Year: 2022
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SCOTUS accepts three new cases for its 2022-2023 term
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) accepted three cases on March 28 for argument during its October 2022-2023 term. To date, the court has agreed to hear arguments in nine cases next term. National Pork Producers Council v. Ross concerns the constitutionality of the conditions California's Proposition 12 imposes on pork producers nationwide…
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North Carolina Gov. Cooper receives $1.2 million, with NC Democratic Leadership Committee as top donor
In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper is the number three fundraiser in state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. According to the most recent campaign finance reports made to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), the governor received $1,212,060 in total contributions and spent $472,591 between January 1, 2021 and December…
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Minnesota Gov. Walz receives $2.5 million, with Brenda and Charles Kratsch as top donor
In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz is the number one fundraiser in state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. According to the most recent campaign finance reports made to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, the governor received $2,453,591 in total contributions and spent $1,324,421 between January 1, 2021 and December 31,…
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Kentucky governor signs bill extending unemployment tax rate freeze
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) signed House Bill 144 into law on March 24, freezing the state's unemployment insurance tax rate at 2020 pre-pandemic levels for 2022. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce estimated businesses would have paid about $70 more in taxes per employee if the tax rate had unfrozen. Kentucky's unemployment insurance tax rate…
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims drop to lowest level since 1969
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits dropped 28,000 for the week ending March 19 to a seasonally adjusted 187,000. The number is the lowest recorded since September 1969. The weekly drop also brought the four-week moving average as of March 19 down to 211,750 from 223,250 as of the week ending March 12. Weekly…
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Illinois governor signs measure to pay $2.7 billion of unemployment fund debt
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed an amendment to Senate Bill 2803 on March 25 allocating $2.7 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to help pay down the state’s $4.5 billion Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund debt. The state will still have $1.8 billion of outstanding debt in the fund. As of March 23,…
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Iowa legislature approves measure to reduce duration of unemployment insurance benefit
Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate approved a measure on March 23 that would reduce the maximum length of unemployment insurance payments from 26 weeks to 16 weeks. The state House passed HF 2355, and the Senate approved an amended version the same day. The Senate's version added a one-week waiting period for claimants…
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Michigan governor signs unemployment insurance spending bill
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) on March 28 signed HB 5525, which contained $139.8 million in funding for the state's unemployment insurance program. The bill directed $100 million of federal coronavirus relief funding into the state's unemployment trust fund. The remaining funds were earmarked to cover administrative improvements to the Unemployment Insurance Agency and fund…