Only Sixteen Democrats in U.S. House Aren’t Co-Sponsoring Bill for D.C. Statehood

Posted on by October 31, 2019
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Only sixteen Democrats in the U.S. House are not co-sponsoring HR 51, the bill to make almost all of the District of Columbia a state. By state, they are:
Arizona: Tom O’Halleran
California: Nancy Pelosi
Indiana: Pete Visclosky
Maine: Jared Golden
Michigan: Elissa Slotkin
Minnesota: Collin Peterson
New Jersey: Jeff Van Drew
New Mexico: Xochitl Torres Small
New York: Anthony Brindisi, Joseph Morelle
Oklahoma: Kendra Horn
Pennsylvania: Conor Lamb
South Carolina: Joe Cunningham
Tennessee: Jim Cooper
Utah: Ben McAdams
Wisconsin: Ron Kind

The bill has no Republican co-sponsors. Even the Republican Delegates from American Samoa and Puerto Rico have not co-sponsored it. UPDATE: this post originally listed 17 Democrats, but on October 30, Arizona Congressmember Greg Stanton co-sponsored the bill, so the post has been amended.

Federal Government Files Brief in U.S. Supreme Court in Libertarian Party Bequests Case

Posted on by October 24, 2019
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On October 23, the Federal Election Commission filed this brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Libertarian National Committee v FEC, 19-234. This is the case on whether the First Amendment allows the government to prevent the Libertarian Party from receiving a bequest when the estate is probated, rather than having to wait to receive the money for five, six, or seven years, with small amounts being distributed every calendar year.

The FEC asks the Court not to take the case.

Proposed California Initiative, Providing for On-Line Petitioning, Begins to Circulate

Posted on by October 23, 2019
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On October 23, the California Secretary of State said that a proposed initiative is now free to start circulating. It would provide that all state and local initiative, referendum, and recall petitions would be on-line at the Secretary of State’s web page. Then any registered voter could sign any such petition on-line.

The proponent is Michael Liddell of Pollock Pines, El Dorado County. The initiative needs 623,212 signatures in the next six months.

New York Trial Court Hears Oral Argument in Fusion Case on November 12

Posted on by October 23, 2019
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On November 12, a New York state trial court in Niagara County will hear the cases filed by the Working Families Party, and the Conservative Party, over whether a state commission has the authority to ban fusion. The legislature created a commission earlier this year that was given the authority to write laws on public funding of campaigns, and also on whether fusion should continue to exist. The WFP and the Conservative Party argue the state constitution does not permit the legislature to delegate its law-making powers on this matter to an unelected commission.

The Working Families case is Hurley v Public Campaign Finance & Election Commission, E169547/2019.