The U.S. Senate failed to pass an amendment introduced by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) on Saturday that would stop taxpayer dollars from funding charter flights being used to secretly fly illegal aliens from other nations directly into states across the country for resettlement.
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After sailing through the Tennessee House of Representatives in March, a resolution proposing congressional term limits via constitutional amendment stands a solid chance of passing in the Senate, according to resolution proponents.
“I think it will go okay,” State Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), who recently announced that he will serve as Senate sponsor of House Joint Resolution 5, told The Tennessee Star.
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Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) was the only member of Tennessee’s Republican House delegation to vote against an amendment that would have blocked the use of $375 million for a new Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters office in Maryland.
Kustoff was among 70 Republicans voting to kill Representative Mat Gaetz’s (R-FL-01) amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2024. Gaetz had tried to stop the construction of the gilded FBI headquarters earlier this year.
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U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) re-introduced a constitutional amendment that would prevent court packing by locking in the size of the U.S. Supreme Court at the long-standing nine justices.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) originally proposed the amendment in 2019, and it was re-introduced in 2021 after President Joe Biden announced the creation of a commission to explore expanding the nine-member court and other “reforms.”
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Arizona State Senator Janae Shamp (R-Surprise) released an update to her constituents Monday, explaining that one of her Senate Bills (SB) has received an overhaul that aims to ensure the state cannot ban the use of gas-powered appliances, such as stoves.
“I look forward to passing commonsense protections that ensure the rights and freedoms of all Arizonans,” said Shamp. “It’s ridiculous, and unfortunately no longer surprising, that these sorts of bills need to be passed to counter and block a radical and increasingly ludicrous left-wing national agenda.”
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In a nationally watched state Supreme Court race dominated by abortion, bruising campaign attacks and money (lots of money), liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz easily defeated conservative Daniel Kelly in Tuesday’s spring election, handing liberals control of Wisconsin’s high court for the first time in more than 15 years.
The election seemed over before the shouting. Less than an hour after Wisconsin’s polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Associated Press called the contest. At that time, Protasiewicz led by double digits over Kelly, a former Supreme Court justice who lost his seat three years ago to far left jurist Jill Karofsky.
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I first ran for office because I saw problems in our state and wanted to be part of the solution for positive change. One such issue is the growing epidemic of crime in our communities.
My biggest frustration lately is seeing issues in our community, but having a Governor with whom the Legislature fundamentally disagrees on the solutions. It often feels like the wheels are spinning but we are going nowhere.
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In a busy and divisive day, the Republican-led Legislature on Wednesday passed several crime bills, a measure blocking what some say is the Evers administration’s assault on the First Amendment, and a resolution demanding the governor call an election for Secretary of State.
Many of the measures passed mostly along party lines, including a bill that defines “serious harm” and “violent crime” in state law. The proposal is tied to a bail reform constitutional amendment on next month’s spring election ballot. Under the amendment, judges would be allowed to consider expanded factors when issuing bail to violent offenders, beyond whether the defendant would show up for his court date.
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Arizona State Senator J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) shared in his weekly update to constituents that his bill, aimed at ensuring school districts comply with the state transparency laws, is moving along through the Legislature.
“Given the importance of having transparency with such a critical topic as teacher pay, I sponsored a bill (SB 1599) that would add some teeth to the law and instruct the Arizona Department of Education to engage if a school district is not in compliance. The bill has passed the Senate and is poised for a House Floor vote,” Mesnard said.
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Three new Senate Bills (SB) have been introduced between State Senators Sine Kerr (R-Buckeye) and Janae Shamp (R-Suprise), which aim to provide more protections to children and victims of abuse. Kayleigh Kozak, the Arizonan behind the state’s new “Kayleigh’s Law,” called on residents to support these bills’ passage.
“Prioritize protecting children, victims and our communities,” Kozak shared. “Attend the Arizona State Senate this Thursday, February 9th at 8 am in Senate Hearing Room 1. Sign up to speak or simply show up.
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A constitutional amendment proposal to reform Wisconsin’s cash bail system is now headed to voters in April’s election. Following the Republican-controlled Senate’s approval of the measure earlier this week, the GOP-dominated Assembly on Thursday passed the resolution.
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In a follow-up tweet that expounded on his letter penned in January on election reform, Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, reiterated his call for a federal Constitutional amendment on U.S. citizenship and election integrity.
“A citizenship amendment is a necessary security measure that will ensure that only American citizens are voting in our elections. We need an amendment now,” Raffensperger said.
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Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an amendment Monday that would eliminate Dr. Anthony Fauci’s position as the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and decentralize it in an effort to ensure no one person can act as “dictator-in-chief” and make public health decisions for millions of Americans.
Paul’s office said in a press release the amendment seeks to replace the NIAID director’s position with three separate national research institutes.
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With support from its Republican governor, Vermont is on a course to become the first state in the nation to guarantee a right to abortion and contraception in its constitution.
The Vermont House voted 107-41 for Proposition 5, a proposed amendment that would guarantee sexual and reproductive freedoms to Vermonters once it is placed on the ballot and voters give their support in November.
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The Tennessee Legislature finished its special session on Ford’s $5.6 billion electric truck project Wednesday by approving $884 million in spending and creating a Megasite Authority of West Tennessee board to oversee operations.
“This is the largest single economic investment in rural Tennessee’s history,” Gov. Bill Lee said. “… It is, most importantly, a win for western Tennessee’s workforce.”
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Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation Tuesday that bans hormone treatment for prepubescent minors.
SB0126 goes into effect immediately, making Tennessee the second state to ban trans procedures for minors, NBC reported. The Arkansas state legislature overrode Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto of a bill banning transgender surgeries and procedures for minors in April.
Arkansas’ “Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act,” otherwise known as the SAFE Act, prohibits physicians from performing gender transition procedures, such as puberty blockers or “top” and “bottom” surgeries, on minors before puberty. Transgender surgeries include vaginoplasty, phalloplasty, breast implants, and facial surgeries.
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Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam proposed 18 amendments to the budget legislation passed by the General Assembly, which includes giving the executive branch more authority to address issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I also propose three language amendments to ensure our ability to continue responding to needs related to the COVID pandemic by giving agencies the flexibility to respond and the authority to address the opportunities presented by the federal funding such as the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), until we can address the matter fully at a special session,” Northam said in a letter to the House of Delegates.
One amendment to the budget would grant the director of the Department of Planning and Budget the authority to direct the additional Medicaid revenue from the recent federal stimulus plan to current services. Another would grant the superintendent of public instruction the authority to issue temporary flexibility or waivers for deadlines and requirements that cannot be met because of the COVID-19 state of emergency and school closures.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a resolution Tuesday that would change the way the state’s Attorney General and Reporter for Tennessee is selected.
Senate Joint Resolution 1 would make the current process for nominating the attorney general more transparent and give the Tennessee General Assembly a say in the selection through a change to the Tennessee Constitution.
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An organization dedicated to preserving the independence of the U.S. Supreme Court reports it has won several large victories in the past week.
Keep Nine said in a statement that Republican Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona has endorsed its work, making him the first governor to do so.
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U.S. Reps. Collin C. Peterson (D-MN-07) and Denver Riggleman (R-VA-05) said they want to make sure that neither political party can ever pack the Supreme Court.
In a bipartisan joint press release issued Thursday, the representatives said they introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to permanently set the number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices at nine.
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A volunteer effort is seeking to protect taxpayers from reckless government spending by putting a Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act on the ballot in December.
The goal of this act is to force the government to be fiscally responsible through a series of amendments to the charter of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
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Tennessee House and Senate leaders introduced a resolution Wednesday that would add Tennessee’s Right to Work law to the state constitution.
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Back in 1971, the Tennessee General Assembly quickly ratified the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which lowered the voting age in all elections–federal, state and local– to 18 in every state. By doing so, they voluntarily give up a section of the Tennessee State Constitution. Here’s that story: During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Vietnam War — with which the United States was heavily involved — continued to rage overseas. With so many American soldiers — several of them younger than 20 years of age — dying on the battlefields of a foreign land in this War, public opinion within the United States began to shift in terms of by what age a person should become eligible to vote. At the time, an individual had to be at least 21 years of age in order to register to vote. But with the evolution in social sentiment occasioned at least in part by the Vietnam War, Congress began to take steps to lower that age from 21 down to 18. A popular slogan of the day was “if you are old enough to fight for your country, then you are old enough to cast a…
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Governor Haslam’s 2017-18 budget that incorporated IMPROVE Act and other spending promises now exceeds the constitutional budget growth limit established by the 1978 amendment to Article II, Section 24 of the Tennessee Constitution that states, “In no year shall the rate of growth of appropriations from state tax revenues exceed the estimated rate of growth of the state’s economy as determined by law.” The amendment is known as the Copeland Cap, named for its author former state Representative David Copeland of Ooltewah. The General Assembly will now be forced into a position of voting to break a constitutional commitment to the taxpayers, or appear as the “villains” by taking away the “gifts” the Governor has promised. The 2017-2018 budget estimates appropriations from state tax revenues will be $17.9 billion, which represents an 8.3 percent growth over appropriations from tax revenues in the 2016-2017 state budget at $16.5 billion. The estimated rate of growth of the state’s economy for the 2017-18 budget year, as defined by state law, is 4.6 percent over the 2016-17 budget year. The governor’s budget, as currently structured with the IMPROVE Act, will therefore violate the Copeland Cop by 3.7 percent. The relevant law, Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 9-4-5201 states that the basis…
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