state lawmakers

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry.
The case involved a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a voter- approved law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

With the ruling, California could become the second state after Massachusetts where gay and lesbian residents can marry.

This Memorial Day weekend, Texas consumers will be able to save a little green by going green. State lawmakers passed a measure last session to make every Memorial Day weekend a sales tax holiday for energy efficient products.

In South Carolina, state lawmakers are debating the legacy of former Gov. Ben Tillman. Historians agree Tillman was an outspoken white supremacist, and lawmakers in Columbia are grappling with how to recognize his past.

One black lawmaker is on a quest to get a statue of Tillman on the statehouse grounds removed. Julie Rose reports from member station WFAE.

California, which has seen a ban on plastic bags, now could ban a balloon. State lawmakers voted unanimously to ban metallic helium balloons, saying they drift into power lines and cause outages.

In New York City, where there is neither a bag nor a balloon ban, an art student has taken to crafting animals from plastic bags.

He affixes them to subway grates Passing trains inflate the bags, bringing to life a plastic polar bear and a 6-foot giraffe.

Amid pressure from state lawmakers and students, the University of Texas System took the unprecedented step Thursday of capping tuition increases at its nine academic campuses.

For the next two school years, tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates can go up no more than 4.95 percent or $300 a year, whichever is greater.