What happened during Virginia's special legislative session? Virginia lawmakers met from August through October in an unusual special session featuring hand sanitizer stations, Plexiglas separators, masks, and video chats. On October 21, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a myriad of bills from the special session related to the state’s COVID-19 response and recovery, criminal justice [...]
Image Collage by Alana Burman In Michigan, lawmakers recently passed a package of legislation to address various COVID-19 policies, including those related to extending unemployment benefits and addressing COVID-19 liability. Unemployment Benefit Extension Senate Bill 0886 amends the Michigan Employment Security Act to add several provisions regarding COVID-related unemployment benefits. The bill essentially codifies and [...]
Which states are looking to implement Ranked-Choice Voting? DMGS Article Highlights Ranked-choice voting is an alternative to the standard “first-past-the-post” method most of the United States uses.Maine is the only state with ranked-choice voting for statewide and congressional races, but some municipalities across the country do as well.Other states are looking to implement or expand [...]
Digital collage by Alana Burman In the middle of the 2020 General Election, millions of voters have already cast ballots by mail, and millions more are making plans to vote in person on Election Day. However, not all Americans are eligible to cast a ballot. According to the ACLU, states have disenfranchised 5.85 million Americans [...]
Digital collage by Alana Burman DMGS Article Highlights HHS issued an April statement allowing pharmacists to order and administer COVID tests.States have taken action to address who can order and administer tests, including pharmacists, pharmacist interns, and pharmacist technicians.Some states have taken a legislative approach, while others have relied on their governors and executive agencies [...]
DMGS Article Highlights Earlier this year, DMGS took an in-depth look at Nevada’s two special sessions that convened this past summer. Like Nevada, Louisiana has also convened two special sessions this year. Louisiana’s second special session is currently ongoing. Refresh: What is a Special Session? Digital collage by Alana Burman; image source Unlike a regular [...]
by: Ryan J. Stevens and John C. Zang DMGS Article Highlights New Jersey recently joined California, New York, and Washington, D.C., implementing a “millionaires’ tax”Measures to implement a millionaire’s tax range from legislation to ballot measures to constitutional amendments New Jersey recently joined California, New York, and Washington, D.C., in implementing “millionaires’ taxes.” “Millionaires’ Tax” [...]
In 2018, Pennsylvania became the first state to enact a "Clean Slate" law. DMGS Article Highlights Pennsylvania was the first state to enact a "Clean Slate" law and automatically sealing certain criminal records.Numerous states, like Utah and Michigan, have followed Pennsylvania's lead. Some states only seal or expunge certain misdemeanors, but others, like Michigan, expanded [...]
Digital Illustration by Alana Burman Last week, DMGS looked at different ballot measures across the country, including two states with marijuana-related measures. With more states looking at legalizing adult-use recreational marijuana or medical marijuana, some are doing so via legislation enacted by lawmakers, and others via ballot measures. Thirty-three states have legalized medical marijuana, and [...]
What questions will appear on 2020 ballots? Across the United States, ballot measures exist in the form of a law, issue, or question that appears on a state or local ballot for voters to decide. There are numerous kinds of ballot measures, including those that are legislatively referred or citizen-initiated. In 2016, the last presidential [...]
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