Time of the Season edition

What, you thought I took this week off? Nonsense. Statehouse action takes no holidays. 

(Okay, I do, but not this week.)

Besides, there's crucial Tony the Truck Stop Tiger news. I can't make you wait for that until next week. It just wouldn't be fair. 

• Under the radar like Red October: In Florida, the trial over the state's congressional district lines continues. Plaintiffs (including the League of Women Voters and other groups) are trying to prove legislators violated the state's new Fair Districts constitutional provisions while allowing Republican consultants to conduct a "shadow" redistricting process. 
• Earlier this week, a top state GOP campaign consultant admitted  that parts of the maps he drew were submitted to the legislature and ultimately became law. The consultant claims he gave his maps to another GOP operative, and somehow maybe those maps got into the hands of a member of the FSU College Republicans, who maybe submitted them to the legislature (and got a sweet job at GOP consulting firm when he graduated)... 
• Unless the consultants were lying about the college kid and just submitted the maps themselves. Because that college kid swears he never saw any maps, man.
• In another fun wrinkle, the state Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that hundreds of pages of redistricting-related documents produced by GOP consulting firm Data Targeting, Inc. had to be shared with the plaintiffs in the case. The firm had attempted to keep those documents on the down low by claiming they contained trade secrets.
• On Thursday, the trial judge kicked the media out of the courtroom to comply with that order, and they were pissed. 
• The trial should wrap up next week. If the judge rules in favor of the plaintiffs, the state's 27 congressional districts will have to be redrawn. Whatever, no big deal.

• Remember November: Once upon a time in 2000, the Tennessee state Supreme Court found that language the state's Constitution provides women an even stronger right to obtain an abortion than the wording of the U;S. Constitution. Fourteen years later, state lawmakers are hoping voters will deprive women of those extra rights via ballot measure this November, because what makes them so special, anyway? 
• My favorite part of the new constitutional language? The part where it specifically gives legislators the right to restrict abortions required to save the life of the mother or those resulting from rape or incest. That's just awesome.

• Expiration date: Three Republican senators in North Carolina must really hate running for reelection. Last week they introduced a bill that would extend legislators' terms from two years to four and would term-limit all lawmakers to just four of those four-year terms. 
• But maybe they just fear getting burned out from so much extreme legislating. North Carolina's legislative session basically just started, but already 
• a bill legalizing fracking is on its way to the governor's desk, 
• 14 Moral Monday protesters have been arrested, and 
• lawmakers are proposing funding teacher raises by cutting almost $200 million from public schools. Oh, and teachers would have to give up their due process rights and any semblance of job security to get those raises.

• May dazed: The Michigan GOP's preemptive strike against a turnout-driving ballot measure to raise the minimum wage was victorious this week. On Tuesday night, Gov. Rick Snyder signed a Republican-sponsored measure that will bump the rate to $9.25 per hour by 2018. 
• The push to place a measure on the November ballot raising the hourly minimum wage to $10.10 continues, but the GOP move may have successfully undermined the petition drive by changing the legislative language the measure seeks to amend.

• It's spring, and love is in the air: Infamous Virginia state Senator Dick Black (R-Plastic Fetus) wrote a super-gracious thank-you note to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad back in April for saving some Christians or something. Never mind all those other folks killed in the conflict, including the 1400 or so killed by Assad's chemical weapons attack last August, or that the U.S. wants the dude gone... Just check the "yes" box if you like him back, Bashar.

• Meanwhile, in South Carolina, medically accurate information about love and related physical activities will continue to not be taught in school sex ed classes, because everyone knows that storks bring babies and a GOP state senator killed a bill that would require schools to inform their students otherwise. 
• Fun fact! South Carolina has the 11th-highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation.

• A June first: Next week's primary election in Mississippi will be the first in which the state's voter-approved constitutional voter ID requirement will be in effect. 

• Oktoberfest: In a straightforward effort to lure San Diego-based Stone Brewing Co.'s investment in a planned expansion to the Palmetto State, the South Carolina legislature has passed a measure loosening restrictions in existing beer law. The current system is some wacky three-tiered nonsense that requires most producers to sell their products through wholesalers. Hooray beer!

• A tiger for all seasons: Looks like you'll be able pay Tony the Truck Stop Tiger a visit the next time you're passing through Gross Tete, Louisiana. A bill creating a special exemption to allow truck stop owner Michael Sandlin to keep his 550-pound kitty passed out of committee on Wednesday and will be debated by the full House on Friday. The measure narrowly passed the Senate a couple of weeks ago.

Want to be #richforever? Don't become a state legislator. 

For the Week of May 29, 2014 

The following 14 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: CALIFORNIA, ILLINOIS, KANSAS, LOUISIANA, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MISSOURI, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, OHIO, RHODE ISLAND and SOUTH CAROLINA. Also meeting: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PUERTO RICO

GROUPS The Democratic Municipal Officials will hold its Advisory Board Retreat May 29-30 in Evanston, Illinois.  The Council of State Governments will hold its CSG Cybersecurity and Privacy Policy Academy May 29-31 in Washington, D.C.  The National Conference of State Legislatures will hold its Executive Committee and Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee meeting May 29-31 in Anchorage, Alaska.  CALIFORNIA May 30 is the last day for bills to be passed out of the chamber of origin, as per Joint Rule 61(b)(11).  CONNECTICUT The Common Core Task Force, established by Governor Dan Malloy (D), met May 28 to develop recommendations on how best to implement the Common Core education standards.  ILLINOIS The Senate Executive Committee met May 27-28 to discuss H.B. 3814, which creates the Minimum Wage Referendum Act.  The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn sine die May 31.

KANSAS The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn sine die May 30.  LOUISIANA The House Committee on Commerce met May 27 to hear S.B. 506, which prohibits state contractors from collecting personally identifiable information.  MINNESOTA The Board of Teaching will meet May 30 to discuss proposed rules relating to approval requirements for teacher preparation institutions and programs.  MISSOURI The House and Senate are scheduled to adjourn sine die May 30.    NEW HAMPSHIRE A conference committee met May 28 to discuss S.B. 355, which prohibits an educational institution from accessing a student or prospective student's social media account. OHIO The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee met May 27 to hear H.B. 506, which addresses emission standards for coal and natural gas electric generation units. OREGON The House Interim Committee on Energy and Environment will meet May 30 to hear informational testimony about green energy technology in public buildings.  TEXAS A primary runoff election was held May 27 to decide the Republican and Democratic races from the March 4 primaries where no candidate received a majority of votes, including the Republican primaries for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General.

via Stateside Associates, Project Vote.

Walk of Shame edition

Tuesday was a big day for primaries. While all eyes were glued to smoking hot Senate, House, and gubernatorial races in Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and the like, you might have missed out on some seriously sexy down-ballot action. And now, in the harsh light of day, maybe you wonder, Hey, did I miss out on the real deal while I was super-focused on all that top-ballot hotness?

Lucky for you, I snagged those digits. 

• Healthcare expansion hangover: In Arkansas, some voters opted to Call Those Hogs... home after they voted for the state's private option Medicaid expansion. A state Representative who voted against expansion ousted a state Senator who supported it in a primary-as-general contest between the two Republicans. 
• Meanwhile, the GOP state Representative who led the Republican push to approve the private option faces a June 10 runoff in another primary-as-general contest. 
• Fun fact! While the survival of these supporters of Medicaid expansion definitely matters, the Arkansas Senate (12 D/22 R) isn't really competitive anyway. The state House (48 D/51 R/1 G) is another matter entirely.

• So much drama at this party: Republicans in Arizona, meanwhile, are trying to sue to stop Medicaid expansion in their state.
• Well, some of them are. GOP Gov. Jan Brewer pushed expansion through the legislature with the help of Democrats and moderate Republicans. Now the expansion is an issue both in court and in this fall's elections -- and will play out even beyond as House Republicans (likely) choose among two conservatives and a moderate for Speaker next session.

• Too sexy for this map: The hottest story you might not even know exists is going down right now in Florida. For the past few months, a lawsuit over the most recent round of redistricting has been plodding slowly, un-sexily, towards trial. But that trial finally kicked off in earnest this week, and things got steamy fast. First, a witness revealed GOP consultants' efforts to get directly involved with the redistricting process. Even after evidence emerged that these political consultants obtained draft maps before they were made public, Republican state Sen. Don Gaetz insisted the gerrymandering lawmakers did nothing wrong. Also, he and his colleagues conveniently destroyed records related to redistricting.  Oops!
• The trial is expected to wrap up in June. Will Florida get re-redistricted? Stay tuned!

• Splitting the tab: In Michigan, where Senate Republicans cleverly tried to head off a voter turnout-boosting minimum wage increase ballot measure by introducing their own -- stingier -- hourly wage increase ($10.10 vs. $9.20), the situation remains... fluid. The bill sailed through the Senate last week and is currently under consideration by the state House. Word is that it'll get amended in committee tomorrow, though, so there's no telling if the substitute measure will be as palatable to all involved as the original. 

• Walk and chew gum: North Carolina House Speaker and U.S. Senate candidate Thom Tillis has his hands full trying to both run his chamber and run for office. One of his GOP lawmakers found himself booted from Republican caucus meetings (unless maybe he left on his own -- depends on who you ask) on Tuesday. Rep. Robert Brawley was known for his public disagreements with Speaker Tillis, and he allegedly had a habit of sharing caucus secrets with the wider world.
• This isn't the only struggle Tar Heel Republicans have had with meetings and openness this week. After confiscating a tape recorder during a Senate committee meeting on fracking, one lawmaker tried to claim that recording devices had to pre-approved -- which would violate the state's open meetings laws. The senator later claimed he "misspoke." The reporter got her recorder back.

• Not ready for this jelly: In 2010, Iowa Republican Rick Bertrand ran for state Senate. He won, but his opponent ran a mean TV ad that hurt his feelings, so he sued. This week, the state Supreme Court dismissed the defamation lawsuit entirely, since, while the ad insinuated some nasty things about his ties to "the most unethical drug company in the world," none of the individual statements in the ad were false. Because that's how political ads work.
• Fun fact! Bertrand is running for reelection this year. And since Obama won his SD 7 handily in 2012 (56.7%), a mean ad might be the least of his worries. 

• Let's bone: South Carolina can finally claim the Columbian Mammoth as its official state fossil. After battling weeks of creationist nonsense in the form of things like an amendment proclaiming said prehistoric beast was "created on the sixth day with the beasts of the field," the measure finally passed.

For the Week of May 21, 2014 

The following 13 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: CALIFORNIA, ILLINOIS, LOUISIANA, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, OHIO, OKLAHOMA, RHODE ISLAND and SOUTH CAROLINA. Also meeting: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PUERTO RICO

GROUPS   The National Association of Attorneys General will hold its Consumer Protection Seminar May 19-21 in Washington, D.C. The Republican Governors Association will hold its Corporate Policy Summit May 20-21 in New York City, New York.  The Republican Legislative Campaign Committee will hold its Southern Regional Meeting May 21-22 in Sea Island, Georgia. The National Association of Counties will hold its Western Interstate Region Conference May 21-23 in Anchorage, Alaska. ARKANSAS Primary elections were held May 20 for the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General, as well as House and Senate seats.  CALIFORNIA The Senate Committee on Appropriations will take up a series of measures which attempt to stem the cost of higher education and devise a system to best allocate state financial aid to both civilian and active duty students.  Youth Voting bill AB 1817 was read a second time. This bill would permit the governing board of a school district to authorize high school students who are at least 16 years of age to become a deputy registrar of voters to help register students on his or her high school campus. Voter Registration bill SB 1061 is scheduled to be heard on May 23 upon adjournment of session.This bill provides that eligible citizens who are not already registered to vote and who apply for or renew their California driver's license, driver's permit, or state ID will be registered to vote if that person provides written consent. The applicant will not be registered with party affiliation. The DMV would submit an electronic voter registration form to the appropriate elections office. CONNECTICUT The Common Core Task Force, established by Governor Dan Malloy (D), will meet May 21 to develop recommendations on how best to implement the Common Core education standards. GEORGIA Primary elections were held May 20 for the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General, as well as House and Senate seats.  IDAHO    Primary elections were held May 20 for the offices of the Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General, as well as House and Senate seats.

KANSAS Felon Voting Rights bill SB 63 was approved by the governor. This bill would impose a four-year period of voting disenfranchisement for those who commit election crimes. KENTUCKY Primary elections were held May 20 for House and Senate seats.  LOUISIANA Felon Voting Rights bill HB 283 was involuntarily deferred in committee. This bill allows a person who is on probation or parole to register and to vote. MASSACHUSETTS The Senate is expected to deliberate May 21 on S.B. 4, which is the Senate Ways and Means version of the FY 2015 budget. Omnibus election bill HB 4072 is in Conference Committee. This bill relates to early voting and voter registration. Qualified voters may apply for an early voting ballot and will be permitted to vote from the 11th business day before Election Day until the close of business on the business day before the election. This bill would permit citizens who are 16 or 17 years of age to preregister to vote. This bill requires the secretary of state to create and maintain an online portal through which a person may register to vote and verify voter registration status. NEW HAMPSHIRE Voter Registration bill HB 466 may go to Conference Committee. This bill permits voters registering at the polling place on the date of a state general election to prove qualifications by swearing to a statement on the voter registration form. Voter ID bill SB 183 was amended. This bill allows voters to use unauthorized photo voter ID as long as it is determined to be legitimate by the supervisors of the checklist. If challenged, the voter must complete a challenged voter affidavit as if no ID was presented. NEW YORK The Senate Environmental Conservation Committee met May 20 to discuss S.B. 7265, which prohibits the sale of children's nap mats that intentionally contain chemical flame retardants. OHIO The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee met May 20 to hear sponsor testimony about H.B. 506, which addresses various emission standards for power plants. The House Public Utilities Committee met May 20 to hear testimony from all interested parties about S.B. 310, which addresses renewable energy standards.  OREGON Primary elections were held May 20 for the office of the Governor, as well as House and Senate seats.  PENNSYLVANIA Primary elections were held May 20 for the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, as well as House and Senate seats.  SOUTH CAROLINA The Senate Judiciary Committee met May 20 to hear testimony about H.B. 4607, which addresses the obligations of property owners to trespassers.

via Stateside Associates, Project Vote.

School's Out! edition

If April is the cruellest month, May definitely tries super hard to compensate. 

Aside from the flowers and the warm(er) weather and the last day of school and such, statehouse action really kicks into high gear this month, what with sessions ending and beginning and primaries coming and going.

(This will not be on the exam.) 

• Political Theory 101: So two thousand late: Blaming political polarization on gerrymandering. So hot right now: Blaming political polarization on primary elections. Jungle primaries for all!

• Math problems: The progressive push for a ballot measure to raise Michigan's hourly minimum wage to $10.10 has run into a snag. Pop quiz! What's the hangup? 
• If you guessed folks were having trouble collecting the 258,000 signatures required, you flunk, no scholarship for you. Supporters already have all those signatures and are collecting more until the deadline just for padding. 
• If you guessed other proposed minimum wage increases, congratulations, you pass, you have a bright future. A couple of Republican lawmakers have introduced bills that would undermine the ballot measure by preemptively raising the wage, but just a little -- to $8.15, give or take. 
• Extra credit: Bonus points if you explained why Republicans are trying to raise the wage. This GOP push doesn't really have much to do with folks getting paid more. Republicans are actually afraid that the increased voter turnout that typically accompanies such ballot measures will benefit Democrats on Election Day. That increased turnout could help Democrats 
• keep the state's open U.S. Senate seat up this year,
• oust GOP Gov. Rick Snyder,
• and flip the five seats needed to give Democrats a majority in the state House (50 D/59 R/1 I).

• Anatomy of a ballot measure scam: As the Missouri legislative session rockets towards its end this week, state Republicans are forging ahead with their scheme to cheat citizens out of early voting via constitutional amendment. 
• It's clever, really.
1. Several months ago, an advocacy group began the process to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot allowing six weeks of early voting.
2. On April Fool's Day (seriously), a Republican lawmaker introduced a competing constitutional amendment. Not only would the GOP-supported measure limit early voting to six days and specifically exclude weekends, but it would also enshrine this limit in the state Constitution and prevent lawmakers from ever expanding the early voting period via legislation. 
3. But the whole six-weeks-versus-six-days thing isn't even the most devious part. The real kicker is that the GOP-sponsored amendment not only limits early voting to six days forevermore, but also allows lawmakers to nix early voting entirely in any given year simply by deciding to not fund it. Easy peasy.
• Fun fact! If both measures end up on the ballot and both pass, the one with the most votes will go into effect. 

• Show Me backroom dealmaking: Speaking of Missouri's last days of session, Senate Republicans quietly struck a deal with Democrats this week to pass the 72-hour abortion "waiting period" and that six-day early voting nonsense in exchange for dropping two proposed constitutional amendments requiring voter ID and banning paycheck deductions of union dues. Ugh.

• Pass/Fail: The North Carolina General Assembly has just convened for the year, and things are already off to a super-promising start. As a member of the Education Committee, state Sen. David Curtis regularly passes legislation impacting teachers, yet he utterly fails to understand the nature of their jobs or compensation, or even whether they're represented by unions in his state. Fun fact! They're not. 
• When a science teacher wrote an email to all 170 members of the General Assembly expressing her frustration with the GOP-controlled body's failure to support public school teachers, Sen. Curtis hit 'reply all' and told her that if she couldn't be satisfied with her lousy pay, she should go do something else. 
• Sen. Curtis also scolded this teacher for failing to appreciate the eight weeks of paid vacation he thinks teachers get each year, for some reason. Fun fact! They don't.

• Extra homework: Some South Carolina lawmakers got mad about a couple of colleges assigning students gay-themed college books. ("You can't run into a crowded theater and shout fire when there's no fire," opined one scandalized state representative, for some reason.) 
• In February, the state House voted to penalize these schools by stripping them of $70,000 in funding. 
• On Tuesday, the state Senate came up with a slightly more creative form of punishment: force the schools to spend about the same amount on teaching the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and the U.S. Constitution. 
• Out-of-context money quote: "This body has a hangup on sexuality and homosexuality." Heh.

• Guns + alcohol = ... Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has pledged to sign a bill allowing folks to bring loaded guns into booze-serving establishments. What could go wrong?

• Mascot update: Finally, I have big news on Louisiana's ongoing truck stop tiger debate. After failing last month in the state Senate, the bill that should allow Tony the Truck Stop Tiger to remain at the Tiger Truck Stop was reconsidered and passed yesterday. Senate Bill 250 now awaits a committee hearing in the House. 
• And since the truck stop's owner assures us that the public is "more likely to be attacked by a vending machine or a shopping cart" than by a "wild animal," no one has anything to worry about. At all. From a tiger. Behind a chain-link fence.

Also... Disappointing headline of the week: "State lawmakers will return to correct their mistakes." If only.

For the Week of May 14, 2014 

The following 17 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: CALIFORNIA, DELAWARE, ILLINOIS, LOUISIANA, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, OHIO, OKLAHOMA, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND and SOUTH CAROLINA. Also meeting: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PUERTO RICO

GROUPS Women in Government will hold its Western Regional Conference May 14-17 in San Diego, California.  The Republican Legislative Campaign Committee will holdits 2014 Summer Regional Event May 21-22 in Sea Island, Georgia. The Democratic Governors Association will hold its Northeastern Policy Conference May 28-29 in Greenwich, Connecticut. CALIFORNIA The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing May 12 to discuss S.B. 1381, which requires the words "Genetically Engineered" to be conspicuously labeled on any raw agricultural commodity packaged for retail sale.  CONNECTICUT The Common Core Task Force, established by Governor Dan Malloy (D), will meet May 14 to develop recommendations on how best to implement the Common Core education standards.  DELAWARE The House Natural Resources and Environmental Control Committee will meet May 14 to discuss S.B. 199, which relates to extremely hazardous substances risk management. HAWAII Deceptive Practices bill HB 452 was transmitted to Governor. This bill "deems any person who provides false information regarding the details of voting guilty of an election fraud." Same Day Registration bill HB 2590 was transmitted to Governor. This bill allows voter registration at absentee polling places beginning in 2016 and late voter registration, including on election day, beginning in 2018. ILLINOIS The House Judiciary Committee will meet May 14 to discuss S.B. 2928, which creates a local prescription drug disposal pilot program to collect, dispose of and transport pharmaceuticals.  LOUISIANA Youth Voting bill HB 501 was enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House. This bill allows citizens who are 16 and 17 years of age to preregister to vote. They may not cast ballots until they reach voting age. Driver's license applications made by 16-year-olds would also serve as a voter registration application, unless the applicant declines. MICHIGAN The House Regulatory Reform Committee will hold a hearing May 14 to discuss S.B. 477, which repeals registration, application and examination fees for auctioneers.

MISSOURI The General Assembly is scheduled to recess May 16.  NEW JERSEY Vote by Mail bill A 683 was reported out of Assembly with amendments. This bill, as amended, requires mail-in ballot applications be available at polling places on Election Day for voting in future elections. The bill also requires the development and maintenance of Internet webpages to provide instructions for completing and mailing mail-in ballot applications. NEW YORK The Senate Energy and Telecommunication Committee will meet May 15 to discuss S.B. 7006, which allows receipts from the retail sale of electricity from solar electric generating equipment qualified to net meter to be exempt from tax.  NORTH CAROLINA The General Assembly will convene its 2014 regular session May 14.  OHIO The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee met May 13 to hear testimony about H.B. 515, which addresses timber harvesting requirements.  The House Public Utilities Committee met May 13 to hear testimony about S.B. 310, which addresses renewable energy mandates.  The Committee on Commerce, Labor and Technology will meet May 14 to discuss H.B. 502, which raises the minimum wage to $10.10 beginning January 1, 2015.  OKLAHOMA The House Conference Committee on General Government met May 12 to discuss amendments to H.B. 2620, which relates to property rights and fees.

via Stateside Associates, Project Vote.

New Hotness edition

While I'm waiting for the Democracy Alliance folks to call me so we can chat about their excellent plan to get involved in state legislative politics, here's the latest stuff they ought to care about. Or at least feign polite interest in.

• Old and busted: As legislative sessions adjourn and primaries come and go, downballot electoral landscapes are taking shape. National Republicans are rattling their sabers rather publicly over the prospects of picking up majorities in the West Virginia House (53 D/47 R), the Maine Senate (19 D/15 R/1 U), and the New Mexico House (37 D/33 R). 
• Actually, they're rattling those sabers a little too publicly. The real 'holds' for Democrats this cycle are the Colorado Senate (18 D/17 R), the Nevada Senate (11 D/10 R), the Kentucky House (54 D/46 R), and the Iowa Senate (26 D/24 R). I mean, duh.
• Hey, at least the RSLC isn't still trying to claim they'll take the New Mexico Senate (25 D/17 R), which doesn't even have elections this year. 

• Impeachment: Not just for Nixon any more: Last week wrapped up the second of Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon's two impeachment hearings. (Nothing happened.) Now Pennsylvania Republicans are getting a piece of that hot action. A House committee (chaired by the infamous Daryl Metcalfe) began impeachment hearings to address Attorney General Kathleen Kane's "misbehavior in office," by which he pretty much means he's super mad because Kane refused to defend a legal challenge to the state's same-sex marriage ban.  
• The hearing itself was waaaaay more interesting than the Nixon affair, though.
• First, Kane totally didn't even get invited to the party, so that was kind of awkward. 
• Next, a Democratic lawmaker just stood around yelling at Rep. Metcalfe to adjourn the meeting. When Metcalfe brought in guards to haul him out, the guy yelled something about a "kangaroo court," which was actually way less meaningful than all the Democratic committee members just walking out of the room, which they totally did. 
• When they finally had the place to themselves, the Republicans and conservatives present to testify against Kane got to partying so hard they didn't even vote on the articles of impeachment. Which means they get to do the whole thing again. Fun!

• What, you thought they were going to buy you ice cream? Yesterday, the Missouri legislature overrode Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a controversial tax cut that will benefit the wealthiest Missourians the most and puts priorities like education funding and the state's AAA credit rating at risk. The deciding veto override vote in the state House came from Rep. Keith English -- a Democrat. Today, his caucus booted him from all of his committees. 

• The Show Me (why I need more time to make a decision because I have lady parts) State: Also, the Missouri Senate is debating a bill that would add the state to a short list (with Utah and South Dakota) of those mandating a 72-hour "waiting period" between a woman's visit to her doctor and a scheduled abortion. You know, because women just aren't capable of making major decisions on our own time. (State law already mandates a 24-hour delay.) Democrats tried (and failed) to at least add an exception for rape victims, but the legislation is almost certainly on its way to the governor's desk as is. 
• Fun fact! Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon will probably veto this piece of garbage.
• Not-so-fun fact: The massive GOP majorities in the legislature could override that veto.

• Making lemons into non-supermajority-ade: Indiana Democrats made national headlines in 2011 and 2012 when they walked out of the state House (denying Republicans the quorum needed to convene session) to protest anti-public education, anti-teacher, and anti-union bills. Then the 2012 elections gave the GOP supermajorities in both chambers, so no Democratic lawmakers needed to actually be present, ever, at all, to govern the state. But since so few Democrats faced contests in Tuesday's primaries, one of the state's political experts thinks they're in a solid spot to take the three House seats and four Senate seats needed to crack the GOP stranglehold on state government. So, hey, that's nice.
• Meanwhile, the GOP caucuses in the legislature are on their way to becoming even more conservative. Two Republicans lost their primaries on Tuesday after being targeted for their votes against HJR3, the proposed amendment banning same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, conservative groups helped the House member who authored that marriage ban survive a primary challenge amid an ethics controversy.

• Heads, I win. Tails... Republicans in the Wisconsin House and Senate are totally plotting to hold a lame-duck session after the November elections to re-pass the voter ID legislation killed by a federal judge last week. That way, even if Democrats take out Walker and/or win a majority in the state Senate, the sore losers have a chance to bury turds in the sandbox before the new kids come to play. Metaphorically. Hopefully.

• Bigoted, self-righteous Tennessee lawmaker is bigoted, self-righteous: That's really about it. He said something terrible about the Holocaust because Obamacare. (He's the guy behind that "Don't Say Gay" bill, too.) 

• After 41 years in office, state senator said he should have known better when it came to this: Headline letdown of the day. (Nope. Not even a little salacious. Or the beginning of his new hit single. Or even interesting.)

For the Week of May 7, 2014 

The following 19 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: CALIFORNIA, CONNECTICUT, COLORADO, DELAWARE, ILLINOIS, LOUISIANA, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, OHIO, OKLAHOMA, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA and VERMONT. Also meeting: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PUERTO RICO

GROUPS The National Association of State Chief Information Officers will hold its Mid-Year Conference May 6-9 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Democratic Attorneys General Association will hold its Spring Policy Conference May 7-8 in Seattle, Washington.   CALIFORNIA The Senate Committee on Judiciary met May 6 to discuss S.B. 849, which authorizes a personal representative of a decedent to access the electronic mail account of the decedent, or to access copies of the content of the account.  CONNECTICUT The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn May 7.  The Common Core Task Force, established by Governor Dan Malloy (D), will meet May 7 to develop recommendations on how best to implement the Common Core education standards.

ILLINOIS The Pollution Control Board will meet May 7 to discuss proposed amendments that conform regulations to the recently adopted federal National Ambient Air Quality Standards.  MISSOURI The Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee held a hearing May 5 to discuss H.B. 1937, which limits the liability of landowners who host aviation activities on their property.  NEW JERSEY The Senate Economic Growth Committee met May 5 to hear S.B. 1349, which addresses public utilities and storm response.  NEW YORK The Senate Health Committee met May 5 to discuss S.B. 3094, which requires that every cafeteria owned, leased or operated by the state list the gluten content in the foods served in the cafeteria.  TEXAS A special election will be held May 10 in Senate District 4.  via Stateside Associates, Project Vote.