Tag: State news 2023
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California voters will decide on a referendum to repeal a law governing fast-food working conditions in 2024
On Jan. 24, the California secretary of state announced that a veto referendum filed to repeal Assembly Bill 257 (AB 257) had qualified for the November 2024 ballot. AB 257 would enact the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act), which was passed along party lines and signed into law on Sept.…
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West Virginia Senate passes unemployment insurance indexing bill
The West Virginia State Senate on January 23 passed a bill 27-5 that would index the length of unemployment insurance benefits to the state’s unemployment rate. During times when the unemployment rate is below 5.5%, unemployed workers could collect a maximum of 12 weeks of benefits. For each 0.5% increase in the unemployment rate, the…
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Willie Wilson leads Chicago mayoral candidates in fundraising through 2022; Mayor Lori Lightfoot leads in spending
Willie Wilson has reported the most fundraising of all nine candidates running for mayor of Chicago, Illinois, on Feb. 28. Wilson reported raising $6.1 million. WTTW reported that $5 million was self-funded. Mayor Lori Lightfoot spent the most at $4.3 million. These figures include all reports filed through Dec. 31, 2022. Four other candidates reported…
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Oklahoma will vote on marijuana legalization in March. Ohio could follow in November
Voters in Oklahoma will decide on State Question 820, an initiative to legalize marijuana, on March 7, 2023. Voters in Ohio could decide on an initiative to legalize marijuana in Nov. 2023. Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws, which is leading the campaign in support of State Question 820, wanted the citizen-initiated measure on the ballot…
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Seattle to decide on Social Housing Developer initiative on Feb. 14
On Feb. 14, Seattle voters will decide on Initiative 135, an initiative to create the Seattle Social Housing Developer, a public development authority to own, develop, and maintain what the initiative describes as social housing. According to Initiative 135, this housing would provide publicly financed apartments that are “removed from market forces and speculation” and…
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Governor Ron DeSantis aims to ban COVID-19 mandates in Florida
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) on January 17, 2023, announced a legislative proposal to permanently ban mandates relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. He stated that the legislation would aim to “permanently protect Floridians from losing their jobs due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, protects parents’ rights, and institutes additional protections that prevent discrimination…
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Florida creates new appellate court district
A new appellate court district has been established in Florida following a November 2021 recommendation by the Florida Supreme Court to redraw the district court boundaries. In June 2022, the Florida Legislature passed HB 7027, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), to establish the court effective January 1, 2023. The Sixth District Court…
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Kentucky threatens to divest from 11 banks over ESG policies
Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball (R) on January 2 issued a statement notifying 11 banks that their environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) policies amounted to energy boycotts that harmed the state’s economy according to definitions passed into law last spring. The statement says the banks have 90 days to stop what Kentucky argues are…
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Wisconsin State Legislature sends three ballot questions to the April ballot
Wisconsin voters will be deciding on three ballot questions—two constitutional measures and one advisory question—on April 4. The constitutional measures relate to the conditions of release for an accused individual before conviction and cash bail. The two questions were referred to the ballot with the final passage of Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR 2) on…
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Results of state executive endorsements in 2022 school board elections
Ballotpedia tracked 106 endorsements of school board candidates by state executive officials and candidates in 2022. Endorsements included official statements, appearances at campaign rallies, and direct participation in campaign ads and materials. The state executives and candidates to make endorsements were: Arizona: Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R) and Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Shiry Sapir…