49
votes
Accepted
Why doesn't the Texas legislature nuke the quorum?
Why doesn't the Texas legislature nuke the quorum?
... why doesn't the GOP nuke the quorum and now only require a simple majority of members?
Any change to the quorum requires an amendment to the ...
- 34.3k
36
votes
Can California really ban their residents from traveling to states without LGBT protections?
From your CNN link:
The law bans state-funded or state-sponsored travel by employees of state agencies and departments as well as members of boards, authorities, and commissions.
Note the ...
- 89.3k
31
votes
Could Texas Democrats be punished for walking out?
According to the Constitution of Texas, the Senate and House of the Texas legislature can decide how to compel their members to attend and determine what penalties there are for not attending. For ...
- 10.2k
31
votes
Accepted
How did Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo explain why he vetoed a bill that would ban people from acting as fake electors?
You can read the letter of objections Lombardo attached to the bill when he returned it to the Nevada Senate here. His argument against the bill is essentially that it introduces "...
CDJB♦
- 105k
19
votes
Accepted
Could Texas Democrats be punished for walking out?
Yes. According to this article
The lawmakers risk arrest in taking flight. Under the Texas Constitution, the Legislature requires a quorum of two-thirds of lawmakers be present to conduct state ...
- 2,329
15
votes
Can Democratic politicians vote in Texas while they're arrested?
In short, the answer is 'it depends'. A member of the Texas legislature cannot vote unless they appear for a vote voluntarily, so it all depends on the release conditions for the arrest, and whether ...
- 10.2k
15
votes
Accepted
How can two tied candidates in a New Hampshire House race "share the seat"?
Section 24 of Chapter 660 of Title 63, N.H. Stat. states:
If the candidates having the highest number of votes for the office of governor, councilor, state senator, or state representative shall have ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
14
votes
Can Democratic politicians vote in Texas while they're arrested?
They don't get arrested and taken to jail but rather get escorted back the the chambers so that business can happen. As they are trying to get a quorum to allow them to vote on bills the goal is to ...
- 15.4k
12
votes
In layperson's terms: Supreme Court to Hear Case on State Legislatures’ Power Over Elections?
If the court rules in favor of the legal theory being advanced, then state legislatures would have unfettered ability to ignore state constitutions, state laws, and state courts, and to exclude the ...
- 73k
11
votes
Why do non-federations need bicameral parliaments?
The UK has been a unitary state for much of its history, and its Parliament has had two Houses for most of that time.
The role of the House of Lords is as the quote in the question states. It's not ...
- 11.8k
10
votes
In layperson's terms: Supreme Court to Hear Case on State Legislatures’ Power Over Elections?
Update, concerning "State Legislatures’ Power Over Elections".
On June 27, 2023, Politico reports:
By a 6-3 vote, the court rejected the “independent state legislature” theory in a case ...
- 34.3k
10
votes
Why does Illinois have over 8000 administrative divisions? Was there any official rationale for the huge expansion of local governments?
Short Answer
Municipalities and many kinds of special districts are created by property owners, usually led by a real estate developer, not approved by state government except with a general ...
- 73k
9
votes
Why are US state (as opposed to federal) legislatures bicameral?
In the US, state and local legislatures can choose to be bicameral, unicameral or something else. As of today, all state legislatures are bicameral, except in Nebraska, which is unicameral.
Most ...
- 10.4k
9
votes
Can California really ban their residents from traveling to states without LGBT protections?
To answer the question that OP asked ("Can California ban its citizens from traveling to other states?"), which I should note is a purely hypothetical question (i.e. California has not ...
- 9,056
9
votes
Can California really ban their residents from traveling to states without LGBT protections?
The ban covers using state funds to travel to other states. As UCLA recently proved, all you have to do is claim the funds came from non-state funds
Late last year, UCLA announced it would not ...
- 45.6k
9
votes
Does anything prevent US state legislatures from directly selecting electors overriding the popular vote in their state?
why doesn't this clause invalidate state laws that provide for the selection of electors by popular election?
Because
in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct
means they can make their ...
- 145k
9
votes
Why doesn't the Texas legislature nuke the quorum?
In addition to the answer by Rick Smith there is also the very big problem that the majority party doesn't need to work with the minority party at all.
If all you needed was a simple majority of ...
- 15.4k
8
votes
Why do non-federations need bicameral parliaments?
Many of the bicameral legislatures were probably created in imitation of the UK Parliament, and of other European parliaments which were formed on similar lines for similar reasons. If you look at the ...
- 2,621
8
votes
Why do non-federations need bicameral parliaments?
With a couple of exceptions where bicameral parliaments grew out of tradition (i.e. probably only England), at some point in history a select group of people from a state came together and began ...
- 13.1k
7
votes
How can state-level senate/house bills be denied a vote if they have many sponsors?
This answer is specific to the Maryland legislative process.
Bill Introduction & Committee Process
The first step of the process is to have the bill introduced. In my state, it's considered ...
- 23.8k
7
votes
Accepted
What U.S. constitutional rights do federal/state prisoners have?
Yes, many constitutional rights are limited upon conviction and imprisonment. Most notable among these is the right of liberty. The major constitutional clause is the "due process" clause of the ...
- 17.4k
7
votes
Accepted
Do state senators and representatives have offices in Washington DC or in the state capitol?
TL;DR: In the state capitol.
State senators and state representatives have nothing to do with the federal government. They are part of the state government. They can only pass state level laws. ...
- 89.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Proportion of Rhode Island's Part-Time Legislature That are Lawyers
I have heard it said that the bulk of Rhode Island's state legislature are either teachers or lawyers ...
Q: Is this an accurate statement?
Based on the tables below, no. Attorneys and educators have ...
- 34.3k
6
votes
Why does the Govt. of Maharashtra not use Moḍi as the official script of the Maraṭhi Language?
Modi is a more complex script, Balbodh is simpler. Indeed Balbodh means "for children". But if you have learned Balbodh in Elementary school, and you can now read and write Marathi in ...
- 115k
6
votes
Accepted
Are "Don't talk about X in classrooms" state laws a relatively recent phenomenon in the US?
It isn't really new.
One of the most famous cases in the United States was in 1925 when science teachers were prohibited from teaching evolution in the public schools of Tennessee under the Butler Act....
- 73k
6
votes
How can two tied candidates in a New Hampshire House race "share the seat"?
Q: How can two tied candidates in a New Hampshire House race "share the seat"?
The term used is "split seat", presumably each would get a half vote.
"The New Hampshire ...
- 34.3k
5
votes
Accepted
What's the deal with the Independent Democratic Conference?
Short Answer
There was no actual policy dispute between the IDC and mainline democrats. The split occurred because of John L. Sampson causing distrust amongst a faction of democrats.
Long Answer
...
- 5,400
5
votes
Accepted
Effective differences between legislatures by number of houses?
There are numerous studies that look at bicameralism in public choice economics. One general conclusion is that more houses make legislation more difficult to pass, requiring a super-majority of ...
- 11k
5
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between state legislator and congress member?
Yes. A State Legislator is the state equivalent of a Federal Legislator such as Representative or Senator. Most states model their legislature like the federal Congress, while Nebraska and Washington ...
- 189
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible