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

Gilson, Christopher

LSE Research Online

State	of	the	States	for	6	April:	Florida’s	‘resign	to	run’bill,	North	Dakota’s	Teddy	Roosevelt	obsession,	andCalifornia’s	new	mega-vote	centersUSAPP	Managing	Editor,	Chris	Gilson,	looks	at	the	week	in	US	state	blogging.		Northeast	In	Maine	this	week,	Pine	Tree	Politics	wonders,	given	the	legal	battles	which	have	already	erupted,	does	the	statereally	want	to	use	ranked-choice	voting?	At	the	end	of	2016,	Maine’s	voters	approved	the	new	electoral	system,	butthis	was	followed	by	a	constitutional	challenge	which	is	still	playing	out.Moving	on	to	Vermont,	VTDigger	reports	that	two	state	representatives	were	threatened	on	social	media	during	arecent	debate	over	a	new	law	which	would	expand	gun	background	checks,	ban	bump	stocks,	and	set	restrictions	onmagazine	size.RIFuture	argues	this	week	that	the	state	needs	better	commuter	rail	with	Boston.	The	roads	are	increasinglycongested,	they	write,	and	existing	non-Acela	trains	are	relatively	slow,	meaning	that	new	improvements	such	aselectrification	and	a	more	frequent	service	are	required.Continuing	on	to	The	Nutmeg	State,	Connecticut	Commentary	looks	at	the	coming	race	for	the	state’s	5thCongressional	district,	following	the	announcement	from	the	incumbent,	Elizabeth	Esty,	that	she	would	not	seekreelection	following	revelations	about	sexual	harassment	and	misconduct	in	her	office.	With	Esty	out	of	the	picture,they	say,	the	5th	district	is	now	competitive	for	Republicans.In	New	York,	State	of	Politics	says	that	GOP	Gubernatorial	candidate,	Marc	Molinaro	has	recently	stated	that	ifDemocrats	control	the	state’s	Senate,	then	the	governor	should	be	a	Republican,	as	one-party	rule	of	an	entire	stateis	not	in	taxpayers’	best	interests.Save	Jersey	this	week	talks	on	comments	from	State	Senator	Tom	Kean,	Jr	–	the	top	Republican	in	the	stateSenate,	that	Democratic	Governor	Phil	Murphy’s	proposed	“free”	community	college	program	is	irresponsible	andwrongheaded.	Why	the	ire	for	the	proposals?	Its	$50	million	cost	will	put	more	pressure	on	the	state’s	alreadyoverburdened	taxpayers.South	On	Saturday,	Blue	in	the	Bluegrass	has	the	news	that	teachers	in	Kentucky	have	gone	on	strike	following	theunexpected	passage	of	pension	reforms	by	the	state’s	legislature.Fits	News	says	that	a	new	bill	working	its	way	through	the	South	Carolina	legislature	would	mean	that	any	new	lawswhich	sought	to	limit	gun	ownership	in	the	state	would	need	a	supermajority	of	both	legislative	chambers,	as	well	asreinforcing	the	state	government’s	ability	to	preempt	municipalities	and	counties	gun	measures.Better	Georgia,	meanwhile,	reports	that	after	over	15	years	of	cuts,	schools	in	the	Peach	State	are	now	funded	at	abasic	level	for	their	operation.Heading	south,	Florida	Politics	writes	that	a	new	bill	signed	by	Governor	Rick	Scott	will	force	local	and	state	officeholders	to	resign	from	their	seats	in	order	to	run	for	federal	office	if	the	term	overlaps	with	their	current	one.	The‘resign-to-run’	law	won’t	affect	Scott	(who	is	tipped	to	run	for	US	Senate)	as	his	term	expires	after	this	year’s	generalelection.In	Alabama,	Yellowhammer	says	that	the	state’s	legislature	has	approved	an	$18.5	million	in	the	states	pre-kindergarten	program	which	will	mean	at	least	100	new	classrooms	for	four-year	olds	in	the	2018-19	school	year.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: State of the States for 6 April: Florida’s ‘resign to run’ bill, North Dakota’s Teddy Roosevelt obsession, andCalifornia’s new mega-vote centersPage 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-04-06Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/04/06/state-of-the-states-for-6-april-floridas-resign-to-run-bill-north-dakotas-teddy-roosevelt-obsession-and-californias-new-mega-vote-centers/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Moving	on	to	the	Bayou	State,	Louisiana	Voice	looks	at	a	new	bill	which	would	cut	food	expenditures	for	prisonersand	college	and	university	students	and	would	increase	the	prisoners’	work-release	pay	that	the	state	receives.	Themeasure	is	aimed	to	increase	revenues	ahead	of	its	June	30	budget	deadline.	Midwest	Eclecta	blog	this	week	has	the	news	that	after	seven	years,	the	state	of	Michigan	has	handed	back	control	of	the	cityof	Flint	to	local	officials.	Since	2011,	the	city	had	been	under	emergency	management	that	appeared	to	do	little	toimprove	the	city’s	problems	which	included	a	toxic	water	supply.In	Illinois,	Capitol	Fax	says	that	Governor	Bruce	Rauner		–	who	recently	won	his	Republican	primary	–	has	beenurged	to	move	to	his	right	by	state	Representatives,	despite	polling	22	percentage	points	below	his	Democratic	rival,J.B.	Pritzker.Moving	on	to	the	Badger	State,	RightWisconsin	writes	that	state	Republicans	“got	their	faces	slapped”,	following	adefeat	for	the	GOP	in	a	state	Supreme	Court	election	and	a	state	Senate	race.	They	warn	that	“the	wind	is	in	theirsails”,	referring	to	the	Democrats	ahead	of	November’s	midterm	elections.In	the	Hawkeye	State,	Blog	for	Iowa	is	critical	of	the	state’s	new	health	insurance	legislation,	which	they	argue	willtake	the	state	back	to	the	pre-Obamacare	days	of	“spotty,	unreliable	coverage”.Missouri	Political	News	Service	this	week	wonders	if	St.	Louis	–	a	town	that	they	say	was	run	for	decades	by	“corruptDemocrat	politicians”	and	is	“hemorrhaging	population”,	can	really	get	a	project	from	Elon	Musk’s	Boring	Company	toreplace	an	ageing	bridge	with	a	tunnel.Is	North	Dakota	too	focused	on	the	26th	president	of	the	United	States?	Say	Anything	blog	concerns	itself	with	thatquestion	this	week,	after	one	of	the	state’s	universities	has	begun	building	a	presidential	library	for	Teddy	Roosevelt.Roosevelt	ranched	in	the	state	for	four	years	in	the	1880s,	but	spent	most	of	his	life	in	New	York.	West	and	Pacific	Blog	for	Arizona	says	that	Governor	Doug	Ducey’s	plan	to	improve	school	safety	–	which	would	see	guns	removedfrom	those	deemed	a	danger	to	themselves	or	others	as	well	as	active	shooter	training	for	school	resource	officers	–has	run	into	opposition	from	state	Republicans,	who	have	called	for	teachers	to	be	armed,	and	Democrats,	whoargue	the	plan	is	ineffective.Heading	on	to	the	Golden	State,	Fox	&	Hounds	comments	that	unions	want	a	Republican	to	face	the	Democrats’gubernatorial	frontrunner,	Lieutenant	Governor	Gavin	Newsom	following	the	state’s	top	two	primary	in	June.	It’s	notbecause	they	know	that	a	Republican	has	no	chance	against	a	Democrat	in	California	–	it’s	because	only	oneDemocratic	candidate	will	free	up	the	party’s	cash	to	be	used	elsewhere.	Staying	in	California,	Flashreport	says	thatthe	state’s	Attorney	General,	Xavier	Becerra	is	a	“corrupt	anarchist”,	citing	his	combative	stance	against	PresidentTrump’s	efforts	to	enforce	immigration	law	in	the	state.	CalMatters,	meanwhile	reports	that	five	counties	in	the	statehave	switched	from	neighborhood	polling	places	to	“mega-vote	centers”	in	order	to	save	money	and	boost	midtermvoter	turnout.Moving	out	to	Alaska,	Must	Read	Alaska	says	that	the	state’s	Supreme	Court	has	ruled	in	favor	of	the	state’sDemocratic	Party,	stating	that	it	can	run	candidates	on	its	primary	ballot,	even	if	they	are	not	party	members.Honolulu	Civil	Beat	this	week	wonders	what	is	going	on	“with	all	the	gut-and-replace	trickery”	in	the	state	legislaturethis	year	following	dramatic	changes	to	bills	with	very	little	notice.	Featured	image:	“Welcome	to	North	Dakota”	by	Jimmy	Emerson,	DVM	is	licensed	under	CC	BY	NC	ND	2.0Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting.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.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: State of the States for 6 April: Florida’s ‘resign to run’ bill, North Dakota’s Teddy Roosevelt obsession, andCalifornia’s new mega-vote centersPage 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-04-06Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/04/06/state-of-the-states-for-6-april-floridas-resign-to-run-bill-north-dakotas-teddy-roosevelt-obsession-and-californias-new-mega-vote-centers/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	http://bit.ly/2I1xrOhUSApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: State of the States for 6 April: Florida’s ‘resign to run’ bill, North Dakota’s Teddy Roosevelt obsession, andCalifornia’s new mega-vote centersPage 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-04-06Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/04/06/state-of-the-states-for-6-april-floridas-resign-to-run-bill-north-dakotas-teddy-roosevelt-obsession-and-californias-new-mega-vote-centers/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

State of the States for 6 April: Florida's 'resign to run' bill, North Dakota's Teddy Roosevelt obsession, and California's new mega-vote centers

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State of the States for 6 April: Florida's 'resign to run' bill, North Dakota's Teddy Roosevelt obsession, and California's new mega-vote centers

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