state legislature

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Wisconsin Makes Move to Weaken Incoming Governor, AG

Legislature is controlled by Republicans; incoming governor and AG are Democrats

(Newser) - The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature has approved a sweeping package of bills weakening the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general, the AP reports. The state Assembly approved the lame-duck legislation Wednesday morning. The Wisconsin Senate did the same less than three hours earlier after lawmakers worked through most of the night....

'Fairness Formula' Could Redraw State's Voting Map

Missouri is using first-of-its-kind formula

(Newser) - The votes won't be cast for another four years, yet Democrats already appear likely to gain seats in Missouri's Republican-dominated Legislature in 2022. The reason: a one-of-its kind redistricting initiative approved by voters in the recent midterm elections. Missouri's initiative marks a new frontier in a growing...

Black Lawmaker: Gun Control Led to My Quitting

Kiah Morris reveals more about why she stepped down

(Newser) - Vermont's state legislature only had one female black lawmaker. Now, there are none—because Kiah Morris quit last month amid a rash of apparent vandalism, home invasions, and racially fueled threats. "There were individuals in the community and throughout the state that we were finding were parts of...

Lawmaker Quits Election After Daughter's Claims

Republican Jim Knoblach is accused of touching her inappropriately for years

(Newser) - A Minnesota legislator ended his reelection bid Friday amid accusations he's been inappropriately touching his daughter for years. Republican state Rep. Jim Knoblach denies allegations by his daughter, Laura Knoblach, but MPR News reveals efforts in recent years to both probe and conceal the eight-term representative's alleged behavior....

#MeToo Lawmaker Faces 'Spin the Bottle' Accusation

Staffers say there was pressure to drink in Cristina Garcia's office

(Newser) - A former aide is suing California assemblywoman and #MeToo advocate Cristina Garcia, claiming the Democrat fired him for not wanting to play "spin the bottle" in her hotel room after a night of heavy drinking at a fundraiser in 2014. David John Kernick says he was written up for...

Proposed Bill May Give Coffee Lovers the Jitters

Gasp: Oregon is weighing a coffee tax

(Newser) - Nearly 250 years after the Boston Tea Party , we could have a Salem Coffee Party on our hands. The Oregon Legislature is weighing a tax of 5 cents per pound on wholesale coffee, including coffee beans and ground coffee. KOIN reports that no revenue projection was given in House Bill...

Legislators Reject Bill to Decriminalize Adultery

Virginia legislator says it should be just a civil offense

(Newser) - A legislative panel has rejected a bill to decriminalize adultery in Virginia, one of about a dozen states where infidelity is a crime. Virginia law classifies marital infidelity as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $250. Democratic Sen. Scott Surovell of Fairfax County proposed keeping the $250 penalty but...

Florida Lawmakers to Live on $17 a Day

But only for a week as part of 'Minimum Wage Challenge'

(Newser) - At least 18 Florida lawmakers say they'll take the "Minimum Wage Challenge" this week to show the need for a minimum wage hike to $15 an hour. From Monday to Friday, each of the lawmakers, who are mostly Democrats, will live on just $17 a day—the remains...

Mich. Lawmaker Resigns After Real, Fake Affairs

Rep. Cindy Gamrat expelled an hour after Rep. Todd Courser resigned

(Newser) - At 3:12am today, Michigan state Rep. Todd Courser resigned from his seat in the legislature, though it appears he had no intention of doing so when he entered the room 14 hours earlier. The move came after two failed votes to expel Courser, 43, as well as a lengthy...

What Legislature? Alaska Gov Expands Medicaid Solo

Bill Walker hopes to have 20K enrolled in first year

(Newser) - Alaska's legislature didn't move to expand Medicaid, so Gov. Bill Walker is doing it on his own. Walker says he plans to accept $146 million in federal funds that his state has access to under the Affordable Care Act in order to cover some 42,000 residents who...

Vermont Legislature Might Have to Pick Governor

Neither candidate got threshold of 50%

(Newser) - It's one of the stranger outcomes of election night: The race for Vermont governor is so close that the state legislature might have to decide the winner, reports AP . More precisely, the state constitution stipulates that if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, lawmakers must pick...

Alabama House Speaker Charged With 23 Felonies

Mike Hubbard, 52, calls it a 'political witch hunt'

(Newser) - Alabama's house speaker dropped by the Lee County jail today, but not to glad-hand: Special agents booked him on 23 felony violations of ethics laws, AL.com reports. Mike Hubbard, 52, a powerful figure in state Republican politics, was accused of using his office to solicit items of value...

'Quarantine' Gays? Lawmaker Stands by His Book

Wyoming Rep. Troy Mader self-published nearly 30 years ago

(Newser) - Do gays demand the right to have sex with kids? Should gays who have sex be quarantined? That's what new Wyoming state legislator Troy Mader wrote in a book about AIDS nearly 30 years ago, and he still stands by at least some of it, the Casper Star-Tribune reports....

States, Sick of Waiting for Congress, Take on Privacy

Companies worry about patchwork regulations

(Newser) - It's been more than a year since the White House proposed a sweeping new set of consumer privacy regulations, and in that time Congress has done exactly nothing with it. So frustrated state legislatures are taking up the issue instead, the New York Times reports today, highlighting the efforts...

Hawaii State Senate Backs Gay Marriage

Bill heads to state House

(Newser) - In a 20-4 vote, Hawaii's state Senate has passed a bill to allow gay marriage; the bill now heads to the state House of Representatives, where the vote could be closer, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser notes. That chamber is also likely to amend the Senate's version of the bill,...

NJ Looks to Ban Gay Conversion Therapy

Would join California as only states to do so

(Newser) - California may soon have an ally in its battle against anti-gay psychological therapy. The New Jersey Assembly voted 56-14 yesterday to ban licensed therapists and social workers from pushing gay and lesbian young people to alter their sexuality, Reuters reports. The state Senate is likely to approve the measure Thursday....

20-Week Abortion Ban Moves Forward in Texas

House votes at 3:23am

(Newser) - Texas' state House has preliminarily backed a clampdown on abortions, with a 97-33 vote on a bill that most notably includes a ban on the procedure after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The mostly party-line vote came with 19 representatives absent, 18 of whom were Democrats, the Dallas Morning News notes....

Alabama About to Put Its Abortion Clinics in Jeopardy

New restrictions go to governor today

(Newser) - Alabama's state legislature has passed a bill placing tough new restrictions on abortion providers, and critics say it's intended to shut down the five clinics in the state, the New York Times reports. The bill is headed for Gov. Robert Bentley's desk today, and he's said...

Fired Florida Cop: We Don't Ticket Lawmakers

Lawsuit over dismissal alleges unspoken rule

(Newser) - Florida state trooper Charles Swindle says he was "trying to be nice" when he gave state lawmaker Charles McBurney a $10 ticket for failing to show proof of insurance, instead of one for going 87mph in a 70mph. "I'm cutting you a break on this one,"...

Mississippi Politician Dead in Apparent Suicide

State Rep. Jessica Upshaw found dead at home of former state legislator

(Newser) - Police in Mississippi are probing the death of a state lawmaker found dead at the home of a former state legislator yesterday. Rep. Jessica Upshaw, 53, was found at the home of Clint Rotenberry, dead from what police say appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports....

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