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Lawyers hired by Alaska lawmakers to sue Gov. Bill Walker over Medicaid expansion said in a court filing last week that the Alaska House can properly take over the appeal of a case originally brought by the Alaska Legislative Council even though no legislative body has voted to approve the move. But one of the Senate leaders, John Coghill, R-North Pole, who supported the original lawsuit, said Wednesday that he didn't think the House could insert itself into the already-existing contracts between the two hired law firms and the 14-member Alaska Legislative Council, a committee of House and Senate lawmakers that meets year-round and that voted to sue Walker. (Hanlon, 6/5)

A majority of Wyoming residents support using money from the federal government to expand Medicaid over tapping the rainy day fund, cutting government or raising taxes. While 41 percent of Wyoming residents supported the budget the Legislature adopted in March, support for the bill would have increased to 52 percent had lawmakers had accepted $268 million in federal money to expand Medicaid, a new survey showed. (Hancock, 6/5)