Capitol Comments

Earlier this year, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed SB 360, making Indiana the third Midwestern state to enshrine in state law a perinatal “levels of care” rating system for hospitals and birthing centers.

The issue in Washington State Department of Licensing v. Cougar Den Inc. is whether the “right to travel” provision of the Yakama Nation Treaty preempts Washington’s tax and permit requirements for importing fuel.

Article III of the Yakama Nation Treaty of 1858 states that “the right of way, with free access from the same to the nearest public highway, is secured to [the Yakama]; as also the right, in common with citizens of the United States, to travel upon all public highways.”

The State and Local Legal Center (SLLC) filed a Supreme Court amicus brief in Virginia Uranium v. Warren arguing that Virginia’s ban on uranium mining isn’t preempted by the Atomic Energy Act (AEA).

Virginia has the largest known uranium deposit in the United States. Since its discovery in the 1980s the Virginia legislature has banned uranium mining. Unsurprisingly the land owner, Virginia Uranium, wants to mine. It sued the state arguing the ban is preempted by federal law.

A national, nonpartisan group formed just five years ago has been busy organizing young policymakers at the state and national level to bring change in government.
In fall 2013, as opinion polls ranked partisanship as a top threat to democracy, as a government shutdown loomed and as the approval ratings of members of Congress and state governments dropped, a group known as the Millennial Action Project launched with a goal to look forward to the next generation of government leaders.
Steven Olikara, founder and president of the Millennial Action Project, said the group wanted to address how the millennial generation would do things differently. Would they transcend the partisan divide to build a better governing system?