Good morning!

Let's dive into this week's edition of the State and Local Tap for all the important events in state and local politics.

As always, you can find our complete review of the week by clicking the button below.

Read the full Tap online

       

Judge issues restraining order against Alaska’s opt-in membership procedure for state employee unions

• Anchorage Superior Court Judge Gregory Miller issued a temporary restraining order to bar enforcement of the state’s opt-in membership procedure for public-sector unions representing state employees. Governor Mike Dunleavy (R), Attorney General Kevin Clarkson (R), and Commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka announced the change via administrative order on September 26. Miller was appointed by Governor Sean Parnell, a Republican.

• The administrative order establishing this policy change applies to the approximately 15,000 workers employed by the state government; it does not apply to municipal government workers. Previously, Alaska had set an annual 10-day period during which public-sector employees could opt out of union membership. 

• Janus v. AFSCME was a 2018 decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that public-sector unions and employers cannot compel employees to become members of or give any financial support to unions as a condition of employment. The Court held that such requirements infringe upon employees' free-speech and associational rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Juul ends support for San Francisco measure authorizing sale of electronic cigarettes

• The newly appointed CEO of Juul Labs, K.C. Crosthwaite, announced September 30 that the company was pulling its financial backing of the campaign supporting San Francisco Proposition C. That measure would authorize and regulate the sale of electronic cigarettes and other nicotine vapor products in the city, including provisions regarding the advertisement of such products and the restrictions of sales to minors.

• So far, Juul Labs has contributed $11.6 million in loans to the effort. Juul had been the only donor to the Yes on C campaign. Following Juul’s announcement, Yes on C announced it was suspending its campaign and released the following statement: “We understand JUUL’s leadership has decided to cease support for the campaign as part of a larger review of the company’s policies. Based on that news, we have made the decision not to continue on with the campaign. … We will be winding down all campaign activities over the course of this week.”

• Proposition C was designed to overturn a 2019 ordinance that prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes in San Francisco that have not been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A related ordinance prohibits manufacturing, distributing, and selling e-cigarettes on city-owned property. To date, no vaping product has undergone a complete review by the FDA. Both ordinances will take effect in early 2020.

• Proposition C was placed on the ballot after a successful initiative petition campaign that submitted 20,302 signatures in July. The measure will still appear on San Francisco’s November 5 ballot. Local citizen initiatives cannot be withdrawn later than 88 days prior to the election.

• San Francisco voters will also decide five other measures on November 5.

Trump endorses Abraham (R) and Rispone (R) in Louisiana gubernatorial race, Gov. Edwards (D) leads in fundraising

• President Donald Trump (R) issued a joint endorsement of Rep. Ralph Abraham (R) and businessman Eddie Rispone (R) in Louisiana's gubernatorial election Tuesday. Abraham and Rispone, along with incumbent John Bel Edwards (D), have been identified by local media reports as top candidates.

• On Wednesday, the candidates filed campaign finance reports covering their fundraising and spending between September 2 and September 22. Edwards reported raising $1.0 million during that time period, followed by Abraham with $190,000 and Rispone with $61,000. So far this election cycle, Rispone has led in fundraising with $13 million (including $11.5 million in self-funding), followed by Edwards with $9.2 million and Abraham with $2.9 million (including $300,000 in self-funding).

• Edwards says he is running to continue his first-term policies, which he says include expanding Medicaid coverage, increasing funding for education, and replacing the state's budget deficit with a surplus. Both Abraham and Rispone have criticized Edwards' tenure, saying that Louisiana's economy was ranked last in the nation and that they would encourage job growth while lowering taxes. Abraham says that during his four years in the U.S. House, he has been a Christian conservative leader. Rispone says that he is a political outsider and a successful businessman.

• Six candidates, including three Republicans, two Democrats, and an independent, will appear on the October 12 primary election ballot. If one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, they will win the election outright. Otherwise, the top two finishers will advance to a November 16 general election.

Strickland wins re-election as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee

• Incumbent Jim Strickland defeated former Mayor Willie Herenton, Shelby County Commissioner Tamara Sawyer, and nine other candidates to win election to a second four-year term as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, Thursday. Strickland received 62% of the vote to Herenton's 29% and Sawyer's 7%.

• Strickland was first elected in 2015, defeating incumbent A.C. Wharton with 41.3% of the vote. He said he was running to continue his first term policies, which he said included expanding the city's police force and school system while maintaining a balanced budget and avoiding tax increases.

• Herenton, who was first elected mayor in 1991 and won re-election to four subsequent terms before resigning in 2009, said that his plan to combat poverty had fallen off track after he left office. He said that he would prioritize reducing poverty using his experience from his previous term as mayor.

• Sawyer was first elected to the county commission in 2018. She said that in recent years city leaders had emphasized the needs of businesses over residents and had not addressed Memphis' long-term challenges. Sawyer pointed to her city council campaign as well as her experience with a movement calling for the removal of statues associated with the Confederacy as evidence that she could make policy.

• Although the election was officially nonpartisan, Strickland, Herenton, and Sawyer are all members of the Democratic Party.

• Voters also approved a sales tax increase of an additional 0.5% to fund increases to pension and health benefits for public safety employees. It was approved by a vote of 52.5% to 47.5%. The measure was put on the ballot through a signature petition drive backed by the Memphis Police Association (MPA) and the Memphis Fire Fighters Association (MFFA). Remaining revenue was earmarked by the measure for roads and pre-K education. The MPA and MFFA estimated that the tax increase would provide $52 million in revenue annually. The groups estimated that $34 million of that would be required to bring health benefits and pensions to the level designated by the petition. In 2019, half of the revenue from the city's 2.25% sales tax went into the general fund and amounted to about $113 million.

Minimum age to buy tobacco increases to 21 in Connecticut and Maryland

• On Tuesday, laws went into effect in Connecticut and Maryland increasing the minimum age to buy tobacco products in each state from 18 to 21. They are among 15 states to increase their age restriction to 21 since June 2015, when Hawaii became the first state to do so in the 21st century.

• New Jersey imposed the first tobacco age restriction—16 years old—in 1883. By 1920, 14 states had a minimum tobacco age of 21. However, in the 1920s and 1930s, many lowered their age restrictions from 21 to 18 or 19. In 2000, three states (Alabama, Alaska, and Utah) had a tobacco age of 19 and the remaining 47 had a tobacco age of 18.

• The 15 states where the minimum age to purchase or use tobacco is now 21 comprise 42% of the U.S. population. Three states have a tobacco age limit of 19 and the remaining 32 have a tobacco age limit of 18. 

• On November 13, New York will be the next state to increase its tobacco age restriction from 18 to 21.

• Connecticut's tobacco increase was signed by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. Maryland's was signed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. 

• Since June 2015, nine Democratic governors and eight Republican governors have signed increases in their states' tobacco restrictions into law. The tobacco age restriction increases in both states were passed by a majority-Democratic state legislature, meaning that Connecticut's was passed under a Democratic trifecta and Maryland's was passed under divided government. Eight states have increased their tobacco age under a Democratic trifecta, four under a Republican trifecta, and six under divided government.

Birmingham voters to decide three city council seats, three ballot measures

• The city of Birmingham, Alabama, is holding nonpartisan special elections for Districts 1, 6, and 7 on the city council. The candidate filing deadline passed on August 23, 2019. 

  • Vacancies in Districts 1, 6, and 7 seats were previously filled through interim appointments; Clinton Woods, Crystal Smitherman, and Wardine Alexander were appointed to the seats. The special elections were called to fill the seats for the remainder of their former occupants’ terms.

    • District 1 incumbent Clinton Woods faces challenges from Sherman Collins Jr. and Haki Jamaal Muhammad. Woods was appointed to the position on December 18, 2018, to succeed Lashunda Scales.

    • District 6 incumbent Crystal Smitherman faces challenges from six candidates. Smitherman was appointed to the position on December 18, 2018, to succeed Sheila Tyson.

    • District 7 incumbent Wardine Alexander faces challenges from Ray Brooks and Lonnie Malone. Alexander was appointed to the position on October 30, 2018, to succeed Jay Roberson. 

  • The Birmingham City Council is made up of nine members, each of whom is elected by one of the city’s nine districts. Council members serve four-year terms. Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama and the 99th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

  • Voters will also decide three measures renewing property taxes for public school funding for 25 years. Together, the measures would renew rates totaling $0.98 per $100 in assessed value. Currently, the taxes proposed for renewal are set to expire in 2021.

Ballot measures update

2019:

• Thirty-six statewide measures will be on 2019 ballots in Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. 

  • Besides the 24 binding statewide measures, Washington voters will see 12 non-binding advisory votes concerning revenue-increasing bills recently passed by the legislature that were automatically added to the ballot.

  • Four Louisiana measures are on the Oct. 12 ballot. The rest will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.

2020:

• Forty statewide measures in 19 states have been certified for the 2020 ballot so far.

  • Six of the 40 certified 2020 measures are citizen-initiated measures. Thirty-three are legislative referrals. One is an automatic constitutional revision commission question.

State legislative special elections

• So far this year, 77 state legislative special elections have been scheduled in 24 states. Special elections have been held for 54 seats so far; heading into those races, Democrats had previously controlled 30 of the seats while Republicans previously controlled 24. Four seats have flipped from Democratic control to Republican control. One seat has flipped from Republican control to Democratic control. One seat has flipped from Republican control to an independent officeholder. 

  • In special elections between 2011 and 2018, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of four seats nationally each year.

  • An average of 91 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past four odd years (2011: 94, 2013: 84, 2015: 88, 2017: 98).

  • An average of 55 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past five even years (2010: 26, 2012: 45, 2014: 40, 2016: 65, 2018: 99).

Upcoming special elections include:

October 8

• New Hampshire House of Representatives Rockingham 9

States in session

Five states—Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin—are in regular session. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are in recess. Forty-two states have adjourned their 2019 legislative sessions.

Ballotpedia depends on the support of our readers.

The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Donations to the Lucy Burns Institute or Ballotpedia do not support any candidates or campaigns.