USAPP Managing Editor, Chris Gilson, looks at the week in US state blogging

Gilson, Christopher

LSE Research Online

State	of	the	States	for	16	February:	The	Illusion	ofGOP	control	in	New	Hampshire,	Alabama’s	risky	taxincentives,	and	California’s	single-payer	long	gameUSAPP	Managing	Editor,	Chris	Gilson,	looks	at	the	week	in	US	state	blogging.		Northeast	In	Vermont	this	week,	VTDigger	reports	that	the	state	Senate	has	passed	a	bill	which	would	see	the	Green	Mountainstate’s	minimum	wage	increase	to	$15	an	hour	by	2024.	The	bill	now	heads	to	the	state	House,	but	has	an	uncertainfuture.	Governor	Phil	Scott	has	indicated	that	he	will	veto	the	bill	if	it	reaches	his	desk.Granite	Grok	of	New	Hampshire	this	week	reckons	that	there	is	only	the	“illusion”	of	Republican	control	of	the	state’sgovernment	following	the	state	House’s	passage	of	a	paid	family	leave	bill	and	a	vote	to	ban	“conversion	therapy”	foranyone	less	than	18	years	of	age.Moving	on	to	Massachusetts,	Blue	Mass	Group	looks	at	a	new	report	which	shows	that	the	state	lost	more	than	20percent	of	its	solar	power	jobs	in	2017.	They	say	that	Governor	Charlie	Baker’s	Department	of	Public	Utilities	hasconsistently	sided	with	utilities	to	add	fees	to	solar	installations,	and	that	this	may	have	contributed	to	the	decrease.In	New	York	this	week,	State	of	Politics	says	that	the	state’s	top	leaders	are	being	lobbied	by	organizations	whichtackle	substance	abuse	in	the	Empire	State	to	use	the	money	from	a	proposed	tax	on	opioids	to	fund	treatment.Heading	across	the	Hudson	to	New	Jersey,	Observer	examines	what	they	say	is	the	“fraught”	relationship	betweenthe	state’s	two	top	Democrats,	Governor	Phil	Murphy	and	state	Senate	President,	Steve	Sweeney.	The	newGovernor	and	Senate	leader	do	not	appear	to	be	getting	on,	after	Sweeney	criticized	Murphy’s	proposal	tocircumvent	GOP	changes	to	the	federal	tax	code.PoliticsPA	has	the	news	that	Keystone	State	Governor,	Tom	Wolf	has	given	the	thumbs	down	to	Congressionalmaps	submitted	by	state	House	and	Senate	Republicans,	stating	that	the	map	would	continue	the	GOP’s	partisanadvantage	in	the	state.South	On	Wednesday	Blue	Virginia	comments	that	state	Republicans	have	nixed	“64	good	bills”	that	have	been	introducedby	Assembly	Democrats	in	the	current	session.	With	this	in	mind,	they	argue	that	the	Assembly	needs	to	be	underDemocratic	control.Heading	south,	The	Progressive	Pulse	examines	judicial	redistricting	in	the	Tar	Heel	State.	They	say	that	under	twonew	maps	proposed	by	state	lawmakers,	a	number	of	existing	judges	will	be	“double-bunked”,	forcing	them	to	runagainst	another	incumbent	in	an	election.Better	Georgia	this	week	writes	that	Governor	Nathan	Deal	is	continuing	to	block	the	expansion	of	medical	marijuanain	the	Peach	State.	In	recent	comments,	Deal	states	that	he	would	oppose	in-state	cultivation	of	marijuana,	despitenearly	80	percent	of	Georgians	supporting	its	use	for	this	purpose.This	week	saw	the	tragic	shooting	at	a	high	school	in	Broward	County,	Florida,	where	17	people	were	killed	and	14injured.	Florida	Politics	says	that	in	the	wake	of	the	shooting,	the	state	Senate	chose	to	focus	on	increasing	fundingfor	mental	health	and	campus	security,	rather	than	gun	control.On	Friday,	Yellowhammer	argues	that	as	a	tool	to	lure	large	businesses,	tax	incentives	are	“extremely	risky”	as	thesole	hope	for	economic	development	in	Alabama.	They	write	that	such	measures	are	actually	a	sign	of	weak	statetax	policy	and	can	hurt	small	businesses	who	pay	higher	tax	rates.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: State of the States for 16 February: The Illusion of GOP control in New Hampshire, Alabama’s risky taxincentives, and California’s single-payer long gamePage 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-02-16Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/02/16/state-of-the-states-for-16-february-the-illusion-of-gop-control-in-new-hampshire-alabamas-risky-tax-incentives-and-californias-single-payer-long-game/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Arkansas’	Talk	Business	&	Politics	write	on	Tuesday’s	three	special	state	Senate	votes,	which	saw	two	candidatesadvance	to	a	Republican	runoff	vote	in	March	and	a	GOP	runoff	winner	advance	to	the	general	in	May.	In	the	finalvote,	a	GOP	runoff	saw	the	winner	for	the	seat	decided,	as	there	was	no	Democratic	challenger	in	the	specialelection.Midwest	RightMI	wonders	what	is	going	after	Governor	Rick	Snyder	launched	two	tax	proposals	which	he	touted	as	beingenvironmental	programs.	The	measures	include	an	increase	to	the	per	ton	landfill	tipping	tax	and	the	introduction	ofan	affordable	assessment	on	public	water	utilities.	They	say	that	both	measures	will	not	raise	enough	revenue	as	isneeded	and	will	only	expand	the	state’s	inept	bureaucracy.Heading	on	to	Indiana,	Indy	Politics	writes	that	the	state	is	exploring	launching	a	lawsuit	against	US	opioidmanufacturers	in	order	to	help	drug	users	in	the	state.Recent	years	have	seen	a	number	of	budget	woes	for	Illinois,	with	state	politicians	unable	to	agree	on	a	budgetbetween	2015	and	2017.	Capitol	Fax	reports	that	ratings	agency,	Fitch,	has	warned	that	another	budget	stalemate	–which	looks	to	be	building	under	Governor	Bruce	Rauner’s	latest	proposal	–	might	trigger	a	ratings	downgrade	toBBB-,	which	is	teetering	close	to	junk	territory.On	Thursday,	Blogging	Blue	talks	on	Governor	Scott	Walker’s	tax	rebate,	credit	and	a	sales	tax	holiday	after	reportsthat	Wisconsin	is	anticipating	a	$385	million	budget	surplus	by	mid-2019.	They	argue	that	the	proposals	are	“absurd”and	look	to	be	sweeteners	in	his	reelection	year.This	week	it	became	increasingly	apparent	that	US	Congressman	Kevin	Cramer	would	be	running	this	year	for	NorthDakota’s	Senate	seat.	Say	Anything	blog	writes	that	Cramer’s	move	now	leaves	the	state	GOP’s	endorsement	forthe	state’s	at	large	US	House	seat	wide	open,	and	they	take	a	look	at	who	some	potential	candidates	might	be.Moving	south,	Dakota	Free	Press	says	that	state	Republicans	have	let	South	Dakota’s	“transgender	war”	drop	afterthree	bills	aimed	at	restricting	the	rights	of	the	transgendered	died	in	committee	this	week.	West	and	Pacific	On	Thursday,	Joe	Monahan’s	New	Mexico	reports	that	the	state’s	“small	ball”	2018	legislative	session	has	crawled	toa	close,	commenting	that	legislators	arrived,	acted,	and	left	“checked	out”.	The	only	major	accomplishment	for	the30-day	session	was	apparently	a	new	budget	for	the	next	fiscal	year.Blog	for	Arizona	takes	state	Senator	Sylvia	Allen	to	task,	after	she	commented	that	voters	were	“immoral”	forapproving	an	increase	of	the	state’s	minimum	wage	to	$12	an	hour	by	2020.Desert	Beacon	writes	this	week	that	the	race	for	US	Senator	Dean	Heller’s	seat	is	getting	interesting	after	splitsemerged	within	the	party	between	Heller’s	supporters	and	those	of	Danny	Tarkanian,	whose	campaign	has	beenaccused	of	financial	improprieties.Oregon	Catalyst	meanwhile	argues	that	state	Senate	Bill	1528	“flattens	small	business”	through	tax	increases	whiledistorting	the	tax	code	in	big	business’	favor.In	the	Golden	State,	CalMatters	comments	that	supporters	of	single-payer	healthcare	in	California	are	playing	thelong	game.	With	no	sign	of	such	legislation	moving	ahead	in	the	state	Assembly,	advocates	have	been	trying	tomake	it	an	important	issue	in	this	year’s	elections.	Staying	in	California,	Flashreport	wonders	if	the	state	Senate	is“rigging”	a	report	in	the	current	probe	investigating	allegations	of	harassment	against	Democratic	Senator	TonyMendoza	so	that	it	can	be	“massaged”	into	backing	whichever	way	the	chair	of	the	Rules	Committee,	state	SenatePro	Tem	Kevin	de	Leon	“wants	to	go”.Featured	image	“Alabama	dares”	by	Brent	Moore	is	licensed	under	CC	BY	NC	2.0Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: State of the States for 16 February: The Illusion of GOP control in New Hampshire, Alabama’s risky taxincentives, and California’s single-payer long gamePage 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-02-16Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/02/16/state-of-the-states-for-16-february-the-illusion-of-gop-control-in-new-hampshire-alabamas-risky-tax-incentives-and-californias-single-payer-long-game/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Note:		This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	USAPP–	American	Politics	and	Policy,	nor	ofthe	London	School	of	Economics.Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	http://bit.ly/2EFCth6USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: State of the States for 16 February: The Illusion of GOP control in New Hampshire, Alabama’s risky taxincentives, and California’s single-payer long gamePage 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-02-16Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/02/16/state-of-the-states-for-16-february-the-illusion-of-gop-control-in-new-hampshire-alabamas-risky-tax-incentives-and-californias-single-payer-long-game/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

State of the States for 16 February: the illusion of GOP control in New Hampshire, Alabama's risky tax incentives, and California's single-payer long game

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State of the States for 16 February: the illusion of GOP control in New Hampshire, Alabama's risky tax incentives, and California's single-payer long game

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