Archive for the ‘State Legislature News’ Category

From Salt Lake Tribune:

The Utah Legislature voiced strong support for a “Cut, Cap and Balance” proposal in Congress that seeks to make deep cuts to federal spending and implement a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, said the amendment is needed to stop “out of control” spending by Congress that could result in “an Armageddon in fiscal policy.”

“If we don’t, as a country, manage the budget … the budget will manage us and lienholders will be our masters for generations,” Harper said.

Sponsors of the resolution wanted Utah to take the lead, hoping that other states would follow suit. It passed the Senate by a vote of 24-1 and the House by a vote of 51-12. The governor is expected to sign it when it reaches his desk.

Supporters called the passage of the resolution “pre-ratification,” signaling that Utah would ratify the specific balanced-budget amendment if it is passed by Congress — although it isn’t possible to “pre-ratify” an amendment and the body would still have to vote to approve any amendment that is passed.

The resolution was added to the agenda for Wednesday’s special session at the urging of U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who is sponsoring a balanced-budget amendment, and the language in the resolution copies his amendment.

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From Forbes:

Despite all the talk about curbing tax breaks for corporate jets and big oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the largest dollars in President Barack Obama’s proposed deficit-reducing tax hikes ($293 billion over ten years) come from limiting the value of itemized tax deductions claimed by the better off.

While it’s gotten little notice on the mainland, Obama’s birth state has just raised its taxes on the well off in much the same way. Last month, Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie signed S.B. 570, making Hawaii the first state in the nation to place a dollar cap on the itemized deductions that better off taxpayers can claim.

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From Missourian.com:

No one has questioned the need for Missouri to spend taxpayer money to help clean up debris and rebuild public facilities after the nation’s deadliest tornado in decades destroyed a wide swath of Joplin.

But some Republican officials have begun to question whether Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon is inappropriately citing the tornado as a reason to hold on to state dollars that had been due to public schools and other government programs.

At issue is a provision in the Missouri Constitution that gives governors authority to make spending cuts if — and only if — state revenues fall short of the estimates upon which the state budget was based. If times are good, the governor must follow dollar-by-dollar each of the hundreds or thousands of specific appropriations that lawmakers list in the budget. If finances are bad, the governor can hold back some or all of the money allotted for particular programs and use it to make up for shortfalls elsewhere.

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From National Journal:

MILWAUKEE—On February 11, Wisconsin’s newly minted Republican governor, Scott Walker, unveiled his budget-repair bill, a controversial proposal to curb collective bargaining for public employees, boost their pension contributions, and require a plebiscite to increase their pay above the rate of inflation. “We must take immediate action to ensure fiscal stability in our state,” Walker said that day. The following week, thousands of public employees and political activists assembled at the Wisconsin Capitol to protest, and it became clear that the governor’s path to fiscal stability would be paved with a historic level of political instability.

After the ensuing discord, nine state senators—six Republicans and three Democrats—face recall elections this summer. Ostensibly, these are referenda on the Republican agenda in Wisconsin. Democrats and liberal groups are infuriated by a plan to roll back what they see as essential protections for workers. Republicans are flummoxed by Democrats’ refusal to behave like the minority and concede that they won’t get their way in the Legislature.

But instead of a reflection on the parochial travails of Wisconsin, the recall elections have turned into referenda on the nationwide agendas of both parties. A review of demographic data, campaign ads, and advocacy groups’ efforts suggests that what was supposed to be a local affair has become a testing ground for, and possibly a harbinger of, the 2012 election. Democrats in several key districts are telling their constituents that the GOP would cut back on Medicare, per Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan; Republicans are bird-dogging the theme that Democrats, enamored of big government, simply aren’t serious about responsible accounting.

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From NewsMax.com:

No big surprise here: The union financial spigots are open for Democrats running in contentious Wisconsin recall elections this summer. In fact, 97.7 percent of the $62,625 that union political action committees have donated to recall candidates has gone to Democrats, according to a nonpartisan watchdog group, reports the La Crosse Tribune.

Three Democrats and six Republicans are facing recalls in July and August, with the Democrats on the block for trying to foil Gov. Scott Walker’s yanking collective-bargaining rights in his budget plans and Republicans, for supporting the measures.

The breakdown on the contributions comes from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonpartisan watchdog group that tracks contributions larger than $100.

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From Pilotonline.com:

The pivotal 2011 General Assembly elections are more than four months away, but Virginia Republicans already have one important advantage over their Democratic Party rivals.

Republicans have candidates running in at least 107 of the state’s 140 General Assembly districts. The GOP is well positioned to retain its comfortable majority in the House of Delegates and is mounting an all-out effort to grab control of the state Senate, where Democrats hold a fragile 22-18 majority.

Despite controlling the recent Senate redistricting process, Democrats so far have candidates in just 24 of 40 Senate districts and have no challengers for any Republican incumbents. The Democrats’ hopes of preserving a majority may rest largely on defending the districts they now represent.

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From the Wall Street Journal:

Republican House Speaker William O’Brien said he would call a special session of the Legislature, likely in the fall, seeking to override the veto by Democratic Gov. John Lynch. New Hampshire Republicans this spring passed the bill, which would allow private-sector workers to opt not to join a union or pay dues at unionized workplaces.

The bill is “needed because New Hampshire has to compete globally for jobs,” Mr. O’Brien said.

Naomi Walker, director of state government relations for the AFL-CIO, called the outcome “a victory for 2011” but said the labor federation expected to face similar fights in 2012.

Unions have fought off an unprecedented number of right-to-work proposals this spring. The skirmishes came amid a broad campaign largely led by Republicans, who won majorities in statehouses and governorships last fall and pushed for cost savings to address budget deficits.

Several states, including Wisconsin and Ohio, adopted measures limiting most public-sector unions from negotiating over benefits and boosting the amount public workers contribute for health and other benefits.

Lawmakers in about 18 states, including Missouri, Michigan and New Mexico, introduced right-to-work bills this year, saying they help attract businesses and create jobs. Some were introduced but never acted upon, others were assigned to legislative study groups and some died in committee.

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From Courant.com:

State workers, of whom I am one, are close to making a tragic mistake by rejecting the proposed concession agreement our union leaders negotiated. This would inflict significant damage on taxpayers, state workers and Connecticut’s economic future.

Despite charges that the agreement is a sweetheart deal, it isn’t. It is a meaningful effort to address major, long-term structural problems — the unfunded liabilities — in retiree health care costs and pensions. Failure to address those issues threatens their existence.

At the same time, it asks us to accept a two-year wage freeze and then modest salary increases — while having all employees contribute for 10 years to ensure their retirement health care benefits. The agreement also would gradually raise the retirement age for those retiring after 2022, except for employees qualifying under hazardous duty. Finally, the agreement asks us to participate in preventive medical care — common at major employers — that would improve our health and potentially save tens of millions of dollars.

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Check out the latest article written by RSLC President Chris Jankowski that appeared in the Daily Caller.

With record high unemployment and endless Democrat tax-and-spend plans, it is no wonder Democrat insiders are looking to conjure up good news. Early redistricting maps coming into focus from their favored states — particularly heavily gerrymandered Illinois, where Democrats surrendered any pretext of staking out the moral high ground — have Democrats boasting that they can spin straw into gold.

However, the raw numbers and political realities clearly demonstrate that Democrats have no path to a House majority in the near future. They have even less chance of reversing state-level Republican gains.

Thanks in part to the Republican State Leadership Committee’s REDMAP project, there are more state-level Republicans now than in nearly a century. These include many new majorities that will be drawing fair and legal Congressional and state legislative lines at a four-to-one advantage over Democrat-controlled states.

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From USA Today:

State legislatures across the country have passed a record number of laws this year requiring photo identification to vote, a controversial move pushed by Republicans and opposed by Democrats.

Proponents say the measures prevent vote fraud. Opponents say they are designed to stifle turnout among students, poor people and minorities, who are more likely to vote for Democrats but might lack government-issued IDs, such as driver’s licenses and passports.

Buoyed by big Republican gains in the 2010 elections, six states have enacted photo ID laws since January — Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Bills in New Hampshire and North Carolina await gubernatorial action.

The measures, all passed by Republican-controlled legislatures, could bring to 17 the number of states with photo ID requirements and come nearly 18 months before elections for Congress and the White House. Other states — including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia— have reduced the period for early voting.

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