Ten candidates are running in the Democratic Party primary election for Texas’ 32nd Congressional District on March 5, 2024. Julie Johnson (D) and Brian Williams (D) lead in endorsements and fundraising. The Dallas Morning News described the two as “pulling away from the pack in the scramble for Rep. Colin Allred’s Dallas-based congressional seat.” Johnson is an…
In December 2023, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviewed 54 significant regulatory actions issued by federal agencies. OIRA approved three of these rules with no changes and approved the intent of 46 rules while recommending changes to their content. One rule was withdrawn from the review process by the issuing…
The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity, accounting for both regulatory and deregulatory actions. From Dec. 25, 2023, through Dec. 29, 2023, the Federal Register grew by 1,588 pages for…
Let’s Go Washington, a campaign supporting six citizen-initiated ballot measures in Washington, submitted 2.6 million signatures for the initiatives before the deadline on Dec. 29, 2023. At least 324,516 signatures must be found to be valid for each initiative. That’s 1.95 million total signatures between the six initiatives. State Rep. Jim Walsh (R-19) sponsored the…
On Dec. 29, the Save Our Local Restaurants PAC withdrew a veto referendum from the Nov. 5, 2024, ballot that would have repealed California Assembly Bill 257 (AB 257). AB 257 was designed to establish a 10-member fast food council authorized to adopt a minimum wage for fast food restaurant employees not to exceed $22…
Legislatures enacted more pieces of legislation related to direct democracy—ballot initiatives, referendums, and recall petitions—in 2023 than the previous five years. In 2023, 45 bills and resolutions were enacted, which exceeds the annual average of 32 for this period. The previous largest number of bills enacted was 44 in 2019. While there was an increase…
There were 264 local measures in 29 different states within the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. and state capitals. Of the 264 measures, 219 (82.95%) were approved, and 45 (17.05%) were defeated. Eleven (4.16%) were citizen initiatives and 253 (95.83%) were referred to the ballot by city councils, school districts, or other local…