Category: Uncategorized

The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to limit, but not throw out, Auer deference in its legal brief for the upcoming case Kisor v. Wilkie. Auer deference, also called Seminole Rock deference, requires federal courts to yield to agency interpretations of ambiguous regulations made by the same agency unless the interpretation…

Elections are taking place in a number of states on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. They include: Four state legislative special elections are happening across the Kentucky State Senate and Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Texas House of Representatives. Municipal elections are scheduled in Tampa and St. Louis. Tampa voters are electing a new mayor and members…

Louisiana is the only state holding regular elections in 2019 with state lawmakers who are subject to term limits. In total, 47 (33 percent) of 144 state legislators in Louisiana are ineligible to run for office because of term limits. Last year, 271 state legislators were termed out of office. The filing deadline for candidates…

A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governorship, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. If one party does not control all three offices, they are considered under divided government.   Since November 2010, there have been 62 trifecta changes across the country. Republicans gaining…

In some areas of the country, citizens can use the recall process to remove elected officials from office before their term is completed. This process typically includes the circulation of petitions by recall organizers, the evaluation of signatures by election officials, and a public vote if the petitions are deemed to have sufficient valid signatures.  …

There are two current vacancies on state supreme courts, with another three planned based on scheduled retirements.   The current vacancies are in Kentucky and South Dakota, and the pending vacancies are in Arizona, North Carolina, and Virginia.   States fill their supreme court vacancies in a number of ways. Here’s how the states with…

As direct democracy receives more attention so do the processes that govern how measures get on the ballot, the rules for support and opposition campaigns, the requirements for approval, and other details. In 2016 and 2018, citizen-initiatives were more prominent in the political landscape than they had been for several election cycles.   Voters directly…

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) issued a revised executive order on February 20, 2019, that restructures the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The Republican-majority Michigan State Legislature voted to reject Whitmer’s original version of the executive order on February 14—the first time state legislators had rejected a governor’s executive order in 42 years.  …

A new rule will use background checks to ensure that people convicted of certain crimes cannot receive benefits from Social Security on behalf of impaired beneficiaries. The final rule published on February 15, 2019, by the Social Security Administration (SSA) implements requirements outlined in a 2018 law.   Under the law, and the new rule,…

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 February 18 to February 22, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 1,274 pages, bringing…