Category: State

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who was sworn in on January 8, 2019, called on the Florida State Legislature to repeal a law that was designed to ban smokable forms of marijuana.   In June 2017, Rick Scott (R), who preceded DeSantis in the governor’s office, signed the bill banning smokable marijuana, which a court…

In 2018, state legislatures nationwide considered 202 bills related to public-sector union policy, acting in anticipation of or in response to the Supreme Court’s decision last summer in Janus v. AFSCME.   In Janus, the high court ruled that public-sector unions cannot require non-member employees to pay agency fees to cover the costs of non-political…

On the first day of the 2019 legislative session, the New York State Legislature approved a seven-bill legislative package to change election policies.   The legislative package included two constitutional amendments. In New York, constitutional amendments require a simple majority vote of two successive state legislatures. The current 203rd New York State Legislature (2019-2020) passed…

The Alaska House did not have a 21-member majority to organize the chamber when the 2019 legislative session began Tuesday. Republicans won 23 of 40 seats in the 2018 elections, but four members—David Eastman (R), Gary Knopp (R), Gabrielle LeDoux (R), and Louise Stutes (R)—did not agree to caucus with the GOP, leaving the chamber…

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Robert J. Luck as an associate justice of the Florida Supreme Court. DeSantis announced the appointment on Monday, January 14, effective immediately. Luck is DeSantis’ second supreme court appointee to the seven-member court, after the governor appointed Barbara Lagoa on January 9.   DeSantis entered office with three state…

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) issued an executive order on January 9, 2019, that renewed a moratorium on regulatory rulemaking by state agencies for 2019. The moratorium is aimed at facilitating innovation and job growth in the state while curbing state government expansion, according to the governor’s office. Ducey has renewed the moratorium each year…

On January 8, 2019, Ron DeSantis (R) was sworn in as Florida’s 46th governor. DeSantis succeeds Rick Scott (R), who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018, as governor. His lieutenant governor is Jeanette Nunez (R).   DeSantis is a former United States Representative from Florida. He defeated Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D) in…

Colorado state legislators were sworn in on January 4, 2019, and for the first time since 2012, Democrats gained control of the state Senate. Since Democrats also maintained control of the state House and the governorship, the outcome of the 2018 election made Colorado into a Democratic trifecta. A state government trifecta exists when one…

On January 11, the filing deadline passed to run in the special primary on February 23 to fill vacancies in seven Louisiana House of Representatives districts: 12, 17, 18, 26, 27, 47, and 62. Louisiana’s filing deadline was the sixth special election filing deadline covered by Ballotpedia this year. If no candidate receives at least…

A special election for Texas House of Representatives District 125 has been called for February 12, 2019. Candidates wishing to run in this election are required to file by January 14, 2019. Justin Rodriguez (D) vacated the seat after he was appointed in January 2019 to serve as the Precinct 2 representative on the Bexar…