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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Why do some states forbid per-kWh by anyone but the utility monopoly?
I was reading this article on EV-charger pricing schemes. There are some vague references to states requiring per-minute pricing, but 0 explanations of that thing. A little research has suggested ...
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How would the United States of America grant Puerto Rico statehood?
Given the existence of the statehood movement in Puerto Rico, what would need to happen for Puerto Rico to be the 51st State of the U.S.A.?
After their last hurricane, how would the help from the US ...
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Maximum fetal age for legal abortion in the USA?
Of all the places that permit abortion in the USA, which ones have the maximum fetal age for legal abortion?
Say State A allows abortion when the age of the fetus is less than 20 weeks, and State B ...
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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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Which states have weakened police unions’ collective bargaining power over disciplinary issues?
Matt Yglesias, liberal political columnist for Vox, just tweeted this:
Months into the era of everyone reading White Fragility and posting Black Lives Matter memes and declaring racism a public ...
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Covid-19 public data accuracy, disclosure, and transparency
With the unprecedented move of the Trump administration to have state Covid-19 data sent to HHS instead of the CDC it warrants to know if any rules\regulations will work differently with this change ...
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Voting for 2020 presidential election during out of state move [closed]
I imagine that I will be moving states before the 2020 Election Day, and I don’t want to do a mail in ballot, just because I think there’s going to be a lot of BS around that this year. If I’m a tax ...
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How can grand jury secrecy rules block release of Trump financial records?
This NY Times article discussing the Supreme Court ruling that Trump cannot block release of financial records clarifies that this "probably means the records will be shielded from public ...
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In Kentucky, who is responsible for closing a polling location?
For in person voting tomorrow, Kentucky (USA) will have roughly 200 out of the normal ~3,700 polling locations open.
Was a single person responsible for this decision, such as the Kentucky secretary ...
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Who draws county lines?
Within a state, which government institution is responsible for drawing and determining the boundaries of county lines?
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How Does Wisconsin's Bail Bond System Differ From Bondsmen?
Recently in Wisconsin there has been a lot of discussion on how commercial bail bondsman could/will become legal as an earmark to a budget bill. While looking into this matter, one side argues that ...
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What is the difference between voting for presidential nominee vs. voting for delegates in Maryland?
On my ballot in Maryland for the presidential primary, there are separate questions to vote for the presidential nominee directly, and to vote for specific delegates to the convention. The delegates ...
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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 ...
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How can a Governor enforce "Shelter in Place Orders" if cities or States' Attorneys refuse to enforce them?
I've seen reports of state's attorneys and cities refusing to enforce state Stay at Home orders. If a governor was so inclined, are there actions they could take against the state's attorneys and ...
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Why are some Covid-19 tests excluded in some US states?
For example, the LabCorp COVID-19 RT-PCR has been EUA-approved by the FDA, but it lists as exclusion criteria the following:
Exclusion:
• Live in MD, NJ, NY or RI
meaning that people who live in ...
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In Massachusetts, if a US Senator resigns midterm, how is their replacement selected?
Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, is generally considered a top contender to be Joe Biden's running mate. If she was elected Vice President, she would have to resign her ...
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Does the US government have any plan to punish Equifax for failure to stop Chinese breach?
I read about how Equifax was hacked by Chinese hackers and stole the data of over 146 million Americans, a hack that was partially only possible because Equifax made simple security mistakes like ...
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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 ...
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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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Why does California seem to have much more aggressive Consumer Protection and Safety Legislation? [closed]
Why does the state of California seem to be so much more aggressive about passing protection/safety legislation?
My impression is that they seem to pass consumer protection laws earlier and more ...
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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 ...
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In terms of US politics, has protecting taxicab operations from competition been a left-wing policy?
Because of the limited space available, the title could be raising an unanswerable question. Given changes over time and the variety of viewpoints within the left wing, the answer could depend on ...
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Is the President of the United States bound by state laws?
The state of New York is currently in the process of passing a law allowing Congress to access the state tax returns of elected officials and top appointed officials. This is seen as a potential "end-...
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Can a state judge throw the U.S. President in jail for contempt of court?
In USA there is this concept or "rule of law" that includes the principle that no one is above the law.
About this the book "A Companion to the US Constitution and Its Amendments" (by John R. Vile) ...
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Which US states prohibit vote trading by elected officials?
Apparently vote trading is illegal in California when done by elected officials:
Recent amendments to the Penal Code extended the prohibition to local officials:
Any member of the legislative body ...
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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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Why are drinking laws so strict in the USA?
In the USA, alcohol laws are very strict and specific, while in most other parts of the world they are very lax. What's the reason?
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Why states don't charge head taxes to reduce poverty? [closed]
Under current system, in most democracy, all people have a right to move anywhere.
People in California have a right to move to Texas and via versa.
We know that poor people are more likely to ...
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When I register for voting in Massachusets with a telephone number on the "Do Not Call" registry, do I have to check the "unlisted phone number" box?
Background
In March 2003, the Do Not Call registry was signed into law by president George W. Bush. This law allowed the FTC to create a voluntary registry of phone numbers whereby some entities ...
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How many US states still prohibit transportation of alcohol across state lines without a license, even for personal use?
Apparently Ohio still prohibits transportation of alcohol (even for personal use) across its state lines, without a license ("H permit"), while Pennsylvania legalized it in 2015/2016 and ...
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Oregon household medical visits to familes with newborn children. Voluntary or mandatory?
Oregon's SB 526 has gained much controversy. The bill, if passed, is supposed to implement home visits by nurses/other-medical-professionals to families with newborn children. According to Patrick ...
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Can a city in Colorado decide to legalize more drugs?
Colorado and many other states legalize weed.
I wonder, just like some states in the United States can legalize weed, can some cities in those states decide to legalize other drugs too?
JJJ♦
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What are the powers of mayors in the US?
I know very little about US government and state system and only in general.
I heard that, for example, US town mayor also rules town police and can change taxes. Is it true? The fact about ruling ...
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Since they have large autonomy, are U.S. states responsible for international policy and relations in any way?
I never see States' representatives at international meetings or in any diplomatic relations. Are they responsible in any way for foreign policy?
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Can the US states veto Congress legislation?
As said in the title:
Can the US states veto laws approved by the Congress?
For instance, the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 while it gave 90% of the funding from a Highway Trust Fund, however, ...
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How do felony disenfranchisement laws differ state by state?
Why is it that for felony disenfranchisement only certain rights seem to be lost and they differ state by state.
Such as voting, jury duty, weapons. But some rights are never affected such as ...
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Can state governments be overthrown without national government involvement?
It is my understanding that the state and national government of the United States are separate entities (that's what federalism is, combining smaller states into a larger one).
Could unhappy ...
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Have congressional Republicans taken a position on whether they will give "consent" to the United States Climate Alliance as an interstate compact?
The United States Climate Alliance is an effort by state governments to support the Paris Climate Accord and help reduce emissions in the United States. There is however a constitutional problem with ...
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Feasible peak to minimum wage?
A number of US minimum wage advocates seek regular increases in the minimum wage. As a matter of political and economic feasibility, how high can the hourly minimum wage be set? I assume this would ...
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Passing state laws that conflict with federal laws. How is it possible? [duplicate]
California passed a law this election year allowing the recreational use of marijuana. However, at the federal level, marijuana is still illegal. How can states pass laws that conflict with federal ...
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Can a person be elected to a Minnesota state office if there are fewer votes for them than blank votes?
On my ballot for Minnesota are a lot of state-level positions (judges, a representative, county sheriff) where the incumbent is running unopposed. If there are fewer votes for them than blank votes, ...
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Why doesn't the USA split into "Divided States of America" to achieve political autonomy? [closed]
While the disagreements between political parties have naturally always been present in the USA, their differences were historically nuanced, and Representatives of both parties regularly found common ...
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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 ...
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Looking for details about the Ga. 11/7/2017 general election
According to http://sos.ga.gov/index.php/elections/2017_elections_and_voter_registration_calendar, there's a general election on 11/7/2017. No other information is listed, not even which districts ...
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Why does each US state handle car registrations and driver licensing separately rather than delegating it to the federal government?
Despite the high level of economic integration between US states, for some reason all of them insist on having their own rules for driver licensing and car registration. When moving to a different ...
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Which states do not recognize or have not designated a special day of observance for Juneteenth Independence Day?
Which states do not recognize or have not designated a special day of observance for Juneteenth Independence Day?
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To what extent does the Governor of a US State have official interactions with Senate and House members from that state?
Naturally, the various politicians from a State have some interaction with one another for the sake of furthering their State's interests. They probably coordinate even more commonly if they are from ...
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What prevents states and counties in the US from combining drivers license and registration data?
When stopped for a traffic infraction in the United States most (all?) officers ask for license and registration. They are legally allowed to demand this information on request as a condition of ...
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What happens to existing state laws if a state splits (United States)
Brought to mind by this question regarding the vote for splitting of California into three states.
What happens to existing California state laws if it is split into three states? Does each state ...
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What are the arguments for and against Statutes of Limitations?
I was reading this article earlier today about the alleged Golden State Killer which mentioned that the State of California passed a law a few years ago which eliminated the Statute of Limitations for ...
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