Category: Uncategorized

On June 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that public-sector unions cannot require non-members to pay agency fees to cover the costs of non-political union activities. Lawmakers nationwide have since taken up legislation in response to Janus. The summary below is a detailed account of legislative activity in the year…

On June 12, 2019, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) signed legislation to join the state in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). Oregon is the 16th jurisdiction to join NPVIC, as well as the fourth state in 2019. The NPVIC is an interstate compact to award member states’ presidential electors to the winner of…

The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing cases for the 2018 term on October 1, 2018, and wrapped up oral arguments on April 24, 2019. As of June 10, the court has issued opinions in 45 of the 69 cases this term, meaning the court has 24 opinions to deliver before the end of the term.…

The average margin of victory in the 2018 elections was the smallest it had been in even-year congressional races since 2012.   Margin of victory—or MOV—is the difference between the share of votes cast for the winning candidate and the share cast for the losing one.   Since it is June, the sixth month of…

June 10, 2019: Sen. Jon Tester endorsed Steve Bullock for president. Most Democrats spent the weekend campaigning in Iowa at party and Pride events. Share the latest from the campaign trail. There are eight new candidates running since last week, including three Democrats, three Republicans, and one Libertarian. Nineteen candidates are no longer running. In total, 733…

  The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity.   During the week of June 3 to June 7, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 1,246 pages,…

More than half of the states have wrapped up their legislative sessions for the year. Here’s a summary of what actions states have taken so far on election policy.   Redistricting legislation: We’ve tracked 221 bills regarding redistricting policy. Seventeen of them have become law. Examples of enacted legislation are: Mississippi JR202: Signed into law…

In May 2019, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviewed 36 significant regulatory actions issued by federal agencies. The agency approved the intent of 34 rules while recommending changes to their content. Agencies withdrew two rules from the review process.   OIRA reviewed 22 significant regulatory actions in May 2018—14 fewer…

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must follow informal rulemaking procedures when it changes Medicare policy. In Azar v. Allina Health Services, decided June 3, 2019, the court held that HHS had to give the public notice and an opportunity to make comments before changing the way…

Attorneys for plaintiffs in Department of Commerce v. New York sent a letter to Judge Jesse Furman of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 30, 2019, to highlight new evidence allegedly demonstrating that the Trump administration approved the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census…