Category: State

  • Alaska House of Representatives elects temporary speaker

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    Forty-six state legislatures are currently in session. The Alaska House of Representatives has been in session since Jan. 19. But no regular business has taken place because legislators have not elected a permanent speaker or organized committees. Partisan control of the House was uncertain after the 2020 elections, split between those favoring a Republican-led majority…

  • Iowa lifts statewide face-covering requirement

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    Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) issued an order easing coronavirus restrictions, effective Feb. 7. The order lifted the statewide mask mandate and limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings. Reynolds first issued the face-covering requirement on Nov. 17, requiring everyone two years or older to wear masks in indoor spaces open to the public where social…

  • New Mexico state Rep. Phelps Anderson changes party affiliation

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    New Mexico state Rep. Phelps Anderson changed his voter registration from Republican to “declined to state” on Feb. 5 after he was the only Republican to vote in favor of repealing a 1969 anti-abortion law. Phelps was first elected to House District 66 in 2018 and ran uncontested for re-election in 2020. Of the 70…

  • Doris Turner, Mike Simmons appointed to Illinois state Senate

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    On Feb. 6, two new state legislators were appointed to fill vacancies in the Illinois state Senate. Doris Turner (D) was appointed by the Democratic county chairs of the 48th Legislative District Committee to fill the seat formerly occupied by Andy Manar (D). Manar left office in January in order to take a position as…

  • New York voters to decide constitutional amendment about environmental rights in November

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    Voters in New York will decide a ballot measure to add a right to clean water, clean air, and a healthful environment to the New York Constitution’s Bill of Rights. The ballot measure would make New York the third state, after Pennsylvania and Montana, to adopt an environmental rights amendment. Pennsylvania and Montana both adopted…

  • Idaho Supreme Court justice announces retirement

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    Idaho Supreme Court Justice Roger Burdick is retiring on June 30, 2021. He was appointed to this position in 2003 by Republican Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and retained by voters in 2004, 2010 and 2016. His current term would have expired in January 2023. Burdick’s replacement will be Republican Governor Brad Little’s first appointment to the…

  • Arlando Teller leaves Arizona state House for Biden administration

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    Rep. Arlando Teller (D) resigned from the Arizona House of Representatives on Feb. 1 to join the Biden administration as deputy assistant secretary for tribal affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation. He represented District 7 from 2019 to 2021.  Teller most recently won re-election on Nov. 3, 2020. He was one of two candidates…

  • Special election runoff to be held on Feb. 23 in Texas state House district

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    A special general runoff election has been scheduled for February 23 in District 68 of the Texas House of Representatives. Craig Carter (R) is facing David Spiller (R) in the runoff. Carter and Spiller advanced from the general election on January 23, earning 18% of the vote and 44% of the vote, respectively. Governor Greg…

  • Governors flex agency reorganization muscles

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    Governors in two states recently issued executive orders aimed at reorganizing agencies of the executive branch—with different results. The Vermont House of Representatives on February 5 voted 108-40 to block Vermont Governor Phil Scott’s (R) executive order that would have established a new state law enforcement agency. Scott’s executive order, issued on January 14, would have…

  • Justice on Missouri’s highest court schedules retirement

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    Missouri Supreme Court Justice Laura Denvir Stith announced on February 2, 2021, that she would retire from the court effective March 8. Stith stated she planned to do pro bono work following her retirement from the court. Justice Stith joined the Missouri Supreme Court in 2001. She was appointed to the court by Governor Bob…