Category: State
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Washington State Senate introduces bill proposing unemployment insurance benefits for striking workers
Legislators in the Washington State Senate introduced a bill on January 8, 2024, that proposed allowing striking workers to claim unemployment insurance benefits. Washington Senate Bill 5777 passed the Senate Committee on Labor and Commerce on January 16, 2024, and advanced to the Rules Committee on January 17, 2024, for a second reading. Currently, New…
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A look at Arizona’s 459 ballot measures since statehood
Since 1911, there have been 459 state ballot measures in Arizona. Voters approved 237 (51.63%) and defeated 222 (48.37%). Ballotpedia has a complete dataset of state ballot measures for Arizona, which became a state in 1912. The initiative and referendum were included in the state’s constitution, ratified in 1911, two months before statehood. Between 1911…
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Stadium tax measure for Kansas City Chiefs and Royals will appear on the ballot for April 2, 2024
Voters in Jackson County, Missouri, will decide on a ballot measure to renew a sales tax that provides funding for stadium improvements for the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals. Voters will decide the ballot measure on April 2, 2024. The Jackson County Legislature overrode a veto from County Executive Frank White on Jan.…
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New York outpacing all states in advancing election legislation as 2024 sessions get underway
As of Jan. 19, 2024, legislators in New York have passed 24 election-related bills out of at least one chamber of the legislature, more than all other state legislatures combined. The legislation in New York covers a range of election-related topics including absentee ballot drop-boxes, maintenance of voter rolls, and oversight of election officials, workers,…
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Illinois law requiring unemployment insurance taxes for contractors takes effect
Illinois House Bill 3301 took effect on January 1, 2024, amending Illinois’ Unemployment Insurance Act to update the definition of a newly hired employee to include independent contractors. The updated definition requires employers to pay state unemployment insurance taxes for contractors. House Bill 3301 passed the Illinois House on March 22, 2023, and the Senate…
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Minnesota Supreme Court to hear challenge of new felon voting law
The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear a challenge to a new law that automatically restores voting rights to people convicted of a felony who are still on parole, probation, or supervised release in the state. On March 3, 2023, Governor Tim Walz (D) signed House File 28 into law. Previously in Minnesota, the state restored voting rights to people convicted of…
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Texas Republican Party places 13 nonbinding advisory questions on the March primary ballot
The Texas Republican Party has placed 13 nonbinding advisory questions on the March 5 primary ballot. The Texas Democratic Party does not plan on placing any questions on primary ballots this year. The last time they did was in 2020. An advisory question is a type of ballot measure in which citizens vote on a…
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Campaign to repeal ranked-choice voting in Alaska submits signatures
In Alaska, a campaign supporting an initiative to repeal top-four ranked-choice voting (RCV) submitted 41,895 signatures on Jan. 12. The initiative could appear on the general election ballot in Nov. In 2020, voters approved Ballot Measure 2, which replaced partisan primaries with open top-four primaries and established ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential…
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South Dakota unemployment insurance tax cut takes effect
South Dakota House Bill 1011, which decreases the state unemployment tax rate for employers by 0.5%, took effect Jan. 1, 2024. The state estimates businesses will save about $18 million in taxes in 2024 under the new law. Gov. Kristi Noem (R) signed the bill on Feb. 1, 2023. The state Senate passed the bill…
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State supreme courts issue 6,722 opinions in 2023, fewer than 2022 and 2021
State supreme courts issued 6,722 opinions in 2023. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia led the field with 528 opinions issued, followed by Texas with 446 and Delaware with 435. In comparison, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 opinions in 2021. State supreme courts issued an average of 129…