On December 28, 2020, the California Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that Proposition 57’s provision to increase parole opportunities for those convicted of nonviolent offenses applies to sex offenders. California Proposition 57 was approved at the election on November 8, 2016, receiving 64.5% of the vote. Proposition 57 required the California Department of Corrections…
In 2021, the minimum wage will increase in 25 states and Washington, D.C. The size of the increases range from $0.08 per hour (a 0.8% increase) in Minnesota to $2.25 per hour (a 31.03% increase) in Virginia, and the effective dates for the increases range from October 2020 to August 2021. Increases in 18 states…
President Donald Trump (R) signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act into law December 27, approving a $900 billion legislative package that included a second round of direct stimulus payments in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The act, which was introduced as a series of amendments to the United States-Mexico Economic Partnership Act, passed both chambers of…
On December 18, Governor Gina Raimondo (D) signed the 2021 state budget that included seven bond issues totaling $400 million. Rhode Island voters will decide the questions at a special election on March 2, 2021. The ballot titles, amounts, and purposes are listed below: Question 1: Issues $107.3 million in bonds for the University of…
Ballotpedia’s year-end analysis of 2020’s state and local recall efforts found that there were 226 recall efforts against 272 officials this year, compared to 151 efforts against 230 officials in 2019. This was a 49.7% year-over-year increase in recall efforts and an 18.3% increase in officials who faced recall efforts. Over a five-year span, 2020…