Tag: news
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Federal Register weekly update: 627 new documents added
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 overall regulatory activity, accounting for both regulatory and deregulatory actions. From April 19 through April 23, the Federal Register grew by 1,668 pages for a…
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Unanimous U.S. Supreme Court: People may raise Appointments Clause challenges in federal court they did not mention during agency proceedings
On April 22, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Carr v. Saul, ruling that people who were denied Social Security disability benefits by the Social Security Administration (SSA) do not lose the chance to challenge the appointment of SSA administrative law judges (ALJs) in court even if they do not first…
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Montana voters will decide on a constitutional amendment to require a search warrant to access electronic data in 2022
On April 22, the Montana State Legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the 2022 ballot that would require a search warrant to access electronic data or electronic communications. The amendment would also state that electronic data and electronic communications would be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before…
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Arkansas State Legislature refers two constitutional amendments to 2022 ballot
The Arkansas State Legislature gave final approval to two constitutional amendments on April 22, 2021, sending them to the November 2022 ballot. One of the amendments would require 60% supermajority voter approval to ratify constitutional amendments (legislatively referred and citizen-initiated) and citizen-initiated state statutes. Constitutional amendments require approval by voters in a statewide election to…
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New apportionment data released – six states gain congressional seats, seven states lose seats
The United States Census Bureau released its post-2020 census apportionment counts on April 26, 2021. Apportionment is the process whereby the 435 districts in the U.S. House of Representatives are allotted to the states on the basis of population. Six states gained seats. Texas gained two, while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon gained…
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Democratic and Republican Party committee total fundraising about even, according to April FEC filings
Six party committees have raised a combined $206 million over the first three months of the 2022 election cycle. The committees raised about $83 million in March, according to April filings with the Federal Election Commission. Here’s a closer look at this month’s filings: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) raised $9.3 million and spent…
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SCOTUS issues rulings in three cases argued this term
On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued opinions in three cases argued during the 2020-2021 term. Jones v. Mississippi originated from the Mississippi Court of Appeals and was argued before SCOTUS on November 3, 2020. The case concerned sentencing juveniles to life imprisonment without parole. In a 6-3 vote, the court ruled that…
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The Florida Supreme Court blocks marijuana legalization initiative from 2022 ballot
On April 22, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that a marijuana legalization initiative backed by Make It Legal Florida could not appear on the 2022 ballot. The court wrote, “A constitutional amendment cannot unequivocally ‘permit’ or authorize conduct that is criminalized under federal law. And a ballot summary suggesting otherwise is affirmatively misleading.”…
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Highlights from April’s edition of Ballotpedia’s State Ballot Measure Monthly newsletter
Nineteen statewide measures were certified for the 2022 ballot from March 16 through April 22 in 11 states. This brought the total number of 2022 statewide measures certified so far up to 28 in 16 states. An average of 22 measures were certified for even-year ballots by this point from 2011 through 2019. No new…
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A look back at government responses to the coronavirus pandemic, April 27-May 1, 2020
Although the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was confirmed on Jan. 21, 2020, it wasn’t until March when the novel coronavirus upended life for most Americans. Throughout March and April, states issued stay-at-home orders, closed schools, restricted travel, and changed election dates. Many of those policies remain in place today. Here are the…