Archive for the ‘State Legislature News’ Category

From Governing Magazine:

Who are the players to watch in the nation’s state legislatures? No list will ever be complete, but we’re giving it our best shot in a two-part series: first the Republicans and next week, the Democrats.

We assembled the lists by seeking nominations from our network of sources in the states, as well as national experts on state legislatures. From the pool of nominees, we chose to spotlight more than a dozen legislators from each party.

In seeking nominations, we assumed that ambition was a given. We wanted to feature politicians with a long future, particularly with the possibility of winning higher office at the state or federal level.

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From Kentucky.com:

Kentucky Senate President David Williams won the Republican nomination for governor Tuesday, clearing the way for an expensive, no-holds-barred brawl with Democratic incumbent Gov. Steve Beshear in November’s general election.

“I expect it will be close and very competitive, falling over into being nasty,” said University of Kentucky political science professor Donald Gross.

Beshear will run on his record of maintaining basic services to Kentuckians during hard times while Williams will argue for a fundamental change in direction for the state, Gross said.

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From the News Tribune:

Washington’s political boundaries must change as a result of the once-a-decade remapping effort that adjusts for population shifts detected by the U.S. Census, and the public side of the job is just getting started.

The Washington State Redistricting Commission will hold the first of 17 meetings around the state this week – including a Wednesday evening public forum in Olympia at the Cherberg Building, next door to the Capitol.

“We will have maps of how things have to change,” said Cathy Cochrane, spokeswoman for the five-member citizen commission. “We want to get all the input we can by August. Then they are hoping to get a draft out for reaction in September and then make a final, proposed plan for the Legislature in early November.”

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From TimesFreePress.com:

Senators today approved Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan to limit jury awards in civil damage lawsuits.

The 21-12 vote was largely along partisan lines and followed some four hours of often contentious debate.

It caps damages for noneconomic damages like pain and suffering at $750,000. In “catastrophic” cases such as severe burns or paralysis, the cap is $1 million.

House members passed the bill earlier this week, but the Senate version must go back to the House to deal with minor changes.

Republican proponents said the business-backed bill boosts job creation by promoting more predictability for companies.

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From timesfreepress.com:

A GOP-backed bill limiting teachers’ collective bargaining rights scraped through the House Finance Committee 13-12 today, with Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell providing the tie-breaking vote.

Three Republicans joined Democrats in voting no and another abstained. They fear the bill will be changed on the House floor or in a conference committee to mirror the Senate version, already passed, which abolishes collective bargaining rights entirely.

Democrats called the bill is an “attack on teachers.”

Rep. Tommie Brown, D-Chattanooga, alluded to efforts by Republicans in other states to weaken or abolish collective bargaining by teachers or other public employees.

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From courier-journal.com:

Senate President David Williams continues to hold a commanding lead in the Republican primary for governor just days before Tuesday’s election, according to the latest Courier-Journal/WHAS11 Bluegrass Poll.

But Louisville businessman Phil Moffett has begun to chip away at Williams’ lead, going from a 3-1 disadvantage last month to a 2-1 disadvantage now.

The third candidate in the race, Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw, has picked up no additional support since last month’s Bluegrass Poll.

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Check out the latest ad released by the State Government Leadership Foundation:

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From the Washington Post:

Virginians are far more optimistic about the direction of the state than that of the nation, and they are generally pleased with the performance of most of their elected officials, according to a new poll by The Washington Post.

Fifty-two percent of adults polled think that the state is generally moving on the right course, while only 31 percent think the same about the nation, according to the newly released poll.

Even more — 62 percent — approve of the way Gov. Robert F. McDonnell is handling his job, while 26 percent disapprove.

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From SacBee:

You have to remember that the Capitol operates like Wonderland, Lewis Carroll’s fictional and nonsensical society where nothing is what it appears to be.

That’s why good news – that the state’s revenues finally appear to be moving up rather than down – may be bad news to Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature’s dominant Democrats.

For months, they’ve been pursuing the goal of raising taxes, based on an assertion that California has no other choice because revenues are so low that popular and vital services, especially education, would have to be slashed unless revenues are increased.

Specifically, Democrats want a five-year extension of some temporary sales, income and car taxes that otherwise are expiring, although they’re in disarray over how those extensions should be enacted.

However, revenues are running several billion dollars ahead of expectations, and if the trend continues, they could offset as much as a third of the $26 billion deficit that Brown originally projected for the remaining months of the 2010-11 fiscal year and all of FY 2011-12.

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