Archive for the ‘State Legislature News’ Category

From the NY Times:

INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly a year after legislatures in Wisconsin and several other Republican-dominated states curbed the power of public sector unions, lawmakers are now turning their sights toward private sector unions, setting up what is sure to be another political storm.

The thunderclouds are gathering first here in Indiana. The leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature say that when the legislative session opens on Wednesday, their No. 1 priority will be to push through a business-friendly piece of legislation known as a right-to-work law.

If Indiana enacts such a law — and its sponsors say they have the votes — it will give new momentum to those who have previously pushed such legislation in Maine, Michigan, Missouri and other states. New Hampshire’s Republican-controlled Legislature was the last to pass a right-to-work bill in 2011, but it narrowly failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto by the Democratic governor; an Indiana law would re-energize that effort.

Read the Rest…

RSLC Launches New Ad in Virginia Chasing Down Sen. Phil Puckett’s Long Tax Hiking History

Alexandria, Va. (October 24, 2011) – Although Virginia State Senator Phillip Puckett tried to take cover from his party’s leader, he cannot hide from the fact that he sided with the liberal Democratic leadership in the Virginia Senate, failed to vote to protect Virginians from federal “cap and trade” legislation and has fought to raise gas taxes, sales taxes and income taxes.

Today, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) launched an independent expenditure ad drawing attention to this fact to clear up any misconceptions about Puckett’s record (see “Puckett’s Richmond Record” attached).

“Phillip Puckett can run from President Obama, but he can’t get away from the fact that he has been voting for tax increases since before the President was even elected,” said Ed Gillespie, RSLC Chairman, former RNC Chairman, Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia and past Chairman of Governor Bob McDonnell’s campaign in 2009. “The voters of the 38th Senate District need to send a Senator to Richmond to stand with Governor McDonnell and a low tax, pro-job growth agenda and against President Obama’s job killing cap and trade legislation.”

The ad, which begins running today, are part of the RSLC’s investment of more than $1 million in Virginia elections for the House of Delegates and State Senate. The ad will run through Election Day.

About the RSLC
The RSLC is the largest caucus of Republican state leaders and the only national organization whose mission is to elect down ballot, state-level Republican office-holders. Since 2002, the RSLC has been working to elect candidates for the office of Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State and State Legislator. The RSLC has more than 100,000 donors in all 50 states. The RSLC raised more than $30 million for the 2009-2010 cycle as part of an effort that picked up 20 legislative chambers, six Attorneys General, three Lieutenant Governors and seven Secretaries of State.

With three weeks to go, NJ GOP Committees have more cash on hand.

From PolitickerNJ:

With three weeks to go until election day, the three major Republican committees have almost $1.5 million more on hand than their Democratic counterparts, owing to nearly two to one GOP fundraising advantage during the last quarter.

According to newly released figures from the Election Law Enforcement Commission, the three major Democratic fundraising committees enter the home stretch of the election season with $985,426 on hand against $2.442 million for the Republican committees.

The overall fundraising advantage for the third quarter goes to the GOP, led by a $1.4 million haul by the Republican State Committee. Overall, the party raised $2.04 million in the quarter versus $1.18 million for the Democrats.

Year to date, the GOP committes have raised more than $4.4 million against a total take of $2.4 million for the Democrats.

Read the Rest…

From bgdailynews.com:

State Sen. David Williams, Republican gubernatorial candidate, campaigned Sunday in Bowling Green with other statewide Republican candidates, touting his plans for economic reform if elected.

Traveling extensively in the last month before the Nov. 8 general election, the Burkesville Republican and state Senate president gathered at Traditions at Lovers Lane with other Republican candidates for statewide office for a meet-and-greet session.

“Bowling Green is a place with potential beyond anyone’s expectation that we had 20 years ago,” Williams said. “With all this potential we have here, we still have great disadvantages.”

During his brief remarks, Williams advocated for overhauling the state’s tax system as a means to spur job creation, specifically mentioning the elimination of corporate and individual income taxes. Williams has come out in support of a system created by a tax commission that would be subject to a vote by the General Assembly.

Read the Rest…

Safe guess to say they don’t feel the same away about the Federal Government.

From Politico:

State governments also received good reviews compared to their federal counterparts. A solid majority, 57 percent, viewed their state governments with a “fair” or “great” amount of trust.

But while solid majorities of Americans view their state and local governments with confidence, the same cannot be said about the federal government.

Only 31 percent of individuals said they had a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in Congress. Confidence in the legislative branch has fallen precipitously from 2005, when it was as high as 62 percent. In fact, this year 69 percent of respondents said they had “not much” or no confidence at all in the legislative branch of the federal governmen

Read the Rest…

Check out RSLC Chairman Ed Gillespie on Univision:

Read the Article…

From the Daily Beast:

Conservatives yearn for a big, clarifying electoral victory in November 2012, but they’re already winning decisively whenever Americans vote with their feet—or their moving vans.

New Census numbers show citizens fleeing by the millions from liberal states and flocking in comparable numbers to bastions of right-wing sentiment. Call it the Great Political Migration.

Between 2009 and 2010 the five biggest losers in terms of “residents lost to other states” were all prominent redoubts of progressivism: California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, and New Jersey. Meanwhile, the five biggest winners in the relocation sweepstakes are all commonly identified as red states in which Republicans generally dominate local politics: Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, and Georgia. Expanding the review to a 10-year span, the biggest population gainers (in percentage terms) have been even more conservative than last year’s winners: Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Texas, in that order.

Read the Rest…

From the Washington Post:

Nearly half the the states required to draw new congressional maps before the 2012 election have done so, and Republicans and Democrats are neck-and-neck in the battle to create new districts for their side to win.

According to the Washington Post’s Redistricting Scorecard, a new proposed GOP map in Georgia that creates two winnable seats pulls Republicans about even with Democrats in the quest to create favorable new seats. In the states where we know how the maps are likely to turn out, the Post’s projections now have Republicans gaining one seat, while Democrats would keep their current number of seats.

It should be noted, of course, that much has yet to play out, including some crucial maps in Florida and New York. Florida, in particular, could determine which party wins the battle to create new seats.

Read the Rest…

From NewsOK:

OKLAHOMA wasn’t the only state after the 2010 elections to capitalize on a right turn.

An analysis in the July/August issue of State Legislatures magazine says GOP victories in the states have produced more results than the party’s takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican legislatures and governors have produced major changes on a variety of issues, including pension reform, collective bargaining, voter identification, abortion and immigration.

Nationwide, Republicans picked up more than 740 legislative seats in 2010. The number of states in which the GOP holds a majority in both legislative houses grew from 14 to 26.

Read the Rest…