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☆ Georgia's GOP state legislative leaders said that calls to defund Fani Willis are 'theatrics' and impossible to accomplish
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A handful of GOP Georgia lawmakers are trying to impeach or defund District Attorney Fani Willis. The state's House and Senate leaders, however, said the push is 'theatrics' and unlikely to succeed. The impeachment calls come after a grand jury indicted Trump in relation to the 2020 election. "We simply do not have those votes" for a special session, Gooch said, adding that it would require Democratic support. And in the event that a special session does happen, he noted that there would never be enough votes in the state Senate to impeach her.

Persons: Fani Willis, Trump, Jon Burns, Willis, Donald Trump, Burns, impeaching Willis, Steve Gooch, Gooch, Colton Moore, Moore, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs Organizations: GOP, Service, Republican, Assembly, Atlanta Journal, Trump, Democratic, House, NBC Locations: GOP Georgia, Wall, Silicon, Georgia's, Georgia, Georgia , Florida, Washington, New York

In Florida, Senate Bill 254, enacted in May, banned gender-affirming care for minors but also created less-noticed barriers for adult care. The state laws largely intervene to stop gender-affirming medical care around adolescence: treatments such as puberty blockers, hormones and later, in rare cases, surgery. Medical consensus favors gender-affirming care as essential and sometimes life-saving, after careful consideration by multiple providers. But he also said gender-affirming medical treatments were extreme. Colorado has not enacted restrictions on gender-affirming care.

Persons: Marci Bowers, Jesse Ehrenfeld, you've, Bill, Rylee Brock, Gary Click, Boston Children's, Thomas Satterwhite, Satterwhite, Joseph Knoll, Syvonne Carter, Daniel Trotta, Donna Bryson, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: World Professional Association for Transgender Health, American Medical Association, Endocrine Society, American Academy of Pediatrics, Ohio House, FBI, U.S . Department of Homeland Security, Boston Children's Hospital, Multispecialty, Boston, Reuters, Fenway Institute, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, Colorado Children's Hospital, Colorado, Spektrum, 26Health, Thomson Locations: Massachusetts, United States, Florida, Champaign , Illinois, Omaha, Nebraska, Ohio, Boston, Texas, Colorado, Colorado , Illinois, New York, California, San Francisco, Orlando, Melbourne, Plume

Rudolph W. Giuliani, a central figure in the investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, was among those charged on Monday night in the case. A former federal prosecutor and mayor of New York City, Mr. Giuliani served as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer during the waning days of his presidency and led the legal efforts in several states to challenge Mr. Biden’s victories and keep Mr. Trump in power. Prosecutors have scrutinized false allegations of election fraud that Mr. Giuliani made before state legislative committees in December 2020, as well as his role in a plan to send a slate of electors who supported Mr. Trump to Congress — even though Georgia had already certified electors who supported Joseph R. Biden Jr., who won the state by about 10,000 votes. State prosecutors in Atlanta informed Mr. Giuliani last year that he was a target of their investigation, but he sought to avoid testifying to a special grand jury investigating the matter. He was ordered to do so in August of last year by a judge who told him to come to Atlanta “on a train, on a bus or Uber.”

Persons: Rudolph W, Giuliani, Trump, Congress —, Joseph R, Biden, Mr, ” Organizations: Prosecutors, Congress Locations: Georgia, New York City, Atlanta

☆ Ohio special election could determine future of abortion rights in the state
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

If it passes, a super-majority of voters would be required to approve a November referendum that seeks to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. Political groups on both sides of the abortion issue have poured millions of dollars into the state ahead of the vote. Ballot initiatives have become powerful tools for abortion rights activists in states where abortion opponents, usually Republicans, control the legislature or hold the governor's office. Voters in Kansas and Kentucky, both solidly conservative states, rejected measures last year that would have declared that their state constitutions do not protect abortion rights. Abortion rights opponents have called the November referendum extreme, claiming its vague language would allow minors to get abortions and gender-affirming surgery without parental consent.

Persons: Wade, Megan Jelinger, Mike DeWine, Jen Miller, Richard Uihlein, Susan B, Anthony Pro, Joseph Ax, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: United States Supreme, Women's Health Organization, REUTERS, Republican, U.S, Supreme, League of Women Voters, Ohio Republicans, Illinois Republican, America, The, Fund, Tides Foundation, Thomson Locations: Ohio, Columbus , Ohio, Dobbs, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, California

☆ Ohio voters reject ballot measure in win for abortion rights advocates
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The results in the special election were a crucial victory for abortion rights advocates, who would have faced the daunting prospect of securing a super-majority of voters this fall if the measure had passed. Ballot initiatives have become powerful tools for abortion rights activists in states where abortion opponents, usually Republicans, control the legislature or hold the governor's office. On Tuesday, abortion rights groups in Arizona, a key presidential swing state, launched an effort to put the issue before voters in November 2024. Abortion rights opponents have called the November referendum extreme, claiming its vague language would allow minors to get abortions and gender-affirming surgery without parental consent. Other groups supporting Tuesday's referendum collected funds from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and The Concord Fund, a conservative dark-money group.

Persons: Read, Ohioans, Joe Biden, Mike DeWine, Jen Miller, Richard Uihlein, Susan B, Anthony Pro, Joseph Ax, Dan Whitcomb, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Republican, Associated Press, U.S, Supreme, Republican Ohio, League of Women Voters, Ohio Republicans, Illinois Republican, America, The, Fund, Tides Foundation, Thomson Locations: Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Illinois, California, Lincoln

☆ Redistricting battles could determine control of US House in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But a series of legal challenges, including a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling, have cast many of those district lines into doubt. Legal experts said the ruling bolsters similar challenges in Georgia and Louisiana, where voting rights groups have argued that Republican-drawn maps marginalized Black voters. In Ohio, the state Supreme Court appears set to alter course after previously finding Republican maps violated the state constitution’s prohibition on gerrymandering. In Wisconsin, the most expensive state Supreme Court election in U.S. history resulted in a new liberal majority. OTHER BATTLESLast month, the Utah Supreme Court heard arguments over the state’s Republican-drawn congressional map, which carved Democratic Salt Lake County into four separate districts.

Persons: reconvenes, Leah Millis, –, ”, Michael Li, University’s, “, Kathy Hochul, Janet Protasiewicz Organizations: YORK, House, U.S . Capitol, Republican, REUTERS, Republicans, Census, Supreme, Center for Justice, U.S, Democrat, REPUBLICAN, STATE, Democratic, Ohio’s Republican, DEMOCRATIC, Utah Supreme Locations: New York, Utah, U.S, Washington , U.S, New, Black, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, In Wisconsin, Democratic Salt Lake County, New Mexico

☆ Texas A&M Agrees to $1 Million Settlement With Journalism Professor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Texas A&M University acknowledged on Thursday that top university officials, fearing criticism from conservatives, had made “significant mistakes” in their failed effort to hire a prominent Black professor to run the university’s journalism program. It said it had reached a $1 million settlement with the professor, Kathleen McElroy. Then, following complaints about her hiring from university regents, they changed the terms of her contract. What had started as an offer of a full faculty position with tenure was reduced to a one-year appointment with no tenure, the university’s report says. Dr. McElroy, who had run the journalism program at the University of Texas and was formerly an editor at The New York Times, announced in July that she would not take the job, less than a month after Texas A&M had held a public signing ceremony to welcome her, complete with balloons.

Persons: Kathleen McElroy, McElroy’s, Dr . McElroy Organizations: Texas, M University, University of Texas, The New York Times

☆ As 2024 Voting Battles Heat Up, North Carolina G.O.P. Presses Forward
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Nick Corasaniti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A closely watched political fight is developing in North Carolina over voting rights and control of elections, as Democrats aim to recapture a presidential battleground and Republicans look to win back the governor’s office. Much as Georgia, Florida and Texas drew an outpouring of national attention and political cash as Republicans moved to restrict voting in the heated months after the 2020 election, North Carolina is poised for headline-grabbing confrontations over nearly every lever of the electoral apparatus. In the Republican-led legislature, the State House is considering two bills passed by the Senate that would sharply alter how elections are run, adding voting restrictions and effectively neutering the state elections board, which is now controlled by Gov. In North Carolina, every little edge could matter: The state, despite a long string of Republican presidential victories interrupted by Barack Obama’s 2008 triumph, has grown increasingly close. Ron DeSantis of Florida and other Republican candidates have already held events in North Carolina as they contend for their party’s nomination.

Persons: Roy Cooper, Barack Obama’s, Donald J, Trump, Biden’s, Ron DeSantis Organizations: Republican, Senate, Gov Locations: North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas

☆ Abortion regulations and LGBTQ-related legislation among state laws taking effect Saturday
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Kaanita Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —As several state legislative sessions have concluded or are drawing to a close, some of the high-profile legislation enacted by state lawmakers is just taking effect. Many states saw particularly polarizing sessions, with Democrats and Republican state lawmakers moving in opposite directions on abortion- and LGBTQ-related legislation. The legislation requires K-12 public schools to define sex as “an immutable biological trait,” and says it is “false” to use a pronoun other than the sex on a person’s birth certification. The bathroom ban applies in places such as public schools, prisons and state universities. Abortion restrictionsNorth CarolinaA federal judge on Friday cleared the way for North Carolina’s 12-week ban on most abortions to take effect Saturday.

Persons: “ Organizations: CNN, Republican, GOP, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida Teachers, of, Iowa Teenagers Locations: Dakota, South Dakota, Georgia, Florida, codifying, Carolina, Wyoming, Iowa

☆ A new Texas law will override mandated rest and water breaks for construction crews as extreme heat rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some construction crews in Texas are no longer guaranteed water breaks under a new law. Critics say the law will override the few protections that construction workers in Austin and Houston are guaranteed, including 10-minute breaks every four hours to drink water and rest in the shade. The agency in 2021 started collecting information to help inform a national heat standard for indoor and outdoor workers, but a final rule could be years away. Mahaleris said the law wouldn't prohibit people from taking water breaks. "Access to drinking water and bathrooms, taking breaks in the shade — and there's also an education component that's important."

Persons: Greg Abbott, Daniela Hernandez, Abbott, Andrew Mahaleris, Mahaleris, Hernandez, Lulu Flores, there's Organizations: Service, Central America, Workers Defense Project, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, Texans, Big, National Park Service, US Postal Service, Democrat, Austin, GOP Locations: Texas, Texas , Louisiana, Mexico, Central, Austin, Houston, Texas . Texas, California , Minnesota, Washington, North Texas, West Virginia, East Texas

☆ More than 25% of U.S. workers are covered under pay transparency laws—that could soon be near 50%
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Just over 1 in 4 workers is now entitled to salary transparency by law — and proposals could double that number in the next few years. Pay transparency has become a cornerstone of the labor force in recent years, with Colorado becoming the first state to require employers post pay ranges on job ads in 2021. So far, eight states have salary transparency laws on the books: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island and Washington. Several cities and counties like Cincinnati and Jersey City, N.J., have their own pay transparency requirements. Proponents of salary transparency say it's a crucial piece to closing racial and gender wage gaps, which have barely budged in years.

Persons: —, J.B . Pritzker, Kelly Evans, ‘ They’ll Organizations: National Women's Law, Washington D.C, Gov Locations: Colorado, California , Colorado , Connecticut, Maryland , New York , Nevada, Rhode Island, Washington, Cincinnati, Jersey City, N.J, Alaska , Georgia, Hawaii , Illinois , Iowa , Kentucky, Maine , Massachusetts , Missouri, Montana , New Jersey , Oregon, South Dakota , Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, U.S

☆ The Failed Affirmative Action Campaign That Shook Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Michael Powell | Ilana Marcus | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The 2020 campaign to restore race-conscious affirmative action in California was close to gospel within the Democratic Party. It drew support from the governor, senators, state legislative leaders and a who’s who of business, nonprofit and labor elites, Black, Latino, white and Asian. Supporters raised many millions of dollars for the referendum and outspent opponents by 19 to 1. None of these efforts persuaded Jimmie Romero, a 63-year-old barber who grew up in the working-class Latino neighborhood of Wilmington in Los Angeles. Affirmative action was not one of those.

Persons: Kamala Harris, ”, Jimmie Romero, Mr, Romero Organizations: Democratic Party, Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants, 49ers, Oakland Athletics, American Civil Liberties Union of, Homelessness Locations: California, U.S, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, Wilmington, Los Angeles

☆ Opinion | New York Lawmakers Try to Sabotage Campaign Reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For generations, deep-pocketed donors have called the shots in New York State politics, leaving ordinary voters with less power and less of a voice in their government. The changes proposed by lawmakers would protect incumbents and discourage challengers — the opposite of the program’s goal. The 2024 elections will be the first under this new campaign finance system, in which state leaders agreed to match small contributions with public funds to amplify the power of small donors. The law works like this: If an individual gives $5 to $250 to a candidate for a statewide office like governor, that donation is matched with public funds six to one. The match ratios are even higher for state legislative candidates.

Persons: Brennan, New York City’s, Kathy Hochul Organizations: Brennan Center for Justice, Democratic, Gov Locations: New York State, New York

☆ Opinion | Yes, We’re in an L.G.B.T.Q. State of Emergency
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Charles M. Blow | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As the L.G.B.T.Q. bills since 2018, and that number has recently accelerated, with the 2023 state legislative year being the worst on record. According to the Human Rights Campaign, in 2023 there have been more than 525 such bills introduced in 41 states, with more than 75 bills signed into law as of June 5. In Florida — the state that became known for its “Don’t Say Gay” law — just last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation that banned gender transition care for minors and prohibited public school employees from asking children their preferred pronouns.

Persons: There’s, —, Ron DeSantis, Kelley Robinson Organizations: Pride, Human Rights, Gov Locations: Florida

☆ Federal judge blocks Florida's ban on gender-affirming care for 3 trans youths
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A federal judge in Florida issued a preliminary injunction that will permit three transgender children to receive puberty blockers, even as the state has banned gender-affirming care for minors. Judge Robert Hinkle on Tuesday said the three youths, who are children of the plaintiffs in the case, may receive GnRH agonists, known as puberty blockers. This suit challenges legislation in Florida that bans gender-affirming care for minors, which Gov. The organization estimates that more than 30% of transgendered youth ages 13 to 17 reside in states where they can't access care. Thus far, 20 states have passed laws or policy that ban gender-affirming care for individuals up to age 18, the HRC found.

Persons: Robert Hinkle, Ron DeSantis, Hinkle, DeSantis Organizations: U.S . House, U.S, Capitol, Human, HRC Locations: Florida

☆ Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's potential late entry into the 2024 field seems destined to fail from the start
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( John L. Dorman | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Glenn Youngkin of Virginia is reconsidering a 2024 presidential run, per a recent Axios report. But such a decision would be rife with peril, with Youngkin far down the pack of GOP contenders. Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at his rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25, 2023. As of May 31, the GOP polling average on FiveThirtyEight had Trump ahead of DeSantis 54.1%-20.7%, with former Gov. Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, left, gavels to order the special session of the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond, Va., on September 7, 2022.

Persons: Glenn Youngkin, Youngkin, —, Donald Trump, Terry McAuliffe, Joe Biden, Trump, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Axios, Evan Vucci Trump, juggernaut Trump, Stormy Daniels, FiveThirtyEight, Nikki Haley, Sen, Tim Scott of, Mike Pence, Marta Lavandier, McAuliffe, Ralph Northam, Todd Gilbert, gavels, Steve Helber, Miles Coleman, Ball, Roe, Wade, Coleman, Aaron Rouse, Jennifer McClellan Organizations: Service, Democratic Gov, GOP, Republican, Walt Disney Company, AP, Manhattan District Attorney's, Gov, South Carolina —, Disney, American Studies, Democratic, Virginia, Virginia General Assembly, Commonwealth, Delegates, Virginia Senate, Republicans, University of Virginia Center for Politics Locations: Virginia, Florida, Waco , Texas, DeSantis, South Carolina, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Iowa , New Hampshire, Texas, Miami, Fla, Richmond , Va, Richmond, Virginia Beach

☆ Nebraska to Vote on Restrictions on Abortion and Transgender Care for Minors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Ernesto Londoño | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nebraska lawmakers were expected to vote on Friday on a bill addressing two of the most fraught issues in state legislative sessions around the nation this year: access to abortion and medical care for transgender youth. During the final days of a session that was notable for vociferous debate and persistent filibustering over the two issues, conservative legislators bundled provisions restricting access to both forms of medical treatment into a single bill. A vote was expected to take place on Friday afternoon in Nebraska’s single-house Legislature, which is nominally nonpartisan but dominated by Republicans. 574, includes looser restrictions than the original provisions that Republicans sought to pass. Republicans saw it as a compromise, while Democrats were furious about what they saw as a last-minute scramble to revive restrictions on abortion.

Circuit Court of Appeals panel that will hear the Biden administration's appeal to keep the abortion pill mifepristone on the market are staunchly conservative, with a record of opposing abortion rights. - In 2019, she co-authored a majority opinion for the full 5th Circuit that upheld a Texas law that effectively banned the most common abortion procedure for terminating second-trimester pregnancies. - Also in 2019, she wrote a majority panel 5th Circuit opinion invalidating the Affordable Care Act's mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance. - In 2019, he was part of a 5th Circuit panel that rejected Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban, but in a concurring opinion argued against the constitutional right to abortion. - In 2018, he voted to uphold a Texas law requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains.

May 10 (Reuters) - Republican vulnerabilities on abortion policy are on display in Ohio, with the party playing defense against a surge in abortion rights activism that could help President Joe Biden and his Democratic Party in next year's elections. Abortion rights advocates have racked up electoral victories, lifting Democrats along the way, since the Supreme Court struck down the national right to abortion last year. Ohio Republicans passed a six-week state abortion ban in 2019, but that law is blocked while litigation proceeds. In Republican-leaning Kentucky, abortion rights activists are already knocking on doors ahead of November's gubernatorial election, when Democrat Andy Beshear is seeking another term. Senate President Matt Huffman has made clear the measure is aimed at the abortion rights amendment.

☆ The Youngest State Party Leader in the U.S. Has a Blue-Collar Blueprint
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Andrew Trunsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

North Carolina Democrats weren’t sure what to expect when Anderson Clayton, 25, won their election for chair, making her the youngest state party leader in the country. She is aiming to motivate younger voters, but she also campaigned with broader goals, arguing that Democrats need to invest in rural communities if they hope to erode Republicans’ grip on state and local power. “People with me all the time are like, ‘I wish you’d stop saying we’ve left Democrats behind,’” she said. We’ve left people behind.’”In North Carolina’s elections last year, Democrats ceded 44 state legislative seats, uncontested, to Republicans. Many encompassed blue-collar, rural towns that had voted reliably Democratic decades ago but by then had no official footprint from the party, much less a candidate to support.

☆ Key Florida business lobby isn't picking sides in feud between its allies Disney, DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has counted Disney as an ally for over a decade, and helped to propel Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' climb up the state's political ladder. But as Disney and DeSantis descend into an increasingly venomous fight, the state Chamber has not defended or criticized either side. The business lobbying group has yet to weigh in on the dispute on its website. The Florida Chamber of Commerce declined to comment.

☆ Analysis: As DeSantis readies 2024 presidential bid, Florida lawmakers hand him fresh ammo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had counted on a productive state legislative session this spring to turbocharge his coming 2024 presidential bid. With the first presidential nominating contest still nine months away, political analysts say DeSantis has plenty of time to turn his fortunes around. Lawmakers on Tuesday passed an immigration measure that would provide more money for DeSantis’ program for relocating undocumented migrants. POTENTIAL PERILSThe six-week abortion ban remains the thorniest outcome of the session for DeSantis’ national aspirations. The governor did not expressly advocate for the bill, and he signed it without fanfare to replace the current 15-week ban.

☆ Supreme Court: New documents show how Sandra Day O'Connor helped George W. Bush win the 2000 election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

CNN —Justice Sandra Day O’Connor provided the early framework that steered the outcome in the dispute over the 2000 presidential election and ensured George W. Bush would win the White House over Al Gore, Supreme Court documents released on Tuesday show. They also demonstrate the tension among the nine justices being asked to decide a presidential election on short deadlines. The five conservative justices (O’Connor, Kennedy, Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas) sided with Bush. The Florida results had been too close to call at the end of Election Day, November 7. The next day, Kennedy wrote to the chief justice, “Sandra’s memorandum sets forth a very sound approach” and said he wanted to build on it.

☆ In win for Republicans, North Carolina court allows partisan gerrymandering
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Voters line up a few minutes before the polls close during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections in Durham, North Carolina, U.S., November 8, 2022. In the same election, Republicans flipped two Democratic seats on the North Carolina Supreme Court, securing a 5-2 conservative majority. "I think it's the worst decision the North Carolina Supreme Court perhaps has ever made," Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, told reporters. When the North Carolina court agreed to rehear the case, however, the U.S. Supreme Court asked for additional briefing from the parties about whether it still had legal jurisdiction over the matter. Now that the North Carolina court has vacated the decision that formed the basis for the U.S. Supreme Court's review, the U.S. Supreme Court may conclude it no longer has a role to play in resolving the matter.

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