The Importance of Being Roberts edition

All the world's a stage, and all the state legislators merely players. They have their sine dies and their convenings, and one lawmaker in a session proposes many bills...

While we wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to begin the second act of Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (as well as the Obamacare and same-sex marriage cases), let's check out what's been going on around the country during intermission.

• The Misanthrope(s): The North Carolina legislature has successfully overriden the governor's veto of SB2 -- more infamously known as the "religious freedom" bill. The measure allows some public officials to refuse to perform same-sex marriages and takes effect... well, today.  

• Les Miserables: That's what a lot of kids in Michigan are going to be when GOP lawmakers allow adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples who want to adopt children. 
• On Wednesday, the state Senate suddenly took up a package of bills that allow publicly funded adoption agencies to deny service to LGBT parents on religious grounds. All of the chamber's Democrats (and one Republican) opposed the legislation, but the Senate's GOP majority gave final approval to the bills. 
• And Gov. Snyder has just signed them into law. #onetoughbigot

• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead...and if they lived in Florida, maybe they could have been saved by healthcare coverage made available by Medicaid expansion, but the Republicans in the state House killed that on Friday, so they're out of luck.
• The state Senate has been fighting with the House for months over the former's effort to expand Medicaid coverage under Obamacare (the House even fled Tallahassee at one point to avoid voting on it). Late last week, the House killed a Senate proposal that would have covered as many as 650,000 Floridians.
• Americans for Prosperity would like to take credit for bullying Florida Republicans into submission.
• Many Republican lawmakers argue that "expanded healthcare would create a taxpayer-funded entitlement program."

Fun fact! Florida taxpayers subsidize state legislators' "Cadillac healthcare plans" to the point that they only cost lawmakers $50 a month.

Funner fact! My law school classmate and current state Rep. Matt Gaetz thinks he and his fellow lawmakers deserve low-cost healthcare as part of their "compensation." For their PART-TIME JOBS. 

Also, according to Rep. Gaetz, "the healthcare [they] receive is too good." #humblebrag

• Speaking of lousy things in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has just signed a bill requiring two clinic visits and a 24-hour abortion waiting period into law. You know us ladies -- we just can't be trusted to arrive at difficult decisions in our own time!

And speaking of waiting periods...

• Glengarry Gun Ross: The GOP-controlled Wisconsin legislature gave final approval this week to a repeal of the state's 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases -- a restriction that's been in place for 40 years. Gov. Walker will sign it into law, of course -- he's running for office, for Pete's sake!

Always

Be

Cocking your gun 

• Who's Afraid of Paul LePage? The governor of Maine is being his reasonable self these days, which is to say that he's... being a little unreasonable.
• Gov. LePage's crusade during this year's legislative session has been to eradicate the state's income tax. Such a move would eliminate half of Maine's revenue, and LePage has neither proposed a plan to make up the funds through other means nor outlined the drastic cuts to state spending that would be required. 
• Democrats in both the House and the Senate have blocked this irresponsible scheme from winning the two-thirds vote it needs to move forward.
• LePage's completely reasonable response has been to veto every Democratic-sponsored bill that has arrived on his desk (10 so far). 
• Lawmakers have already overridden nine of those vetoes.

How long will LePage's spiteful veto spree continue? Place yer bets!

• Waiting Room for Godot: The Democratic Senate in Oregon has just passed legislation to require most of the state's employers to provide workers with paid sick leave (up to five days a year for employers with 10 or more employees). The measure now moves to the House, where it's expected to pass as early as Friday. 

• Court on a Hot Tin Roof: Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed into law a measure that effectively eliminates the independence of the state's judiciary. 
• The backstory:
• In 2014, following some judicial rulings the legislature's conservatives didn't much like, Brownback approved a law that removed some powers from the state's Supreme Court. A state judge is challenging the constitutionality of that measure. 
• Brownback and his fellow conservatives in the legislature didn't want to risk that challenge not going their way. So they passed this new law -- the recently signed one referenced above -- that stipulates that the state's judiciary branch will lose its funding if that 2014 law is struck down.
• Meanwhile, when GOP lawmakers aren't busy bullying the state courts, they're trying desperately to fill a massive hole in the state budget in session overtime. 

Fin.

For the Week of June 11, 2015 

The following 21 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, DELAWARE, FLORIDA, ILLINOIS, KANSAS, LOUISIANA, MAINE, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW MEXICO, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, OHIO, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, WASHINGTON and WISCONSIN.

Also meeting: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, GUAM, PUERTO RICO and UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS.

GROUPS

June 16-18, 2015
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATTORNEYS GENERAL
Summer Meeting
Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines
San Diego, California

June 17-18, 2015
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION
Northeastern Policy Conference
Greenwich, Connecticut

June 19-22, 2015
UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
83rd Annual Conference of Mayors
San Francisco, California

June 19-21, 2015
COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS
DC Meeting
Washington, D.C.

ARKANSAS

The Health Reform Legislative Task Force will meet June 11 to receive updates from the Department of Human Services and the Stephen Group. 

CALIFORNIA

The Committee on Health met June 9 to discuss S.B. 277, which eliminates the exemption for school vaccines from existing specified immunization requirements based upon personal beliefs. 

The Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee met June 9 to discuss S.B. 142, which extends liability for wrongful occupation of real property and damages to a person who operates an unmanned aerial vehicle below the navigable airspace over the real property without permission. 

DELAWARE

The Senate Banking and Business Committee met June 10 to discuss H.B. 119, which removes the prohibition on selling an alcoholic beverage to a person with a mental condition or mental disability. 

LOUISIANA

The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn June 11. 

MICHIGAN

The Senate Natural Resources Committee met June 10 to discuss S.C.R. 13, which urges the President of the United States, the United States Congress and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to abandon the promulgation of currently proposed carbon emission reduction regulations. 

NEW MEXICO

The Legislature convened for a special session June 8 to discuss a capital outlay package which will fund state highway and local infrastructure projects and tax incentives.

PENNSYLVANIA

The Senate Finance Committee met June 10 to discuss proposals to increase the sales and use tax. 

TEXAS

The City of Dallas will hold a runoff election June 13 for four City Council seats. 

The City of Irving will hold a runoff election June 13 for one City Council seat. 

The City of San Antonio will hold a runoff election June 13 for the position of Mayor and one City Council seat. 

VIRGINIA

A primary election was held June 9 for state House and Senate seats. 

via Stateside Associates, Project Vote.