Year: 2025

  • ICYMI: Top stories of the week

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    Four states have banned cellphone use in schools so far this month On May 14, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed House Bill 166, banning cellphone use in K-12 schools starting in the 2025-2026 school year. This move makes the Yellowhammer State the fourth state to ban cellphone use in schools in May alone: Learn…

  • Oklahoma State Legislature advances bill to change process of initiated ballot measures

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    The Oklahoma House of Representatives again advanced Senate Bill 1027 (SB 1027), a measure that would change the process of placing citizen-initiated amendments and laws on the ballot. SB 1027, which would take effect immediately after its passing, would make three changes to the initiative process in Oklahoma. First, it would implement a distribution requirement…

  • House Energy and Commerce Committee includes Medicaid work requirement in budget reconciliation bill

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    The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed its budget reconciliation bill on May 14 with a 30-24 vote after a May 13th markup of the previous draft version. The current version of the bill would require states to adopt community engagement requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents on Medicaid. The current version specifies community engagement…

  • House Judiciary’s budget reconciliation bill considers REINS Act provisions

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    The House Judiciary Committee released a draft of their budget reconciliation bill on April 27, which included major provisions from the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act (REINS Act), and the markup version voted out April 30th by a 23-17 margin retained those provisions. The final omnibus bill may differ from this…

  • Texas Democrats join Republicans to place citizen voting requirement on statewide ballots in 2025 after blocking the amendment in 2023

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    Fifteen House Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting to send a constitutional amendment to voters on Nov. 4 that would add noncitizens to the list of persons not allowed to vote in the state after the same resolution was defeated during the state’s last legislative session in 2023. The list in Section 1, Article…

  • Four states have banned cellphone use in schools so far this month

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    Welcome to the Friday, May 16, Brew.  By: Briana Ryan Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Four states have banned cellphone use in schools so far this month On May 14, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed House Bill 166, banning cellphone use in K-12 schools starting in the 2025-2026…

  • Alabama will be the second state to decide on amendments to restrict bail in 2026

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    Welcome to the Thursday, May 15, 2025, Brew.  By: Lara Bonatesta Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Alabama will be the second state to decide on amendments to restrict bail in 2026 On April 29, Alabama became the second state to put a constitutional amendment on its 2026 ballot that…

  • Ballot measures certification update: Seven new measures for 2025 in CO and TX; six new measures certified in five states for 2026

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    The number of certified statewide ballot measures for both 2025 and 2026 is trending above average compared to previous election cycles as of May 13. 2025 ballot measures For 2025, 15 statewide ballot measures have been certified in six states—Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. This is seven more than the average of eight…

  • Montana passes legislative oversight bills

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    The Montana legislature passed two bills which would modify the rulemaking process for state administrative agencies. Both were supported by bipartisan majorities. House Bill 126 was passed by a vote of 100-0 in the House on January 29, 2025; the Senate voted 48-0 on April 9, 2025. Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed it on May…