he South Dakota Attorney General’s Office has released the final ballot explanation for a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voter approval for legislative changes to initiative and referendum procedures. The amendment, spearheaded by Rick Weiland of Sioux Falls, aims to ensure that any legislative modifications to citizen-led ballot initiatives and referendums are subject to Read More…
(The Center Square) – Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon on Thursday signed legislation that will ban foreign funding of ballot measures in the state. House Bill 337 prohibits non-U.S. citizens from funding any statewide initiative or referendum petition drive and require political action committees or other organizations that support or oppose such measures to file reports with the Read More…
Governor Brad Little, alongside House and Senate leadership, signed House Bill 40 today, enacting the largest income tax cut in Idaho’s history. The new legislation delivers an additional $253 million in tax relief, furthering the state’s commitment to returning money to its residents. As part of Governor Little’s KEEPING PROMISES plan, the bill reduces Idaho’s Read More…
Governor Brad Little announced today that he has signed House Bill 93, establishing the Parental Choice Tax Credit program, which will provide $50 million in tax credits to help Idaho families access a wide range of educational opportunities. “With the passage of the $50 million Parental Choice Tax Credit program, Idaho is once again leading Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – The Wyoming Legislature will meet throughout the day on Monday, March 8, 2021. Upon noon recess the House Corporations Committee will hear testimony on bills relating to health orders. The Senate Transportation Committee will continue to hear testimony about an effort to study tolling I-80. That meeting will happen Read More…
After the 2020 election, legislatures across the country are considering new voting laws. And while no widespread voter fraud has been proven, it has not stopped conservative lawmakers from looking for solutions and new preventive measures. Wyoming is no exception, with its legislature considering a bill that would require a voter to show an ID before voting in-person. A Read More…
Former state representative Luke Simons won’t go to court over his expulsion from the Legislature. Simons, R-Dickinson, announced his decision Thursday morning in a lengthy statement. “The legislature has effectively disenfranchised the people of my district. Unfortunately, the only way I can immediately correct this injustice is to allow someone else to serve,” he said. Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming currently has a 4% statewide sales and use tax. State law allows local sales and use taxes up to 3% (so-called “fifth, sixth and seventh penny”) additional sales and use taxes. The Wyoming House of Representatives are working on a bill that would potentially make the so-called “fifth penny” tax permanent Read More…
PIERRE — A Hughes County judge has ruled that a voter-approved amendment to the South Dakota Constitution ending marijuana prohibition in the state shouldn’t go forward. Circuit Court Judge Christina Klinger ruled Monday that Constitutional Amendment A violates the state Constitution on two grounds: It violates the single subject rule, meaning it encompassed more than one Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – There are only 16 women in the Wyoming State Legislature, as a while the Equality state ranks in the bottom five of the nation for having a diverse state legislature. When it comes to representation in local offices it’s just as bad. Out of the 93 County Commissioners in Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — Legislation to prohibit mask mandates by government entities in Idaho has been introduced. The House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday cleared the way for a potential hearing on the bill put forward by a dozen conservative lawmakers. Republican Rep. Karey Hanks says requiring healthy individuals to wear masks to prevent the spread Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — 14 Wyoming legislators are sponsoring a bill to legalize marijuana in the state. If House Bill 209 were to become law, anyone 21 years or older could legally possess retail marijuana (in amounts explained below) or cultivate marijuana for personal use (also explained below). The legislation proposes imposing a 30% excise tax on the Read More…
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg acknowledged browsing websites on his phone just minutes before the fatal crash last year that has led to bipartisan calls for his resignation or impeachment. In a September 2020 interview with investigators, Ravnsborg acknowledged checking email and news sites on his phone, but maintained he had put his phone down at Read More…
Rep. Diego Hernandez, a three-term Portland Democrat who’s been embroiled in controversy for months following multiple allegations that he created a hostile workplace for women, told OPB News on Sunday he is resigning, the news organization reported. Hernandez was facing the possibility of being the first legislator expelled from the Legislature in Oregon. A day earlier, Hernandez lost Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Legislature are exploring implementing a tax hike on wind energy production and repealing the three-year tax exemption on new wind turbine projects. House Bill 108 would increase the tax on electricity generated from wind by $1 per megawatt hour starting July 1. The proposed tax hike would generate about $6.5 million Read More…
North Dakota could be the next battleground for Big Tech, as a new bill has been introduced that would stop Apple and Google from collecting a portion of the revenue from companies using their app stores, The New York Times (NYT) reported. The bill came about when ND state senator Kyle Davison was approached by a lobbyist who pitched the proposal. Davison, who Read More…
Quick Take Senator Cynthia Lummis has been assigned to the Senate Banking Committee. Lummis has been vocally pro-digital assets in both her candidacy and since taking office. Lummis said she plans on forming a Financial Innovation Caucus to educate her fellow senators on emerging financial technologies. The Senate has assigned pro-bitcoin senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) Read More…
PIERRE | Gov. Kristi Noem’s proposal to put $50 million toward a need-based scholarship endowment cleared its first test in the Legislature on Monday. South Dakota is the only state without a significant scholarship endowment for low-income students. Noem wants to create a $200 million fund by combining the state money with $150 million Read More…
The North Dakota Legislature has held its regular sessions every other year since statehood, but backers of a bipartisan bill say it’s time to change that. Lawmakers for decades have consistently rebuffed attempts to hold annual regular sessions, arguing that doing so would grow government and turn lawmaking into a full-time job. But advocates Read More…
At least four bills that would specifically regulate public health orders have been introduced in the Wyoming Legislature this session. The tenor of the proposals ranges from broad legislative oversight of public health orders to more minor specifications regarding timing and executive approval. Several of the bills are similar but propose different degrees Read More…
The Wyoming Republican party on Saturday voted to censure Congresswoman Liz Cheney over her vote to impeach former President Trump. Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said Saturday that her vote to impeach was “compelled by the oath I swore to the Constitution.” The Wyoming GOP approved a censure resolution by a vote of 56 to 8. Read More…
A bill would legalize marijuana for recreational use in North Dakota — but with some restrictions. House Bill 1420 would allow recreational weed to be sold at dispensaries, where medical marijuana is already available for those who qualify in the state. Under the legislation, those 21 and older could purchase or possess an ounce or less and Read More…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A bill introduced in the South Dakota Legislature Wednesday would require student athletes across the state to sign a document stating their biological sex. It would also limit who can play in girls and women’s sports. House Bill 1217 is being called ‘an act to promote continued fairness in women’s sports.’ Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) -Some South Dakota voters are filing ethics complaints with the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office. The complaints have to do with a text message sent out last Wednesday, targeting a Republican lawmaker from Rapid City who is the sponsor of a bill that would require the governor to release the amount Read More…
With the Wolverine State going live last week, five states now offer licensed and regulated online poker – Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. If State Rep. Jim Kasper has anything to say about it, North Dakota will be added to the list. Earlier this month, Kasper, a Republican who has represented District 46 (Fargo) since 2001, has introduced House Read More…
A group of disenfranchised Colorado residents are exploring the possibility of annexing from their home state and changing boundary lines so their entire county becomes part of Wyoming. Christopher “Todd” Richards is leading the effort with his “Weld County Wyoming” political committee, created last February, according to local outlet Fox 31 KDVR. READ FULL STORY
A bill that would aim to crack down on any possibility of voter fraud in Wyoming has been filed for the 2021 session of the Wyoming Legislature. You can read House Bill 75 here. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Chuck Gray [R-Natrona County], and a long list of co-sponsors. READ FULL STORY
As Joe Biden becomes America’s 46th president today, some North Dakota lawmakers are looking to preemptively curb the impact his executive orders could have on the state. House Bill 1164 would allow North Dakota to exempt itself from applying certain presidential orders. Under the bill, orders could go unenforced if the attorney general deems them unconstitutional and Read More…
Former Wyoming Senate President Hank Coe of Cody has died at the age of 74. According to the Cody Enterprise newspaper, Coe died Thursday afternoon of pancreatic cancer. The paper says he was diagnosed with the disease in November. Coe served in the Wyoming Legislature for three decades, including stints as Senate president and Vice President. He Read More…
Several bills intended to improve the safety of Wyoming’s highways advanced out of their legislative committees this week, aiming to reduce the state’s persistently high numbers of highway deaths that have seen steady increases over the last few years. A law that would allow police officers to pull over and ticket drivers for not wearing a Read More…
Emails indicate North Dakota’s attorney general advocated for the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Texas’ lawsuit over the presidential election despite an expectation among some of his top officials that it wouldn’t succeed. The state’s deputy solicitor general told Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem he thought the high court would deny the case “in one sentence.” A Read More…
Gov. Kristi Noem has proposed $900,000 in one-time funds for curriculum to help meet her goal of teaching South Dakota’s students “why the U.S. is the most special nation in the history of the world.” Noem stated her educational goals on Tuesday while delivering the governor’s annual State of the State Address to formally kick Read More…
CASPER, Wyo — The Wyoming Republican Party has responded to the “whirlwind” created by U.S. House Representative Cheney’s Liz Cheneys vote to endorse the impeachment of President Donald Trump. “There has not been a time during our tenure when we have seen this type of an outcry from our fellow Republicans, with the anger and Read More…
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Donald Trump, decided against running for an open Senate seat in Wyoming in 2020, according to Politico. In an article detailing the political futures of the Trump family, specifically that of White House advisor Ivanka Trump, who is thought of as a potential Republican challenger to GOP Sen. Marco Rubio Read More…
North Dakota activists are gearing up for a push to put marijuana legalization on the state’s 2022 ballot. A measure to allow adults 21 and older to possess and cultivate cannabis for personal use was submitted to Secretary of State Al Jaeger on Monday. If it’s accepted, the campaign will be able to start signature Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Legislature convened their 2021 General Session on Tuesday, Jan. 12. Both the Senate and House of Representatives elected new leadership during their respective virtual meetings. Sen. Dan Dockstader was elected new president of the Senate. Dockstader represents Senate District 16, which covers portions of Lincoln, Sublette and Teton County. READ Read More…
More North Dakotans are participating in the medical marijuana program than the state Department of Health expected. “We have just under 4,400 patients that have a medical marijuana card,” Medical Marijuana Division Director Jason Wahl told Prairie Public. He had earlier projected about 4,000 patients by the summer of 2021, based on the experience in Delaware, Read More…
CHEYENNE — Governor Mark Gordon signed an Executive Order (EO) December 21 that will prevent large increases in Unemployment Insurance (UI) taxes for businesses that were directly impacted by the statewide health orders enacted to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Department of Workforce Services (DWS) is removing UI benefit charges from the UI policies for Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The governor wants the Legislature to provide more than $4 million for state government to start preparing for medicinal and recreational marijuana in South Dakota. Legislation was pre-filed Thursday that would appropriate $4,026,253 to the state Department of Revenue and $135,249 to the state Department of Health. The Senate Appropriations Committee agreed Read More…
U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., objected to counting Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes hours after a violent mob supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, causing significant damage, leading members of the U.S. Congress to seek shelter and delaying the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s November victory by nearly six hours. Lummis, sworn in Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Lawmakers convene Tuesday either in person wearing masks or remotely for North Dakota’s 67th legislative session. The session comes as lawmakers face tough spending choices amid a pandemic that’s hit a state economy already reeling from depressed oil and agriculture prices. Ambitious billion-dollar bonding proposals from Republicans, Democrats and Gov. Doug Read More…
For a few months in the spring of 1996, Mike Enzi thought his career in politics was over. Then a 10-year veteran of the Wyoming Legislature, Enzi was in recovery from open heart surgery the previous October at Deaconess Hospital in Billings, Montana, where he was treated for a damaged heart valve. It Read More…
A reduction in soda ash royalties expected to save producers up to $5 million over the next 10 years is being praised by members of Wyoming’s congressional delegation. U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney welcomed the U.S. Department of Interior’s decision to reduce the royalties paid on soda ash Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — Democratic leaders in the Idaho Legislature are requesting that the upcoming legislative session – set to begin on Jan. 11, 2021 – be postponed until at least April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to GOP House and Senate leadership, Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett and House Minority Leader Ilana Read More…