| | | | Let’s celebrate the end of the work week by taking a gander at the important work accomplished this week by lawmakers! (What could go wrong!) |
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|  The Big Takeaway |
| Believe it or not, we’re going to kick off today’s newsletter with an example of lawmakers using their power to advance, rather than attack, democracy. (I know, right?) That distinction goes to Democrats in New Mexico, who said they planned to reintroduce a sweeping proposal to improve voting access for Indigenous people, restore voting rights to convicted felons, expand the use of absentee ballots and implement automatic voter registration, Source New Mexico reported. Democrats first introduced the New Mexico Voting Rights Act during a 30-day legislative session last February. House members worked through the night to approve the bill on the morning of the session’s last day, but the measure died in the Senate following an hours-long filibuster by state Sen. William Sharer. The Republican made no attempt to deny the political motivations behind the procedural roadblock, noting several times during his hours of rambling that the tactic was simply a way to hand the GOP a legislative “win” after a session filled with concessions to the Democratic majority. “We have to play,” he said in an unhinged metaphor that compared government operations to sports. “Hot dogs are part of baseball.” |
| | The death of the proposal was a blow for voting rights advocates, who had hoped to see the legislation enacted ahead of the 2022 midterms. The bill’s provisions would have addressed longstanding voting issues across the state, including a lack of drop boxes in rural counties and disparate voting locations in tribal communities. Democrats said those provisions will be included in the new version of the bill, which was slated to be introduced this week but had not been filed as of Thursday evening. The updated legislation will also require language translation during early voting, permit people without mailing addresses to substitute the addresses of tribal buildings, and include tribal input on the boundaries of voting precincts. Lawmakers said it would also upgrade voter registration systems, designate Election Day as a state holiday and create a permanent absentee voter list for people who’d like to receive mail-in ballots for every election without submitting requests. “There’s simply too much at stake for our state — for our country — from reproductive rights to climate change to social justice, and to our economy, to allow only a portion of our citizens to have a vote,” said state House Majority Floor Leader Gail Chasey. “We’ve been fighting for this legislation a long time, and we want to make it a reality.” |
| | And that concludes the good news portion of the newsletter! Let’s get back to normal (well, “normal”) by heading to Idaho, where Republicans on Thursday advanced a proposal to withhold funding from cities that decline to enforce state felony laws. The bill is a revision of an earlier proposal that imposed the same penalty but only on local governments that refused to comply with Idaho’s criminal abortion laws, per the Idaho Capital Sun. The legislation is a clear rebuke to cities like Boise, where officials responded to the demise of Roe v. Wade by approving a resolution to deprioritize allocating police resources to enforcing abortion-related laws. Republicans made halfhearted attempts to change that perception at a bill hearing on Thursday, saying the measure was necessary to prevent the looting and riots and anarchy that are destined to befall cities the moment officials decide to turn their backs on “law and order.” “We want the rule of law,” said Rep. Bruce Skaug, the bill’s lead sponsor. “We want to back the blue to keep us safe with these felony enforcements.” |
| | Even if that was the real motivation behind the bill (it isn’t), it’s a weird policy. Under the bill, local governments that refuse to investigate or enforce felony laws — even those that do so via “resolution” or “proclamation” — would lose their share of sales and tax use revenues. (They’d get it back if they backtrack within 180 days.) For cities with limited budgets, that loss of revenue could constitute a sizable spending gap, which is an odd penalty for a “back the blue” lawmaker to throw at municipalities that are already struggling to recruit and retain law enforcement officers, said Rep. Lauren Necochea, a Boise Democrat. “Resources are scarce for a lot of reasons, and with those strapped resources, it’s totally appropriate to prioritize different types of felonies for enforcement to protect our public safety,” Necochea said. “I don’t believe this prioritization means anarchy. I think it means a wise focusing of scarce resources on the crimes that are the biggest threat to public safety.” Republicans in Iowa are focused on similarly important public safety issues, like expanding the state attorney general’s power to investigate and prosecute violations of election misconduct laws. The proposal, outlined in a draft bill obtained by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, seems designed to minimize the role of county attorneys, a quarter of whom are Democrats. Iowa’s attorney general and governor are both Republican. |
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| As written, the proposal would authorize the attorney general to decide whether to prosecute alleged violations of Iowa’s election laws without a referral from a county attorney. (A separate provision would strip county attorneys of the authority to even investigate potential election misconduct in their own jurisdictions.) It’s a reversal of the current system, where county attorneys refer cases for state prosecution typically only when they lack the resources to handle the case or there’s a conflict of interest. That process fosters a cooperative relationship between state and county offices, which could be upended by shifting the balance of power in what appears to be a purely political move, said state Sen. Nate Boulton, a Polk County Democrat. “When you start to see things like this, changing around enforcement responsibilities, the concern becomes that this elective office becomes very much a political office in terms of deciding how these cases are going to be handled,” he said. “That is concerning.” Reasons for concern: Ahead of education-funding bill, supporters of Alaska public schools pitch their case … Arkansas House committee hears legislation restricting school bathroom use … (Florida) DeSantis’ ‘law and order’ agenda: execute child rapists, target rainbow fentanyl, ban no-cash bail … Indiana tax cap proposal would help homeowners but hurt school corporations … (Maryland) Gov. Moore is about to shake up the Public Service Commission. Here’s why it matters … (Michigan) ‘Just not The Diatribe’ … Sunshine Law violations by AG’s office under Josh Hawley could cost Missouri $300K … (New Hampshire) GOP lawmakers want more scrutiny of providers using public money for reproductive health care … Federal judge asked to block more of New Jersey’s new gun law … Omaha, Lincoln police chiefs call ‘constitutional carry’ of concealed weapons dangerous |
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|  From The Newsrooms |
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|  One Last Thing |
| A college basketball game was disrupted Wednesday in Pittsburgh after an Uber Eats delivery man wandered onto the court while trying to deliver an order from McDonald’s. (He eventually found the customer.) “The guy had a job to do,” Duquesne University head basketball coach Keith Dambrot said after the game. “He did his job well.” |
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