Year: 2025
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Hall Pass: Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics, Edition #156
Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. In today’s edition, you’ll find: Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas! On the issues: The debate over Utah’s school choice program In this section, we curate…
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Checks and Balances, May 2025
Highlights from this edition of Checks and Balances include deep dives into President Trump’s memo directing agencies to repeal regulations without public notice and comment and Texas’ state DOGE-style and judicial nondeference bill. In Washington Trump directs agencies to skip public input for deregulation What’s the story? President Donald Trump (R) issued a memorandum April…
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State legislatures have passed 17,160 bills so far this year
Welcome to the Wednesday, May 14, Brew. By: Briana Ryan Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: State legislatures have passed 17,160 bills so far this year In the April 30 Daily Brew, we discussed the five bills and resolutions Congress passed, which President Donald Trump (R) signed into law this…
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Texas voters will decide on amendments related to noncitizen voting, death taxes, a state institute for dementia prevention and research, and property tax exemption for animal feed in November
The Texas State Legislature took the final votes needed to send four constitutional amendments to the Nov. 4 ballot this week. Texas will be the 15th state to decide on a constitutional amendment prohibiting noncitizens from voting in state elections. From 2018 to 2024, voters approved 14 ballot measures related to citizenship voting requirements. In…
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Texans to decide on amendment to prohibit noncitizens from voting in 2025 ahead of three other states deciding on the issue in 2026
The Texas State Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to voters that would add language to the state constitution prohibiting noncitizens from voting. Currently, Texas has a statutory citizenship requirement to vote. Adding this requirement to the state constitution effectively raises the threshold for any changes to the policy from a simple majority of…
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Montana Gov. Gianforte (R) signs bill banning the use of extreme risk protection orders
On May 8, Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed HB 809 into law, banning local governments in the state from enacting or enforcing extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs). The Republican-sponsored bill passed the legislature largely along party lines, but two Republicans in both the Montana House of Representatives and Montana Senate voted against the bill. With…
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Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter announces 2026 run for the U.S. Senate in Georgia
Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-Ga.) announced on May 8, 2025, that he will run for the U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2026 rather than another term in the U.S. House of Representatives. As of May 6, 2025, independent race forecasters The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball have rated the general election for the…
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Referendum to repeal Utah bill prohibiting public sector collective bargaining clears signature threshold for 2026 ballot
The Utah Election Office announced on May 8 that signature verification for the collective bargaining referendum is complete. The referendum seeks to repeal House Bill 267, which prohibits public unions and public employers from engaging in collective bargaining. Of the signatures submitted with the referendum petition, 251,590 signatures were verified, and 73,136 were rejected. This…