California
State Officials Predict Economic Boost from Marriage Decision
In the wake of the state Supreme Court's legalization of gay marriage, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said he believes gay marriages could help boost the state's economy. The San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau anticipates a tourism boom in the city this summer, said spokesperson Angela Jackson. The bureau's Web site promotes a gay travel section and now explains that same-sex couples are "officially allowed to marry in the state of California."
Source: Sacramento Bee

Connecticut
Governor Weighs Small Business Health Plan Options
Democrats stepped up pressure on Republican Gov. Jodi Rell to sign a health insurance bill that would open the state-employee health plan to a pool of municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses. The Rell administration says that the bill's Democratic proponents exaggerate potential savings to the new pool, while downplaying the risk of as much as $78 million in higher costs to the state health plan.
Source: The Hartford Courant

Michigan
House Approves Anti-Immigration Bill
Businesses that get state construction contracts and economic development incentives will have to hire in-state workers under a plan approved by the Michigan House. The legislation also could force businesses that hired illegal immigrants to forfeit and pay back special tax breaks and abatements they have received. The plan next heads to the Republican-led Senate.
Source: Associated Press

South Carolina
Amendment to Environment Bill Favors Business
Businesses may face less opposition from environmental protection and conservationist organizations under a bill amendment that gives special interest groups fighting certain state permits a shorter time period to prepare for the case. As it stands, businesses are banned from starting work on a disputed project until any environmental permit fights have been resolved in administrative court. Under the Senate plan, businesses or others asking to lift an environmental ban must get a hearing within three days and a decision within six days instead of the current minimum of ten days.
Source: The State

Wyoming
Trucking Fees on Interstate 80 Under Review
Truckers might be the ones to pay as Wyoming tries to maintain its increasingly-traveled stretch of Interstate 80, a major trucking route. A panel of state lawmakers will review the state's commercial truck permitting system to determine how permit fees stack up to those in nearby states and how to streamline the permitting system. The committee will also hear from a transportation consultant who is preparing a report on the feasibility and cost of creating a tolling system for commercial trucks on Interstate 80 in southern Wyoming.
Source: Casper Star-Tribune