Last Updated on Thursday, 18 November 2010 01:31 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 18 November 2010 01:31
From Commercial Appeal:
Republicans in the state House of Representatives are likely to select the next House speaker Thursday, three weeks earlier than they had planned.
The two main candidates for speaker — Reps. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, and Beth Harwell, R-Nashville — both signed a letter and e-mailed it to their House Republican colleagues today saying they believe it’s in the caucus’s best interests to proceed with the vote Thursday rather than wait until Dec. 8.
Last Updated on Thursday, 18 November 2010 01:29 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 18 November 2010 01:29
From nola.com:
The most recent migration started even before voters went to the polls, when interim Lt. Gov. Scott Angelle bolted the Democratic Party for the GOP. Soon afterwards came word that veteran state Sen. John Alario is strongly considering making the same move. Rookie state Rep. Walker Hines, meanwhile, made his switch official. Others are rumored to be not so far behind.
The road these three are traveling was paved by a number of other Louisiana politicians over the years, from former U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin to former Gov. Buddy Roemer to current state Treasurer John Kennedy. But Angelle, Alario and Hines aren’t really following Tauzin, Roemer and Kennedy. It’s more that they’re following the voters.
What’s interesting about the latest crop of potential and actual party switchers is that none fits the stereotype of a classic conservative.
Last Updated on Thursday, 18 November 2010 01:12 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 18 November 2010 01:12
From Helenair.com:
Republicans soon to hold a historically large majority in the Montana House have picked a leader who promises a pragmatic approach to cutting spending.
House Republicans on Wednesday elected Rep. Mike Milburn of Cascade as their new speaker. Milburn represents a comparatively tempered choice next to Rep. Krayton Kerns of Laurel, who cast himself as an ardent tea party favorite.
Milburn promises to push for less spending so that taxes can be cut, and to push back against federal health care reform and wolf management.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 November 2010 02:17 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 17 November 2010 02:17
From BillingsGazette:
Top leadership spots for the 2011 legislative session appear to be already settled, except for the House Republican caucus.
In the 68-member House Republican meeting Tuesday, a contested race is set for the top job of House speaker between Reps. Krayton Kerns of Laurel and Mike Milburn of Cascade.
Kerns has described himself as the Tea Party favorite, although Milburn has said fiscal issues would be his top priority as speaker.
The House speaker appoints committees, sets the House agenda and directs the House business and usually is the House’s key negotiator with the Senate and governor’s office.
Three Republicans are vying for the House majority leader’s job. They are Reps. Duane Ankney of Colstrip and Tom McGillvray and Ken Peterson, both of Billings.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 November 2010 02:03 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 17 November 2010 02:03
from Brainerddispatch.com:
The new Republican majorities at the Minnesota Capitol applied their desire to scale back government on Tuesday by significantly cutting the number of legislative committees as they prepare to take power in January.
House Speaker-designate Kurt Zellers and incoming Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch unveiled a slimmed-down committee roster at a joint news conference, saying the new setup will make it easier for people to follow the legislative process and free lawmakers to spend more time with constituents.
Their plan establishes 24 committees in the House and 16 in the Senate, down by more than a third from a proliferation of panels under the departing Democratic leadership. Voters earlier this month overturned nearly four decades of Democratic rule in the Senate and unseated a four-year Democratic House majority.
“We have reformed government, starting with ourselves. This is what voters expect of us, this is what they demanded — that we get in there and start with ourselves first,” said Zellers, a Republican from Maple Grove.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 November 2010 01:57 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 17 November 2010 01:57
From KansasCity.com:
Kansas Attorney General-elect Derek Schmidt said he expects to bring the state into a legal challenge to the new federal health care law soon after taking office.
Schmidt told The Associated Press he believes many voters are concerned that the federal government is assuming too much power.
Schmidt, a Republican, takes office Jan. 10. He defeated Democratic Attorney General Steve Six, who said joining litigation over the health care law would not be a wise use of state resources.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 November 2010 01:53 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 17 November 2010 01:53
From Indystar.com:
Even as they celebrated their new dominance of the Indiana General Assembly, Republicans gave away a small piece of their power Tuesday, as the new House Speaker Brian Bosma said he’s naming two Democrats to head committees.
Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said it was a first in Indiana, where the election victors usually get to claim all the spoils.
It’s not, though, unprecedented nationwide. Karl Kurtz, a spokesman for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said at least two other states — Texas and Louisiana — have minority party members heading committees. It used to be more common, he said, “but as legislatures have become more partisan, it’s not in as much practice as it used to be.”
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 November 2010 01:47 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 17 November 2010 01:45
From Post-Gazette.com:
State Rep. Paul Costa faces a court hearing next week after he was cited for possessing marijuana near Heinz Field Oct. 3 at a tailgating party before a Steelers game.
Mr. Costa, D-Wilkins, was charged with prohibited acts, a misdemeanor. His attorney, Phillip DiLucente, said that Mr. Costa was accused of passing a marijuana cigarette to another man in a parking lot near Clark Bar & Grill, located in the 500 block of Martindale Street.
He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in Pittsburgh City Court on Nov. 24 at 8 a.m.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 November 2010 01:17 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 16 November 2010 01:17
From Inforum.com:
North Dakotans want property tax relief and a slowdown in recent steep spending growth, according to Republican floor leaders in the state Legislature.
Sen. Bob Stenehjem, R-Bismarck, the Senate’s majority leader, and his House counterpart, Rep. Al Carlson, R-Fargo, were re-elected Monday night without opposition to new two-year terms in their leadership posts.
Among Republican lawmakers, the only contested position was a three-way race for House speaker, won by Rep. David “Skip” Drovdal, R-Arnegard, after five ballots. Drovdal defeated Reps. Kathy Hawken, R-Fargo, and Larry Bellew, R-Minot.
It was Drovdal’s third campaign for the job, which involves presiding over the House’s floor sessions and assigning bills to committees for hearings. The House speaker serves one two-year term.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 November 2010 01:16 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 16 November 2010 01:16
From Chicago Tribune:
They lost the governor’s race and are still a minority in the General Assembly, but Illinois Republicans say voters have offered up no mandate for Democrats to raise taxes or continue “out-of-control” borrowing.
As lawmakers return to Springfield this week for their fall session, Republican leaders aren’t swaggering about their party’s overall gains in midterm elections. But neither are they conceding that Gov. Pat Quinn or his fellow Democrats in the legislature can continue to run government the way they have.
Quinn’s win won’t mean carte-blanche support for an income tax increase, they say, even though he’s advocated one for nearly two years before winning election on that pledge, claiming for his own the post he took over when Rod Blagojevich was impeached and ousted.
