Legislature objects to veto of lawmakers spending authority sfgate.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sfgate.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A grocery store displays a sign requiring customers to wear masks in Austin, Texas on March 10, 2021. [Photo/Agencies]
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit a year ago, many US governors invoked emergency powers to impose restrictions on residents, ranging from temporarily ordering them to remain home to mandatory wearing of masks and the shutting down of restaurant indoor dining, gyms and other businesses.
Lawmakers in 45 states have proposed more than 300 measures this year related to legislative oversight of executive actions during the pandemic or other emergencies, said the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Some of the proposals are going further to fundamentally shift power from governors to lawmakers even if there is another virus outbreak, a terrorist attack or a natural disaster.
Bill passed to stop NDSU ties with Planned Parenthood
JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press
FacebookTwitterEmail
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) The Republican-led North Dakota Legislature has passed legislation aimed at preventing North Dakota State University from funneling federal grant money to Planned Parenthood for sex education in the state.
The bill easily passed the Republican-led chamber, 35-11, on Monday. The GOP-led House passed the measure 66-25 earlier this month. It is unclear of GOP Doug Burgum will sign the bill. Burgum is a North Dakota State graduate and former Bison football cheerleader. Some lawmakers have said he is getting much pressure from university officials and alum to veto the bill.
Florida’s statehouse swirled with the ghosts of the 2000 presidential election amid charges of voter suppression, as the state Senate approved a nationally watched election package Republicans tout as a move to preserve the integrity of elections but that Democrats worry will make it harder for some voters to cast ballots.
The Republican-led Legislature is poised to send a measure to Gov. Ron DeSantis that would enact new voter ID and signature requirements, restrict who can return completed ballots on an absentee voter’s behalf and place new rules on ballot drop boxes.
The debate in Florida’s statehouse comes in advance of next year’s election, when the governor’s mansion and a seat in the U.S. Senate again come before voters in a state well-known for its high-stakes, razor-thin elections.
The state will drop from 18 to 17 seats for the 2022 elections.
Since peaking at 36 in 1910, Pennsylvania has lost U.S. House seats following every census
Pennsylvania has maintained a relatively steady population of about 12.7 million over the last 10 years, but it has been outpaced by growing states such as Florida, Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, Montana and Oregon, which will gain one seat, and Texas, which will gain two seats.
“This is not a surprise,” said Kris Kanthak, a University of Pittsburgh political science professor. “We’re older. We’re not getting quite as many people coming in.”
Besides Pennsylvania, states losing a House seat under reapportionment, the term used to describe the reallocation of seats based on census results, include California, New York, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan.