Archive for the ‘State Legislature News’ Category
Rainy Day Funds tough to use in some states
Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 01:37 Written by rslcpol Friday, 11 March 2011 01:05
From NewsTribune.com:
While budget deficits threaten to cripple government services across the country, a handful of states with billions of dollars socked away in “rainy day” funds for troubled financial times are discovering they can’t use that money to offset their cuts.
Amid the worst financial crisis facing states in decades, stringent rules governing the use of reserve funds have tied the hands of lawmakers in nearly a dozen states even as they consider raising taxes, slashing health and social services and shuttering education programs.
About three-fourths of states have used rainy day funds in the past three years to alleviate budget cuts, but some have had difficulty accessing the money or have shied away from doing so. They would have to repay it quickly or were worried it would hurt their bond ratings.
Tags: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Neveda, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
NY Democrats Indicted for Accepting Bribes
Last Updated on Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:50 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:50
From the New York Times:
State Senator Carl Kruger, Assemblyman William F. Boyland Jr. and an influential lobbyist were among eight people who surrendered on Thursday to face charges in a federal corruption case accusing the lawmakers of taking bribes over the course of a decade in schemes large and small, from pushing hospital mergers to extending business hours for liquor stores.
Mr. Kruger, a Democrat from Brooklyn, is accused of “receiving a stream of bribes totaling at least $1 million in exchange for taking official actions.” Among the charges in the complaint is that he shared fees paid to the lobbyist, Richard Lipsky, and then took “the very official acts in favor of which Lipsky had been paid to lobby.”
Indeed, the detailed 53-page complaint portrays Senator Kruger as a lawmaker who offered a full range of corrupt services in exchange for bribe payments, performing official acts that included sponsoring and supporting legislation, lobbying other elected officials and directing state monies for the benefit of Mr. Lipsky and the lobbyist’s clients.
Tags: New York | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
How the Wisconsin Senate Passed the Governor’s Bill
Last Updated on Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:39 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:39
From the National Review Online:
On Wednesday night, Wisconsin Senate Republicans did what most people thought impossible — they passed Governor Scott Walker’s budget-repair bill virtually intact, without having to split out controversial provisions that limited the ability for government employees to collectively bargain.
A letter Democrat Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller sent the governor today, indicating Miller’s unwillingness to further negotiate any details of the bill, was what prompted the GOP’s decision to take the bill to the floor.
“It was like, ‘I’m in the minority, and I’m going to dictate to you what your options are,’” said one GOP source about Miller’s letter. It was just three days ago that Miller had sent Fitzgerald a letter urging more negotiations, despite the fact that Governor Walker had been negotiating with at least two Democrat senators for nearly a week. “With his recent letter, it became clear that all he wanted to do was stall,” said the GOP source.
Tags: Wisconsin | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
IN: GOP Speaker Optimistic Democrats will return to work Soon
Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 01:38 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 9 March 2011 02:30
From IndyStar.com:
House Speaker Brian Bosma said this morning he is optimistic that the nearly three-week-old standoff in the Indiana House is nearing a close, now that the Democrat leader has both called and written him to discuss some of the issues.
House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, who is in Urbana, Ill., with most of the 40 House Democrats, called Bosma this morning, and sent him a letter Tuesday. While the conversations did not break any new ground, as Bauer sought clarification on how bills that passed committees but have died due to the impasse will be handled, Bosma called it a positive step.
Tags: Indiana | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
NC: GOP Looks to Override Veto of Health Care Bill
Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 01:38 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 9 March 2011 02:23
The bill aims to block part of the federal health care law that requires people to buy health insurance.
From WTVD-TV:
Republican legislators are doing what they can to find enough votes to override Governor Perdue’s veto of House Bill number 2.
The bill would block part of the federal health care law that requires people to buy health insurance or face a penalty.
Governor Perdue said she believes this is all politics at play.
“I actually continue to believe this bill is a political distraction,” Governor Perdue said. “It’s been a political distraction from the start.”
Perdue believes the issue of requiring Americans to buy health insurance or face a fine will end up in the Supreme Court.
Tags: North Carolina | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
Republican Wins Special Election in Tennessee
Last Updated on Thursday, 10 March 2011 08:22 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 9 March 2011 02:15
From the Tennessean.com:
Republican Kerry Roberts, of Robertson County, handily won the special election for Tennessee’s 18th District senate seat last night.
Roberts, who recorded a nearly two-to-one margin over Democrat Ken Wilber, said he believes the voters have spoken clearly on three issues.
“First, voters agree that job growth and economic development come through lower taxes, less government regulation, and better education,” he said in a news release. “Second, voters want a Senator who will consistently stand up for the conservative values of protecting the right to life, the right to keep and bear arms, and who believes in and supports the Constitution. And third, voters resoundingly rejected negative campaign advertising and personal attacks. We remained positive and the voters overwhelmingly responded.”
Tags: Tennessee | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
Tennessee Senate Votes to Ban Income Tax
Last Updated on Thursday, 10 March 2011 08:23 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 9 March 2011 01:40
From the City Paper:
Recalling political protests that roiled the legislature a decade ago, senators voted Wednesday to amend the Tennessee constitution to ban the state income tax.
The Senate voted 28-5 for the Republican-backed resolution. If it also passes the House by a majority in this General Assembly and then by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate in the next, it would go on the ballot for voter approval in the 2014 elections.
In 2002, a state income tax won 45 votes in the House and drew rowdy protests to the Capitol. The state Supreme Court has ruled three times — most recently in 1964 — that the constitution already prohibits an income tax. But the state attorney general issued an opinion in 1999 saying the tax was permissible. Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, said his resolution is needed to resolve the issue.
Tags: Tennessee | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
EPA’s Decision could cost Oklahoma
Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 03:03 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 8 March 2011 02:42
From NewsOn6.com:
A decision by the EPA could end up costing Oklahomans a lot of money. The EPA has rejected part of Oklahoma’s plan to clean up the air.
OG&E officials told the Oklahoma Impact Team during an investigation last year that to make the kinds of changes the federal government proposed Monday, it could increase customer’s electric bills by 20 percent.
A year ago the state presented it’s plan to reduce pollution in the state, and specifically return the Wichita mountains to it’s “natural state.”
Tags: Oklahoma | Posted under Attorney General News, State Legislature News | No Comments
State Democrat Legislators’ New Tactic: The Empty Chair
Last Updated on Friday, 4 March 2011 02:17 Written by rslcpol Friday, 4 March 2011 02:17
From The Washington Post:
Lawmaking can be a frustrating business, especially when you’re outnumbered. But some Democratic state legislators have recently embraced a simple tool to gain leverage: the empty chair.
The strategy was used to great effect this week, when two Maryland delegates did not show up at a committee meeting about a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage. Their colleagues cracked nervous jokes for 30 minutes before the session was canceled, delaying a final vote.
The tactic is still being used in spectacular fashion by Wisconsin legislators, who fled to Illinois two weeks ago to prevent a vote on a bill that would weaken public employee unions. And Democrats in Indiana who are upset about a similar issue also have decamped to Illinois, holing up at a Comfort Suites in Urbana. They work out of the breakfast nook, subsist on Subway sandwiches and donated chili dinners, and make frequent visits to the coin-op laundry.
They took umbrage this week when Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), at his wit’s end over the inability to call a quorum and get any legislation passed, accused them of trying to legislate from a hot tub in Illinois.
Posted under Dems Behaving Badly, State Legislature News | No Comments
WI: Senate Orders Missing Democrats Arrested
Last Updated on Thursday, 3 March 2011 02:31 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 3 March 2011 02:00
Democrats have until 4pm to get back to the capitol.
From Wisconsin State Journal:
Republicans voted 19-0 to give the Democrats until 4 p.m. Thursday to appear before the Senate. The 14 Democrats are believed to be in Illinois. If the senators do not return by the deadline, the Senate agreed to find them “in contempt and disorderly behavior.”
Declared Fitzgerald: “They have pushed us to the edge of a constitutional crisis.”
The Senate also voted to institute a “call of the house,” which is the mechanism used to compel senators to return to the chamber.
Tags: Wisconsin | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments