Category: State
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West Virginia bill to maintain weekly unemployment insurance benefit amounts and change taxable wages becomes law without governor’s signature (2024)
West Virginia Senate Bill 841 became law without the governor’s signature on Mar. 27, changing the wage base on which employers pay state unemployment insurance taxes to the first $9,500 of employees’ wages. It also froze the maximum weekly benefit amount for workers at $662. The law will take effect Jan. 9, 2025. The enacted…
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Mississippi issues cease and desist order to BlackRock, warns of potential fines
Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson (R) on March 26, 2024, sent a cease and desist letter to BlackRock arguing the firm misled investors regarding the extent of its commitment to ESG strategies and threatened to fine the asset manager. Watson specifically said BlackRock’s claim that the firm’s non-ESG funds did not “seek to follow…
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Wisconsin voters approve Questions 1 and 2 to ban private funding of elections and authorize only election officials to administer elections
Voters approved two constitutional amendments related to election administration on April 2, 2024. Question 1 received 54.4% of the vote, and Question 2 received 58.6%. Question 1 prohibited the state and local governments from applying or accepting non-governmental funds or equipment for election administration. Question 2 provided that only election officials designated by law may…
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Marijuana legalization initiative will be on Nov. ballot, Florida Supreme Court rules
In November, voters in Florida will decide on a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment, Amendment 3, to legalize marijuana. The final step was for the amendment to receive approval from the Florida Supreme Court, which occurred on April 1. The campaign submitted enough signatures to meet the state’s requirement of 891,523. Smart & Safe Florida is leading…
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Florida Supreme Court rules on abortion: there is no right to abortion in the state’s Privacy Clause, but voters will decide the issue in Nov.
The Florida Supreme Court issued two rulings related to a state constitutional right to abortion on April 1. First, the court ruled that Amendment 2 (1980), which provided a state constitutional right to privacy, did not include the right to abortion, which is a change from a previous ruling in 1989. Second, the court ruled…
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Drug decriminalization to recriminalization: Oregon governor signs legislative alteration of 2020’s Measure 110
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed House Bill 4002 (HB 4002) on April 1, repealing provisions of Measure 110. Measure 110 received 58.46% of the vote in 2020. Measure 110 reclassified the possession of Schedule I-IV controlled substances, such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines, from Class A misdemeanors to Class E misdemeanors, resulting in a…
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RCV bans and repeals advancing at higher rate than new authorizations
More ranked-choice voting (RCV) bans and repeals are advancing in comparison with new authorizations during 2024 state legislative sessions. Forty bills this year would ban or repeal uses of RCV, while 69 would establish a new use of RCV. Prospective bans make up a greater share of bills that have passed at least one chamber…
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Moore Capito, Patrick Morrisey, Chris Miller, and Mac Warner are running in the Republican primary election for Governor of West Virginia
Moore Capito (R), Patrick Morrisey (R), Chris Miller (R), and Mac Warner (R) are running in the Republican primary election for Governor of West Virginia on May 14, 2024. Capito, Miller, and Morrisey each say they are the race’s most conservative candidate, while Warner says the race is not about being the most conservative. All…
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Dave Boliek (R) and Jack Clark (R) are running in the Republican primary runoff for North Carolina State Auditor
Dave Boliek (R) and Jack Clark (R) are running in the Republican primary runoff for North Carolina State Auditor on May 14, 2024. Clark and Boliek were the top two finishers in the March 5 Republican primary with 23.2% and 22.1% of the vote, respectively. State law permitted Boliek to request a runoff because Clark…
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Signatures submitted for Colorado initiative that would require an economic impact summary for all ballot measures
In Colorado, signatures were submitted for a citizen-initiated ballot measure on March 27. The ballot initiative would require that an economic impact statement be included on the ballot for each measure, before the question itself is presented to voters. The economic impact statement would need to state the effect the measure would have on state…