Republican Hyde-Smith Wins U.S. Senate Runoff in MS

Despite drawing intense scrutiny over the last few weeks, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi) will hold onto the seat she was appointed to earlier this year, following the resignation of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) over health concerns. The Associated Press called last week’s runoff between Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy in her favor after she’d accumulated 54 percent of the vote with 95 percent of precincts having reported.

 

The result was a relief for Republicans in a state President Trump carried by 18 points in 2016, after controversy swirled around Hyde-Smith, in large part over her remark that if a political supporter invited her to a “public hanging,” she’d be “on the front row,” which many saw as trivializing the history of lynching in the South.

 

The victory means the GOP had a net gain of two Senate seats in the midterms, giving them a 53-47 majority in the chamber. But it also means Democrats will have at least some chance of taking control of the chamber in 2020. They’ll need four seats, or three plus the vice presidency, and 34 will be contested, 22 of which are currently held by Republicans and 12 held by Democrats. (NBC NEWS, CNBC, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT.COM, TIME)

Politics in Brief - December 3 2018

DEMS CLAIM 3/4 MAJORITY IN CA ASSEMBLY

Democrats won 60 seats in the CALIFORNIA Assembly in the 2018 election, giving them a historic three-quarters majority in the 80-seat chamber. The Assembly Democratic caucus will be the largest since the state instituted a full-time Legislature in 1966 and will also have 21 female members, tying an all-time high set in the 2001-02 session. (CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY)

 

ATLANTA CYBERATTACK PART OF LARGER ASSAULT

Two Iranian citizens, Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri, have been charged in the March ransomware attack that crippled the city of Atlanta’s computer network. The attack was allegedly part of a nationwide assault on computer networks of local governments, healthcare systems and other entities dating back to 2015 that earned the pair $6 million in ransom and caused more than $30 million in losses. (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION)

 

NY SENATE CHOOSES FIRST FEMALE LEADER

The NEW YORK state Senate named Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) majority leader last week, making her the first female leader of a legislative chamber in the state. The Senate and Assembly have also added five more female members apiece. (TIMES UNION [ALBANY])

 

LONGTANDING WA HOUSE SPEAKER TO STEP DOWN NEXT YEARS

After being re-elected for another two-year term as speaker of the WASHINGTON House last week, Rep. Frank Chopp (D) released a statement indicating he will step down from that post but continue to serve in the chamber after the 2019 legislative session. Chopp, who has held or shared the speakership since 1999, is the state’s longest-serving speaker and the second-longest-serving current House speaker in the country, behind only Illinois’ Rep. Michael Madigan (D). (SEATTLE TIMES)

 

NY ANTI-CORRUPTION MEASURES MAY BE TAKEN UP IN 2019

NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) unanswered call last year for a constitutional amendment making the state’s Legislature a full-time body and capping lawmakers’ outside income at 15 percent of their base legislative salary of $79,500 may have found new life going into next year’s session, with a committee currently considering a pay increase for lawmakers for the first time in two decades. But opponents of outside income restrictions say they would prevent some from being able to serve in the Legislature and fail to end corruption, as the income limitations on members of Congress have demonstrated. (TIMES UNION [ALBANY])

 

 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

Hogan Creates ‘Emergency’ MD Redistricting Commission

Citing a court ruling that declared the state’s 6^th Congressional District to be illegally gerrymandered, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) created a nine-member commission tasked with taking politics out of drawing the district’s lines.

 

The executive order Hogan issued calls for the commission to be comprised of three Democrats, three Republicans and three independents. It comes in response to a ruling by the U.S. District Court in Baltimore last month that gave the state until March 7^th to submit a new map to be used for the 2020 election.

 

Hogan’s directive also comes in spite of a legal challenge to the court’s ruling by state attorney general Brian Frosh (D). The governor decried that challenge, saying Frosh is “on the wrong side of this fight and on the wrong side of history” by not looking to rectify a situation he called “an embarrassment” for the state.

 

“Actions like these are exactly why Marylanders are fed up with politics as usual,” he said.

 

At question are lines drawn by majority Democrats after the 2010 elections that moved a large number of Democratic voters from a party stronghold in Montgomery County into the 6^th District and a large block of Republican voters into the 8^th District, ensuring Dems would dominate both districts. The plan was an immediate success: in the very next election in 2012, Democratic challenger John Delaney defeated longtime 6^th District Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett.

 

It is not clear if redrawing the 6^th and 8^th districts alone would satisfy the court order, though the judges have said they would consider new maps that addressed just those districts prior to 2020, with a statewide effort being nudged to 2022.

 

Hogan said he would also make another attempt to permanently hand over the drawing of district lines to an independent commission. The governor has introduced legislation multiple times, but none has received a vote from lawmakers. Even so, he expressed optimism that increasing attention to partisan gerrymandering around the country will move lawmakers to take a new proposal more seriously.

 

“I don’t have any magic ball to say people in the legislature can change their mind and finally do the right thing,” Hogan said. “We’re going to continue to push for an open and transparent process that comes up with fair districts.” (WASHINGTON POST, BALTIMORE SUN)

Murphy Not Yet All In on NJ Weed Legalization Bill

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) lauded the approval of a closely-watched weed legalization measure last week, but declined to say if he would sign the measure if it reaches his desk.

 

Murphy has long supported legalizing cannabis in the Garden State, but said he had not seen the specifics of the bill endorsed by committees in both the Assembly and Senate last Monday. That measure, SB 2703, would legalize possession and use of one ounce or less of weed and impose a 12 percent tax on legal sales. The measure would also set up a licensing system for weed cultivators and sellers, allow for home delivery and the creation of so-called “pot lounges,” dispensaries where customers could consume products sold on site.

 

Murphy said it was “too early to tell” what he would do on the bill, though he has previously said he wanted to see weed taxed at 25 percent, more than double the rate proposed in the bill. Even so, he said “I am very happy that this is moving.”

 

It isn’t clear when the measure will go before full chambers for review. The legislature’s next scheduled session is December 17^th, but leaders declined to say if the bill would be heard then. (NJ.COM, GOVERNING, STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK])

Governors in Brief - December 3 2018

BAKER URGES NEW STEPS FOR REPORTING MA HATE CRIMES

Taking a cue from the recommendations of a state task force, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said the Bay State will create a new website to track hate crimes and urged police chiefs to designate at least one officer to coordinate responses to hate crimes in their communities. (BOSTON HERALD, SENTINAL & ENTERPRISE [FITCHBURG])

 

ABBOTT PITCHES TX PROPERTY TAX CAP

TEXAS Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appears set to propose capping annual city and county property tax growth at 2.5 percent. Under the proposal, which his staff emphasized is still a work in progress, a locale where property taxes go up by 6 percent would have to adjust the tax rate to ensure tax revenues collected rise no more than 2.5 percent. (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, SAN ANTONIO NEWS-EXPRESS)

 

REYNOLDS OPEN TO RESTORING IA FELON VOTING RIGHTS

IOWA Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said she is open to restoring felons’ voting rights as part of broader criminal justice reform in the Hawkeye State. Iowa and KENTUCKY are the only states that currently ban convicted felons from voting unless the governor acts to restore their individual voting rights. Reynolds said she and lawmakers will likely take up the issue next spring. (DES MOINES REGISTER, RADIO IOWA)

 

MN GOV-ELECT SUPPORTS LEGALIZING WEED

Saying “I just think the time is here,” MINNESOTA Gov.-elect Tim Walz (D) said he believes the Gopher State should follow the lead of a growing number of other states and legalize recreational marijuana use. It is not clear if Walz plans to make a formal proposal to lawmakers in the coming year. (ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS, KVRR [FARGO])

 

LEPAGE AGAIN SEEKS TO BLOCK ME MEDICAID EXPANSION

Just weeks from the end of his time in office, MAINE Gov. Paul LePage (R) filed an appeal seeking to block a court order to implement voter-approved expansion of the state Medicaid program. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ruled on Nov. 21 that the state must move forward with the expansion. Last week’s request for a stay filed by the Department of Health and Human Services claimed the expansion would have “far-reaching negative consequences” on state coffers. The move is likely a delay at best, as Gov.-elect Janet Mills (D) is expected to begin implementation shortly after taking office in January. (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD, BANGOR DAILY NEWS)

 

HOLCOMB JUST SAYS NO TO IN TOLL ROADS

In a letter to lawmakers last week INDIANA Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) said he will not move forward with an earlier plan to toll interstate highways in the Hoosier State. Holcomb said the fuel tax and vehicle registration fee increases approved last year by the Republican-controlled General Assembly are enough to sustain the state’s current road construction efforts. (NORTHWEST INDIANA TIMES [MUNSTER])

 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN