With Republicans emerging from last year’s election in control of the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate and the White House, and congressional redistricting approaching in 2020, Democrats are planning to mount a major effort in state legislative races in 2018. The charge will be led by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), chaired by Eric Holder, attorney general under President Obama, and supported by the former president himself.

“There’s a great focus now in the Democratic Party, and in the progressive community more broadly, that getting back to power in Washington, D.C., requires gaining ground in the states,” said Greg Speed, a board member of the NDRC, as well as president of the America Votes Action Fund.

There’s plenty of ground in the states for Democrats to gain. They now control only 30 state legislative chambers, less than half the number controlled by Republicans, 66, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But the election appears to have been a wake-up call for some Democrats.

“Immediately after the election...[people] were turning to us and saying, ‘What can we do?’” said Carolyn Fiddler, spokeswoman for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which supports Democrats in state legislative races nationwide. “It seems to have hit a lot of folks organically really quickly.”

Fiddler also said donors can get more bang for their buck in state races.

“It takes a lot less to win a couple of targeted state House races in Michigan than it does to win a U.S. House race,” she said.

But the Democrats also face some big challenges, including donor fatigue.

“I know I have some, as much as I’ve spent and raised to see it go down the tubes,” said Bruce Thompson, a Democratic lobbyist and fundraiser in North Carolina.

Opposition to Trump could also make some Democrats reluctant to shift their attention away from Washington. And in some states, like Ohio and Pennsylvania, where Republicans led the redistricting process after the 2010 Census, legislative districts favor that party’s candidates.

Matthew Walter, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, said this isn’t the first time he’s heard Democrats talk about focusing on state races.

“Every cycle, for the past several cycles, Democrats have talked about how this is the cycle when it’s going to change, this is the year they’re going to make gains at the state level,” he said. “Until they recognize that their policy positions are not in line with voters of this country, and until they start running candidates that are respected by the voters of their district, they run the very real risk of continuing to fall from the already...historically low level they’re at.” (ROLL CALL, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

Christie Signs Opioid EO

Sticking to his vow to address the state’s rising opioid abuse epidemic, NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie (R) issued Executive Order No. 219, which declares opioid abuse to be a public health crisis and creates a state task force charged with “developing and executing a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to combat the drug-abuse epidemic by working with all areas of state government, in addition to local, federal, and private entities, as well as the Facing Addiction Task Force.”  (NJ.COM)

Hutchinson Wants Lee, King Separation

ARKANSAS Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said he would like to separate the Razorback State's dual celebration of the birthdays of slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Arkansas is one of three former Confederate states – ALABAMA and MISSISSIPPI are the others – that celebrate a joint Lee-King holiday. Lawmakers joined the two in 1985; numerous efforts to disconnect them have since been undertaken, including as recently as 2015. (ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE)

VT Gov. Scott Wants Govt Reorganization

VERMONT Gov. Phil Scott (R) said he wants to reconfigure Green Mountain State government by combining labor and economic development issues under one roof, merging the state liquor and lottery offices and creating a powerful new agency for technology projects. Scott issued three executive orders to start the process: EOs 05-17 , 06-17 and 07-17 . (BURLINGTON FREE PRESS, VERMONT GOVERNOR’S OFFICE)

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) used her annual State of the State address to call for the state to “rebuild and reinvent” the Ocean State’s manufacturing sector. Raimondo said she believes the state has its strongest workforce, business climate and economy in years, but said it has missed out on opportunities to breathe new life into its downtrodden manufacturing industry.

Bolstering the manufacturing sector has been one of the governor’s primary agenda item since coming to office in 2014. She has also been the force behind using state tax incentives to keep two large manufacturing employers from leaving the state.

“We need to realize that our economy has changed in ways that are causing real challenges. How we meet those challenges will determine our future,” Raimondo said, adding that her budget will include funding for expanded job training programs aimed at helping displaced blue collar workers find employment.

The governor’s address came a day after she said she would support raising the state minimum wage to $9.60 per hour. Raimondo tried but failed last year to get lawmakers to endorse her proposal to raise the wage to $10.10. (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, GOVERNING)

Seeking to address rising health costs, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has proposed reinstating a law that would fine employers for not offering health care insurance to their workers. Baker’s proposal would also cap payments to some health care providers, eliminate some hospital fees and end new coverage requirements that drive up premiums.

The Bay State’s landmark 2006 health coverage law included a provision to fine employers $295 per worker for not providing health coverage, but it was repealed in 2013 in order to bring the state into compliance with the federal Affordable Care Act. Baker’s proposal would raise the levy to $2,000 per worker and apply to companies with more than 10 employees. Baker administration officials believe the fines would produce around $300 million in new annual revenue.

Baker says the state needs that funding to mitigate an ongoing surge in state health spending brought about by record enrollments in MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. Enrollment has grown to 1.93 million people, the highest in state history. Much of that growth came in part because the ACA allowed many low-income workers to join the public program even if they had access to insurance from their employers.

The proposal drew immediate howls of protest from the business community, which claimed it would disproportionately impact small employers that could least afford the new fees. Richard Lord, president of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts called it “an unfair assessment on employers who are trying to do the right thing.”

Hospital groups also decried the possible cap on payments, arguing payments need to go up, not down. Insurers, however, hailed the proposal.

Bake plans to unveil the full proposal in his budget address this week. Lawmakers would need to approve the changes for them to go into effect. (BOSTON GLOBE, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE)

Potpourri In New Jersey

The NEW JERSEY Supreme Court rules that municipalities must allow the development of affordable housing for poor and middle-class families whose needs were ignored for more than 16 years. The court rejected claims from several local governments that they faced no legal requirement to provide affordable housing for poor and middle-class families during a period spanning from 1999 to 2015 (BERGEN RECORD).

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN