Questions tagged [state-legislatures]
Questions relating to legislatures of a constituent political entity that is part of a sovereign state. For example, questions about the Vermont General Assembly in the US, or the Parliament of Queensland in Australia.
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Can the Chief Minister of an Indian state call a snap election in the state they govern?
It is generally seen that prime ministers (with the support of their party) have the power to call a snap election.
Do CMs of states have the same power, generally speaking? Or the central government ...
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What power do minority parties have in state legislatures?
I live in a state where it is taken for granted that one party will be in the majority in the state legislature and the governor will always be a member of that party. The specific district I live in ...
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How did Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo explain why he vetoed a bill that would ban people from acting as fake electors?
Politico's Nov 15, 2023 Nevada attorney general is investigating false electors who aided Trump in 2020 includes the following, quoting Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford:
...an American lawyer and ...
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Is it common for US states to pass resolutions supporting federal legislation?
Is it common for US state legislatures to pass resolutions officially supporting bills in Congress? Does Congress give such resolutions significant weight?
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Which districts in the Virginia state legislature held contested primaries for both parties in 2023?
In Virginia, there are primaries on June 20th for the state legislature. I am curious about which races are contested for both parties' primaries that are happening on Tuesday, a couple days after I ...
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How can two tied candidates in a New Hampshire House race "share the seat"?
In the New Hampshire House of Representatives, the election for Rochester Ward 4 ended in a tie between Republican David Walker and Democrat Chuck Grassie, following a recount.
Republican David ...
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Why does Illinois have over 8000 administrative divisions? Was there any official rationale for the huge expansion of local governments?
The exact count differs by source with the most being 8923 divisions reported by the Chicago Civic Federation and 6042 divisions reported by the Illinois Department of Revenue. See https://www....
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In layperson's terms: Supreme Court to Hear Case on State Legislatures’ Power Over Elections?
In easy-to-understand terms, how would this ruling affect the different States? Supreme Court to Hear Case on State Legislatures’ Power Over Elections
From what I see, in North Carolina the Senate and ...
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Are "Don't talk about X in classrooms" state laws a relatively recent phenomenon in the US?
Two examples of recent Don't talk about X in classrooms" state laws/legislation:
Florida: Wikipedia's LGBT rights in Florida; HB 1557/Parental Rights in Education/"Don't Say Gay" bill (...
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Why does the Govt. of Maharashtra not use Moḍi as the official script of the Maraṭhi Language?
The Moḍi script was extensively used to write Maraṭhi during the rule of the Maraṭha confederacy. But during the British rule, Balbodh (बाळबोध) replaced Moḍi(𑘦𑘻𑘚𑘲) for Maraṭhi documentation in the ...
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Have any of the eleven Pennsylvania lawmakers who passed a mail-in voting law & are now suing to invalidate it explained why they changed their mind?
Go Erie's GOP state lawmakers file lawsuit to have mail-in voting tossed out. Who is suing begins:
In the latest attack on Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting option, 14 Republican state House members ...
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Proportion of Rhode Island's Part-Time Legislature That are Lawyers
I would like to know (approximately):
The percentage of the current Rhode Island General Assembly that
are lawyers.
Historically, the percentage that were lawyers in prior RI
assemblies.
Note: I ...
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Can Democratic politicians vote in Texas while they're arrested?
Texas governor Greg Abbott has said that the Democrat politicians who refuse to allow a quorum to be formed, thereby blocking legislation, will be arrested. But can the Democratic politicians form a ...
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Why doesn't the Texas legislature nuke the quorum?
The GOP-controlled Texas Legislature finds itself unable to pass a voting bill due to State Democrats refusing to participate in the meetings, leading the state to lack a quorum. The GOP has made ...
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Could Texas Democrats be punished for walking out?
The Texas Democrats in the Legislature chose to unite and leave the capitol. The decision was announced an hour before posting.
Could Texas Democrats be held legally liable when they return?
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Understanding Texas legislative process
If a Bill passes the Senate in Texas, does that mean it becomes law as the next step?
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Does anything prevent US state legislatures from directly selecting electors overriding the popular vote in their state?
Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution states "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors".
This seems to be a non-...
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What does "H St Aff" mean as an action taken on a proposed bill (Idaho)?
Idaho's legislature is in session. I've been monitoring their activity on this page. I can usually tell what abbreviations for actions taken on bills mean at a glance, but this one has me stumped:
...
user2164
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Why do non-federations need bicameral parliaments?
Federations often have a bicameral parliament: one house speaks for the nation itself, whereas the other one speaks for the subjects within the federation (it could be summoned by the means of the ...
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Can there be an administrative organization inside the US, above the state level? [closed]
According to the question about chairman West's phrase:
Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution
Is it constitutionally possible ...
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What's the difference between state legislator and congress member?
I was reading this article.
As a non-US citizen, I wonder what does State Legislators mean.
I know that US political system is bicameral: senate and congress.
This extends from the federal level to ...
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of a winner-take-all system? (What prompted certain states not to adopt it?) [duplicate]
I was having trouble finding this question here, though I'm pretty it must have been answered.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a winner-take-all system for deciding electors for a state?
...
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Has any US state legislature ever disregarded the outcome of a presidential election in that state to appoint all electors of a losing party?
Article 2 of the constitution has a clause saying:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and ...
JJJ♦
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How does one efficiently go about researching the history of a specific issue across state legislatures?
I am attempting to research a certain political issue across state legislatures.
Specifically, I'm attempting to compile information regarding which states have debated a specific issue in their ...
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What flipped the general court in New Hampshire in 2018 from Republican to Democrat? [closed]
In 2018 Democrats took control of the New Hampshire General Court (the state legislature) in a big shift. Previously the Republicans had controlled the Court with a 14-10 majority in the Senate and a ...
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Borrowing funds or loans by states(provinces) in India
Can a state government borrow loans or funds from other states in India? If yes, does the Union government or the President need to be involved in this? Is there any limitation to this?
I searched ...
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Which US state constitutions don't have a legislative privilege ("speech or debate") clause?
I read that
The United States Constitution and forty-three state constitutions
include a Speech or Debate Clause granting legislators a legal privilege for
their legislative work.
Which US ...
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What is the role of the Indian States in implementation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 2019?
The Motor Vehicles Act. 2019 was recently passed by the Indian Parliament but some states like West Bengal have refused to enact the law in their states whereas states like Gujarat have drastically ...
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Why do some states in India have a unicameral legislature and some have a Bicameral one?
I recently learnt that some states in India have a Bicameral legislature whereas some others have a Unicameral legislature. Why is this so?
FYI: The Parliament of India (at the national level) ...
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Does disqualification by defection or by voluntary resignation make any difference to the ruling party in India?
There is a political crisis occurring in the Indian state of Karnataka. According to this article, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has the strength of 224 elected members, and when the crisis ...
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Is there any legal recourse to compel Oregon state senators that fled the state to return?
This question is in relation to this news article, which claims that some Oregon state senators have fled the state to prevent a vote in the state senate on a climate-plan bill because their absence ...
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Implication of governmental taxes
Are governmental taxes (federal or state) which an entity pays considered a debt [owed to its government] or is the entity merely giving the government its share? E.g. a person is taxed 30% on his ...
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Has any member of Congress served concurrently in State Office?
The Constitution's ineligibility clause prohibits Senators and Representatives from also serving in the Executive or Judicial Branch. Has there ever been a situation where a Senator or Representative ...
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Do any states within the U.S. plan to introduce legislation which would enable a deduction similar to the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction?
I understand that the Qualified Business Income deduction, introduced into law by the Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017, is applicable at the federal level as a 20% deduction of qualified business income ...
David Partyka
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What's the deal with the Independent Democratic Conference?
The New York Times reported that Democrats in Albany "have agreed to reunite and end seven years of infighting." Wikipedia indicates that the problem grew out of the 2009 crisis, in which two ...
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Do state senators and representatives have offices in Washington DC or in the state capitol?
I live in Oregon, and our senators are Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden. I understand that they have offices in Washington, D.C. If that's the case, who are the senators and representatives working in the ...
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Why are US state (as opposed to federal) legislatures bicameral?
The federal legislature in the USA is bicameral, with the Senate (supposedly) representing states, with equal voting power among state, and the House of Representatives (supposedly) representing the ...
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Can California really ban their residents from traveling to states without LGBT protections?
The State of California passed legislation (AB 1887) that banned travel to Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and most recently, Texas.
Alabama, South Dakota, and Texas all recently ...
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What U.S. constitutional rights do federal/state prisoners have?
Are your constitutional rights limited once you are convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison? Is there any clause in the US constitution that deals with this or is it simply based on crime one has ...
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How can state-level senate/house bills be denied a vote if they have many sponsors?
The Young Turks report that a bill in Maryland is being "denied a vote" despite having many supporters and sponsors.
I'm not at all well-versed in US parliamentary procedure. From what I do know ...
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One of the candidates for state legislature suspended their campaign. What happens if they win?
I have noticed that for the 2016 election for Minnesota Senate District 50, one of the candidates has suspended her campaign:
Republican Kirsten Johnson of Richfield filed for the seat, but has ...
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Effective differences between legislatures by number of houses?
Many countries have bicameral legislatures with two houses, like the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, etc. Many others are unicameral with just the one, like Norway, Greece, Israel, ...
user8398
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Why are emergency service professionals exempt from CA prohibitions on texting while driving?
When I first read the article headlined "Police Officer Will Not Be Charged For Killing Napster Exec While Texting And Driving — Because It's Apparently OK For Police To Do That" I expected it would ...
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US Constitution: who participates in Constitutional Conventions?
I am trying to understand the process of amending the U.S. Constitution. I believe I understand the usual process of amendments (2/3 of Congress, 3/4 of state legislatures), but I don't quite get how ...
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If judges are appointed, why should law makers be elected? [closed]
I'm from the UK. I think the following reasons are why we appoint judges instead of electing them:
Appointed judges make decisions that are more independent and unbiased, because they only care about ...
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when will we hear the results of this court case? [closed]
There was a senior who was suspended for self defense. He's suing the school. I heard the court was going to hear his case. This is really another question about the zero tolerance policy, but really ...
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Mark Levin and The Liberty Amendments: coordination of states proposing constitutional amendments
Article V of the United States Constitution says the following:
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
...
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