Category: State
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Oregon expands unemployment insurance eligibility
The Oregon Employment Department issued an order effective March 13, 2022, loosening unemployment insurance eligibility requirements. The order expanded the definition of the phrase available to work to include workers who are available to work at least 40 hours per week during times when, according to the state, an employer would typically offer work. Previously,…
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Vermont enacts new state legislative districts
Vermont enacted new state legislative districts on April 6 when Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed H722, the redistricting proposal approved by both legislative chambers, into law. The maps will take effect for Vermont’s 2022 state legislative elections. On Oct. 15, 2021, the Vermont Legislative Apportionment Board voted 4-3 to approve a single-member district House map…
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Kansas Department of Labor announces unemployment insurance modernization contract
The Kansas Department of Labor (KDL) announced on April 5 that the state chose Tata Consultancy Services to update the current IT system for processing unemployment insurance claims. The KDL said the project would take multiple years to complete, but the state had not released a timeline or budget as of April 5. Kansas launched…
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Calvin Smyre, longest-serving member, resigns from Georgia state House
Calvin Smyre (D) announced on April 4, 2022, that he would resign from the Georgia House of Representatives, after being appointed ambassador to the Dominican Republic by President Joe Biden (D). Smyre has served since 1975, most recently in District 135. Smyre was elected to the state House in 1974. He is the longest-serving Georgia…
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Two house resolutions pass in Missouri
Since March 21, 2022, there were two house resolutions that passed in the Missouri House of Represenatives. There were no bills to pass both the House and Senate and be signed by Gov. Mike Parson (R). So far in the 2022 session, eight bills and resolutions have been passed. The following are the passed resolutions…
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Maryland enacts revised congressional district boundaries
Maryland adopted new congressional district boundaries on April 4 when Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed revised redistricting legislation that the General Assembly had finalized on March 30. Hogan signed the new map after state Attorney General Brian Frosh withdrew his appeal of Circuit Court Judge Lynne Battaglia’s March 25 ruling overturning the state’s previous congressional…
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Three months to voter registration deadline for Missouri’s primary
The voter registration deadline for Missouri’s 2022 primary election is three months away. Those who wish to vote in-person must be registered by July 6. Registration is possible online, in-person, or by mail. If registration forms are mailed, they must be postmarked on or before July 6. The primary is scheduled for Aug. 2. A…
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Missouri’s 2022 legislative elections will be the first using new district maps
Missouri completed its legislative redistricting on March 15, setting in place district maps that will be in effect for the Nov. 8 elections. Missouri was the 43rd state to complete legislative redistricting. The state’s Judicial Redistricting Commission (JRC) filed the new state Senate district boundaries with the secretary of state, while the House Independent Bipartisan…
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Three Idaho secretary of state candidates competing in May 17 Republican primary
Phil McGrane, Dorothy Moon, and Mary Souza are running in the May 17 Republican Party primary for Idaho Secretary of State. Incumbent Lawerence Denney (R), first elected in 2014, did not file for re-election. McGrane is the Ada County Clerk, a position to which he was first elected in 2018. On his campaign website, McGrane…
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These PACs are the best fundraisers in Florida
In Florida politics, non-candidate political action committees (PACs) have received $393.6 million in total donations between January 1, 2021, and February 28, 2022. The top 10 PACs raised more than $234.8 million, or 60 percent of all donations made to state-level PACs. These are the top 10 PACs in Florida state-level politics in the 2022…