State Legislative Tracker: Utah reconsidering firing squads

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November 24, 2014

Edited by Joel Williams
This week’s tracker includes a look at the possible return of the firing squad in Utah.

Weekly highlight

  • Ohio: On November 19, 2014, member-elect Steven Kraus (R-89) of the Ohio House of Representatives was indicted by a Ottawa County grand jury on burglary, a third-degree felony, and one count each of breaking and entering and theft, both of which are fifth-degree felonies.[1] Kraus won election in November by defeating Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern (D).[2] Kraus, an auctioneer, is charged with removing antiques, a shotgun and other items from a home on April 7, 2014. A neighbor of the house in question turned over photos to the police that showed Kraus leaving the house with the missing items.[3] James Hart, Kraus' attorney, said that the situation is a misunderstanding and that Kraus removed the items from the house at the request of the real estate agent selling the home.[1] Kraus said he only removed the items to inventory them for auction and had no intention of keeping them.[3] When the house was sold, Kraus returned the items, but the former homeowner claimed that not all of her items were returned. The real estate agent, Jenine Porter, claims that she did not give Kraus permission to remove items from the home, but only gave permission for him to take pictures of an antique car in the garage.[3] Kraus is expected to be arraigned on December 5, 2014, in the Ottawa County Common Pleas Court.[3] The charges will not impact Kraus' decision to take office in January 2015.[4] If convicted of a felony, Kraus will be removed from office and the House Republican Caucus would vote on his replacement to fill his remaining two-year term.[1]
  • Utah: The firing squad could make a comeback in Utah. With the legislature currently out of session, an interim committee met last Wednesday to consider a proposal by Rep. Paul Ray (R) to reinstate the firing squad as a secondary means of execution. The Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee voted 9-2 to approve the plan, which will go to the full legislature next year.[5] Under the plan, if the drugs needed to carry out a lethal injection, used by all states with the death penalty, cannot be procured at least 30 days before an execution, the firing squad would be used instead.[6] As Ray himself cited, the drugs needed to perform executions in this manner have become harder to find because European pharmaceutical companies and governments have objected to or restricted their sale to U.S. prisons, largely due to the fact that capital punishment is illegal in the European Union. In 2011, states flocked to the Danish company Lundbeck for its pentobarbital after Illinois-based Hospira stopped domestic production of sodium thiopental, the anesthetic which had commonly been used in executions; the Italian government blocked Hospira from importing from its Milan facility.[7][8][9]
Since then, states have experimented with different lethal combinations of drugs, known as cocktails. Lethal injection came under fire this year following the botched execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma, causing a debate over whether it was as humane as commonly accepted. Ray argued that among the "circus atmosphere" that would come from having an alternate means of execution, the firing squad is among the swiftest and least painful options.[5] Ray further told Salt Lake City's KSL-TV, "This bill just says we have a backup. Hopefully we never have to use it." Rep. Mark Wheatley (D), one of the two 'no' votes, objected to the plan as "reactionary" and "hiding behind outdated and ineffective policies.[10] The Death Penalty Information Center, which advocates against capital punishment, argues that such an execution could still be drawn out due to an inmate's movement or the shooters missing the inmate's heart entirely.[6] Due to scrutiny from the media, the Utah legislature banned the firing squad in 2004, albeit with a provision allowing it as an option for inmates who were sentenced to death before the fact or in matters where a court finds the use of a lethal drug cocktail to be unconstitutional. The firing squad was last employed in Utah in 2010 and no eligible inmates are due to face it soon with appeals still pending.[5] Oklahoma is the only other state where the firing squad is an option.[11]
  • West Virginia: Come January, 2015, the West Virginia House of Delegates will be home to the nation's youngest lawmaker: Republican Saira Blair. At just 18, Blair is more than 35 years younger than the average age of a state lawmaker. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the average age of the 7,383 state legislators nationwide is 54, which is 36 years older than the college freshman.[12] Blair gained national attention when she defeated Republican incumbent Larry Kump in the District 59 primary last May. Only 17 at the time and campaigning from her dorm room, Blair unseated Kump, who was first elected in 2010, by nearly 10 points: 54.6% to 45.4%.[12][13][14] Blair went on to trounce Layne Diehl (D) in the general election by more than 30 percentage points.[15] Her victory is one of the 17 seats the Republicans picked up during the general election to tip the majority control of the chamber from Democratic to Republican. Her victory was hailed by some as hope for political newcomers. "Ms. Blair and her victory should encourage young people and other novices, regardless of their politics, to make a run for office, even when the odds look steep," said an editorial in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette.[16]
Blair, now 18 years old, is a freshman economics major at West Virginia University. After her victory, she told Fox News that she hopes her victory will tell young Americans that it is alright to have the same views as their grandparents: "There are a lot of conservatives (my age) and I think the problem is they are afraid to be open about their views because of the way they are going to be taken for it because our generation typically tend to be looked at, to tend to be liberals."[17] The young conservative ran on a platform of pro-business, pro-gun and anti-abortion.[18] Her father, State Sen. Craig Blair (R), said his daughter surprised him when she informed him that she intended to run for the House of Delegates, but he was supportive of her campaign, which she contributed $4,000 of her own money to.[15] “Don’t be fooled by her age,” Craig Blair told Today. “People are reading way more into it. She’s got it figured out.”[12]

Sessions

Regular sessions

Current sessions capture for the week of November 24, 2014
See also: Dates of 2014 state legislative sessions
Click here to see a chart of each state's 2014 session information.

Currently 1 out of 50 state legislatures is meeting in regular session. Ohio is meeting in Skeleton Session. A Skeleton Session typically includes very short nonvoting sessions instead of regular sessions with a full chamber.[19]

The following states have adjourned their 2014 regular session:[20]

In recess

As of today, November 24, there are two state legislatures currently in recess:[21]

2014 Legislative Elections

See also: State legislative elections, 2014

A total of 87 of the 99 chambers held state legislative elections on November 4, 2014.

The 87 chambers with elections in 2014 were in 46 states. They were:

The Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico and South Carolina senates also typically hold elections in even years. However, senators are elected to 4-year terms in those states and those were not up for election again until 2016.

1,099 of the country's 1,972 state senate seats were up for re-election in November 2014, and 4,958 of the country's 5,411 state house seats were up for re-election. Altogether, 6,057 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats were up for re-election on November 4, 2014.

Election results

Heading into the 2014 elections, Republicans held a majority of state legislative chambers. Fifty-nine chambers, counting the New York State Senate and Washington State Senate, were under Republican control. (Although the New York State Senate and Washington State Senate technically had Democratic majorities, in both states a coalition arrangement between several break-away Democrats and the minority Republicans gave the Republicans effective control of those chambers.) Democrats held effective controlling majorities in 39 chambers: 18 state senates and 21 state houses. Although technically nonpartisan, the Nebraska State Senate was controlled by a Republican majority.[22]

The following table details partisan balance in all 99 chambers.

Partisan Balance of All 99 Chambers Before and After 2014 Elections
Pre-election Post-election
Legislative Chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Split balance Grey.png Democratic Party Republican Party Split balance Grey.png
State senates 18 31* 0 1 14 35[23] 0 1
State houses 21 28 0 0 16 33 0 0
Total: 39 59* 0 1 30 68 0 1

*Note: Although Democrats had numerical majorities in both the New York State Senate and Washington State Senate, coalitions gave Republicans control of those chambers.

Fourteen independent candidates were elected to state legislatures in 2014, two in state senates and twelve in state houses. Of the 218 independent candidates that ran for election in 2014, 6.4 percent won election.[24]

Primary Information

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2014 state legislative elections

The state legislative filing deadlines and primary dates were as follows:

Note: Ballot access is a complicated issue. The dates in the table below are primarily for candidates filing for access to the primary. For more detailed information about each state's qualification requirements -- including all relevant ballot access dates for the primary and general election -- click to our detailed pages in the state column.

2014 State Legislative Primary Information
State Filing Deadline Primary Date Days from Deadline to Primary
Alabama Red padlock.png 2/7/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 116
Alaska Red padlock.png 6/2/2014[25] Red padlock.png 8/19/2014 78
Arizona Red padlock.png 5/28/2014[26] Red padlock.png 8/26/2014 90
Arkansas Red padlock.png 3/3/2014[27][28] Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 78
California Red padlock.png 3/7/2014[29][30][31] Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 88
Colorado Red padlock.png 3/31/2014[32][33] Red padlock.png 6/24/2014 85
Connecticut Red padlock.png 6/10/2014[34] Red padlock.png 8/12/2014 90
Delaware Red padlock.png 7/8/2014 Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 63
Florida Red padlock.png 6/20/2014[35][36] Red padlock.png 8/26/2014 67
Georgia Red padlock.png 3/7/2014 Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 74
Hawaii Red padlock.png 6/3/2014[37] Red padlock.png 8/9/2014 67
Idaho Red padlock.png 3/14/2014 Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 78
Illinois Red padlock.png 12/2/2013 Red padlock.png 3/18/2014 106
Indiana Red padlock.png 2/7/2014 Red padlock.png 5/6/2014 88
Iowa Red padlock.png 3/14/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 81
Kansas Red padlock.png 6/2/2014 Red padlock.png 8/5/2014 65
Kentucky Red padlock.png 1/28/2014[38][39] Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 112
Maine Red padlock.png 3/17/2014[40] Red padlock.png 6/10/2014 85
Maryland Red padlock.png 2/25/2014[41] Red padlock.png 6/24/2014 119
Massachusetts Red padlock.png 6/3/2014[42] Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 98
Michigan Red padlock.png 4/22/2014 Red padlock.png 8/5/2014 105
Minnesota Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 Red padlock.png 8/12/2014 70
Missouri Red padlock.png 3/25/2014 Red padlock.png 8/5/2014 133
Montana Red padlock.png 3/10/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 85
Nebraska Red padlock.png 3/3/2014[43] Red padlock.png 5/13/2014 85
Nevada Red padlock.png 3/14/2014 Red padlock.png 6/10/2014 88
New Hampshire Red padlock.png 6/13/2014 Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 88
New Mexico Red padlock.png 2/4/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 119
New York Red padlock.png 7/10/2014 Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 61
North Carolina Red padlock.png 2/28/2014 Red padlock.png 5/6/2014 67
North Dakota Red padlock.png 4/7/2014 Red padlock.png 6/10/2014 64
Ohio Red padlock.png 2/5/2014 Red padlock.png 5/6/2014 90
Oklahoma Red padlock.png 4/11/2014 Red padlock.png 6/24/2014 74
Oregon Red padlock.png 3/11/2014 Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 70
Pennsylvania Red padlock.png 3/11/2014 Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 70
Rhode Island Red padlock.png 6/25/2014 Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 76
South Carolina Red padlock.png 3/30/2014 Red padlock.png 6/10/2014 72
South Dakota Red padlock.png 3/25/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 70
Tennessee Red padlock.png 4/3/2014 Red padlock.png 8/7/2014 126
Texas Red padlock.png 12/9/2013 Red padlock.png 3/4/2014 85
Utah Red padlock.png 3/20/2014 Red padlock.png 6/24/2014 96
Vermont Red padlock.png 6/12/2014 Red padlock.png 8/26/2014 75
Washington Red padlock.png 5/17/2014 Red padlock.png 8/5/2014 80
West Virginia Red padlock.png 1/25/2014 Red padlock.png 5/13/2014 108
Wisconsin Red padlock.png 6/2/2014 Red padlock.png 8/12/2014 71
Wyoming Red padlock.png 5/30/2014 Red padlock.png 8/19/2014 81


Special Elections

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See also: State legislative special elections, 2014

There are no special elections scheduled this week. The next special election will take place on December 6 in Texas.

Looking ahead

Upcoming special elections include:

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Toledo Blade, "New Ohio legislator indicted for burglary," November 20, 2014
  2. ↑ WOSU, "Ohio Lawmaker Indicted On Burglary, Theft Charges," November 20, 2014
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Times-Recorder, "State. Rep.-elect Kraus indicted on 3 felony counts," November 20, 2014
  4. ↑ Toledo Blade, "Incoming Ohio state representative indicted on 3 charges," November 19, 2014
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Salt Lake Tribune, "Firing squad executions back on the table in Utah Legislature," November 19, 2014
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Associated Press, "Utah Revives Plan for Executions by Firing Squad," November 19, 2014
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named stl
  8. ↑ The New York Times, "Danish Company Blocks Sale of Drug for U.S. Executions," July 11, 2011
  9. ↑ The New York Times, "Drug Company in Cross Hairs of Death Penalty Opponents," March 30, 2011
  10. ↑ KSL-TV, "Firing squad executions could return to Utah," November 19, 2014
  11. ↑ The Washington Post, "Utah looking to bring back firing squad as method for execution because it can’t get the drugs for lethal injection," November 20, 2014
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Eun Kyung Kim, Today News, "'I don’t want it to be about my age,' says 18-year-old Saira Blair, nation's youngest state lawmaker" November 7, 2014
  13. ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate search," accessed April 30, 2014
  14. ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results," accessed June 18, 2014
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 [Kris Maher, The Wall Street Journal: Washington Voices, "West Virginia Elects America’s Youngest State Lawmaker," November 4, 2014]
  16. ↑ Editorial Board, Pittsburg Post-Gazette, "Youthful victory: A WVU student offers hope for political newcomers," November 8, 2014
  17. ↑ Leonardo Blair, The Christian Post, "'It's OK to Have The Same Views as Your Grandparents,' America's Youngest State Lawmaker Saira Blair Tells Peers," November 7, 2014
  18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named pf
  19. ↑ Cleveland.com, "Ohio's 2014 legislative calendar will be crammed with election-year politicking and backroom pleading: Thomas Suddes," December 15, 2013
  20. ↑ Stateside Associates, " Session Calendar 2014," accessed November 24, 2014
  21. ↑ StateNet, " Daily Session Summary," accessed November 24, 2014
  22. ↑ Omaha.com, "Democrats cut into GOP lead in Nebraska Legislature," accessed May 13, 2014 (dead link)
  23. ↑ Note: West Virginia was originally tied but State Senator Daniel Hall changed from the Democratic to the Republican Party the day after the election, giving partisan control to the Republicans.
  24. ↑ ballot-access.org, "Fourteen Independent Candidates Elected to State Legislatures," November 6, 2014
  25. ↑ Alaska Statutes, "Section 15.25, Nomination of Candidates," accessed October 31, 2013
  26. ↑ Secretary of State Website, "2014 Election Important Dates," accessed November 4, 2013
  27. ↑ Running for Public Office, "A 'Plain English' Handbook for Candidates," 2012 Edition, accessed October 21, 2013 (dead link)
  28. ↑ Arkansas Code of 1987, "Title 7, Elections," accessed October 30, 2013
  29. ↑ Summary of Qualifications and Requirements for the Office of State Senator, Member of the Assembly, "June 3, 2014, Primary Election," accessed October 21, 2013
  30. ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8100-8107," accessed October 28, 2013
  31. ↑ California Secretary of State Website, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed October 21, 2013
  32. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State Website, "Major Political Parties FAQs," accessed October 31, 2013
  33. ↑ Colorado Revised Statutes, "Title 1, Elections," accessed October 31, 2013
  34. ↑ Connecticut Secretary of State Website, "Frequently Asked Questions, Nominating Papers," accessed October 31, 2013
  35. ↑ Florida Department of State Division of Elections, "2013-2014 Dates to Remember," accessed November 6, 2013
  36. ↑ 2013 Florida Statutes, "Section 99.061," accessed December 2, 2014
  37. ↑ Hawaii State Legislature, "HRS §12-6 Nomination papers: time for filing; fees", accessed May 22, 2013
  38. ↑ 2014 Kentucky Election Calendar, accessed November 12, 2013
  39. ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections "Candidate Qualifications and Filing Fees" accessed November 26, 2011
  40. ↑ Maine Secretary of State "State of Maine 2014 Candidate's Guide to Ballot Access," accessed February 11, 2014
  41. ↑ The State Board of Elections, "Candidacy," accessed November 5, 2013
  42. ↑ 2014 Massachusetts State Primary and State Election Schedule, accessed December 2, 2013
  43. ↑ Official Election Calendar for the State of Nebraska, accessed November 18, 2014
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