Questions tagged [us-state-laws]

Questions related to any laws enacted by any of the 50 states in the United States. Use the [united-states] tag alongside this.

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38 votes
4 answers
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In the US, what is the role of and relationship between federal law and state law?

(This is an attempt at a canonical question about an important distinction in US law and politics that is different than many other countries. It was suggested by this comment on another question. I'm ...
BradC's user avatar
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20 votes
3 answers
3k views

Why does the US government not enforce federal laws against Colorado's legalization of marijuana?

As far as I know, possession and trade of marijuana is illegal in the United States according to federal law. However, the state of Colorado (as well as some others) recently legalized marijuana for ...
Noah's user avatar
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11 votes
1 answer
5k views

Can a bill that has passed the US Senate or House expire?

The Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 in 2013; however, the house has still not acted on it. Is it possible for the bill to expire? ...
Nathaniel Ostrer's user avatar
18 votes
1 answer
1k views

How could Philadelphia join New Jersey?

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Senate voted to block a Philadelphia law which would require paid sick leave for employees. This is just one in a long series of examples where the heavily-Democrat ...
Bobson's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
329 views

Are there constitutional arguments for preventing/avoiding judicial review of state law in some scenarios? Are there any historical examples of this?

From CNN's video coverage of US Attorney General Merrick Garland announcement of its lawsuit against the state of Texas: Q: ...several GOP lawmakers who said that they will follow Texas’ lead, and I ...
uhoh's user avatar
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30 votes
6 answers
5k views

Why is avoidance of judicial review of the Texas abortion law and other future US state laws so concerning to the US department of justice?

From CNN's video coverage of US Attorney General Merrick Garland announcement of its lawsuit against the state of Texas: Q: ...several GOP lawmakers who said that they will follow Texas’ lead, and I ...
uhoh's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
14k views

Can private entities directly fund federal organizations?

Hypothetical: With congress stalled or unwilling to pass a new budget, could a sufficiently wealthy organization donate money to a government department, say the Department of Education or NASA and ...
lswim's user avatar
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40 votes
6 answers
10k views

How do the Republicans' recent laws make it harder for Democratic voters to vote?

I read this BBC article, but it's not totally clear for me why the recent voting rights laws passed in more than a dozen Republican-controlled state legislatures affect the Democratic base, but not ...
Sergey Zolotarev's user avatar
38 votes
7 answers
24k views

Why is bestiality illegal in the United States?

This is a question I have wondered more than once while browsing statute. Many states have laws against bestiality. For the life of me, I have never heard of this practice actually occurring and I ...
indigochild's user avatar
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29 votes
4 answers
12k views

Why are Kinder Surprise Eggs illegal in the USA?

In the USA, Kinder Surprise Eggs are banned by the government. What is the reason?
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28 votes
2 answers
1k views

What arguments have been made to support the Texas abortion law's private enforcement provisions, beyond evading review?

Texas Senate Bill 8, which practically bars abortions in the state, has an unusual* provision whereby civil claims against abortion providers can be asserted by private plaintiffs not involved in or ...
Sneftel's user avatar
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28 votes
2 answers
5k views

What would happen if every state had a law requiring it hold the nations first primary?

Quoting https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/11/politics/iowa-new-hampshire-primary-monopoly/index.html: The vote-counting meltdown in Iowa's antiquated and haphazard caucus system -- a process used partly ...
neubert's user avatar
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14 votes
6 answers
8k views

Why don't unions negotiate members-only contracts in right-to-work states?

How unions are generally formed is that the workers at a company take a vote, and if a majority vote for collective bargaining, then all the workers get represented by a union in negotiations with the ...
Keshav Srinivasan's user avatar
13 votes
3 answers
9k views

Can a U.S. state criminalize activity that's done in another state where it's legal?

In the United States, there are many states which have laws prohibiting things which other states permit - gambling, marijuana, same-sex marriage, and gun ownership, for a few examples. Obviously, if ...
Bobson's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
2k views

How can Indiana already be won even though only 8% of polls have reported?

Not that I would expect Indiana to swing blue here, but with 8% of polls reporting, Donald Trump has already clinched Indiana. NY Times How does this happen?
USER_8675309's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
518 views

Does a state have a right to criminalize someone's illegal presence within their borders?

Suppose the state of Texas, disappointed by the US federal government's handling of illegal immigration, decides to enact a law that criminalizes one's illegal presence within the state. Meaning if ...
moonman239's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
699 views

Can Florida ban Trump from visiting?

Trump's consistent weekend trips to Mar-a-Lago in Florida are apparently wreaking havoc on the economy of the city it's in, Palm Beach. This is of course due to the fact that his visit, due to his ...
Tirous's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
145 views

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 ...
Fizz's user avatar
  • 133k
2 votes
1 answer
257 views

Do any states require a resignation in order to run for office?

Based on a faulty memory, I suggested on a comment to this answer that there might be states which permit someone to run for two offices at once. That was obviously incorrect. What I was actually ...
Bobson's user avatar
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