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NEWS ABOUT: state legislature

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Indiana Dems Go AWOL to Slow Labor Bill

Anti-union measure would make Indiana right-to-work state

(Newser) - As Indiana Republicans push an anti-union bill at the statehouse, Democrats are fighting tooth and nail—by staying home. Many skipped floor sessions twice yesterday; without 67 members present, the state House can't legally advance its agenda, the New York Times notes. Republicans are trying to make Indiana a... More »

Lawmaker's 3rd-Grade Kid Writes Him Letter of Protest

'Please put the budget higher, dad'

(Newser) - A North Carolina state lawmaker has received some very personal letters of protest—from his daughter and her third-grade class. GOP Rep. Mike Stone’s daughter asks him to “please put the budget higher, dad” as the state weighs education spending cuts, reports the AP . “Our school doesn’... More »

Birther Bills Pop Up in More Than a Dozen States

Debate could take center stage during election

(Newser) - Forget the evidence ; ignore the Supreme Court and Michele Bachmann . With some 45% of Republicans believing Barack Obama is foreign-born, more than 12 state legislatures have seen bills requiring candidates to prove citizenship, reports the New York Times . And Oklahoma is poised to make its measure law, calling for even... More »

Oregon Legislators Rickroll Colleagues

April Fool's Day prank goes viral

(Newser) - From Oregon, a lesson in April Fool's Day pranks, viral videos ... and bipartisanship: A group of 12 state lawmakers managed to "Rickroll" their colleagues last year, by slipping the lyrics to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" into speeches they made on the House floor.... More »

Democrats Return to Indiana

State House lawmakers end walkout after almost 6 weeks

(Newser) - Indiana's House Democrats are back after one of the longest legislature walkouts in American history. The lawmakers—who fled to Illinois last month to deny the GOP a quorum on a controversial vote—returned from an absence of nearly six weeks after Republicans agreed to shelve some anti-union measures, the... More »

States Weigh Delaying Primaries to Save Cash

Some consider switching to caucuses

(Newser) - With money tight, some states may push their presidential primaries later, or even cancel them and hold party-run caucuses instead, skipping out on the race for visitors and media attention. Resigned to the influence of states like New Hampshire and Iowa, some lawmakers are making financial concerns their priority, Politico... More »

NH Lawmaker: Send Mentally Ill to Siberia

91-year-old Martin Harty supports eugenics, fears overpopulation

(Newser) - A 91-year-old New Hampshire lawmaker said he wished America had its own Siberia to send "defective people" to. Then "the mentally ill, the retarded, people with physical disabilities and drug addictions" could "freeze to death and die and clean up the population,” state representative Martin Harty... More »

GOP Sparks Fight Over College Kids' Voting Rights

NH, Wisconsin, North Carolina could make it trickier for students to vote

(Newser) - Republican state legislators across the US are stirring up controversy with proposals to tighten voting laws in ways that would affect college kids. The Washington Post points to a particularly heated bill in New Hampshire that would bar out-of-state students from voting in their college towns. Opponents say the efforts,... More »

Alvin Greene Running for Office Again

But this time for South Carolina rep

(Newser) - Everyone’s favorite mumbling unemployed Senate candidate is jumping back in the political arena, this time running for the more attainable post of South Carolina state representative. Alvin Greene has signed up to run in the special election for state Rep. Cathy Harvin’s seat, paying his $165 entry fee... More »

A Wave of Democratic State Lawmakers Defecting to GOP

At least 13 have jumped ship so far, and there could be more

(Newser) - Democratic losses didn’t stop on Election Day: Since Nov. 2, at least 13 state lawmakers have switched over to the Republican party, the AP reports. Many of the defections took place in the South, where dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party is high. In some states, like Alabama and Louisiana,... More »

GOP Cleans Up in State Legislatures

They're well-positioned for redistricting

(Newser) - Republicans picked up about 680 seats in state legislatures Tuesday, giving them their highest number since 1928. They've flipped 19 chambers in all so far—Democrats have flipped none—including both the House and Senate in Alabama, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. For the first time since... More »

Tomorrow's Real Prize? State Legislatures

Forget Congress: It's governorships and state chambers that count

(Newser) - As tomorrow’s election looms, most are focused on which party will control next year’s Congress—but the big prize is really state legislatures, writes Nick Baumann in Mother Jones . A party that gains a “trifecta—control of the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature”—... More »

State Politics: Hotbed of Sleaze, Booze, Scandal

ABC investigation finds no shortage of sleaze at state level

(Newser) - You hear a lot more about the sleaze in Congress and governors' mansions than the sleaze at the state legislator level, but that's not because of a lack of low-down behavior, an ABC News investigation finds. Five grad students sent to cover a national convention of state legislators in Louisville,... More »

Gun Rights Gain Under Obama

Fear of backlash keeps Dems timid on 2nd amendment

(Newser) - Gun-rights advocates who feared that the Obama presidency would mean the end of the Second Amendment have instead found the political climate surprisingly friendly, the Washington Independent reports. The Supreme Court and state legislatures alike have awarded victories to pro-gun forces, and federal lawmakers are wary of rocking the boat.... More »

State Lawmaker Views Porn on Senate Floor

For like 2 seconds, but still

(Newser) - Legislative sessions are really boring affairs, so who could blame state Sen. Mike Bennett of Florida if, during an abortion debate, he decided to sneak a peak at some naked ta-tas? In this video, Sunshine State News catches Bennett doing just that, while another senator drones, “I'm against this... More »

Thousands Protest Arizona Immigration Law

'We are human,' reads marcher signs

(Newser) - Some 2,500 people marched to the state capitol yesterday to protest Arizona's new immigration law, with one speaker warning that the controversial bill has "awakened a 21st century civil rights battle." It was the third day of protest against the law, which is the first in the... More »

Okla. Aims at Gay Protection, Strips Religion, Race Instead

Hate-crimes bill cites wrong statute

(Newser) - New protection for homosexuals in federal hate-crimes laws so irked Oklahoma legislators that the state senate recently passed a measure aimed at allowing local authorities to choose not to share information with the feds on crimes the state doesn’t view as hate crimes—and “sexual orientation or gender... More »

Utah Politician Admits Nude Hot Tub Romp With Minor

Paid her $150K to hush in 25-year-old incident

(AP) - Utah's House GOP majority leader said late yesterday that he paid a woman $150,000 to keep silent about going nude "hot-tubbing" with her when she was a minor a quarter-century ago. In a shocking statement on the House floor, Kevin Garn, 55, said he paid her to keep... More »

Obama's Unpopularity Hands GOP Chance to Redraw Map

Targeting state legislatures will let Republicans control redistricting

(Newser) - President Obama's unpopularity could end up hurting the Democrats for more than a decade thanks to congressional redistricting, writes Karl Rove. Lines will be redrawn in many areas based on the US Census results, and with the GOP likely to gain plenty of seats in state legislatures this fall, it'll... More »

Special Interests Write Laws, States Fill In Blanks

Bill templating an increasingly common practice

(Newser) - There’s a decent chance your state lawmakers aren’t writing the bills they’re sponsoring—they’re pulling them off the Internet and filling in the blanks. Bill templates are becoming an increasingly common way for special interests from both sides of the political spectrum to influence local legislatures,... More »

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