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Daily Brew: April 24, 2019

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April 24, 2019

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Today's Brew highlights state legislative seats vacancies + two regulatory cost executive orders

  
The Daily Brew

Welcome to the Wednesday, April 24 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Sixty state legislative seats have been vacated so far in 2019
  2. Idaho governor targets regulatory costs with two executive orders
  3. Californians could vote on rent control initiative in 2020

Sixty state legislative seats have been vacated so far in 2019

We write a lot about special elections in the Brew, especially at the state legislative level. But not every vacancy is filled via special election. Twenty-five states fill state legislative vacancies through special elections, 22 states fill vacancies through appointments, and three states fill vacancies through a hybrid system that uses both appointments and special elections.

  • Since the beginning of 2019, 60 state legislative seats have been vacated across the country. Twenty-two of those are currently vacant.
  • Of those 22, three will be filled through appointments and 19 will be filled through special election.
  • Thirty-eight state legislative seats that became vacant in 2019 have been filled, with 17 of those having been filled via appointment and 21 through special election.

There were no changes in partisan control of those seats that were filled by appointment. Five of the 21 seats filled through special election have seen a change in partisan control-four seats flipped from Democrat to Republican, and one seat flipped from Republican to Democrat.

The process for filling vacancies in state legislatures varies among states.



The most common reasons for a state legislator to vacate his or her seat include resignation, death, moving out of the district, being elected or appointed to a different office, or receiving a legal conviction.

So far in 2019, 53 state legislative special elections have been scheduled or held in 21 states. This includes seats vacated in 2019 and those which were vacant at the end of 2018. Between 2011 and 2018, an average of 77 special elections took place each year. The average number of special elections during odd-numbered years during that period (2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017) was 91.

As of the end of March 2019, 52% of the 7,383 state legislators nationwide are Republicans and 47% are Democrats.

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Idaho governor targets regulatory costs with two executive orders

Idaho Governor Brad Little (R) issued two executive orders earlier this year designed to reduce state regulations on businesses and individuals. He said that the orders would “help simplify Idaho state government and make it more accountable to citizens.”

The first executive order, the Licensing Freedom Act of 2019 (LFA), makes changes to the way Idaho implements and maintains occupational licenses. The LFA establishes a sunset rule that requires a regular gubernatorial review of every licensure requirement to determine whether those requirements still serve the public interest. The LFA also creates a list of sunrise factors that the governor and executive departments must consider with the legislature in order to impose new regulations on businesses, professions, or occupations.

The second executive order, called the Red Tape Reduction Act (RTRA), requires the state Division of Financial Management to submit annual reports detailing efforts to eliminate regulations and to streamline state government. In addition, the RTRA changes the procedures for proposing new rules through the 2021 fiscal year.

Under the RTRA, state agencies must submit a statement identifying the impact that a new rule would have on individuals and small businesses. In addition, agencies must name at least two existing rules to repeal or simplify or they must give reasons why existing rules cannot be simplified or removed. The orders were issued in January 2019.

This state-level requirement is similar to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13771, issued in January 2017, that required federal agencies to eliminate two old regulations for every new regulation they issue.

To read more stories about regulatory activity at both the state and federal level, subscribe to our monthly Checks and Balances newsletter.

Californians could vote on rent control initiative in 2020

California residents could vote on an initiative to expand rent control in 2020—two years after voters rejected a measure which would have overturned a 23-year old law limiting the use of rent control in the state.

The current measure, which proponents have titled the Rental Affordability Act, was submitted to the state attorney general last week. It would allow local governments to adopt rent control on housing units, except units first occupied within the last 15 years and owners of one or two residential units.

The 2018 measure, Proposition 10, would have allowed local governments to adopt rent control on any type of rental housing. It was rejected, 59 percent to 41 percent.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) co-sponsored Proposition 10, and an AHF division called Housing Is A Human Right is leading the campaign in support of the 2020 ballot initiative. Michael Weinstein, president of AHF, said in a media conference call that the 2020 campaign wished to enter into negotiations with officials and real estate representatives to avoid a ballot initiative but was prepared to work to place the initiative on the ballot.

The campaigns surrounding Proposition 10 raised a combined $96.66 million. Opponents of Proposition 10 out-raised the support campaign by about 3-to-1. The Coalition for Affordable Housing and committees allied with it raised $25.30 million in support of Proposition 10. The California Apartment Association, the California Rental Housing Association, and three additional political action committees raised a combined $71.37 million to oppose the measure. The $96.66 million raised by initiative supporters and opponents was the second-largest total of campaign contributions out of 11 California ballot measures in 2018.

The campaign for the Rental Affordability Act needs to collect 623,212 valid signatures within 180 days. Signature gathering can begin when the attorney general prepares the petition language, which has not yet occurred. In 2018, proponents of Proposition 10 spent about $5.42 per signature but fewer signatures—365,880—were required.


See also

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