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Daily Brew: December 2, 2025
Welcome to the Tuesday, Dec. 2, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Miami becomes the 59th of the 100 most populous cities to establish mayoral term limits
- South Dakota is the latest state to indicate participation in the federal education tax credit scholarship program
- Your Giving Tuesday impact starts now!
Miami becomes the 59th of the 100 most populous cities to establish mayoral term limits
On Nov. 4, Miami, Florida, became the 59th city among the 100 most populous cities in the country to limit the terms of its mayor after the voters approved Referendum 4. Voters approved the measure 79% to 21%.
The measure establishes lifetime term limits for the mayor and city commissioners. Previously, Miami mayors and city commissioners could serve two consecutive four-year terms and could run again after a four-year break.
Currently, 59 of the top 100 most populous U.S. cities have some kind of mayoral term limit:
- In 30 cities, mayors can serve two consecutive four-year terms and then may run again after a four-year break.
- In eight cities, including Miami, mayors can serve two four-year terms.
- In seven cities, mayors can serve three consecutive four-year terms and can run again after a four-year break.
- In four cities, mayors can serve four-year terms with a 12-year lifetime limit.
- Ten cities have other term limits for mayors.
Seventeen cities have lifetime limits, and 42 cities allow mayors to run again after a specific amount of time. Among the cities with lifetime term limits:
- Mayors in eight cities can serve two four-year terms
- Mayors in five cities can serve three four-year terms
- Four cities have some other lifetime term limit
According to U.S. Term Limits nine of the ten largest cities in the U.S. impose term limits on elected municipal officials. The one city that doesn't is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. U.S. Term Limits’ website states that it "advocates for term limits at all levels of government.”
To learn more about term limits in the U.S., click here. Plus, click here and here to see our lists of statewide and local ballot measures related to term limits.
South Dakota is the latest state to indicate participation in the federal education tax credit scholarship program
On Nov. 14, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) announced that the state would participate in the U.S. school choice tax credit scholarship program, which the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) established when President Donald Trump (R) signed the bill into law in July.
This made South Dakota the seventh state to take steps regarding future participation in the program.
The U.S. school choice tax credit scholarship is a nonrefundable tax credit, allowing individuals to receive federal tax credits for donations up to $1,700 to authorized scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs). SGOs are non-profit organizations that manage contributions from donors or grants for educational scholarships.
In turn, SGOs distribute the donations to eligible families, who can use the money on a variety of private or public educational expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring services, and textbooks. In order to qualify for scholarships, students must live in households earning no more than 300% of the area's median gross income and be eligible to enroll in K-12 schools.
Individuals can lower their federal tax liability by $1 for every $1 donated to accredited SGOs. If a taxpayer donates more than $1,700, they will not receive a tax refund for the amount over $1,700. The total amount of credits the program can offer is not capped.
States must submit a list of SGOs to the U.S. Treasury to opt into the program.The U.S. Treasury must issue regulations for the program, and on Nov. 26, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice requesting comments on proposed rules implementing the program.
Seven states have taken executive or legislative action regarding participation in the program:
- North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation saying the state would participate in the program, but Gov. Josh Stein (D) vetoed the bill on Aug. 6. Stein said the legislation was unnecessary because he would opt North Carolina into the program "[o]nce the federal government issues sound guidance."
- Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) signed an executive order to signal participation in the program.
- The governors of South Dakota and Tennessee said they would participate, but had not taken official action to opt in.
- The governors of New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin said they would not participate.
Students in states that do not opt in cannot receive scholarships funded under the program, but donors in those states can still receive a federal tax credit by donating to SGOs in participating states. As enacted, the program will not affect state budgets.
As of Dec. 2, 25 states have state-level tax credit or tax scholarship programs, including South Dakota. There are several types of education tax credit programs, though they typically allow individuals and businesses to lower their tax liability by donating to scholarships that can be used at private schools or for other educational expenses.
Debates about the tax credit program revolve around whether states should opt in and how the federal regulations should be designed. Click here to learn more about those debates.
Click here to read more about the U.S. school choice tax credit scholarship program.
Your Giving Tuesday impact starts now!
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