By Heather Vogell
ProPublica/small>
Three years ago, it looked like the Florida agency that oversees care for children and adults with profound disabilities had finally had enough of the Carlton Palms Educational Center. Not exactly.
By Fred Schulte
Center for Public Integrity
It’s legal in about half the states to pledge a car title as collateral for short-term loans of a few hundred dollars or more. Many of these states allow lenders to tack on interest that can top 300 percent, and to seize and sell off cars when borrowers fail to pay.
By Brian Joseph
FairWarning
A $305 billion highway bill approved by Congress and signed by President Obama last week includes several provisions aggressively sought by the trucking industry that, critics say, will undermine traffic safety.
By Rachael Baye
Center for Public Integrity
Political organizations tied to Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner are diverging from the typical so-called leadership PACs used by federal lawmakers and some governors to amass power because they are not just giving campaign contributions to like-minded legislators. Instead they are pushing the governors’ legislative agendas with public campaigns far removed from the campaign trail.
By Myron Levin
FairWarning
Lorillard Tobacco donated nearly four times as much to Republican candidates as to Democrats in the 2014 congressional elections. No surprise there — most businesses count on Republicans to hold the line on regulations and taxes. But Lorillard made a striking exception for one set of Democrats: African Americans.
By Nicholas Kusnetz
Center for Public Integrity
Loopholes are a common part of statehouse culture nationwide, according to the 2015 State Integrity Investigation. The comprehensive probe found that in state after state, open records laws are laced with exemptions and part-time legislators and agency officials engage in glaring conflicts of interests and cozy relationships with lobbyists.
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