed action Tuesday on a Republican-backed bill to mandate that women undergo ultrasound imaging before having an abortion as Democrats make a last-ditch effort to soften the legislation.

By David Sherfinski, The Washington Times

The Virginia Supreme Court has denied a petition from Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II seeking to invalidate a lower court’s ruling in a redistricting lawsuit brought against the state.

By Molly Walsh, Burlington Free Press

Vermont education officials are asking the federal government to allow the state to forgo the annual school rating process this year and in the future to reduce standardized testing required under the No Child Left Behind Act.

By Terri Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press

The state Public Service Board has all the information it needs and should rule on Vermont Yankee’s request for a certificate to operate for another 20 years, the nuclear power plant’s owner said Tuesday.

By Joel Banner Baird, Burlington Free Press

Painters, electricians and carpenters — all of them apparently in excellent health — fill the lobby and south wing of the Community Health Centers of Burlington on Riverside Avenue.

By Brad Shannon, The News Tribune (Tacoma)

State lawmakers carved some $7 billion in long-term pension costs last year by putting a freeze on cost-of-living-adjustments in two older retirement plans. New ideas this year could further trim the state’s long-term liabilities.

By The Associated Press, The News Tribune (Tacoma)

More than three dozen state lawmakers sent a letter to the federal government Monday asking for marijuana to be reclassified as a drug that can be prescribed by doctors and filled by pharmacists.

By Christian Hill, The News Tribune (Tacoma)

A proposed law giving families a way to stop autopsies for religious reasons, prompted by the recent case of a Jewish hiker who died on Mount Rainier, passed out of a legislative committee before a key deadline this week.

By The Associated Press, The Seattle Times

Washington state lawmakers have shelved a series of bills that would lower wages at the bottom of the income scale in an effort to spur private-sector hiring.

By Mike Baker, The Associated Press, The Seattle Times

State lawmakers are exploring a plan that could limit how governments respond to requests for public documents, allowing them to get a court order if they can prove that a request creates a “significant burden.”

By Jonathan Kaminsky, The Associated Press, The Olympian

Washington state lawmakers have shelved a series of bills that would lower wages at the bottom of the income scale in an effort to spur private-sector hiring.

By Stephanie Kim, The Seattle Times

Reacting to recent alleged child-abuse cases, including the Penn State scandal, state lawmakers are considering legislation that would expand the pool of people required to report suspected abuse to authorities.

By The Associated Press, La Crosse Tribune

The state Assembly’s assistant minority leader and two former legislators said today they’ll challenge three Republican state senators should recall elections materialize this year.

By Kyle Daly, The Post-Crescent (Appleton)

A state bill that would lift restrictions on transporting homemade beer and wine could reach the Senate floor by Valentine’s Day.

By Staff, The Post-Crescent (Appleton)

It’s kind of funny how each side in the potential recall election of Gov. Scott Walker is ripping the other side for out-of-state funding.

By The Associated Press, La Crosse Tribune

Pressure increased today for the Wisconsin state elections board to post online the petitions seeking to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

By The Associated Press, La Crosse Tribune

Wisconsin state Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald is far behind in campaign fundraising compared to the two other Republicans running for the U.S. Senate.

By THe Associated Press, La Crosse Tribune

A new report by Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says the state’s Medicaid programs face a $141 million budget shortfall by July 2013.

By The Associated Press, The Post-Crescent (Appleton)

The state Assembly’s assistant minority leader and two former legislators said Tuesday they’ll challenge three Republican state senators should recall elections materialize this year.

By The Associated Press, The Post-Crescent (Appleton)

Petitions seeking the recall of Republican Gov. Scott Walker will be posted online as originally planned despite privacy concerns.

By Todd Richmond, The Associated Press, The Post-Crescent (Appleton)

The state Assembly’s assistant minority leader and two former legislators said Tuesday they’ll challenge three Republican state senators should recall elections materialize this year.

By Clay Barbour, The Post-Crescent (Appleton)

Despite privacy concerns raised by advocacy groups, the state Government Accountability Board on Tuesday said it would post online electronic copies of some 1 million signatures from the recall effort against Gov. Scott Walker.