Arizona State Officials Call Upon Katie Hobbs to Reject Universal ESA Law Referendum

Arizona officials are now calling out Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to expedite the signature counting process for the referendum against Arizona’s Universal Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) law, including the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Ben Toma (R-Maricopa).

“We expect that your office will have formally rejected the referendum petition as legally insufficient no later than the opening of business on Friday morning,” Toma said in a letter to Hobbs. “If the full and effective implementation of H.B. 2853 continues to be obstructed, the Arizona House of Representatives will exercise its constitutional oversight function in order to find facts and ultimately to determine what, if any, legislation may be required to prohibit, deter, and penalize such dishonesty in future campaigns and administrations, and to ensure that the statutory procedures for filing and processing ballot measure petitions cannot be manipulated to enable such misconduct.”

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Ohio Supreme Court Gives Redistricting Commission Deadline to Show Cause

The Ohio Supreme Court has given the Ohio Redistricting Commission until noon Wednesday to show cause why it should not be held in contempt of court for failing to meet a deadline for new state legislative maps.

The commission missed an 11:59 p.m. Feb. 17 court-ordered deadline to submit a third set of maps after the court ruled the first two were unfairly gerrymandered to favor Republicans.

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Michigan Senate Passes $17 Billion Budget Plan

The Michigan Senate passed a plan totaling $17 billion for K-12 schools, hours before the budget deadline that levies no penalties for late action.

The real deadline for the state budget is Sept. 30, ahead of the Oct. 1 start of the state’s fiscal year.

House Bill 4410 passed on a 34-0 vote, which Senate Appropriations Chair Jim Stamas, R-Midland, called an “immediate priority.” The bill includes $10 million to repair natural disaster relief in cities flooded in June 2021.

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Virginia Extends Tax Filing Deadline to Mid-May, Encourages Electronic Filing

small business taxes

The deadline for filing and paying individual income taxes in Virginia has been extended until May 17, 2021 to coincide with the federal government’s extension on the same date, Gov. Ralph Northam’s office announced Friday.

“Aligning Virginia’s filing and payment deadline with the federal government will provide additional flexibility and simplify the process for taxpayers,” Northam said in a statement. “Even with this extended deadline, we encourage Virginians to file as soon as possible so we can get people the refunds they are entitled to while also protecting the Commonwealth’s strong fiscal footing.”

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December 8 Deadline for Selection of Electors Does Not Apply to Disputed States, Amistad Project Says

In a white paper released Friday, The Amistad Project of the non-partisan Thomas More Society is arguing that the current Electoral College deadlines are both arbitrary and a direct impediment to states’ obligations to investigate disputed elections.

The research paper breaks down the history of Electoral College deadlines and makes clear that this election’s Dec. 8 and Dec. 14 deadlines for the selection of Electors, the assembly of the Electoral College, and the tallying of its votes, respectively, are not only elements of a 72-year old federal statute with no Constitutional basis, but are also actively preventing the states from fulfilling their constitutional — and ethical — obligation to hold free and fair elections. Experts believe that the primary basis for these dates was to provide enough time to affect the presidential transition of power, a concern which is obsolete in the age of internet and air travel.

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Deadline Passes for Filing of Bills to Be Considered This Year in the Tennessee General Assembly

Thursday marked the end of a hectic week for Tennessee lawmakers as the deadline for filing bills to be heard in the first session of the 111th General Assembly approached. The two houses of the General Assembly had their own respective deadline, with the House being on Wednesday and the Senate being Thursday by 3:30 p.m. each day. State Representatives are limited to a maximum of 15 bills each, with the exception of committee chairs, who are allotted an additional five bills each, provided that they pertain to the subject of the committee they chair. There are no limits as to the number of bills a member of the State Senate may carry. By end of business Thursday, the index of legislation on the Tennessee General Assembly website showed that House bills filed numbered through 1499 (HB 1499) and Senate bills filed numbered through 1508 (SB 1508). With bill submission deadlines strictly adhered to, any bill sponsor from either house who was unable to find a sponsor in the other house of the General Assembly, thereby lacking the required companion bill, will not have their bill heard this year. In addition to the bills that were filed, House Joint Resolutions…

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