Year: 2021
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Easter deadline to use Congressional Review Act to repeal end-of-term Trump administration regulatory activity
A recent edition of the Congressional Record clarified that Congress has 60 days from February 3, 2021, to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to block regulatory activity taken near the end of the Trump administration. The Congressional Review Act is a federal law passed in 1996 that creates a 60 day review period during…
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Supporters, opponents of Louisiana constitutional amendment on abortion raised over $1 million in 2020
Louisiana Pro-Life Amendment Coalition, the campaign in support of Louisiana Amendment 1, and Louisiana for Personal Freedoms, the opposition campaign, reported receiving a combined total of $1.1 million in contributions for the 2020 election cycle. Louisiana voters approved Amendment 1 in November 2020 by a vote of 62.06% to 37.94%. It added language to the…
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Who funded the campaigns for and against ranked-choice voting ballot measures in 2020?
Voters in Alaska and Massachusetts decided statewide ranked-choice voting ballot measures in 2020. Alaskans approved an initiated statute to replace partisan primaries with open top-four primaries and establish ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential election. Voters in Massachusetts rejected an initiative to adopt ranked-choice voting statewide. The top-two donors to the campaigns…
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U.S. Supreme Court begins February sitting for 2020-2021 term
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) continued its 2020-2021 term on February 22 with the beginning of its February sitting. The February sitting runs from February 22 through March 3, during which time SCOTUS will hear six hours of oral argument. Consistent with the court’s policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all…
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SCOTUS accepts first cases to be heard during 2021-2022 term
On February 22, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review in five cases for a total of three hours of oral argument, the first cases to be accepted for its upcoming 2021-2022 term. The new term is slated to begin on October 4, 2021. To date, the court has granted review in 63 cases during…
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North Dakota Supreme Court rules on state legislative appointment
After a state Supreme Court ruling last fall, North Dakota Rep. Jeff Delzer (R) remains in office at the start of the legislative session following a primary defeat in 2020. In North Dakota, each of the state’s 47 districts elects two representatives to the state House. Challengers David Andahl and Dave Nehring defeated Delzer in…
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California Secretary of State verifies 668,000 signatures submitted for gubernatorial recall
On Feb. 19, the California Secretary of State’s office released the latest signature report in the campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). As of Feb. 5, the secretary’s office validated 668,202 signatures of the 798,310 signatures that it processed, with another 296,147 submitted but not yet processed. So far, 83.7 percent of signatures processed…