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Welcome to the Thursday, March 19, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- State and local courts impacted by the coronavirus
- California Proposition 13 is first statewide school bond measure rejected by voters since 1994
- Local Roundup
Updates on stories related to the coronavirus outbreak are current through Wednesday afternoon. Click here for the latest news.
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State and local courts impacted by the coronavirus
As we’ve seen in the past few days, many arms of the government are being limited or shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve looked at school closures, postponed primaries, and quarantined elected officials. The coronavirus situation changes daily - if not hourly. Across the country, groups and organizations are tracking and publishing content about the various impacts that the situation is having on lives across the world. Each day, we’ll be featuring some of that
content in the Brew.
Today, let’s take a look at state and local courts. As of Wednesday, 33 states had instituted a statewide closure of courts. Ten more left court closures up to local control. Just seven did not have a closure of courts at either the state or local level.
The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is actively tracking the effect the coronavirus outbreak is having on the judicial system. They have been offering daily roundups on the courts state by state, as well as information on how courts have responded to past outbreaks.
According to the NCSC, the five most common efforts courts are taking to combat the coronavirus are:
- “Restricting or ending jury trials
- Restricting entrances in order to clean them
- Closing courts briefly for cleaning
- Granting extensions for court deadlines, including deadlines to pay fees/fines
- Encouraging or requiring teleconferences and videoconferences in lieu of hearings”
Here are other notable coronavirus-related updates since Wednesday's Brew:
- Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) announced that the state would postpone its March 31 primary runoff elections to July 14.
- Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) announced that the special election for Maryland's 7th Congressional District—to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of Elijah Cummings (D)—would occur on April 28 as scheduled using a vote-by-mail system. Maryland postponed its presidential and congressional primary to June 2.
- Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) ordered the postponement of all April 7 municipal elections to June 2.
- At least three state legislatures have incorporated remote work into their legislative activities. In Pennsylvania, both the state House and state Senate have approved temporary rules allowing their members to vote remotely. Party leaders and committee chairs are still expected to be present for formal consideration of legislation. Minnesota's legislature will conduct committee meetings and floor sessions on an as-call basis through April 14. Physical attendance is expected to be required for formal votes. North Carolina lawmakers have canceled all committee meetings through at least April 1 and have authorized staffers to work remotely.
Do you know of a resource for tracking information or data about the outbreak? Email me at [email protected].
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California Proposition 13 is first statewide school bond measure rejected by voters since 1994
California voters rejected Proposition 13, the School and College Facilities Bond measure by a vote of 54% to 46% on March 3. It was the first statewide school bond ballot measure to fail since 1994. Californians for Safe Schools and Healthy Learning, which led the campaign in support of Proposition 13, conceded the election on March 11.
Proposition 13 would have approved $15 billion in bonds for school and college facilities in California: $9 billion to pre-school and K-12 schools, $4 billion to universities, and $2 billion to community colleges. It also would have made changes to the formula used to distribute state bond funds to schools, the rules governing local bond measures, and school districts' abilities to assess developer fees.
Proposition 13 was legislatively referred, meaning it was placed on the statewide ballot through a vote by the California legislature.
The eight ballot measure committees registered in support of the measure raised $11.48 million. Proponents of the measure argued that California schools and universities needed the funds in order to complete health and safety updates and meet facility maintenance needs.
Opponents focused on the measure’s potential impact on taxpayers, saying it would lead to higher taxes for California taxpayers as a result of increased borrowing limits for school districts. There were no ballot measure committees registered to oppose or fund opposition to measure.
One of the measure’s co-authors, Asm. Patrick O'Donnell (D-70), said that he believed part of the bill’s failure to pass was due to voters’ incorrect belief that the measure would affect a 1978 property tax ballot measure also called Proposition 13. O’Donnell introduced legislation to retire the use of Proposition 13 as an official ballot measure title as a result.
Susan Shelley, vice president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, responded to the proposition's defeat, saying, "Confusion over Proposition 13 is not the whole story here." She added, "People are cynical about how the money is being spent. Maybe the message is ‘enough is enough.’”
There were also 121 school bonds on local ballots throughout California on March 3. Less than 40 percent were approved, marking a drop in the 75 percent approval rating local school bond measures had received since 2008.
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Local Roundup
All this week we’ve been covering the effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on government, politics, and elections. Here’s a look at the local and statewide elections scheduled over the next six weeks in the 100 largest cities by population:
March 24 — Queens Borough president (special election)
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced the suspension of this election Sunday. Acting Borough President Sharon Lee—assumed office on January 1 after Melinda Katz resigned as borough president—will continue to serve as borough president. Katz was elected Queens’ district attorney in November 2019.
March 31 — Arkansas, Mississippi primary runoffs
Both states have primary runoffs in certain congressional or state legislative districts that are proceeding as scheduled. The Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners has advised counties holding runoff elections to consider ways to minimize the negative effects of the coronavirus outbreak on voting, including encouraging early or absentee voting. There have been no official pronouncements about Mississippi’s primaries at this time.
April 7 — Anchorage municipal elections
Anchorage is holding an all-mail general election for six city council districts, two school board seats, and 13 local ballot measures. This election will take place as scheduled since there is no in-person voting. Ballots are being sent this week and must be returned by April 7. The Anchorage Assembly is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss changes to ballot return locations.
April 7 — Wisconsin statewide spring elections, Milwaukee and Madison municipal elections
Milwaukee and Madison are holding local elections for mayor, city offices, and common council members, and Dane and Milwaukee counties have elections for county offices and members of the county board of supervisors. These elections are being held concurrently with Wisconsin’s spring general election for a seat on the state supreme court. These races are proceeding as scheduled with voters encouraged to cast early and absentee ballots.
April 28 — New York City Council District 37 special election
There have been no official pronouncements about the status of this election.
April 28 — Pennsylvania statewide primaries
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) said at a news conference Monday that the commonwealth is considering postponing its statewide primary.
May 2 — Texas municipal elections
Arlington, Garland, Irving, and Lubbock, Texas, have scheduled municipal elections on May 2. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued a proclamation Wednesday suspending provisions of the Texas Election Code to allow local jurisdictions to postpone their 2020 local elections until November 3. Texas' Secretary of State issued guidance to local governments regarding the details of that process.
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