Category: State
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Voters in Lincoln Public Schools approve $290 million bond
On Tuesday, Lincoln Public Schools, Nebraska voters approved a bond proposition 62% to 38%, authorizing $290 million for projects including the construction of two high schools and an elementary school, improvements and repairs of Park Middle School and Everett Elementary School, and capital improvements to other district facilities. Turnout was 34% for the all-mail election.…
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Petitioners of opposing forest initiatives in Oregon sign agreement to work together on regulation
On Monday, petitioners of opposing ballot initiatives designed to change forest regulations in Oregon announced that they had signed an agreement to work together via the legislature rather than the initiative process. Twenty-six groups signed the cooperative memorandum. One side of the debate included groups like Oregon Wild, the Audubon Society of Portland, and the…
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Pizer appointed to Illinois House of Representatives
Illinois Democratic party leaders appointed Jonathan “Yoni” Pizer (D) to represent District 12 in the state House of Representatives on February 9, 2020. The seat was vacated when Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D) was appointed to the Illinois State Senate on January 21, 2020, following the resignation of former Senate President John Cullerton (D). Pizer previously…
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New York state legislative special elections scheduled for Apr. 28
Four new state legislative special elections have been added to our list. The special elections are for the District 50 seat in the New York State Senate and the District 12, 31, and 136 seats in the New York State Assembly on April 28, 2020. There are no primaries, and the filing deadlines are on…
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Pennsylvania statewide filing deadline is February 18
The filing deadline to run for elected office in Pennsylvania is on February 18, 2020. In Pennsylvania, prospective candidates may file for the following state offices: U.S. House of Representatives (18 seats) Attorney General Auditor Treasurer State Senate (25 seats) House of Representatives (203 seats) The primary is scheduled for April 28, and the general…
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Abortion right amendment defeated in the Kansas House of Representatives Friday
On Friday, the Kansas House of Representatives did not approve the No Right to Abortion in Constitution Amendment by the two-thirds supermajority required to place the measure on the primary ballot in August. The number of “yes” votes required was 84. The final vote was 80-43. The amendment would have added a new section to…
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Survey finds 44 states do not prohibit delegation of legislative power to agencies
A Ballotpedia survey of all 50 state constitutions and administrative procedure acts (APAs) revealed that 44 states, 88%, had no prohibition against the delegation of legislative power to agencies as of January 2020. The nondelegation doctrine refers to limits placed on transferring legislative authority to the executive branch or to administrative agencies. The doctrine is…
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Virginia House of Delegates approves bill establishing collective bargaining rights for public-sector workers
On Feb. 6, the Virginia House of Delegates approved HB582, a bill establishing collective bargaining rights for public-sector workers at both the state and local levels. Nationwide, three states – Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina – currently prohibit collective bargaining on the part of public-sector workers. What does the bill propose? HB582 would make…
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State supreme court incumbents experienced a 93% win rate from 2008-2019
Incumbents tend to do better in elections for any office than newcomers facing incumbents. This is no less true in state supreme court elections. Across all types of state supreme court elections, incumbent justices running for re-election won 93% of the time from 2008-2019. No more than six incumbent justices have lost in a single…
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Oklahoma Governor issues executive order to cut regulations
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) issued an executive order on February 3 designed to prune state regulations by 25%. The order has two main requirements. First, state agencies must review their administrative rules and list any that are expensive, ineffective, redundant, or outdated. Next, for all new restrictive rules proposed after February 15, 2020, agencies…