Author: Jerrick Adams

  • New apportionment data released – six states gain congressional seats, seven states lose seats

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    On April 26, 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau released it post-2020 census apportionment counts. Six states—Texas (two seats), Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon—gained seats. Seven states—California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia—each lost a seat. Of the six states that gained congressional seats, three are Republican trifectas (Texas, Florida, and…

  • Union Station: Arkansas enacts bill prohibiting collective bargaining by state public-sector employees

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    Arkansas enacts bill prohibiting collective bargaining by state public-sector employees Arkansas Senate Bill 341, which prohibits collective bargaining on the part of state public-sector employees, was enacted on April 8.  About the bill  The Republican-sponsored bill adds the following text to Arkansas Code Title 21: (a) A public employer shall not recognize a labor union…

  • Census Bureau suggests data can be available to states, in legacy format, in August

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    Redistricting round-up: Census Bureau suggests data can be available to states, in legacy format, in August On March 15, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that redistricting data could be made available to states in a legacy format by mid-to-late August 2021: “In declarations recently filed in the case of Ohio v. Raimondo, the U.S. Census…

  • State redistricting deadlines in 2021, 2022, and 2023

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    The U.S. Census Bureau announced in February that it would deliver the detailed datasets needed for redistricting to the states by Sep. 30, 2021, after the original April 1, 2021, deadline. Some states’ own redistricting deadlines predate the Census Bureau’s projected data delivery date, prompting states to consider postponements or alternative data sources. State redistricting…

  • First quarter report on donor disclosure legislation

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    First quarter report on donor disclosure legislation   Thus far this year, state legislatures have enacted two donor disclosure bills, down from six during the same period in 2019 and up from zero during the same period in 2020. Let’s take a closer look at how legislative activity in the first three months of 2021 compares…

  • Union Station: Tenth Circuit rules in favor of AFSCME in union dues case

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    Tenth Circuit rules in favor of AFSCME in union dues case On March 26, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico’s decision in Hendrickson v. AFSCME Council 18. The lower court had dismissed the suit, which alleged that…

  • Federal judge strikes down 5% petition requirement for minor-party and unaffiliated U.S. House candidates in Georgia

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    On March 29, 2021, Judge Leigh Martin May, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, struck down a Georgia law requiring minor-party and unaffiliated candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives to submit petitions signed by at least 5 percent of the district’s registered voters in order to appear on the…

  • South Dakota governor signs bill barring public agencies from collecting or releasing nonprofit donor information

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    South Dakota governor signs bill barring public agencies from collecting or releasing nonprofit donor information    On March 21, the South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) SB103 into law, barring public agencies from requiring individuals or groups to disclose identifying information about a nonprofit’s donors.  South Dakota is the first – and to date only –…

  • Teacher sues LA union over ‘defund the police’ stance

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    Teacher sues Los Angeles union over ‘defund the police’ stance On March 16, a Los Angeles teacher filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against his former union over its support for removing school police officers. Parties to the suit The plaintiff is Los Angeles public school teacher…

  • U.S. House passes donor disclosure requirements as part of larger election policy bill

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    U.S. House passes donor disclosure requirements as part of larger election policy bill     On March 3, the U.S. House of Representatives approved HR1, legislation that would expand donor disclosure requirements for corporations, unions, and nonprofit groups making expenditures in federal elections. It is now pending in the U.S. Senate. What the bill would do Under…