Hawaii becomes 26th U.S. state to decriminalize marijuana
The new law removes the possibility of jail time as a penalty for up to three grams of marijuana, but maintains a $130 fine.
States & provinces
Maine passes 2 bills to reduce ‘welfare cliff’
The bills aim to keep families transitioning from welfare to work from losing health, financial, and education benefits until they are earning enough to fully support themselves.
New California budget offers two free years of community college
The new California budget spends $280 million in total to make college more affordable.
Illinois is expunging marijuana convictions from nearly 800,000 criminal records
In addition to legalizing marijuana, Illinois HB 1438 offers relief to the roughly 770,000 residents of the state with marijuana-related offenses on their criminal records.
Maine and Vermont ban plastic bags
Governors in Vermont and Maine signed bills on the same day that will ban plastic bags in their states in 2020.
Nevada become first in the U.S. to ban employers from refusing to hire those who fail marijuana tests
Starting in 2020, Nevada employers cannot refuse to hire a job applicant for failing a marijuana screening test, making it the first state to pass such a law.
Pride flag flies over California Capitol for the first time
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the rainbow flag would be flown over the California State Capitol through July 1 in recognition of LGBTQ Pride Month.
California becomes the first state in the U.S. to expand health coverage to undocumented residents
The plan will provide Medicaid coverage to approximately 90,000 undocumented residents between ages 19 and 25.
Washington State becomes first in the United States to allow human composting
The practice reduces the environmental impact and saves land from being taken up by cemetery plots and headstones.
Indian state Madhya Pradesh breaks Guinness World Record, plants 66 million trees in just 12 hours
Madhya Pradesh created a new Guinness World Record after 1.5 million volunteers planted more than 66 million tree saplings within half a day along the Narmada river.