From Georgia With Love edition

As the summer races by with only the occasional presidential debate or invented controversy to serve as speed bumps, you can at least take a quantum of solace in the fact that both diamonds and statehouse action are forever.

• The Man with the Golden Arm: A Democrat (and former quarterback for Georgia Tech) has picked up a House seat in the Georgia legislature. Taylor Bennett scored a solid 54.5% of the vote last night over his Republican opponent to win the special election for HD80. 
• Flipping a Republican seat in Georgia is noteworthy enough, but even more compelling is the reason behind the 29-year-old former football star's run. 
• The Republican state representative Bennett will replace basically gutted one of those so-called "religious freedom" RFRA/anti-LGBT bills earlier this year. Other Republicans have pledged to revive the legislation in the next session -- a sentiment that troubles Bennett deeply, since his mother is gay. He cites the issue as the "hair-trigger" reason he got into the race. 

tl;dr: A Democrat won a Georgia state House seat 

• That went for Romney in 2012 with 55.7%
• Against an establishment-supported Republican 
• Who had twice as much money 
• Because the Democrat opposed anti-LGBT discrimination. 

(A little support from former Georgia Tech teammate Calvin Johnson didn't hurt, either.)

• Sine Die Another Day: Florida lawmakers are beginning to think they'll never wrap up their legislative session. 
• First, legislators ended their normal 60-day session without finishing the state budget, which required three weeks of overtime. 
• Then, lawmakers convened on Monday for another two weeks to fix eight of the state's congressional districts that the state Supreme Court ruled were in violation of the state Constitution. 
• And finally, in October, the legislature will convene yet again for up to three additional weeks to redraw state Senate districts after Republican lawmakers conceded those also violated the state Constitution.
• You Only Draw Twice: Before the congressional re-redistricting session even got underway, GOP lawmakers were already lamenting the burdens placed upon them by the Florida Supreme Court. Some Republicans bemoaned requirements that any and all non-public meetings pertaining to redistricting involving legislators be recorded in some way, because heaven forfend the map-drawing process be open to public scrutiny.  
• The "base" map presented by lawmakers on Tuesday, which is based on the guidelines set forth by the state Supreme Court in its ruling earlier this summer, is already raising hackles. 
• Republican U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster is upset that his Orlando-area district would become heavily Democratic, going so far as to claim that "this plan not only disfavors the incumbent, but appears to have the intent to eliminate the incumbent," which would violate Florida's Fair Districts standards. 
• Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan and Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown are also upset by the drastic changes the Court's guidelines would make to their congressional districts. 
• Reportedly, a lot of Tuesday's redistricting committee meeting was taken up by griping, mostly by GOP lawmakers chafing at the Court's exercise of its constitutional authority. Quelle horreur!

It's going to be a long two weeks. 

• Dr. No: The redistricting special session in Virginia is less than a week away, and if their recent behavior is any indication, the Republicans in the General Assembly won't be playing nice with Gov. McAuliffe. 
• First, the GOP leadership in the House and Senate publicly rebuffed Gov. McAuliffe's well-intentioned efforts to get the legislative ball rolling on a redistricting compromise in advance of the August 17 session. 
• The Democrat's overture could have helped stave off partisan gridlock as the Republican-controlled legislature draws new congressional maps that McAuliffe have to sign into law... or veto.
• Then GOP leaders declared their intention to unseat a Virginia Supreme Court Justice for the first time in over 100 years (the last time was in 1900), upending a long tradition of deference given to gubernatorial appointees and ignoring the recommendation of the Republicans' own Courts of Justice Committee chair. 
• Gov. McAuliffe appointed widely-respected Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jane Marum Roush to fill a vacancy on the Commonwealth's highest court, effective August 1. Late Sunday night, House and Senate Republicans announced their intent to take advantage of the special redistricting session to oust Justice Roush in favor of their own pick: Court of Appeals Judge Rossie Alston, a well-known long-time conservative. 
• It's possible that General Assembly Republicans are just trying to punish and embarrass the Governor -- never mind the collateral damage of a respected jurist's career. But smart money was on the GOP using these judicial shenanigans to encourage Gov. McAuliffe to postpone next week's special redistricting session until after the court ruled on their appeal...
• ...which a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied last Wednesday, leaving in place the September 1 deadline for new congressional maps.
• The most recent development in the ongoing redistricting drama is the revelation that Republican House Speaker Bill Howell used taxpayer money to pay an attorney over $220,000 for legal work related to the congressional redistricting lawsuit. According to court records, the attorney was employed by the Republican House Campaign Committee, not the state, to protect the documents of a GOP consultant who helped state lawmakers draw congressional district lines in 2011.

• OctoVaJayJay: Two of Nevada's GOP Assembly members are accusing fellow Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval of "treason" and of only supporting "people who write him the fat checks," which is why these lawmakers claim Republicans are "excommunicating him"...because this is what happens when Republicans run things in the Silver State, apparently.
• Assemblywoman Michele Fiore also took advantage of a recent radio appearance to voice her disappointment with a failed bill that would have discriminated against transgender school kids by dictating which bathroom they're allowed to use:

"I don’t feel like looking at your penis! Nor do I want you looking at my Va Jay Jay. So I don’t care if you want to have a Va Jay Jay, until you have a Va Jay Jay stay out of my nakedness area!"  -- Michele Fiore, a person who makes laws.



• The Lawmaker Who Loved Me: Late last week, an insane scheme one Michigan tea party lawmaker cooked up to conceal his affair with another Michigan tea party lawmaker came to light as a former aide blew the lid off the whole operation. 
• Freshman GOP Reps. Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat -- self-described tea party "gladiators" -- had been using their official offices to maintain and conceal their extramarital affair. (Both legislators are married with children.)
• Rep. Courser began to freak out in May, when an anonymous blackmailer allegedly claimed s/he knew about Courser's affair with Rep. Gamrat and instructed him to resign to avoid exposure.
• Instead of resigning, Rep. Courser concocted an absurd scheme to have a staffer send a fake email claiming Courser had been caught having sex with a male prostitute. His reasoning? Such an obviously absurd and patently false claim would "inoculate the herd" if his affair with Rep. Gamrat came to light and undermine the credibility of any related revelations.
• Rep. Gamrat remains silent since news of the affair broke Friday, but Rep. Courser responded by lashing out at the "Lansing mafia" and accusing "establishment" Republicans of conspiring to bug his office and blackmail him.
• Now the Republican House Speaker has ordered an investigation into whether Reps. Courser and Gamrat used state-funded staff, equipment, or other resources to conceal the affair.
• So far, both Courser and Gamrat are ignoring multiple calls for their resignation.

Stay tuned!

• The Veto Is Not Enough: Last week, the Maine Supreme Court ruled that Gov. LePage had, in fact, screwed up his attempt to veto 65 bills by failing to return them to the legislature in time for override votes. 
• Now he's penning hand-written notes to an activist for CREDO Action that reveal some confusion on his part as to whether he's suing the Obama administration over the president's executive orders on immigration. 
• The note to Murshed Zaheed (Fun fact: Murshed is a former coworker of mine! Small world!) wasn't as rude as the one he wrote a few weeks ago that bashed half of his own state, but it's no less misguided. Gov. LePage seems to think he's suing "illegal immigrants," which... no. That just doesn't even make sense. 

• Thunderball: Football is known as a hallowed institution in the South generally, and this is especially the case in Alabama, home to two high-caliber teams in the toughest division of the toughest conference in the nation (SEC West). Loyalties in the state are mostly divided between Alabama (Roll Tide!) and Auburn (War Eagle!). 
• The GOP-controlled Alabama legislature has been in special session for the past month in a failed attempt to pass a state budget (the state's fiscal year ends September 30). 
• But, with a clear sense of his priorities, one GOP state senator took the time to file a resolution urging Auburn to take credit for the seven football seasons in which the school fielded "the best team in the nation" but failed to technically secure national championship titles (1910, 1913, 1914, 1958, 1982, 1993, and 2004), thus increasing the team's championship claims from two (1957 and 2010) to nine. 

Governing < football.

*Bonus Thunderball because not even Solomon could make me choose between Tom Jones and Johnny Cash.

For the Week of August 12, 2015 

The following 7 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: ALABAMA, FLORIDA, ILLINOIS, MASSACHUSETTS, NEW JERSEY, NORTH CAROLINA and WISCONSIN.

Also meeting: GUAM.

GROUPS

The National Association of State Budget Officers will hold its Annual Meeting August 9-12 in Stowe, Vermont. 

  

The Association of Clean Water Administrators will hold its Annual Meeting August 10-12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners will hold its Summer Meeting August 15-18 in Chicago, Illinois. 

The Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference will hold its 55th Annual Meeting and Regional Policy Forum August 16-19 in Wilmington, Delaware.

FLORIDA

The Legislature convened August 10 for a special session to address congressional redistricting. 

IOWA

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors will hold a public meeting August 12 to discuss the County's minimum wage. 

NORTH CAROLINA

The Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee met August 10 to discuss H.B. 372, which reorganizes the state's Medicaid program. 

OHIO

The Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing August 11 to discuss proposed amendments to the requirements for general national pollutant discharge elimination system permits. 

The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public hearing August 12 to discuss proposed amendments to rules governing public water system plan approval, backflow prevention and cross-contamination control, and consumer confidence reports. 

PENNSYLVANIA

Special elections was held August 11 to fill three vacant seats in the House of Representatives. 

TEXAS

The San Antonio City Council will meet August 12 to discuss legal issues related to collective bargaining pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.071. 

VERMONT

The House Committee on Health Care will meet August 12 to discuss S.B. 139, regarding pharmacy benefit managers, medical malpractice, Green Mountain Care and employer financed health care purchased through the Vermont Health Benefit Exchange.

via Stateside Associates, Project Vote, BillTrack 50

The Astonishing Rant-Man edition

What a summer! First there was the SCOTUS decision in the Arizona case (here's a piping hot take on what it means for Democrats as we barrel towards 2020), and then there were other things, and then I was sailing on a boat.

But statehouse action knows no season, so back to it!

• Sunshine State Scare: Republican state senators in Florida are freaking out about their gerrymandered map. They're fretting that factors that led the state Supreme Court to invalidate the state's congressional map could result in the invalidation of state Senate districts, too. 
• Legislative leaders are so worried that they're considering a preemptive re-draw before their map gets thrown out by a court or -- quelle horreur! -- redrawn by a court. Either way, all 40 state senators could face elections in 2016 (many of them mid-term).
• Mark your calendars! The special legislative session to redraw Florida's congressional map will be held August 10 - 21. 
• Plan your fall vacation! The trial over the state Senate map will begin on September 28 in Leon County Circuit Court. I hear Tallahassee is beautiful that time of year.

UPDATE (4:23 p.m.):  Florida legislative leaders have reached an agreement with the League of Women Voters and other groups that challenged the state Senate map. Instead of a trial, the legislature will meet October 19 - November 6 to redraw the map in accordance with the criteria laid out by the state Supreme Court's July ruling on the congressional map.

• P.S. Not gonna happen! When we last checked in with Maine Gov. Paul LePage, he'd just blackmailed a school into un-hiring (he hadn't technically started working yet, so he couldn't be fired, right?) the Democratic House Speaker. 
• Democratic lawmakers started threatening impeachment, and the six Republicans and six Democrats on the legislature's Government Oversight Committee voted unanimously to investigate whether LePage actually used state funds (he threatened to withhold them from the Good Will-Hinckley school) to block Democratic Speaker Eves from becoming president of the institution. 
• Fun fact! LePage has a history of using cash money to bully folks out of jobs. 
• Earlier this year, the president of Maine's community college system resigned after LePage demanded his dismissal and threatened to withhold the system's funding unless he complied. 
• In 2013, he forced the leader of a cultural/community organization to quit because future gubernatorial opponent and then-U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud received a commemorative license plate for the organization before he did. 

Yes, you read that right. Gov. Paul LePage threatened to withhold state funds from the World Acadian Congress (or CMA, because French) because he didn't get his fancy CMA-branded license plate first and SOMEONE HAD TO PAY. So the state head of the CMA took the hit and gracefully tendered his resignation.

• When LePage isn't busy bullying folks out of jobs, he spends his time failing spectacularly at governing. 
• Most recently, he screwed up his attempt to veto 65 bills he claimed he vetoed but failed to return to the legislature for veto override votes. 
• According to the state Constitution, LePage had 10 days to return the bills to the legislature; otherwise, they become law automatically. 
• LePage has opted to reinterpret (misinterpret, actually, according to the state's Attorney General) the Constitution to suit his purposes. 
• The question is now before the Maine Law Court (an iteration of the state Supreme Court), which will hear oral arguments in the case on July 31.

When LePage isn't busy forgetting to veto bills, he keeps busy by insulting constituents and large portions of his state. On July 16, he penned a note in response to woman in southern Maine who'd asked him to resign. It read:

Louise,

I bet you would like to see me resign.

You live in the south who exploit those who are not so fortunate, or understand the level of corruption that southern Mainers ignore and welcome!

Regards,

Governor Paul R. LePage

P.S. Not going to happen!

(All grammar issues are his. I would never tamper with such a brilliant piece of prose.)

• With friends like these... Maine's Sovereign Citizens group -- old friends of LePage's, as you may recall -- filed a brief in support of the governor's right to misinterpret the state Constitution that accuses the state legislature of outright treason, because, sure. that seems legit coming from a group recognized by the FBI and state law enforcement as belonging to "a domestic terrorist movement." 
• If you're a big nerd and want to read all the filings in the case, you can do that here. Nerd.

• Government Accountability is for chumps and Democrats... according to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his GOP cronies in the legislature. The state's Government Accountability Board (GAB) was created in 2008 by a broad bipartisan coalition and is regarded as a model nationwide -- until it began investigating Walker and conservative groups like the Wisconsin Club for Growth. 
• Now some Republicans want to wipe the watchdog agency out entirely, while others are considering changes that would introduce partisanship into the board and its oversight. Expect a proposal from GOP lawmakers this fall.

• Viking the minimum wage: Um, that's hiking. As in, Minnesota is about to implement the minimum wage hike the Democratic-majority legislature passed and the Democratic governor signed into law last year. At $9 per hour, it's the highest minimum wage in any state that's not on either coast. 
• File under: Good things that happen when Democrats are in charge.

• U mad, bro? A South Carolina lawmaker who strenuously objected to the removal of the Confederate flag from capitol grounds predicts that upwards of 30 Republican incumbents could face primary challenges next year because of their votes to "surrender" (i.e. ditch the flag). 

Serious question: Will any of the GOPers who voted to keep it flying face anti-Confederate flag primary challengers?

• We'll just call it the Carolina Cocktail: Lawmakers in North Carolina took another step this week towards making executions easier and more secretive. The GOP-controlled state Senate just approved a measure that both removes the requirement that a doctor be present in the execution chamber and prevents the public from learning about the drugs the state includes in its legal injection mix. 
• The House has already passed a similar measure; the bills are expected to be reconciled and sent to the governor for his signature.

For the Week of July 28, 2015 

The following 4 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: MASSACHUSETTS, NEW JERSEY, NORTH CAROLINA and WISCONSIN.

Also meeting: GUAM.

GROUPS 

The Council of State Governments will hold its 68^th Annual Meeting July 28-31 in Vail, Colorado.  

The State Legislative Leaders Foundation will hold its Conference of State Majority Leaders July 30 - August 2 in Portland, Oregon.

The Democratic Governors Association will hold its Summer Policy Conference July 31- August 2 in Aspen, Colorado. 

The Republican Attorneys General Association will hold its Summer National Meeting August 1-4 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. 

FLORIDA

The Agency for Health Care Administration will hold a public hearing July 29 on proposed amendments to rules concerning certificates of need for hospital inpatient general psychiatric services and hospital inpatient substance abuse services. 

ILLINOIS

The House Agriculture and Conservation Committee will meet July 28 to discuss H.J.R. 89, which urges President Obama to order the United States Environmental Protection Agency to adhere to congressional intent and maintain the Renewable Fuel Standard blending rules in their current form. 

PENNSYLVANIA

The Pittsburgh Committee on Hearings will meet July 30 to consider an ordinance to improve public health by granting paid sick time to all employees in the city. 

VERMONT

The Vermont Solar Siting Task Force will meet July 28 to resolve issues related to siting of solar power projects. 

VIRGINIA

Governor Terry McAuliffe's (D) Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission will meet July 31 to discuss the recommendations made by then-Governor Tim Kaine's (D) Climate Commission, to determine which actions were taken on those recommendations and issue an updated final report. 

WISCONSIN

The Assembly Insurance Committee will meet July 30 to discuss A.B. 197, which requires insurers to provide additional health plan information to consumers purchasing plans through the exchange. 

WYOMING

The Wyoming Task Force on Digital Education will meet July 28-29 to discuss student data privacy and a right-to-privacy constitutional amendment. 

via Stateside Associates, Project Vote, BillTrack 50

Wet Hot American Statehouse edition

I'm starting to think that maybe SCOTUS is never going to issue a ruling in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. I know that's not true, though, so I've spent some time thinking about possible outcomes, which you can check out here, if the mood strikes. Basically, a decision in favor of the Arizona State Legislature will affect at least 62 districts, and it could impact as many as 152 districts. Either way, it's a BFD.

Anyway, that's for tomorrow, or possibly Monday. For now, though, it's time for some fun in the sun.

• Summer Madness: Maine Democrats are about done with Gov. Paul LePage. A handful of House members have announced plans to launch impeachment proceedings against the GOP governor. 
• How did we get here? Well, this week Gov. LePage  took a quick break from his veto-palooza to screw the Democratic Speaker of the state House of of a job. 
• On June 9, the Good Will-Hinckley School hired House Speaker Mark Eves as its president (over the scathing objections of Gov. LePage). Eves was to officially begin his job on July 1. 
• On Wednesday, the school withdrew its job offer after Gov. LePage reportedly threatened dire cuts to its funding. 
• In a statement released to the press on Thursday, Gov. LePage actually admitted that he would deny over $500,000 of the school's funding (which would trigger a loss of $2 million in private funding) if Eves became president of the Good Will-Hinckley school.
• This isn't the first time LePage has used fiscal tactics to bully educational institutions in the state. Earlier this year, the president of Maine's community college system resigned after LePage demanded his dismissal and threatened to withhold the system's funding unless he complied.

• In other Gov. LePage news, on Wednesday the governor joked about shooting Bangor Daily News political cartoonist George Danby when Danby's son asked LePage a question at a Maine Boys State event.

• Summer Love: Two GOP lawmakers in Michigan aren't going to be caught flat-footed by a SCOTUS decision legalizing same-sex marriage, no siree bob. 
• State Rep. Todd Courser is pushing a package of bills that will take all state officials out of the marriage process entirely and will only allow marriages to be performed by members of the clergy. 
• Meanwhile, Rep. Gary Glenn wants to protect religious officiants' rights to refuse to marry same-sex couples. 

So clever, you guys!

• Cruel Summer: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker reportedly requested that a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks -- passed by the GOP-controlled state Senate on a party-line vote earlier this month -- exclude exemptions for victims of rape or incest. SB 179 hasn't yet been scheduled for a committee hearing in the state Assembly, but Walker has pledged to sign the legislation when it arrives on his desk. 
• This week, the Ohio state Senate also passed a ban on abortions after 20 weeks without rape or incest exceptions. 

• Summertime Blues: Reverend and South Carolina state Senator Clementa Pinckney and eight other souls were brutally murdered last week by a racist psychopath. Sen. Pinckney's funeral is on Friday, and President Obama will be delivering the eulogy. 
• These terrible deaths have spurred a sudden, somewhat frenetic (and long overdue) conversation about the Confederate battle flag that flies at too many state capitols and what that flag actually represents (lol heritage NOPE). 
• But as Sen. Pinckney is laid to rest, it's important to think past a flag of bigotry and remember what the man himself stood for as a servant of his community. 

• Sen. Pinckney made headlines earlier this year for his passionate fight for the adoption of body cameras by law enforcement in the wake of the police shooting of Walter Scott. He wanted to make it easier for the public to monitor the activities of police officers through citizen video. He also fought for measures to combat racial profiling, and he advocated for raising the state’s minimum wage. He tried to restore the voting rights of ex-felons and establish early voting in the state.

• Sen. Pinckney also supported common-sense gun safety legislation. He sponsored measures to prevent the mentally ill from purchasing handguns and to require more stringent background checks on purchasers. Also, he opposed legislation that would have allowed concealed weapons in day care centers, restaurants, and churches. 

• Sen. Pinckney stood for compassion and equality both in the pulpit and on the Senate floor. Supporting measures that uphold these principles in both statehouses and communities is the best way to honor his memory. 

• One of Sen. Pinckney's Republican colleagues in the South Carolina House thinks that the shooting victims maybe shouldn't have just sat around letting themselves get shot by "one skinny person." 

This was his response to a reporter asking whether the lawmaker thought the Confederate flag should be removed from Capitol grounds.

• Another legislator who's against the Confederate flag's removal doesn't want "mean people" like the racist psychopath who shot nine people in cold blood in a church after praying with them to make folks focus "on the wrong things."

Sigh.
 

For the Week of June 25, 2015 

The following 15 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: CALIFORNIA, DELAWARE, ILLINOIS, MAINE, MASSACHUSETTS, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, OHIO, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, WASHINGTON and WISCONSIN.

Also meeting: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, GUAM, PUERTO RICO and UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS.

GROUPS

The Western Governors' Association will hold its Annual Meeting June 24-26 in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. 

Women in Government will hold its Midwestern Regional Conference June 25-27 in Kansas City, Kansas. 

CALIFORNIA

The Senate Committee on Judiciary met June 23 to discuss A.B. 465, which prohibits an employer from requiring an employee, as a condition of employment, to agree to the waiver of any legal right, penalty, forum or procedure for any employment law violations.

FLORIDA

The Department of Environmental Protection will hold a public meeting June 26 to discuss a study on the expansion of the use of reclaimed water, storm water and excess surface water. 

MISSOURI

The City of Kansas City held a general election June 23 for Mayor and ten of the twelve City Council seats. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

The deadline for the Legislature to act on all conference committee reports was June 24.  

VERMONT

The Department of Liquor Control held a public hearing June 24 to discuss amendments to its rules concerning the sale of alcoholic liquor. 

via Stateside Associates, Project Vote, BillTrack 50

Raising Arizona

Tomorrow’s another SCOTUS day! I know we’re all waiting with bated breath for the Obamacare and same-sex marriage decisions, which are going to be huge deals, obviously, and their outcomes will touch the lives of millions.

But Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission could drop tomorrow, too (in fact, that’s what I have in my office pool). What if the Court sides with the sore loser Arizona Republicans (they deemed a congressional map with multiple competitive districts "losing") and declares redistricting commissions unconstitutional?

The impact is pretty impossible to predict -- it all depends on the scope of the ruling. The Arizona and California commissions were created by voters and are completely independent of legislators or the legislative process, so if Arizona’s goes, they both go.

This alone means that 62 congressional districts are about to be redrawn by state lawmakers. 

But the decision could be more broad. A ruling that takes out the appointed commissions (legislators appoint a majority of members but aren't directly involved in actual map-drawing process) will change the redistricting process in Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, and Washington.

That's another 27 congressional districts in the hands of state legislative map-drawers.

What if the decision wipes out backup commissions (which draw congressional maps if the legislature deadlocks), too? That's Connecticut and Indiana, an additional 14 congressional districts.

And what about advisory commissions? In Iowa, Maine, and New York, these commissions draft the congressional maps and submit them to the legislature for approval. In Ohio, the commission "supports the work of the legislature." Iowa's commission involves no state legislators, while the Maine, New York, and Ohio commissions are mostly made up of and/or are appointed by state lawmakers. If the Arizona decision does away with these commissions, state legislators will have sole authority to draw 49 additional congressional districts.

A decision in favor of the Arizona State Legislature will affect at least 62 districts, and it could impact as many as 152 districts. Either way, it's a BFD.

Could a legislature still give away its own authority to draw maps to a non-legislative commission? If a couple of legislators were on the commission, would that be sufficient? What if an independent commission drew the map, but a legislature has to approve it (the Iowa model)? Do governors even have authority to veto congressional maps (they already don’t in some places – North Carolina, for example)?

Or maybe SCOTUS will decide in favor of the IRC and all my math and speculation are for jack. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Importance of Being Roberts edition

All the world's a stage, and all the state legislators merely players. They have their sine dies and their convenings, and one lawmaker in a session proposes many bills...

While we wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to begin the second act of Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (as well as the Obamacare and same-sex marriage cases), let's check out what's been going on around the country during intermission.

• The Misanthrope(s): The North Carolina legislature has successfully overriden the governor's veto of SB2 -- more infamously known as the "religious freedom" bill. The measure allows some public officials to refuse to perform same-sex marriages and takes effect... well, today.  

• Les Miserables: That's what a lot of kids in Michigan are going to be when GOP lawmakers allow adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples who want to adopt children. 
• On Wednesday, the state Senate suddenly took up a package of bills that allow publicly funded adoption agencies to deny service to LGBT parents on religious grounds. All of the chamber's Democrats (and one Republican) opposed the legislation, but the Senate's GOP majority gave final approval to the bills. 
• And Gov. Snyder has just signed them into law. #onetoughbigot

• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead...and if they lived in Florida, maybe they could have been saved by healthcare coverage made available by Medicaid expansion, but the Republicans in the state House killed that on Friday, so they're out of luck.
• The state Senate has been fighting with the House for months over the former's effort to expand Medicaid coverage under Obamacare (the House even fled Tallahassee at one point to avoid voting on it). Late last week, the House killed a Senate proposal that would have covered as many as 650,000 Floridians.
• Americans for Prosperity would like to take credit for bullying Florida Republicans into submission.
• Many Republican lawmakers argue that "expanded healthcare would create a taxpayer-funded entitlement program."

Fun fact! Florida taxpayers subsidize state legislators' "Cadillac healthcare plans" to the point that they only cost lawmakers $50 a month.

Funner fact! My law school classmate and current state Rep. Matt Gaetz thinks he and his fellow lawmakers deserve low-cost healthcare as part of their "compensation." For their PART-TIME JOBS. 

Also, according to Rep. Gaetz, "the healthcare [they] receive is too good." #humblebrag

• Speaking of lousy things in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has just signed a bill requiring two clinic visits and a 24-hour abortion waiting period into law. You know us ladies -- we just can't be trusted to arrive at difficult decisions in our own time!

And speaking of waiting periods...

• Glengarry Gun Ross: The GOP-controlled Wisconsin legislature gave final approval this week to a repeal of the state's 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases -- a restriction that's been in place for 40 years. Gov. Walker will sign it into law, of course -- he's running for office, for Pete's sake!

Always

Be

Cocking your gun 

• Who's Afraid of Paul LePage? The governor of Maine is being his reasonable self these days, which is to say that he's... being a little unreasonable.
• Gov. LePage's crusade during this year's legislative session has been to eradicate the state's income tax. Such a move would eliminate half of Maine's revenue, and LePage has neither proposed a plan to make up the funds through other means nor outlined the drastic cuts to state spending that would be required. 
• Democrats in both the House and the Senate have blocked this irresponsible scheme from winning the two-thirds vote it needs to move forward.
• LePage's completely reasonable response has been to veto every Democratic-sponsored bill that has arrived on his desk (10 so far). 
• Lawmakers have already overridden nine of those vetoes.

How long will LePage's spiteful veto spree continue? Place yer bets!

• Waiting Room for Godot: The Democratic Senate in Oregon has just passed legislation to require most of the state's employers to provide workers with paid sick leave (up to five days a year for employers with 10 or more employees). The measure now moves to the House, where it's expected to pass as early as Friday. 

• Court on a Hot Tin Roof: Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed into law a measure that effectively eliminates the independence of the state's judiciary. 
• The backstory:
• In 2014, following some judicial rulings the legislature's conservatives didn't much like, Brownback approved a law that removed some powers from the state's Supreme Court. A state judge is challenging the constitutionality of that measure. 
• Brownback and his fellow conservatives in the legislature didn't want to risk that challenge not going their way. So they passed this new law -- the recently signed one referenced above -- that stipulates that the state's judiciary branch will lose its funding if that 2014 law is struck down.
• Meanwhile, when GOP lawmakers aren't busy bullying the state courts, they're trying desperately to fill a massive hole in the state budget in session overtime. 

Fin.

For the Week of June 11, 2015 

The following 21 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, DELAWARE, FLORIDA, ILLINOIS, KANSAS, LOUISIANA, MAINE, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW MEXICO, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, OHIO, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, WASHINGTON and WISCONSIN.

Also meeting: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, GUAM, PUERTO RICO and UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS.

GROUPS

June 16-18, 2015
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATTORNEYS GENERAL
Summer Meeting
Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines
San Diego, California

June 17-18, 2015
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION
Northeastern Policy Conference
Greenwich, Connecticut

June 19-22, 2015
UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
83rd Annual Conference of Mayors
San Francisco, California

June 19-21, 2015
COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS
DC Meeting
Washington, D.C.

ARKANSAS

The Health Reform Legislative Task Force will meet June 11 to receive updates from the Department of Human Services and the Stephen Group. 

CALIFORNIA

The Committee on Health met June 9 to discuss S.B. 277, which eliminates the exemption for school vaccines from existing specified immunization requirements based upon personal beliefs. 

The Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee met June 9 to discuss S.B. 142, which extends liability for wrongful occupation of real property and damages to a person who operates an unmanned aerial vehicle below the navigable airspace over the real property without permission. 

DELAWARE

The Senate Banking and Business Committee met June 10 to discuss H.B. 119, which removes the prohibition on selling an alcoholic beverage to a person with a mental condition or mental disability. 

LOUISIANA

The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn June 11. 

MICHIGAN

The Senate Natural Resources Committee met June 10 to discuss S.C.R. 13, which urges the President of the United States, the United States Congress and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to abandon the promulgation of currently proposed carbon emission reduction regulations. 

NEW MEXICO

The Legislature convened for a special session June 8 to discuss a capital outlay package which will fund state highway and local infrastructure projects and tax incentives.

PENNSYLVANIA

The Senate Finance Committee met June 10 to discuss proposals to increase the sales and use tax. 

TEXAS

The City of Dallas will hold a runoff election June 13 for four City Council seats. 

The City of Irving will hold a runoff election June 13 for one City Council seat. 

The City of San Antonio will hold a runoff election June 13 for the position of Mayor and one City Council seat. 

VIRGINIA

A primary election was held June 9 for state House and Senate seats. 

via Stateside Associates, Project Vote.