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Each week, The Weekly Brew brings you a collection of the most viewed stories from The Daily Brew, condensed. If you like this newsletter, sign up to The Daily Brew with one click to wake up and learn something new each day.
Here are the top stories from the week of March 17 - March 21. |
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Idaho voters to decide on an amendment prohibiting marijuana citizen initiatives in 2026
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On Nov. 3, 2026, Idaho voters will decide on a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment to prohibit citizen initiatives that would legalize marijuana. The proposed amendment says that only the Legislature can legalize or regulate marijuana, narcotics, and other psychoactive substances.
The amendment, House Joint Resolution 4 (HJR 4), passed the House 58-10 on March 5, with 58 Republicans in favor and nine Democrats and one Republican voting against. The Senate passed the amendment 29-6, with all Republicans voting for it and all Democrats voting against it. |
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South Dakota voters to decide on a constitutional amendment to condition Medicaid expansion on continued federal funding
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On Nov. 3, 2026, South Dakota voters will decide on a constitutional amendment linking state Medicaid expansion to federal funding remaining at or above 90%.
On Jan. 21, the South Dakota House of Representatives approved House Joint Resolution 5001 (HJR 5001)—the bill to put the amendment on the ballot—59-7. On March 3, the South Dakota Senate approved the bill 31-3.
State Sen. Casey Crabtree (R), who supports the amendment, said, "One of the key points made by the proponents of Medicaid expansion was that the feds were going to pay 90 percent of the cost, and South Dakota taxpayers would only have to pay 10 percent. Right now, that 10 percent is projected to cost South Dakota taxpayers about $36 million a year."
State Sen. Liz Larson (D), who opposes the amendment, said, "People shouldn't die because they can't afford to live. Medicaid expansion has been a lifeline for 28,000 South Dakotans, and it's saved lives." |
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A look at how states select their state supreme court justices
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There are 52 state supreme courts in the U.S. and 344 state supreme court justices. States select their supreme court justices in various ways, including through elections, gubernatorial appointments, commission nominations, and state legislative elections.
Across all types of state courts, there are five types of judicial selection. In addition to partisan elections and nonpartisan elections, other selection methods include:
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Legislative elections: The state legislature elections judges
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Gubernatorial appointment: The governor appoints judges. In some cases, a legislative body must approve the appointment.
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Assisted appointment: A nominating commission submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list. After serving an initial term, the judge must run in a retention election to remain on the court.
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Congress passes resolutions to nullify Biden-era rules on the environment and energy
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In March, the U.S. Congress passed two joint resolutions to nullify federal environmental and energy policy regulations implemented during Joe Biden's (D) administration. Congress passed the resolutions through the 1996 Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allowed Congress to nullify new federal regulations that government agencies create through a joint resolution of disapproval.
In Wednesday’s Brew, we looked at the two joint resolutions that both chambers of Congress recently passed:
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House Joint Resolution 35 (HJR35) opposed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions rule
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Senate Joint Resolution 11 (SJR11) opposed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources rule
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