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The State and Local Tap: The Volunteer State takes its turn at primary nominations

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July 27, 2018Issue No. 123

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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. To see what happened in federal politics, click here.

State Politics: The Week in Review

Ballot Measures Update

2018:

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Saturday, July 21

Utah Gov. Herbert signs online sales tax bill into law

  • Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed SB 2001. The bill requires online companies that do at least 200 sales or collect $100,000 worth of sales in Utah to collect sales tax beginning in 2019. It also ends an agreement between the state and online businesses that allowed the businesses to keep up to 18 percent of collected sales taxes.
  • According to The State, Utah was collecting about $140 million annually from voluntary agreements with online retailers like Amazon and Airbnb. Officials predict the state to generate an additional $60 million as a result of the law, much of which has been earmarked as tax breaks for local manufacturers.
  • The legislation was passed in response to the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. that ruled a retailer did not need a physical presence in a state in order to be required to collect sales tax.

Sunday, July 22

Georgia legislator appears on Sacha Baron Cohen's Who is America?, faces resignation calls

  • Georgia state Rep. Jason Spencer (R-180) appeared on an episode of Who Is America?, a television series created by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. During the episode, Cohen plays the part of an Israeli military expert and has Spencer participate in what Cohen told the legislator was a counterterrorism video. During this exchange, Spencer pulled down his pants and yelled racial slurs before attacking a dummy wearing a black hijab with a knife.
  • Shortly following the show's airing, House Speaker David Ralston (R) called on Spencer to resign, saying, "Representative Spencer has disgraced himself and should resign immediately. Georgia is better than this." Gov. Nathan Deal (R) said, "There is no excuse for this type of behavior, ever, and I am saddened and disgusted by it." Gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp (R) removed Spencer from his list of endorsements for governor and called on Spencer to apologize.
  • Spencer said he would not resign, and that the producers of the show took advantage of him. "Sacha Baron Cohen and his associates took advantage of my paralyzing fear that my family would be attacked," he said, adding that he was not given the chance to have final approval over what would air. He called the media company's behavior "deceptive and fraudulent" and apologized for the episode.

Monday, July 23

Massachusetts lawmakers approve bill repealing 173-year-old state law banning abortions

  • The Massachusetts General Court approved a bill to repeal the state's 173-year-old abortion ban and allow women to access an abortion regardless of federal abortion laws. Abortion is already legal in the state but legislators expressed concern that Roe v. Wade could be overturned following the retirement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
  • Critics of the bill said it was unnecessary. C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League, said the bill was "an exercise in posturing and pandering. We're a very long way from overturning Roe v Wade." Supporters of the bill disagreed. Rebecca Hart Holder, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, told TIME that she believed the right to obtain an abortion is never guaranteed. "The reality is any state can have a threat to abortion care," she said.
  • Massachusetts was the first state to pass legislation to maintain legal abortion in the state if Roe v. Wade was overturned. Other states, including New Mexico and New York, planned on considering similar measures.

Ethics commission initiative first to be certified for the 2018 North Dakota ballot

  • The first measure certified for North Dakota's 2018 ballot would establish an ethics commission, ban foreign political contributions, and enact provisions related to lobbying and conflicts of interest.
  • North Dakota's Secretary of State announced that proponents had submitted 36,849 valid signatures, more than the required 26,904.
  • The initiative would do the following:
    • establish a five-member ethics commission with members selected through agreement by the governor, the leader of the majority party in the state Senate, and the leader of the minority party in the state Senate and with authority to make ethics- and elections-related rules for lobbyists, all public officials, and candidates for public office;
    • ban political contributions from foreign government entities, foreign individuals, and foreign corporations;
    • create restrictions on lobbyists;
    • create provisions designed to prevent conflicts of interest for government officials; and
    • require campaign finance information to be publicly accessible.
  • North Dakotans for Public Integrity is sponsoring the initiative. The largest donor to the North Dakotans for Public Integrity committee is Represent.Us.
  • Currently, 39 states have an independent ethics commission with authority over the state legislature. Seven states have an ethics commission without authority over the state legislature. Six states have no independent commission; with four of these relying on legislative ethics committees. North Dakota and Wyoming do not have an ethics commission or an ethics committee within the legislature.
  • Voters will be considering ballot initiatives addressing election policy in 10 states in 2018, including an initiative to create an accountability board and restrict campaign finance and lobbying in South Dakota.
  • Signatures were submitted for three other initiatives in North Dakota before the 2018 signature deadline on July 9: a marijuana legalization initiative, an initiative regarding resident and citizen requirements for voters, and an initiative to establish free access to state parks and personalized license plates for volunteer emergency responders.

Ohio voters will decide initiative to reduce punishments for drug possession and use

  • An initiative designed to reduce punishments for possessing, buying, or using drugs will be on the general election ballot in November in Ohio as Issue 1. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced the certification of the ballot initiative on Monday, reporting that 351,095 signatures were valid, more than the required 306,591.
  • The ballot initiative would also impact policies regarding probation violations and sentencing credits. Courts would be prohibited from ordering that persons on probation for felonies be sent to prison for non-criminal probation violations. The ballot initiative would require the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) to grant an inmate a half-day of sentence credits for each day that the person participated in rehabilitative, work, or educational programs. State funds saved due to a reduction of inmates, resulting from the initiative's implementation, must be spent on programs for substance abuse treatment, crime victims, probation, graduated responses, and rehabilitation.
  • The Ohio Safe and Healthy Communities Campaign is leading the campaign in support of the ballot initiative. The campaign is a coalition of organizations including the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Ohio Justice & Policy Center, and Alliance for Safety and Justice. The Open Society Policy Center (OSPC) has provided $1 million to the campaign, according to their own disclosure of lobbying activities. Ohio ballot measure PACs will report contributions and expenditures on July 31, 2018.
  • There was no organized opposition campaign against Issue 1 as of the certification date. Paul Pfeifer, a retired justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, announced his opposition to the ballot initiative.
  • Ohio is one of three states with ballot measures to change criminal justice policies affecting felons or ex-felons in 2018. The others are Florida and Louisiana.
  • Issue 1 was one of two ballot initiatives for which signatures were filed in Ohio for a spot on the 2018 general election ballot. The other initiative, which would limit the revenue of dialysis clinics, fell short 9,511 valid signatures. Ohio law provides the campaign with 10 additional days—until August 2, 2018—to attempt to collect the needed signatures.

Oklahoma voters to decide amendment to allow optometrists and opticians to practice in retail locations

  • An initiated constitutional amendment providing optometrists and opticians a constitutional right to practice within retail establishments was certified for the Oklahoma ballot. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin announed that the initiative petition contained 249,451 valid signatures, more than double the required 123,725.
  • Oklahomans for Consumer Freedom is leading the campaign in support of this initiative. The measure is being supported by Walmart. Currently, Walmart operates Vision Centers in every state except Rhode Island, Delaware, and Oklahoma, where they are legally prohibited from doing so.
  • This initiative was the first to be certified for the November 2018 ballot in Oklahoma. It joins four legislatively referred constitutional amendments on the ballot. Oklahoma voters approved a medical marijuana initiative—State Question 788—in June.
  • A medical marijuana initiative and recreational marijuana initiative were also filed for the 2018 cycle. Both were designed to amend the state constitution, while the June initiative changed state statute. Signatures for these initiatives must be submitted by August 8 for the initiatives to qualify for the 2018 ballot.

Tuesday, July 24

Georgia primary runoff review

Brian Kemp wins Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary

  • Secretary of State Brian Kemp defeated Lieutenant Gov. Casey Cagle in the Georgia gubernatorial Republican primary runoff. He will face former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D) in the general election. Kemp beat Cagle 69.5 percent to 30.5 percent percent.
  • Boosted by an endorsement from President Donald Trump, Kemp improved on his performance in the May 22 Republican primary, where he finished second with 25.5 percent. Cagle was the top vote getter in the May 22 primary, capturing 39.0 percent. He is the first candidate in a top-of-the-ticket statewide Georgia runoff since at least 2010 to receive fewer votes in the runoff than in the general primary.
  • Prior to Trump’s endorsement of Kemp on July 18, polls showed a close race between the two. The candidates attacked each other throughout the runoff, with Kemp saying Cagle was corrupt and Cagle arguing Kemp was incompetent. In early June, Clay Tippins, one of the Republican candidates who did not advance from the May 22 primary, released a secret recording where Cagle said he backed a school choice bill in the 2018 legislative session to prevent a pro-school choice group from supporting Hunter Hill, another Republican candidate who competed on May 22. Tippins and Hill both endorsed Kemp.
  • Cagle outraised Kemp $10.5 million to $4.5 million during the campaign and had the support of the super PAC Changing Georgia’s Future, which spent at least $1.5 million airing television ads. Kemp was supported by A Better Georgia PAC, which spent at least $200,000 running ads opposing Cagle.

Georgia Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary runoff too close to call

  • With 100 percent of precincts reporting, state Rep. Geoff Duncan (R) led state Sen. David Shafer (R) by 1,730 votes in the Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary runoff in Georgia, 50.2 percent to 49.8 percent.
  • Shafer, who has not conceded the race, said in a statement on Wednesday that he was investigating how many provisional ballots were cast in the election.
  • Under Georgia law, a candidate may request a recount if the margin of victory in an election is less than 1 percent.

Federal judge bars enforcement of Florida rule prohibiting early voting on college campuses

  • A federal judge barred enforcement of a Florida rule, established by the secretary of state in 2014, prohibiting the use of college campus sites as early voting locations. Judge Mark E. Walker, appointed by President Barack Obama (D) in 2012 to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, wrote the following in his order: "Simply put, Defendant's Opinion [i.e., Florida's rule barring early voting on college campuses] reveals a stark pattern of discrimination. It is unexplainable on grounds other than age because it bears so heavily on younger voters than all other voters. Defendant's stated interests for the Opinion (following state law, avoiding parking issues, and minimizing on-campus disruption) reek of pretext. While the Opinion does not identify college students by name, its target population is unambiguous and its effects are lopsided. The Opinion is intentionally and facially discriminatory." Walker barred the secretary of state from enforcing the 2014 rule, though he did not order election officials to designate early voting sites on college campuses, leaving such action to the discretion of local officials.
    • Patricia Brigham, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, which was a plaintiff to the suit, praised Walker's decision: "This is truly a victory for the citizens of Florida, especially with so many young people motivated to vote. This is the right decision, at the right time, for our democratic process." In a statement, a spokesman for Governor Rick Scott (R) said, "Governor Scott is proud to have signed the largest expansion of early voting in the state's history. We will review this ruling." Scott's office did not indicate whether the state would appeal Walker's decision.

Wednesday, July 25

New Hampshire General Court fails to pass bill on online sales tax collection

  • A bill to implement procedures for out-of-state tax jurisdictions collecting sales taxes from New Hampshire businesses failed to pass the New Hampshire General Court. After the state Senate unanimously approved the bill, the House passed an amendment in a bipartisan 164-151 vote that removed all but one provision, which would have created a commission to study ways to protect the state's no-sales-tax advantage. The House vote surprised senators, who voted unanimously not to concur with the amendment.
  • Representative J.R. Hoell (R) said he opposed the bill because it "created a roadmap for outside states to compel our corporations to collect their taxes." Rep. Carol McGuire (R) also opposed the bill. "The New Hampshire advantage is 'no sales tax.' It is not 'only sales tax for those jurisdictions who can jump through hoops,'" she said.
  • Gov. Chris Sununu (R) criticized the House for wasting time and failing to protect the state's small businesses: "They left our state’s small businesses vulnerable to being forced to collect other state’s sales taxes."
  • Senate President Chuck Morse (R) said the General Court would revisit the legislation and hold another special session. According to New Hampshire Public Radio, it was not clear whether the governor would call for legislators to reconvene.
  • The special session convened to address state taxes in sales-tax-free New Hampshire after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. that a state could collect sales taxes from online businesses located outside of its borders selling to customers inside the state. The proposed legislation would have implemented procedures for out-of-state tax jurisdictions attempting to collect sales taxes from businesses located in New Hampshire that sell products online.

Two Montana ballot initiatives certified for the November ballot: one concerning a Medicaid Expansion extension and a tobacco tax increase and one concerning hard rock mining

  • Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton announced via Twitter that the two initiatives qualified for the November ballot. Initiative 185 would extend the expansion of Medicaid coverage in Montana and raise taxes on tobacco products to fund the expanded portion of Medicaidand dedicate a percentage of revenues to certain health-related programs. Initiative 186 would require the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to deny permits for any new hard rock mines unless the reclamation plan includes provisions to ensure that the mine will not require perpetual treatment for polluted water.
  • Initiative 185 would eliminate the expiry date of Montana's Medicaid expansion, which would otherwise end on June 30, 2019, and increase taxes on all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and all vaping products, by $2.00 per pack. It would bring the total tax on a pack of cigarettes up to $3.70. Revenue would be used to fund the expanded eligibility of Montana's Medicaid program along with other health-related programs.
  • I-185 would use a percentage of tax revenue to fund the expanded portion of Medicaid coverage and various other health-related programs, as follows:
    • Montana's expanded Medicaid program, also known as the Montana Health and Economic Livelihood Partnership (HELP) program (up to $26 million per fiscal year)
    • Smoking prevention and cessation programs (up to $3 million per fiscal year)
    • Veterans' services and suicide prevention (up to $2 million per fiscal year)
    • Home and community-based Medicaid waiver services (up to $5 million per fiscal year)
  • The Affordable Care Act of 2010 expanded eligibility for Medicaid coverage to individuals with household incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (up from 100 percent). Medicaid expansion is currently funded about 95 percent by the federal government. Federal support for the expanded coverage will decrease to 90 percent by 2020, and states will have to pay the remainder of the costs.
  • Healthy Montana is leading the campaign in support of the measure. Montanans Against Tax Hikes (MATH) is leading the campaign in opposition to the measure. According to the most recent scheduled reports, which covered through June 26, 2018, Healthy Montana had raised $932,000 and spent $765,000 while MATH raised $854,000 and spent $853,000.
  • The other initiative, Initiative 186, would require the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to deny permits for any new hard rock mines if the mine's reclamation plan does not "contain measures sufficient to prevent the pollution of water without the need for perpetual treatment." YES for Responsible Mining is leading the campaign in support of the measure. Stop I-186 is leading the campaign in opposition to the measure. According to the most recent scheduled reports, which covered through June 26, 2018, YES for Responsible Mining had raised $711,000 and spent $340,000. The top donors to the support campaign is Trout Unlimited. The opposition campaign, Stop I-186, raised $453,000 and spent $351,000. The top donor was the Montana Mining Association.


Special Elections

As of this week, 85 state legislative special elections have been scheduled or held in 25 states. Elections have been held for 21 Democratic seats and 43 Republican seats. Ten seats have flipped from Republican control to Democratic control. One seat has flipped from Democratic control to Republican control. In special elections between 2011 and 2017, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of four seats across the country each year.

  • An average of 90 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past three odd years (2013: 84, 2015: 88, 2017: 98).
  • An average of 44 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past four even years (2010: 26, 2012: 45, 2014: 40, 2016: 65).

Upcoming special elections include:

July 31

August 7

Local Politics: The Week in Review

Elections Update

Tuesday, July 24

Georgia primary runoff review

Filing deadline for school board candidates in Michigan

  • The filing deadline will pass to run in Michigan’s school board elections held on November 6, 2018. Ballotpedia will be covering a total of eight seats from three Michigan school district elections in 2018. This includes four seats on the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education, two seats on the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education, and two seats on Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education. In 2016, Michigan had an average of 2.71 candidates file per seat while the United States saw an average of 1.90 candidates per seat.

Voters in a fire district in Santa Barbara County, California, approve spending limit override measure

  • Montecito Fire Protection District voters in Santa Barbara County, California, approved Measure V2018 by a margin of 93 percent to 7 percent, renewing a gann limit override for four years to fund fire protection, rescue, and emergency medical services.
  • A gann limit, or appropriations limit, is a restriction on how much a local governmental agency is allowed to spend in a year. The gann limits for local governments in California were originally set by Proposition 4 in 1979. The result of this limit is that sometimes a government will collect more revenue than it can legally spend, forcing it to return some of the money. Article XIIIB of the California Constitution gives voters in a governmental jurisdiction the authority to override a local gann limit, allowing the jurisdiction to spend all of its revenue.
WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Here's what is happening in state and local politics this week. To see what happened in federal politics, click here.

State Politics: What's On Tap Next Week

Tuesday, July 31

Mississippi House District 77 special runoff election

  • A nonpartisan special election for District 77 of the Mississippi House of Representatives is on July 31. Hayes Patrick and Price Wallace, who were the top two vote recipients in the general election on July 10, are competing in a runoff election. They defeated Cliff Brown, Chris Purdum, and Cemper Scott in the general election. The seat became vacant in May 2018 after Andy Gipson (R) was appointed Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.

Texas Senate District 19 special election

  • A special election for District 19 of the Texas State Senate is on July 31. Pete Gallego (D), Roland Gutierrez (D), Charles Urbina Jones (D), Tomas Uresti (D), Jesse Alaniz (R), Peter Flores (R), Carlos Antonio Raymond (R), and Tony Valdivia (L) are running in the special election. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff election will follow. The election is being held to replace state Sen. Carlos Uresti (D), who resigned from office four months after he was found guilty of charges related to bribery surrounding a government contract and charges of wrongdoing.

Wednesday, August 1

Alaska filing deadline

  • The filing deadline will pass for judicial retention elections in Alaska. One seat on the state court of appeals is up for election in 2018. Judge David Mannheimer must file for retention in order to remain on the bench. The general election is on November 6, 2018.

Thursday, August 2

Tennessee primary preview

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Local Politics: What's On Tap Next Week

Monday, July 30

Jersey City school board filing deadline

  • The filing deadline will pass for the Jersey City Public Schools school board in New Jersey. Three of the nine members of the board will be up for at-large general election on November 6, 2018. The district served 30,063 students during the 2015-2016 school year.

Tuesday, July 31

Recall election in Dover, Wisconsin

  • A recall election is being held in Dover, Wisconsin, targeting Town Chairman Mario Lena. The recall effort was initiated in April 2018. Recall organizers accused Lena of acting unprofessionally and failing to represent the interests of Dover residents. Lena is facing off against former Town Supervisor Dean Larsen and current Town Supervisor Sam Stratton. If a candidate wins at least 51 percent of the vote, that candidate will win election outright. Otherwise, a runoff election will be held on August 28 between the two candidates who received the most votes.

Thursday, August 2

Tennessee primary preview

North Dakota school board recall election

  • A recall election seeking to remove three of the seven members of the Richland 44 School District school board in North Dakota will be held on August 2. Former board president and Area 3 representative Lisa Amundson, Area 1 representative Josh Mjoness, and Area 6 representative Sarah Myers were targeted for recall due to fiscal concerns, according to recall organizers. In the Area 1 recall election, Mjoness faces challengers Derek Beito and Scott Hendrickson. In Area 3, Amundson faces Amy Lehman, and Myers faces Jody Lingen and Paul Lucas in Area 6.
    • In March 2018, the school board placed Richland 44 Superintendent Tim Godfrey on paid administrative leave. The board's decision came after five male student-athletes in the district were charged with misdemeanor hazing, misdemeanor sexual assault, felonious restraint, and felony terrorizing in February 2018. In April 2018, the board voted 6-0 to accept Godfrey's resignation. High school principal Bruce Anderson and athletic director John Freeman also left their positions.
    • Amundson's petition required 70 signatures, and Mjoness' and Myers' petitions each required 40 signatures. Recall supporters had 90 days to circulate the petitions.
    • The Richland 44 recall effort is the fifth school board recall effort to make it to the ballot in 2018. Ballotpedia has covered a total of 30 school board recalls targeting 67 board members this year.

Friday, August 3

North Carolina school board filing deadline

  • The filing deadline will pass for school board seats in three of North Carolina’s largest school districts. The seats will be up for general election on November 6, 2018. The districts include Cumberland County Schools (three of nine board seats up), Gaston County Schools (five of nine board seats up), and the Wake County Public School System (two of nine board seats up). Wake County was the largest school district in the state with 157,839 students enrolled as of the 2015-2016 school year.


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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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