General Assembly

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  Illinois committee passes union-backed pension plan

  By Sara Burnett  |  May 10, 2013

  The state Senate committee says it offers the best chance at surviving an inevitable court challenge and getting out of its nearly $100 billion mess.

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  Conn. legislature mulls worker retirement access

  By Stephen Singer  |  May 8, 2013

  Two committees have approved a measure establishing a trust fund to administer retirement plans for workers who would automatically be enrolled unless they opt out.

• NC governor signs unemployment bill into law

  By GARY D. ROBERTSON,Associated Press  |  February 19, 2013

  Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law Tuesday changes to North Carolina's unemployment insurance system that supporters say puts the plan on firmer footing and gives businesses more certainty. Critics say it will devastate the jobless with decreased benefits or none at all.

• Assisted suicide on legal agenda in several states

  By Susan Haigh  |  February 8, 2013

  A push for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide is under way in a half-dozen states where proponents say they see strong support for allowing doctors to prescribe mentally competent, dying individuals with the medications needed to end their own lives.

• Fast-track for NC jobless insurance bills slows

  By The Associated Press  |  February 7, 2013

  The Republicans' solution to repaying more quickly North Carolina's $2.6 billion debt to the federal government for unemployment insurance claims continued on the fast track at the General Assembly, but it's slowing down a little.

• Governor calls for Pennsylvania pension overhaul

  By Peter Jackson  |  February 6, 2013

  Gov. Tom Corbett laid out a strategy Tuesday for reining in pension costs for Pennsylvania state and school employees that would reduce future benefits for current workers and require new hires to participate in a defined-contribution plan.

• Arkansas Senate passes measure to ban most abortions

  By Andrew DeMillo, Michael Stratford  |  February 1, 2013

  The Arkansas Senate voted Thursday to prohibit most abortions if a heartbeat is detected, ignoring warnings from opponents that banning the procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy would invite lawsuits.

• Battle brewing over Kentucky health reforms

  By Roger Alford  |  January 10, 2013

  Democrats and Republicans in Kentucky's Legislature are primed for a lively debate on federal health care changes that could provide Medicaid benefits to some 400,000 additional Kentuckians and create an insurance exchange that would make it easier for people to find affordable private coverage.

• NC legislative panel moves jobless debt plan along

  By Gary D. Robertson  |  January 9, 2013

  A Republican-authored solution to more quickly pay off the $2.5 billion North Carolina owes the federal government for covering unemployment benefits cleared another legislative hurdle Tuesday.

• Illinois House adjourns without pension vote

  By The Associated Press  |  January 9, 2013

  The Illinois House has adjourned its lame-duck session without taking action to solve the state's multibillion pension problem.