State Legislative Tracker: Delaware legalizes same-sex marriage
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May 13, 2013
Edited by Joel Williams
This week's tracker takes a look at a one state legalizing same-sex marriage and other interesting legislation.
Weekly highlight
Last week, Colorado ended its legislative session. Here is a brief look at issues making headlines across the country:
- Delaware: The Delaware State Senate passed a bill allowing same-sex marriage by a 12-9 vote. Governor Jack Markell signed the legislation immediately following the vote. The legislation converts civil unions into marriages starting on July 1, 2013 and recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other states.[1]
- Florida: Florida legislators eliminated the state's early primary for the 2016 presidential election. The early primary, which violates the rules of both major parties, was met with strict penalties in 2012. Originally apportioned 99 delegates to choose the Republican nominee, Florida was instead allowed to only send 12. Florida's Democrats faced even stricter restrictions, as they were barred from sending any delegates at all.[2]
- Minnesota: The Minnesota House of Representatives voted 74-60 to approve a bill that eases restrictions on absentee voting. The Minnesota State Senate is currently debating a similar bill that allows registered voters to cast absentee ballots without providing reasons. The bill also lowers the margin of victory where an automatic recount is triggered from 0.50 percent to 0.25 percent. Another element of the bill sponsored by Representative Steve Simon (DFL) delays elections from November to the following February in cases where candidates are deceased or seriously impaired.[3]
- Pennsylvania: Members in both chambers of the Pennsylvania State Legislature agreed to sponsor Gov. Tom Corbett's (R) proposed legislation to change the state's pension system. His proposal would reduce unearned pension benefits and create a 401(k)-style plan for future employees. Pennsylvania's pension system is currently $47 billion in debt, a situation Corbett hopes the new plan will help alleviate.[4]
- South Carolina: The South Carolina State Legislature held a two-hour joint session to vote in 51 trustee elections for South Carolina's public universities. Legislators voted out four incumbents on the board of South Carolina State University, and are anticipated to remove the three remaining incumbents in next year's round of elections. The school has fallen on hard times, with a multi-million dollar defecit and falling enrollment and graduation rates cause for concern amongst lawmakers.[5]
- Texas: A 102-41 vote in the Texas House of Representatives approved an easing of concealed-weapon restrictions on university campuses. The bill sponsored by Representative Allen Fletcher (R) allows concealed-weapon license holders to carry guns on public university grounds. Public universities would be allowed to opt out of the law while private colleges could opt in to the new policy. Texas is one of 22 states that prohibit concealed weapons on college campuses.[6]
Sessions
Regular sessions
- See also: Dates of 2013 state legislative sessions
- Click here to see a chart of each state's 2013 session information.
Currently 30 out of 50 state legislatures are meeting in regular session. Two states, California and Washington, are meeting in special session.
As of April 8, all states states have convened their 2013 legislative sessions.[7]
The following states have ended their regular session:[8]
- March 14: Utah
- March 16: New Mexico
- March 25: South Dakota
- March 26: Kentucky
- March 29: Georgia
- April 5: Idaho
- April 5: Mississippi
- April 8: Maryland
- April 14: West Virginia
- April 14: Alaska
- April 19: Tennessee
- April 24: Arkansas
- April 25: Montana
- April 29: Indiana
- April 29: Washington
- May 3: Florida
- May 3: Hawaii
- May 6: North Dakota
- May 9: Colorado
Special sessions
| Snapshot of State Legislatures: May 13, 2013 | |
|---|---|
| There are 7,384 Total State Legislators | |
| Total Democratic state legislators | 3,463 (46.9%) |
| Total Republican state legislators | 3,826 (51.8%) |
| There are 99 Total State Legislative Chambers | |
| Total Democratic Party-controlled chambers | 40 |
| Total Republican Party-controlled chambers | 57 |
| Total tied or nonpartisan chambers | 2 |
| 2013 Session Information | |
| Total Special Elections | 30 |
| Total Special Sessions | 3 |
There are two special sessions ongoing this week in California and Washington. The Mississippi State Legislature held a one-day special session on April 26 to approve incentives for a foreign tire maker to open a plant in the state.[9] Washington is scheduled to hold a special session starting May 13 to address a budget and other issues.[10]
California
During his State of the State address on January 24, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) called for the Legislature to hold a special session concurrent with the regular session in order to bring the state in compliance with the federal Affordable Care Act. The special session began January 28 and is expected to last for several months.[11][12]
Washington
On May 13, the Washington State Legislature reconvened for a 30-day special session to pass a budget. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) suggested that while the budget was the most important piece of legislation to pass during this special session, he wanted lawmakers to consider a number of bills that stalled during the regular legislation session, such as drunk driving and gun control laws.[13]
In recess
As of today, May 6, 1 state's session is currently in recess:
- New Hampshire - In recess from May 10 to May 22.[14]
Redistricting
State news
| Redistricting Facts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Maps submitted for vote: 138 out of 142 (97.2%)** | No votes on initial maps in the following: ME (2), MT (2) | ||
| States that have completed Congressional Maps | 42/43 (Maps ordered redrawn: TX) | ||
| States that have completed State Legislative Maps | 45/50 (Maps unfinished: ME, MT; Maps ordered redrawn: AK, KY, TX) | ||
| **With 50 states, there are 142 possible maps. 50 State Senate, 49 State House (No House in Nebraska), and 43 Congressional (7 states have 1 seat) | |||
While the great majority of states have completed their redistricting following the 2010 census, the issue still remains for a handful of states. Maine and Montana are not required to have their maps completed until 2014. Alaska, Kentucky and Texas, however, saw their maps rejected for legal reasons and will have to take up the drawing of maps once again.
Redistricting in Kentucky
- See also: Redistricting in Kentucky
Gov. Steve Beshear (D) announced that a special session to address redistricting would likely occur this fall. Beshear believes that by convening a special session, the legislature can avoid the pressure of having to pass both a budget and a redistricting plan during its 2014 special session.[15]
Redistricting in Pennsylvania
- See also: Redistricting in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's Supreme Court upheld the state legislature's redistricting plan and turned down the appeal of citizens and Democrats who challenged the redistricting plan as being politically motivated. The new maps will be in effect for Pennsylvania's 2014 state legislative elections.[16]
Redistricting in Wisconsin
- See also: Redistricting in Wisconsin
Three Wisconsin Senators have introduced legislation that would change the state's method of redistricting to reflect Iowa's model. Instead of affording state legislators control over redistricting, a nonpartisan bureau would handle the entire redistricting process.[17]
2013 Legislative Elections
- See also: State legislative elections, 2013
A total of 3 of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 5, 2013.
The 3 chambers with elections in 2013 are in 2 states. They are:
- New Jersey (Senate and General Assembly)
- Virginia (House only)
Louisiana and Mississippi also typically hold elections in odd years. However, legislators are elected to 4-year terms in those states and those will not be up for election again until 2015.
40 of the country's 1,972 state senate seats are up for re-election in November 2013, and 180 of the country's 5,411 state house seats are up for re-election. Altogether, 220 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats are up for re-election on November 5, 2013.
Signature filing deadlines
The state legislative filing deadlines are as follows:
- New Jersey:
- April 1, 2013 (Major party)
- June 4, 2013 (Independent)
Nomination petitions must contain the signatures of at least 100 voters in the legislative district. Candidates are required to disclose any criminal convictions.[18]
- Virginia:
- March 28, 2013 (Major party)
- June 11, 2013 (Independent)
Nomination petitions must contain the signatures of at least 125 qualified voters in the legislative district. Major party candidates are required to submit a primary filing fee equal to 2% of the annual salary for the office sought in effect in the year in which the candidate files. In 2013, the primary filing fee was $352.80.[19]
Primaries
The state primaries are as follows:
- New Jersey:
- June 4, 2013
- Virginia:
- June 11, 2013
Special Elections
There is one special election taking place this week in California.
California State Senate District 32
Gloria Negrete McLeod (D) was elected to the 35th Congressional District of California on November 6, 2012. A special election to fill the vacancy has been scheduled for March 12, 2013. Because no candidate received 50 percent of the vote the top two vote-getters - Norma Torres (D) and Paul Leon (R) - will meet in a runoff election on May 14.[20][21][22][23]
- May 14 Runoff candidates
Norma Torres
Paul Leon
Recent results
May 7, 2013
☑ Michigan State Senate District 27
John Gleason (D) was elected as Genesee County Clerk on November 6, 2012, and resigned from his seat in the Michigan State Senate in December. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) called for a special election to take place on May 7, which Jim Ananich won. A primary took place March 12, with Jim Ananich (D) and Robert J. Daunt (R) advancing to the May 7 general election. On March 18, the Green Party nominated Bobby Jones to run in the general election.[24][25][26][27][28][29]
General election candidates:
Links/References
- ↑ Politico, “Delaware Legalizes Gay Marriage,” May 7, 2013
- ↑ miamiherald.typepad.com, "Marco Rubio gets Florida Legislature to eliminate early primary in 2016," May 6, 2013
- ↑ The Star Tribune, “Minnesota House Sets New Election in Case of Candidate’s Death,” May 8, 2013
- ↑ newsworks.org, "Pa. House, Senate to take up Corbett plan for pension system overhaul," May 8, 2013
- ↑ islandpacket.com, "SC Lawmakers oust four S.C. State trustees," May 1, 2013
- ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, “Texas House Approves Carrying Guns on Campus,” May 7, 2013
- ↑ Stateside Associates, " Session Calendar 2013," accessed May 6, 2013
- ↑ Stateside Associates, " Session Calendar 2013," accessed May 6, 2013
- ↑ sunherald.com, "Mississippi lawmakers pass incentives for tire maker," April 26, 2013
- ↑ nwprogressive.org, "Special session to begin on May 13th; Inslee says budget negotiations will continue," April 28, 2013
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Gov. Jerry Brown calls for special session of Legislature on healthcare," January 24, 2013
- ↑ Sacramento Business Journal, " Healthcare reform special session starts," January 28, 2013
- ↑ oregonlive.com, "Washington Legislature special session: 5 things to watch," April 29, 2013
- ↑ State Scape, "Session schedules," accessed May 6, 2013
- ↑ wkms.org, "Beshear Says Redistricting Session Could Come in the Fall," May 8, 2013
- ↑ philly.com, "Pa. high court upholds redrawn legislative maps," May 8, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ doorcountydailynews.com, "Senators Introduce Nonpartisan Redistricting Plan," May 7, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Petition filing instruction sheet," accessed January 14, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "Candidacy Requirements for House of Delegates," accessed January 16, 2013
- ↑ KPCC, "Gov. Brown schedules special election for 2 vacant SoCal state Senate seats," January 7, 2013
- ↑ Champion Newspapers, "Three declare plans to seek vacated State Senate seat," November 20, 2012
- ↑ Daily Bulletin, "Six Inland Empire politicians plunge into special election for seat in state Senate," January 18, 2013
- ↑ SCPR.org, "32nd Senate District race heads to a May runoff to represent Pomona, Fontana and Ontario," March 13, 2013
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Special election needed to fill state senate seat," November 9, 2012
- ↑ WKZO, "Special Michigan Senate election scheduled," January 10, 2013
- ↑ MLive, "Seven candidates run for Flint-area state Senate seat vacated by John Gleason," January 18, 2013
- ↑ MINBCnews.com, "Rep. Jim Ananich moves forward to special election for state senate," March 12, 2013
- ↑ gp.org, "Greens Nominate Bobby Jones for 27th District State Senator," March 18, 2013
- ↑ mlive.com, "State Rep. Jim Ananich's 27th District Senate win means two more special elections for Genesee County," May 7, 2013
Looking ahead
Upcoming special elections include:
- May 14: California State Senate District 32
- May 21: Alabama House of Representatives District 97
- May 21: California State Senate District 16
- May 21: California State Assembly District 80
- May 21: Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 42
- May 21: Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 95
- May 28: Massachusetts State Senate First Suffolk District
- May 28: Mississippi House of Representatives District 95
- June 4: New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan District 4
- June 11: Florida House of Representatives District 2
- June 11: Connecticut House of Representatives District 53
See also
- State legislative elections, 2013
- 2013 state legislative calendar
- Signature requirements and deadlines for 2013 state government elections
- State legislative special elections, 2013
- State legislative recalls
Footnotes
