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The State and Local Tap: Stay-at-home orders expire in nine states

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May 9, 2020Issue No. 206

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Week in review
On tap next week

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Here's what happened in State and local politics last week.

State Politics: The Week in Review

Ballot Measures Update

  • Seventy-eight statewide measures in 31 states have been certified for the 2020 ballot so far.
    • Nineteen of the certified measures are citizen-initiated measures. Fifty-eight are legislative referrals. One is an automatic constitutional revision commission question.
    • Three measures were on the March 3 ballot, one measure was on the April 7 ballot in Wisconsin, one measure is on the June 30 ballot in Oklahoma, two measures are on the July 14 ballot in Maine, and the remaining 71 are on the November ballot.
    • One new measure was certified for the 2020 ballot last week:
      • Maryland voters will decide a measure to allow sports betting. It was approved by the legislature in mid-March. Governor Larry Hogan (R) did not sign or veto the bill by the May 7 deadline.
    • Proponents of seven additional ballot initiatives in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Missouri submitted signatures, which are pending verification by state officials.
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Saturday, May 2

New Hampshire state representative resigns over tweet

  • Rep. Richard Komi (D) resigned from the New Hampshire House of Representatives on May 2, following a request from House Speaker Stephen Shurtleff (D) that Komi resign immediately. Shurtleff’s request was in response to a tweet that Komi posted indicating his belief that sexual assault allegations against Vice President Joe Biden, which Biden has denied, are false.
  • Komi deleted the tweet and issued an apology in his resignation letter, writing, “I am and will continue to be a supporter of victims of sexual and domestic assault. The tweets were very poorly worded and do not reflect who I am and what I stand for. I ask for the forgiveness of all who have been a victim of sexual or any other kind of assault. I in no way excuse my poor judgment on this matter and hope that every one will know that I am truly sorry for my mistakes.”
  • Komi was first elected to represent the Hillsborough 43 district in 2018. Following his resignation, at least one candidate--Amy L. Bradley (D)--has declared for the district’s Democratic primary scheduled in September.
  • For the vacancy to be filled before the general election, a town or city in the district must make a request for a special election to the governor and executive council, who then have 21 days to approve or deny the request.

Sunday, May 3

Group sponsoring Missouri Medicaid Expansion Initiative submits signatures to certify measure for November

  • May 3 was the signature deadline for 2020 initiatives in Missouri. Healthcare for Missouri, the sponsor of the Missouri Medicaid Expansion Initiative, reported submitting over 350,000 signatures to the Missouri Secretary of State on May 1. A minimum of 160,199 valid signatures are required to make the ballot. The actual requirement depends on the congressional districts in which signatures were collected. No other Missouri initiative campaigns submitted signatures by the deadline.
  • The Medicaid Expansion Initiative would amend the Missouri Constitution to require the state government to provide Medicaid for persons whose income is 133 percent of the federal poverty level or below and who are not eligible for other state insurance coverage, which would effectively increase the eligibility threshold to 138% of the federal poverty level according to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
  • Medicaid is a government program that provides subsidized medical insurance to individuals with low income, people with certain disabilities, and select other categories of individuals. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, provided for the expansion of Medicaid to cover all individuals earning a gross (pre-tax) income up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in NFIB v. Sebelius that the federal government could not withhold funds from states that refused to expand Medicaid. The ruling had the practical effect of making Medicaid expansion optional for states. As of January 2020, a total of 36 states and Washington, D.C., had expanded or voted to expand Medicaid, while 14 states had not.
  • Voters in Oklahoma will decide an initiative to expand Medicaid—State Question 802—on June 30, 2020.
  • In November 2018, voters in Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, and Utah decided ballot initiatives concerning Medicaid expansion and the funding of expanded Medicaid coverage. The measures were approved in Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah. The Montana measure, which included a tobacco tax increase, was defeated. State legislatures in Idaho and Utah later amended or partially repealed the initiatives. In January, voters in Oregon approved Measure 101, thereby upholding 2017 legislation to provide funding for the state's portion of costs for expanded Medicaid coverage through a tax on healthcare insurance and the revenue of certain hospitals.
  • Between 2013 and 2016, no statewide ballots featured measures related to Obamacare. In 2017, voters in Maine approved a ballot measure to expand Medicaid. The measure was the first citizen initiative to implement an optional provision of Obamacare.
  • There is one legislatively referred constitutional amendment certified for the November ballot in Missouri. The State Executive Term Limits Amendment would limit the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, and attorney general, along with the governor and state treasurer, to two terms of office. In Missouri, the state legislature can refer state statutes and constitutional amendments to the ballot for voter consideration during its legislative session. The 2020 legislative session was scheduled to convene on January 8, 2020, and adjourn on May 15, 2020.
  • A total of 82 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Missouri from 1996 to 2018. About 63 percent (52 of 82) of the total number of measures that appeared on Missouri ballots were approved, and about 37 percent (30 of 82) were defeated. Between 1996 and 2018, an average of seven measures appeared on the ballot in Missouri during even-numbered election years.

Monday, May 4

Stay-at-home orders expire in nine states

  • The stay-at-home orders in nine states were not extended and thus expired this week. The orders in Indiana, Kansas, and Missouri expired on May 3, in Florida and South Carolina on May 4, in Oklahoma on May 6, and in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island on May 8.
  • So far, 18 governors have ended their state's stay-at-home orders. Twelve of those states have Republican governors and six have Democratic governors. Of the 25 states where governors have not ended their state's stay-at-home orders, seven have Republican governors and 18 have Democratic governors.

New Mexico Supreme Court declines petition to compel mass release of inmates due to coronavirus outbreak

  • On May 4, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously declined a petition filed by the ACLU and the New Mexico Public Defender's office seeking to compel Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) to release at least 500 nonviolent inmates, including those over the age of 65 and those within a year of their release. The court ruled that the governor’s release of few inmates due to the coronavirus pandemic did not ignore the health and safety of the prison population.
  • On April 6, Gov. Lujan Grisham issued an order that released inmates who were convicted of nonviolent crimes and scheduled to be released within 30 days. Under that order, 33 inmates have been released. The court cited similar decisions made in Pennsylvania and Washington.
  • On April 23, The Washington Supreme Court rejected an emergency petition seeking to compel Gov. Jay Inslee (D) to order the mass release of thousands of inmates. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the plaintiffs in the case, which was filed by Columbia Legal Services, had not proved that the state failed in its duties to incarcerated individuals. The decision was not expected to affect the state’s current efforts to release certain inmate populations.
  • In Pennsylvania, on April 3, the Supreme Court declined to order inmate releases on a statewide level and directed presiding judges in each judicial district to coordinate with county correctional institutions regarding concerns around coronavirus.
  • On April 10, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced that certain inmate populations would be released temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic. Falling under consideration are nonviolent inmates due to be released within the next nine months, or vulnerable inmates with a release date less than 12 months away. The inmates would return to prison upon the expiration of the emergency to serve the remainder of their sentences. On April 15, Wolf issued temporary reprieves for the first group of inmates who were qualified under the order.

Tuesday, May 5

Federal judge approves settlement suspending witness requirement for absentee voting in Virginia's June 23 primary

  • Judge Norman Moon, of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, approved a settlement between the parties in League of Women Voters of Virginia v. Virginia State Board of Elections. As a result, the witness requirement for absentee voting in the June 23 primary was suspended.
    • Virginia is one of 26 states that have made modifications to their absentee/mail-in voting procedures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. For a complete rundown, see this article.

Wednesday, May 6

Three states close schools to in-person instruction for remainder of academic year, Montana lifts school closure order

  • The officials in New Jersey (May 4), Connecticut (May 5), and Maryland (May 6) announced that schools would remain closed to in-person instruction for the remainder of the academic year. Those closures leave Wyoming (through May 15) and Montana (reopened May 7) as the only two states to not close schools to in-person instruction through the end of the school year. The states with closed schools account for 99.4% of the nation’s public school students.
  • Schools in Montana were closed on March 16 and Gov. Steve Bullock (D) lifted the closure effective May 7. He said that the decision to reopen would be left up to public officials. Several schools with student bodies of fewer than 50 students announced that they would reopen on May 7.

State courts announce plans to resume regular operations

  • On May 6, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a “Return to Full Capacity” guide and accompanying video to assist local courts in developing plans and response cycles driven by health data and trends in order to return courts to full operations. The guide follows the release of a “Full Capacity Toolkit” on May 1 that was issued to assist courts in developing those plans to reopen. Directives include ensuring social distancing measures and personal protective equipment are in place prior to opening, as well as sanitizing common and high traffic areas. Other state supreme courts have issued similar orders and guidance for courts.
  • On the same day, the West Virginia Supreme Court issued an order and protocols regarding the resumption of operations. Under the order, in-person proceedings may resume on or after May 18. Grand jury proceedings may resume on or after June 15, and petit jury trials may commence on or after June 29. Protocols include the continued use of remote proceedings via video or teleconference where appropriate and require judicial offices and court spaces to be thoroughly disinfected prior to resuming operations.
  • In the same order issued on May 4 that extended restrictions on in-person proceedings and the suspension of jury trials through June 12, the Georgia Supreme Court encouraged courts to develop plans for resuming nonessential court operations that can be conducted through video or phone conferencing or by maintaining social distancing measures. The order also urged judges to use technology for conducting remote proceedings as an alternative to in-person. In addition, the order announced that Chief Justice Harold D. Melton would create a task force to assist courts with remote proceedings and reopening plans so that in-court proceedings could resume safely.
  • The Missouri Supreme Court issued “Operational Directives for Easing COVID-19 Restrictions on In-Person Proceedings,” to assist courts in making safe decisions on the local level regarding court operations. Directives include gateway criteria for resuming court activity or entering a new operating phase, such as having no confirmed cases in the court facility within a 14 day period. In the operating phase, directives include social distancing measures and the use of face masks by employees and the public.
  • On May 1, Arizona's COVID-19 Continuity of Court Operations During a Public Health Emergency Workgroup released a memo outlining recommendations for best practices to reopening or restarting court operations, such as maintaining health conditions when court operations resume and local transition planning and management. On the same day, Arkansas’s Supreme Court issued two memos, one for circuit courts and one for district courts, that issued guidance as courts return to in-person proceedings and jury trials following the coronavirus pandemic.

Thursday, May 7

New York extends moratorium on evictions and foreclosures through August

  • On Thursday, May 7, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures in the state would be extended an additional 60 days through August 20. Prior to the governor’s announcement, evictions and foreclosures were suspended through June 18.
  • So far, forty-one states have implemented policies related to evictions or foreclosures on either the state or local level.

Friday, May 8

Fourteen states remove coronavirus-related restrictions on certain businesses

  • This week, 14 states began removing restrictions on the operations of at least some categories of businesses. Those states were Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Among those states, seven have Democratic governors and seven have Republican governors.
  • In total, there are 36 states with business reopenings in progress. Of those states, 14 have Democratic governors and 22 have Republican governors. There are only four states that have not announced any reopening plans: Delaware, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Special Elections

Local Politics: The Week in Review

WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Here's what is happening in State and local politics this week.

State Politics: What's On Tap Next Week

Tuesday, May 12

Voters to decide Nebraska’s state executive, legislative, and municipal primaries

    • Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in the following areas:
      • Douglas County
      • Lancaster County
      • Omaha
      • Westside Community Schools
  • Candidates are competing to advance to the general election scheduled for November 3, 2020.
  • Nebraska’s primary is the ninth statewide primary to take place in the 2020 election cycle. The next primary is on May 19 in Oregon.

Friday, May 15

Filing period for state executive, legislative, and judicial candidates to end in Washington state

States in session

Twelve states—Alabama, California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Vermont—are in regular session.

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

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