Latest State legislature News

FILE - A man carries his weapon during a second amendment gun rally at Utah State Capitol on Feb. 8, 2020, in Salt Lake City. Utah is one of several more states weighing proposals this year that would allow people to carry concealed guns without having to get a permit, a trend supporters say bolsters Second Amendment rights but is alarming to gun-control advocates. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

States eye allowing concealed carry of guns without a permit

Jan. 24, 2021 11:21 AM EST

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Republican lawmakers in several more states want to loosen gun restrictions by allowing people to carry concealed firearms without having to get a permit, continuing a trend that gun control advocates call dangerous. Fifteen states already allow concealed carry without a permit, and...

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2020, file photo Cindy McCain, wife of former Arizona Sen. John McCain, waves to the crowd after being acknowledged by Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey during his State of the State address on the opening day of the legislative session at the Capitol in Phoenix. Arizona Republicans voted Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 to censure Cindy McCain and two prominent GOP officials who have found themselves crosswise with former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Arizona Republicans censure Cindy McCain, GOP governor

Jan. 23, 2021 10:22 PM EST

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Republicans voted Saturday to censure Cindy McCain and two prominent GOP members who have found themselves crosswise with former President Donald Trump. The censures of Sen. John McCain’s widow, former Sen. Jeff Flake and Gov. Doug Ducey are merely symbolic. But they show the...

FILE - In this April 30, 2018 file photo, Pennsylvania state Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong, speaks at an annual gun rights rally in the state Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg, Pa. Pyle has issued a vague apology, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, after sharing an image on Facebook mocking the appearance of Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s recently departed health secretary. Levine is a transgender woman newly nominated to serve in the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Marc Levy, File)

Legislator mocks trans Biden nominee on Facebook, apologizes

Jan. 23, 2021 12:53 PM EST

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania legislator shared on Facebook an image mocking the appearance of the state’s recently departed health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgender woman who has been nominated to serve in the Biden administration, and then offered a general apology Saturday....

FILE - In this March 30, 2020 file photo, My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a briefing about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington. Lindell, is weighing a run for governor in Minnesota. If he follows through on a campaign, it could be an early test of where the Republican Party is headed in the post-Donald Trump era. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

MyPillow Guy among the Trump acolytes picking up the torch

Jan. 23, 2021 11:24 AM EST

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Mike Lindell, better known to TV viewers as the MyPillow Guy, went to the White House last week to try to persuade President Donald Trump to keep pushing bogus theories about the election, he came away disappointed. Unexpectedly, Trump passed him — and his claims about...

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2020, file photo, supporters cheer as President Donald Trump speaks during the annual

Political upheaval alters strategies in US abortion debate

Jan. 23, 2021 11:00 AM EST

Anti-abortion leaders across America were elated a year ago when Donald Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to appear in person at their highest-profile annual event, the March for Life held every January. The mood is more sober now — a mix of disappointment over Trump’s defeat and hope...

The Maryland National Guard Honor Guard drapes the Maryland flag on the casket of Maryland Senate President Emeritus Thomas V. Mike Miller under the dome of the State House in Annapolis, Md., Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP, Pool)

Maryland pays tribute to longtime Senate president Miller

Jan. 22, 2021 8:07 PM EST

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland officials remembered the nation’s longest-serving state Senate president on Friday as a powerful leader who influenced policy for nearly half a century, a towering figure in state politics who could be gruff as well as kind. With Thomas V. Mike Miller's body lying in...

Rep. Aaron Coleman, D-Kansas City, makes remarks during a special hearing regarding complaints and calls for removal from his position Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

Kansas House panel to warn new member over past behavior

Jan. 22, 2021 7:54 PM EST

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A newly elected Kansas lawmaker accused of threatening two state officials and abusive behavior toward girls and young women before taking his seat will get a public warning about his past conduct rather than facing possible removal from office, a committee decided Friday. A state House...

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2009, file photo, attorney Butch Bowers speaks during a news conference at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. Bowers is used to defending public officials in ethics cases. But he's never faced anything quite like this. It's up to Bowers, a South Carolina elections and ethics lawyer, to rise and defend Donald Trump as the Senate plunges into an impeachment trial unlike any other, centered on accusations that the former president incited the mob that rampaged through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)

Trial ahead, Trump turns to ethics lawyer for his defense

Jan. 22, 2021 7:07 PM EST

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Butch Bowers is used to defending public officials in ethics cases. But he's never faced anything quite like this. It's up to Bowers, a South Carolina elections and ethics lawyer, to rise and defend Donald Trump as the Senate soon plunges into an impeachment trial unlike any other,...

FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2017, file photo, Oklahoma State Rep. Justin Humphrey prepares to speak at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City. A mythical, ape-like creature that has captured the imagination of adventurers for decades has now become the target of Rep. Justin Humphrey. Humphrey, a Republican House member has introduced a bill that would create a Bigfoot hunting season, He says issuing a state hunting license and tag could help boost tourism. (Steve Gooch/The Oklahoman via AP, File)

Oklahoma lawmaker proposes 'Bigfoot' hunting season

Jan. 22, 2021 6:29 PM EST

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A mythical, ape-like creature that has captured the imagination of adventurers for decades has now become the target of a state lawmaker in Oklahoma. A Republican House member has introduced a bill that would create a Bigfoot hunting season. Rep. Justin Humphrey’s district...

Va senator who defended Capitol rioters faces censure effort

Jan. 22, 2021 5:41 PM EST

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Senate appears likely to censure a GOP state senator whose public apology fell flat after she had defended those who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Sen. Amanda Chase, a hardcore acolyte of former President Donald Trump, sought to head off a censure resolution Friday by giving a...

LOADING MORE STORIES