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Nevada Democrats try to raise taxes
Last Updated on Friday, 6 May 2011 11:23 Written by rslcpol Friday, 6 May 2011 11:23
From Las Vegas Review Journal:
Nevadans could pay more for everything from plumbing to car repairs, from legal services to yard upkeep to raise money for schools and social services under a $1.5 billion plan detailed by Democratic lawmakers Thursday.
The proposal includes a new tax on services and another on business revenue.
They would boost state general fund spending for 2011-13 by about $920 million more than the $6.1 billion budget proposal from Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval.
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Feeling under siege in states, Unions Focus Political Activity
Last Updated on Thursday, 5 May 2011 02:05 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 5 May 2011 01:29
From USA Today:
Feeling under siege in more than a dozen states, some of the nation’s largest labor groups are focusing their political activity to challenge state laws that sharply curb union rights or to oust the legislators who crafted them.
That could hurt congressional Democrats who rely heavily on organized labor for campaign money and get-out-the vote efforts. Democrats received 93% of the money union-affiliated political action committees donated to federal candidates in last year’s midterm elections, according to data collected by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.
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Rove: 2012 Electoral Math looks good for the GOP
Last Updated on Thursday, 5 May 2011 01:26 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 5 May 2011 01:26
From the Wall Street Journal:
The number 270 will come to dominate almost every waking moment for the Obama re-election high command in Chicago—as well as for their counterparts in the headquarters of the GOP nominee next year.
Two hundred seventy is the number of Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Strategists on both sides will obsess on how to cobble together enough states to reach that total.
Since the 2008 election, 18 states have experienced a change in their number of electoral votes because of the decennial census. Some (mostly red ones) have gained electoral votes and some (mostly blue) have lost electoral votes. John McCain would have closed the gap by 14 electoral votes in 2008 if the contest had been run under the 2012 Electoral College distribution.
Most states are not in play. Mr. Obama will not win Utah and Wyoming, and the Republican nominee will not carry the District of Columbia or Rhode Island. But right now 14 states (with 172 electoral votes) are up for grabs.
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WI: Leader of Recall Group Seeks Restraining Order against Democrats
Last Updated on Wednesday, 4 May 2011 01:15 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 4 May 2011 01:15
Seems that people who signed the recall petition against Democrat Senator Dave Hansen are now being harassed.
From JSonline.com:
A man who headed a recall effort against state Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the state Democratic Party from harassing people who signed or circulated petitions to recall Hansen.
David Vander Leest, the representative of the Recall Dave Hansen committee, filed his request for a TRO in Brown County on Monday. A hearing was set for May 16.
Vander Leest said some people who signed the petition have gotten as many as 10 calls from people seeking to see if they were misled into signing the petitions.
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MS Secretary of State: Redistricting Belongs in the State
Last Updated on Monday, 2 May 2011 01:22 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 May 2011 01:22
Check out the recent Letter to the Editor written by Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann:
Dear Fellow Mississippians–
As a fervent believer in State’s rights and the State Constitution, it is incomprehensible to me that the State of Mississippi would willingly toss Redistricting, such an important issue to all Mississippians, into Federal Court. Redistricting is the cornerstone of determining who represents your interests. It is key to your representation and your voice in government. Now, some individuals seek to limit your ability to have a voice in your elected leadership by pitching the responsibility to the Federal Court system in the form of a lawsuit, rather than follow a process clearly outlined in the State Constitution.
The State Constitution states, “Should the Legislature adjourn, without apportioning itself as REQUIRED hereby, the governor by proclamation shall reconvene the legislature within thirty (30) days in a special apportionment session…and it shall be the MANDATORY duty of the Legislature to adopt a joint resolution of apportionment. Should a special apportionment session not adopt a joint resolution of apportionment as REQUIRED hereby, a five-member commission consisting of the chief justice of the Supreme Court as chairman, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the speaker of the House of Representatives and president pro tempore of the Senate shall immediately convene within one hundred eighty days (180) of adjournment of such special apportionment session apportion the legislature…”
The State Constitution, the foundation of our State’s rights, provides a clear roadmap for redistricting. Legislators were elected by their fellow citizens to perform this important task every ten years following the decennial census. Legislators failed to accomplish redistricting this year, but the State Constitution gives lawmakers another year to approve new lines. Redistricting should be completed by representatives and senators elected on the STATE level by citizens of this STATE and in accordance with the State CONSTITUTION.
The NAACP v. Barbour, Hood, Hosemann, et.al, lawsuit was filed only 42 days AFTER the census was delivered to the Legislature and BEFORE the Constitutional process was exhausted. In an attempt to skew the lines in their favor, individuals sought federal intervention to place what is clearly a state issue into the hands of the United States government.
So what is a REASONABLE time for the Legislature to finish the redistricting process? Article 13, Section 254 clearly says, “The Legislature shall, at its regular session in the SECOND year following the 1980 decennial census and every ten (10) years thereafter…apportion the state in accordance with CONSTITUTION of the state and of the United States…”
What other parts of the Constitution will be IGNORED for political expediency by a group seeking advantages for their own political agenda?
When we lose the roadmap of our Government (the Constitution), we lose our direction as a State.
Sincerely, Delbert
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Democrats complain about GOP Successes
Last Updated on Monday, 2 May 2011 01:17 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 May 2011 01:15
From nwi.com:
House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, called the 2011 session that ended Friday a “complete disaster.” Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, summed it up as “the session from hell.”
The 2010 elections gave Republicans total control of the Statehouse, and they successfully pushed an agenda that includes a corporate tax cut, a bill cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood and education initiatives that critics contend devastate public schools.
“I know the people were wanting change, but I’m not sure that the changes that we have seen during this session were the changes that they wanted,” said Sen. Lindel Hume, D-Princeton. “This has been a difficult time.”
Some Democrats think the best way to approach 2012 elections is to allow the GOP agenda to backfire.
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WI Recall Elections could be on July 12th
Last Updated on Monday, 2 May 2011 04:21 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 May 2011 01:07
After a judge gave election officials more time to review the petitions, it looks like we’re going to have an interesting summer.
From laCrosseTribune.com:
A judge gave Wisconsin election officials more time Friday to review recall petitions filed in the past month against eight state senators, including Republican Dan Kapanke of La Crosse.
That means Kapanke and others will likely face special elections July 12 if the petitions are ruled sufficient, although more legal challenges could lead to further delays.
The Government Accountability Board is now scheduled to meet May 23 to rule on recall efforts against Kapanke and two other Republicans and again May 31 for the other five senators.
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Sharp lines drawn in Texas Redistricting Map Battle
Last Updated on Thursday, 28 April 2011 01:56 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 28 April 2011 01:56
From Statesman.com:
The Texas House spent hours Wednesday battling over a redistricting bill that would redraw the boundaries of the lawmakers’ districts.
The once-a-decade effort is always contentious. Lawmakers resist redrawn districts that would pit them against each other or bring tough re-election
bids, and allegations of bias and partisanship abound.
The author of the bill, House Redistricting Committee Chairman Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, noted that the debate over his proposed map of House districts is inherently personal.
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Obama Blasts Georgia Immigration Bill
Last Updated on Thursday, 28 April 2011 01:41 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 28 April 2011 01:41
From ajc.com:
President Barack Obama called Georgia’s Arizona-style immigration enforcement bill “a mistake,” possibly setting the stage for a showdown between Georgia and the federal government.
Opponents of Georgia’s House Bill 87 said they were glad to see the president weigh in against the legislation, but they want the Obama administration to go further and challenge it in court. At the same time, supporters said the state needs to act because the federal government has failed to do enough about illegal immigration.
Both sides expect the measure, which authorizes local police to investigate suspected illegal immigrants, to wind up in court. Opponents say they are drafting a lawsuit to block HB 87. Gov. Nathan Deal’s office confirmed Wednesday the governor would sign it during the first two weeks of May.
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Ohio has Third-Lowest Tax Burden for New Business Investments
Last Updated on Thursday, 28 April 2011 01:40 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 28 April 2011 01:40
From Dayton Daily News:
Only two states – Maine and Oregon – have lower tax burdens for new business investments than Ohio, according to a new study released by the Council on State Taxation, a business-backed group, in conjunction with Ernst & Young, the professional services firm.
“Competitiveness of State and Local Taxes on New Investment” found that Ohio has an effective tax rate of 4.4 percent on new investment, lower than all states and the District of Columbia, except Oregon, with a 3.8 percent rate, and Maine, with a 3.0 percent rate, the lowest nationally.
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