State Highlights: ‘Acute’ Crisis In Mississippi Prisons Calls For Federal Probe, Civil Rights Advocates Say; Florida Republicans Seek To Keep Medicaid Expansion Off Ballot

The New York Times: Gangs, Riots, Killings: ‘Undeniable Crisis’ In Mississippi Prisons
Betty Turner dreaded what her son would face in the state penitentiary in Parchman, the Mississippi Delta prison that has, over the course of more than a century, earned a dark and near-mythic reputation for cruelty and institutional racism. Her fears were realized when he described meals of just a slice of bologna with a packet of mustard, sightings of rats and mold, and nights spent on a mat on a cold, damp floor. (Rojas and Fausset, 1/9)

The Hill: Florida Senate Attempts To End Medicaid Expansion Effort 
Florida’s GOP-controlled state Senate is trying to kill an effort to place Medicaid expansion on the ballot. The Senate is asking the state’s Supreme Court to dismiss a review of the potential ballot question because the advocacy group pushing for the measure did not collect enough signatures. (Weixel, 1/8)

The Hill: Nebraska Bill Seeking To Ban Abortions Introduced First Day Of State Session 
A bill seeking to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure was introduced by a Republican Nebraska state senator Wednesday when lawmakers convened for the first day of this year’s legislative session. The bill introduced by Sen. Suzanne Geist would ban dilation and evacuation abortions, which supporters of the bill call “dismemberment abortion.” It is co-sponsored by 20 other state senators. (Klar, 1/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Consumer Website Broken For More Than A Month
For the past month, consumers and advocates have not had online access to critical inspection reports on Georgia assisted living communities, personal care homes, nursing homes, hospitals and other health care facilities because the state’s website has been offline. Initially, the Georgia Department of Community Health’s “Map2Care” website was projected to be unavailable for only four days in early December, according to a message posted on the site when it first went down. The message said an “upgraded system will re-launch” on Dec. 9. (Teegardin and Schrade, 1/8)

Kansas City Star: Kelly To Consolidate DCF, Other Agencies Into New Department
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced a sweeping reorganization Wednesday of the state departments that administer foster care, mental health hospitals and services for troubled juveniles — consolidating them all into a single, massive agency. One objective of the proposed Kansas Department of Human Services would be to provide stronger support to troubled families, allowing children to remain safely at home when possible. (Shorman and Bauer, 1/8)

The New York Times: After A Measles Scare, Seattle Cracks Down On Vaccine Compliance
After a measles outbreak sickened dozens of unvaccinated children in southwestern Washington State last year, school health administrators around the state went into crisis mode, intent on confronting the relatively low vaccination rates in the region. First, they got an assist from the State Legislature, which passed a law in May tightening exemption rules for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Then school districts — including Seattle’s — sent letters asking thousands of families who did not have compliant vaccine records to get them in order. (Baker, 1/8)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lawmakers Release $10M Plan To Address Water Contamination In Wisconsin
State lawmakers introduced a $10 million plan Wednesday to reduce bacteria, nitrates, poisonous lead and long-lasting chemicals in Wisconsin's groundwater. The package of 13 bills released by Democratic and Republican Assembly lawmakers pays for additional staff at the state and county level to improve state laws and regulations and expand land conservation efforts. The bills also would provide owners of wells with more money to reconstruct them to make water safer. (Beck, 1/8)

Reuters: California Governor Deploys Trailers, Tents, Funds In Homelessness 'Emergency'
Responding to a growing crisis on the streets of California's cities, Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday sought to create a $750 million fund to help house the homeless and directed the state to immediately start setting up tents and trailers. Newsom said the money, if approved in the 2020-21 budget, would be distributed to major cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as smaller communities to pay rent for homeless people and create more temporary housing. (1/9)

The Associated Press: Atlanta Hawks' Young Cancels $1M In Medical Debt For Locals
The holiday season is over but Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young still had some charity gift giving in mind: wiping out medical debt for hundreds of the city's residents. The 21-year-old star donated $10,000 to a medical debt erasure agency which relieved over $1 million in debt for those residents, news outlets reported. (1/8)

The Hill: Massachusetts Reports Fourth Vaping-Related Death 
Health officials in Massachusetts on Wednesday reported the state’s fourth death from a vaping-related illness. According to state officials, the patient was a man in his 70s who reported vaping THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The case is among the 36 confirmed cases of vaping-associated lung injury that the state health department has reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since Sept. 11, 2019. (Weixel, 1/8)

Health News Florida: Florida Attorney General, Lawmakers Levy Criticism Against Recreational Pot Plan
Attorney General Ashley Moody and the state House and Senate want the Florida Supreme Court to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow recreational marijuana use, arguing the measure wouldn’t fully inform voters that pot remains illegal under federal law. Lawyers for Moody, the House and the Senate filed briefs late Monday contending that the proposal’s wording would be misleading if it goes on the ballot. (Saunders, 1/8)