Regional stay-at-home orders end in California

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) lifted the regional stay-at-home orders and statewide 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew on Jan. 25. Counties returned to the color-coded tier system that existed before Newsom issued the regional stay-at-home orders. Stay-at-home orders applied to the Southern California, San Joaquin Valley, and Bay Area regions (which contain about 90% of the state’s population). 
• The first regional orders went into effect Dec. 5, 2020, in the Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions. The Greater Sacramento region was added Dec. 10, and the Bay Area was added Dec. 17. The Greater Sacramento region’s stay-at-home order ended Jan. 12, about two weeks before Newsom lifted the orders on other parts of the state. 
• Individuals were required to stay home except for essential activities. Businesses like personal care services (including barbershops), indoor entertainment and recreational facilities, and bars were required to close. Restaurants were limited to takeout and delivery only.

Wisconsin state Assembly cancels vote to overturn statewide mask order

• On Jan. 28, the Wisconsin State Assembly canceled a planned vote to overturn Gov. Tony Evers’s (D) coronavirus emergency order. The order, which Evers extended several times in the last year, is the basis for the statewide mask mandate. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said Republican lawmakers needed more time to determine how a vote to overturn the emergency might affect federal aid to the state. On Jan. 26, the state Senate voted 18-13 to overturn the order.
• Thirty-seven states have statewide orders in effect requiring individuals to wear masks in indoor or outdoor public spaces. All 23 states with a Democratic governor have statewide mask orders, while 14 out of 27 Republican states require face coverings.

Shirley Weber confirmed as California secretary of state

• The California legislature unanimously confirmed Shirley Weber (D) to be secretary of state on Jan. 28. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced he would appoint Weber to the position on Dec. 22, 2020, after former secretary of state Alex Padilla resigned to become a U.S. Senator. Weber is the first Black person to hold that office in California. 
• The General Assembly voted 70-0 for her confirmation on Jan. 27, and the state Senate voted in favor, 29-0, the following day. 
• Weber has served as a member of the California State Assembly since December 2012. Vacancies in the legislature are filled by special election. Gov. Gavin Newsom must call the special election within 14 days of the vacancy. No special election can be held if the vacancy happens in an election year and the nominating deadline passes.

New Hampshire among states starting next phase of vaccine distribution

Here are the notable changes to vaccine availability and distribution in various states during the past week: 

• Phase 1B of vaccine distribution began in New Hampshire on Jan. 26. People 65 and older became eligible to receive the vaccine, as well as medically vulnerable people, the caregivers of medically vulnerable children, and people in correctional facilities.
• Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) announced the beginning of Phase 1B of vaccine distribution in that state on Jan. 25. The phase includes individuals age 65 and older and frontline essential workers.

Ohio residents age 75 and older and individuals with severe congenital or developmental disorders became eligible on Jan. 25 to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

Julie Vargas sworn in as a justice on the New Mexico Supreme Court

• Julie Vargas was sworn in as a justice on the New Mexico Supreme Court on Jan. 25. Vargas was appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Dec. 19, 2020, to succeed Justice Judith Nakamura (R), who retired on Dec. 1.
• Prior to her appointment, Vargas was a judge on the New Mexico Court of Appeals. She was elected to this position on Nov. 8, 2016.
• All five New Mexico Supreme Court justices have been either elected as Democrats or appointed by Democratic governors. Gov. Lujan Grisham has appointed three state supreme court justices, and Chief Justice Michael Vigil and Associate Justice Barbara Vigil (no relation) were elected as Democrats.

State, local officials announce they’ve tested positive for COVID-19

• Florida state Rep. Jason Shoaf (R), who represents District 7, announced on Jan. 24 that he tested positive for COVID-19. 
• Utah state Sen. Todd Weiler (R), who represents District 23, announced on Jan. 25 that he tested positive for COVID-19.
• Florida state Sen. Loranne Ausley (D), who represents District 3, announced on Jan. 25 that she tested positive for COVID-19.
• Richmond, Virginia, Mayor Levar Stoney (D) announced on Jan. 27 that he tested positive for COVID-19.
• Florida state Sen. Gary Farmer (D) announced on Jan. 27 that he tested positive for COVID-19.

Filing period to end for municipal elections in Columbus, Cleveland

• The candidate filing deadline to run for certain municipal offices in Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio, is Feb. 3. 
• Prospective candidates in Columbus may file for the following municipal and school district offices:
  • City attorney
  • City auditor
  • City council (3 seats)
  • Columbus City Schools Board of Education (3 seats)
• In Cleveland, prospective candidates may file for the following municipal offices:
  • Mayor
  • City council (17 seats)
  • Municipal court judge
• The primary elections are scheduled for May 4, and the general elections are scheduled for November 2, 2021.
• Columbus and Cleveland are the first- and second-largest cities in Ohio, respectively. Columbus is the 16th-largest city in the United States by population, and Cleveland is the 48th-largest. The Columbus City Schools district is the largest school district in Ohio; it served 50,219 students as of the 2017-2018 school year.

Dickey defeats Stewart in special election in Iowa state Senate district

• Adrian Dickey (R) defeated Mary Stewart (D) in the Jan. 26 special election for Iowa's 41st Senate District. Dickey defeated Stewart 55.3% to 44.7%.
• The special election was called after Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) resigned effective Jan. 2 to be seated in the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. Three recounts have been conducted in that race, the last of which showing Miller-Meeks winning by six votes. Rite Hart (D) has contested the election with the House Administration Committee, and on Jan. 21, Miller-Meeks filed a motion asking Congress to dismiss Hart's challenge of the election results. The House Administration Committee has not yet ruled in the case. 
• Miller-Meeks served from 2019 to 2021. Dickey will fill the remaining two years in Miller-Meeks’s term.
• Dickey's 10.6 percentage point margin of victory is the largest in the 41st District since 2010 when Roby Smith (R) defeated Richard Clewell (D) by 19 percentage points.

Stanley sworn in to NJ General Assembly

• Sterley Stanley (D) was sworn in on Jan. 27 to the New Jersey General Assembly, representing District 18. He replaced Nancy Pinkin (D), who was elected Middlesex County Clerk. Stanley previously served two terms as an East Brunswick councilman. 
• Stanley was chosen as Pinkin’s replacement by the Middlesex County Democratic Committee, which selected him over Edison Councilman Joseph Coyle on Jan. 12. Stanley will serve the remainder of Pinkin’s term, which expires in January 2022.
• The New Jersey General Assembly holds its elections in odd-numbered years. The current partisan breakdown of the chamber is 52 Democrats and 28 Republicans.

Ballot measures update

• Nine statewide measures have been certified for the 2021 ballot so far.
  • No new measures were certified last week.
• Signatures have been submitted for one additional 2021 initiative in Maine.
• Four statewide measures have been certified for the 2022 ballot.
  • Two measures were certified for the ballot last week:
    • The Kansas Legislature put a constitutional amendment on the August 2022 ballot that would state that there is no right to abortion or public funding for abortions in the Kansas Constitution and that citizens through their elected representatives have the right to regulate abortions. The amendment was a response to the 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling in Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, which concluded that there was a right to abortions in the Kansas Bill of Rights.
    • The Iowa Legislature put a constitutional amendment on the 2022 ballot that would add a right to own and bear firearms to the Iowa Constitution and required strict scrutiny for any alleged violations of the right brought before a court.
• Signatures have been submitted for five additional 2022 initiatives in California, Michigan, and Oklahoma.

State legislative special elections

Twenty-five state legislative special elections have been scheduled in 16 states so far this year, with four elections having taken place already. Heading into those races, Democrats had previously controlled two of the seats, and Republicans previously controlled two.

Upcoming special elections include:

• February 9
  • Georgia House of Representatives District 90 (primary)
  • Oklahoma State Senate District 22 (primary)
• February 16
  • Wisconsin State Senate District 13 (primary)
  • Wisconsin State Senate District 89 (primary)