Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee blogs

Texas Democrat pushing digital revolution

Matt Compton — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:43:35 -0500

In Texas, Scott Hochberg, a Democratic legislator from Houston has set into motion a potential revolution in public education.

The state spends hundreds millions of dollars outfitting Texas schoolchildren with new textbooks every two years, but forward-thinking policymakers like Hochberg are looking to the emerging market of ebooks to provide new educational resources and save taxpayers considerable amounts of money.

Hochberg wants to introduce open-source textbooks to the classroom. Under his proposal the state of Texas would own the content in each book and offer educators, professors, and vendors the ability to update and supplement the materials over time. Just before the last session of the legislature came to a close, Hochberg introduced a bill that would allow the Texas Education Agency to purchase open-source text books for public schools:

The quiet coup could help open the book market, dominated by few giant players, to an entirely new and unpredictable set of providers, from work-a-day teachers and professors to software giants.

In the meantime, the bill gives Texas universities a wide-open door to the schools market: They can approve the work of their own professors, provided they sign off on its accuracy and alignment with state curriculum standards. The law mandates that the State Board of Education “shall” put the university submissions on the state-approved list — it has no power to reject.

Ultimately, Hochberg is looking to pave the way for an entirely new approach to education in his state. If he succeeds, Texas will likely offer a model for policymakers everywhere.

Wisconsin Democrats launch job-creation initiative

Nathan Thomas — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:03:00 -0500

Despite the recession beginning to ease, Wisconsin’s Democratic legislators know their constituents still face a tough economy. But the State Senate’s Democratic Caucus is determined to make next year’s legislative session all about jobs -- starting with a package of job-creation bills unveiled on Monday:

One of the proposals would spend $2 million to increase partnerships between businesses and the University of Wisconsin.

Tax credits that can be claimed for those who make investments in startup companies would be increased under another idea.

Other bill would create a $2 million tax credit for businesses that pay university or technical college tuition for their low-income employees.

The hallmark of the Democrats’ initiative is its focus on leveraging private investments, rather than relying entirely on tax dollars, and it’s exactly the kind of innovative approach Wisconsinites expected when they elected Democrats to lead their state legislature.

Democrats stand firm: Marriage Equality safe in New Hampshire

Nathan Thomas — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:14:07 -0500

Just days after Proposition 1 overturned marriage equality in Maine, Republicans have filed legislation to repeal New Hampshire’s same-sex marriage law, which narrowly passed this year. But despite the disappointing vote in neighboring Maine, New Hampshire’s Democratic legislators are pledging to protect equal rights in their state:

Two proposals are being drafted in the N.H. House: One would repeal the law Gov. John Lynch signed in June and re-establish civil unions; the other is a constitutional amendment that would charge voters with deciding if "the state shall only recognize the union of one man and one woman as marriage."

Supporters of same-sex marriage are strategizing and gearing up for a fight, said Rep. Jim Splaine, D-Portsmouth, who sponsored the gay marriage law. He said momentum doesn't rest with gay-marriage foes.

"The momentum is on our side and those of us who support equality and love over hate," he said Wednesday.

Even so, "we have a fight cut out for us in January" when the Legislature reconvenes, he said. "But I think virtually everyone in the House and Senate who voted for marriage equality will stick with us and I'm hoping we'll pick up some others."

To be sure, the repeal effort faces long odds. State constitutional amendments in New Hampshire require a 2/3 vote in the legislature and a 2/3 vote in a state-wide referendum – neither of which are likely at this point. In addition, Governor Lynch has helpfully promised to veto any bill overturning marriage equality, so marriage opponents will need a 2/3 vote even if they decide to use normal legislative channels.

But that’s not stopping New Hampshire Republicans from pushing the issue to score political points, and if they succeed in making legislative gains in 2010, it could have a chilling affect on the equal rights agenda at all levels. That’s why Rep. Splaine, while sounding confident, explained that maintaining the Democratic advantage in the state legislature will be the key to protecting marriage equality:

I'm confident we will hold onto our supporters in the House and Senate, and that Governor John Lynch will remain steadfast in his strong support for equality. But it would be good to "max out" on our support in the Legislature in a few months.

Whatever the final result in Maine, and no matter how close, WE CAN DO THIS. We can have marriage equality, and hold it here. But it will take continued work. We have to remain optimistic, and continue looking forward.

Women gaining strength in Democratic legislatures

Nathan Thomas — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:51:30 -0500

In 2008, the New Hampshire Senate became the first legislative body in America -– and only the second in the world after Rwanda’s Chamber of Deputies -– to elect women to a majority of its seats.

On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the achievement. But this important milestone may be part of a broader trend in America’s state legislatures -– as more Democrats are elected as legislators, more women are elected as well.

According to a National Conference of State Legislatures report on the demographics of state legislatures, 23 states (almost half the country) elected women to at least 25% of their legislative seats. An overwhelming 17 of those states have Democratic majorities in both chambers, and two more are under split control.

The difference is even clearer when the threshold is increased to 30 percent. In the 11 states where women hold at least 30 percent of the legislative seats, Democrats control both legislative chambers in 10 of them.

We’d encourage everyone to check out the report to see where your state ranks. And in case you’re wondering, a full eleven of the 13 women in the New Hampshire Senate are Democrats.

Spotlight New Jersey

Matt Compton — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:32:03 -0500

In a night when state Democrats were looking for good news, the New Jersey Assembly offered a sharp counterpoint to elections elsewhere.

Headed into Tuesday, Democrats held a solid majority, but Republicans had been talking about mounting a serious effort to cut into that margin, if not win the eight seats they would need to tie the chamber.

The Democratic Assembly Caucus met that challenge head-on. In the weeks before Election Day, New Jersey Democrats built up formidable advantages in fundraising, candidate quality, and organization. That in turn allowed them to counter a bad set of national trends and a strong statewide campaign from GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie.

Last night, the Democratic Caucus protected all of its incumbents. The only seat that appears to have changed hands was left open by retirement in District 4.

The NJ Democratic Assembly Caucus did nearly everything right in this year's election, and the advantages they banked during the summer allowed them to offset the Republican climate in the state last night.

Tonight's Results

Matt Compton — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:55:29 -0500

Heading into the 2009 Election, Republicans and Democrats each held a majority they needed to protect. Tonight, the status quo remains the same.

In Virginia, buoyed by a set of strong statewide candidates and a national climate that put history on their side, Republicans have made gains in the House of Delegates. But the GOP believed that this election might help them wipe out all the Democratic gains of the past six years, and it did not.

We’ve known since June that Republicans were planning a hard charge to retake control of the New Jersey Assembly, but the Democratic Assembly Caucus appears to have met the challenge head-on. In the weeks before Election Day, New Jersey Democrats built up formidable advantages in fundraising, candidate quality, and organization, and that ultimately allowed them protect their chamber.

Across the country, Democrats still hold 60 legislative chambers and control 55 percent of the nation's partisan legislative seats. Our current position remains a solid one heading into the final election before the Census and the next round of Congressional and legislative redistricting.

Election Day!

Matt Compton — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:55:11 -0500

Voters head to the polls today in elections across the country. Here are the voting hours for the legislative races we will be following most closely.

Virginia: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

New Jersey: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Republican Arizona Senate leader brags about his own incompetence

Nathan Thomas — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:27:27 -0500

Bob Burns, Arizona’s Republican State Senate President, is bragging about how the Republican-controlled legislature is getting hardly any work done.

For much of the last legislative session, Burns refused to let his chamber to vote on any substantive bills until the state budget was passed. It was an interesting bit of gameship, but its predictable result was to throw the entire legislature into chaos:

The result was a huge backlog of bills, with several months’ worth of legislation being voted on in just weeks. It also meant that the majority of proposals, including many by the Republicans who control the Legislature, never got a Senate hearing, much less became law.

Yet it still took lawmakers to the last possible minute of the fiscal year — and actually slightly beyond — to adopt a new spending plan.

Hundreds of bills wound up as collateral damage from Sen. Burns’ maneuver. In all, the legislature passed nearly a third fewer bills than last year. But Burns, amazingly, boasts that the legislature’s gridlock is actually a good thing, claiming that “we’ve been criticized for passing too many bills.” (Because voters hate it when their political leaders are too productive – or something)

As for the budget itself, which was late anyway, it’s “still is not in balance for this year,” something lawmakers will have to fix in the next session. Overall, this whole episode was a remarkably pitiful performance by the Republican leadership.

Republicans attack Kentucky Democrats for being too bipartisan

Nathan Thomas — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:17:24 -0400

This week, Kentucky’s Republican Senate President attacked Democratic Governor Steve Beshear… for appointing too many Republican judges. It all started when Gov. Beshear reached across the aisle and nominated Republican Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly to a vacant judgeship. Rather than congratulating their colleague on his success, Republican leaders threw a temper tantrum:

Beshear said he named Kelly because he was the most qualified of three finalists selected Friday by the nominating commission. (…)

But Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, released a statement that called the move “just another play in the governor’s full-court press to enable gambling interests to influence elections.”

There you have it. In this political era, it’s almost expected that Republican legislators will behave obnoxiously toward their Democratic counterparts. But in Kentucky, apparently, they’ll be equally obnoxious toward their fellow Republicans just to take a cheap shot at a Democratic governor.

How utterly classless – with that kind of reaction, it’s no surprise Kelly took the judgeship instead of sticking with the Senate Republicans. He probably made the right call.

Kelly’s seat will be filled by a special election on December 8th, along with Democrat Robin Webb’s House seat (left vacant after Webb won another special Senate election). Kentucky Democrats have already won two Republican Senate seats in special elections this year, and the party is optimistic about its chances in Kelly’s 14th District. A victory would cut the Republican margin to 19-18-1, with one Independent caucusing with Republicans.

Iowa Democrats want your ideas for saving tax dollars

Nathan Thomas — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:33:51 -0400

Iowa’s Democratic leaders have long supported efforts to streamline state government, but now they’ve put out a call for new money-saving ideas from ordinary taxpayers.

Cutting down on waste and abuse saves taxpayer money, and it means more efficient services for constituents. But with the recession wreaking havoc with the state budget, legislators have a new sense of urgency in finding new ways to pinch pennies and avoid cutting vital programs.

If you’re an Iowa resident and you’ve got an idea to share, you can send it to the legislature at http://iowasenatenews.com/how-can-state-government-be-more-efficient/.

Or, if you want to see what others have already suggested, you can check out the General Assembly’s list of recent submissions at http://www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/SurveyResponses/Improving_StGvt/.