Author: Ryan Byrne
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Missouri could have the 10th largest city in the U.S. if voters decide a ballot initiative to merge St. Louis city and St. Louis County
In 2020, voters across Missouri could decide a ballot initiative to consolidate St. Louis city and St. Louis County into a single political entity named The Metropolitan City of St. Louis. The new city would be the 10th largest city in the U.S., with a population around 1.3 million as of 2017. Residents of The…
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Maine will not vote on ballot initiatives in 2019, as no campaigns filed signatures—the first time since 2013
Voters in Maine won’t decide any citizen-initiated statutes in 2019, making this year the first since 2013 to not feature initiated statutes. The deadline to file the 63,067 required signatures for citizen-initiated statutes was January 24, 2019. According to the secretary of state’s office, no signatures were filed for ballot initiatives. There were three…
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Los Angeles mayor, teachers’ union, and school district support a 2020 ballot initiative to amend California’s property tax structure
On January 22, 2019, an agreement was announced to end the six-day Los Angeles teachers’ strike. The agreement summary said the teachers’ union, school district, and Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) would endorse and advocate for a 2020 ballot initiative to amend California’s property tax structure. The ballot initiative, which qualified for the election on…
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Florida Gov. DeSantis breaks with predecessor Scott on smokable forms of medical marijuana under Amendment 2 (2016)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who was sworn in on January 8, 2019, called on the Florida State Legislature to repeal a law that was designed to ban smokable forms of marijuana. In June 2017, Rick Scott (R), who preceded DeSantis in the governor’s office, signed the bill banning smokable marijuana, which a court…
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In 2020, California voters will decide on bill to make their state the first to eliminate cash bail
In 2020, Californians will decide a veto referendum to repeal Senate Bill 10 (SB 10), which would make California the first state to end the use of cash bail for all detained suspects awaiting trials. Instead, SB 10 would institute a system of risk assessments to determine whether a detained suspect should be granted pretrial…
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Iowa secretary of state’s error restarts multi-year process to amend the Iowa Constitution
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (R) said that his office failed to report two constitutional amendments that the 86th Iowa General Assembly (2017-2018) approved in 2018. The Iowa Constitution required Pate to publish notifications in two newspapers in each of Iowa’s four congressional districts at least three months before November 2018. Due to…
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Kentucky State Senate passes its first bill of 2019—a 2020 ballot measure to move state executive elections to presidential election years
On January 10, 2019, the Kentucky State Senate approved a constitutional amendment to change the election date for state executive officials from odd-numbered years to even-numbered presidential election years beginning in 2028. The vote was 31-4. Senate Republicans supported the amendment, while Democrats were divided 4-4. The constitutional amendment needs 60 votes in the state…
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U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear state-led lawsuits against California’s and Massachusetts’ meat and egg sale ballot initiatives
On January 8, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear cases regarding whether ballot initiatives and related legislation in California and Massachusetts designed to regulate the sale of animal products violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court did not issue a reason for declining the cases, but Justice Clarence Thomas said…
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Pennsylvania’s governor cited the state’s 1971 Environmental Rights Amendment in an executive order. What is the amendment?
On January 8, 2019, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) cited the state’s Environmental Rights Amendment (ERA), passed in 1971, in an executive order establishing the GreenGov Council, which was designed to work with state agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The governor’s order wasn’t the first time that he cited the ERA when explaining a…
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New Maine Gov. Janet Mills signs order to expand Medicaid under Question 2 (2017)
On January 3, 2019, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed an order to expand Medicaid, known as MaineCare in Maine, citing the approval of Question 2, a ballot initiative, in 2017. Question 2 was the first citizen-initiated measure to expand Medicaid via Obamacare, expanding the program’s coverage to persons under the age of 65…