State Legislative Tracker: School concealed carry defeated in Wyoming

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### March 9, 2015[edit]

Edited by Joel Williams
This week’s tracker includes a look at a controversial voter registration bill in Oregon, a Washington senator making headlines over racial comments and the defeat of concealed carry legislation in Wyoming.

## Weekly highlight[edit]

* Oregon: Both chambers of the Oregon State Legislature have passed a "New Motor Voter Bill," which would automatically register potential voters with driver’s license records.[1] Before election officials register prospective voters, they will first send a postcard that will give them 21 days to opt out.[2] House Bill 2177 passed the State Senate with a vote of 17 to 13, and the House of Representatives passed the bill with a vote of 35 to 24.[1][3] No Republicans in either chamber voted in favor of the bill. Republicans argue that using driver’s license records opens the door for ID theft and undermines the privacy of Oregon's citizens. The only Democrat to vote "no" in either chamber was Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-16). She also voted "no" on a similar bill that died in the 2013 session.[1] Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (D-17) said on the legislation, "The bill will streamline the voter registration process by eliminating redundant paperwork and removing technical barriers for voters."[2] According to Gina Zejdlik, senior policy adviser to the governor, the bill could add another 300,000 to 400,000 voters.[4] The bill has now been sent to the governor's office, where Gov. Kate Brown (D) is expected to sign it.[1]

* Washington: A state senator from Yakima apologized last week after comments he made about racial minorities appeared in the press. During a meeting of the Ways and Means Committee regarding a bill that would require legislation to note possible impacts on racial minorities in relation to the populace at large, Sen. Jim Honeyford (R) prefaced a question on the use of crime data in such impact statements by saying, “It's generally accepted that the poor are more likely to commit crimes, and generally, I think, accepted that people of color are more likely poor than not.” Sen. Bob Hasegawa (D), the bill's primary sponsor, quickly challenged Honeyford, saying that the bill would “get to the root of what's causing” crime and incarceration among racial minorities. Honeyford then replied, “I said the poor are more likely to commit crimes, and colored most likely to be poor, I didn't say anything else on that. And I believe that's an accepted fact, and if you check any of your sociology books or anything else you'll find that's an accepted fact of our society.”[5][6] Honeyford's attempts at clarifying his comments caused further controversy. Last Monday, Honeyford told the Yakima Herald that his comments were being misconstrued as suggesting those groups are predisposed to poverty and crime, this time referring to racial minorities as “coloreds.” Honeyford then told television station KIMA on Tuesday that he erred in using the term, but added, “they were talking about people of color and that's not just the negro or the hispanic- it's the whole group of minorites [sic].” Willie Pride, head of the Yakima NAACP, spoke out against the comments, suggesting that they carried “overtones... of the South that are here in the North and Northwest that are filtering through.”[6] Last Thursday, Honeyford's office sent out a press release, in which the senator apologized, saying that “a 76-year-old man doesn’t always use language that is appropriate in 2015” and that he would act “with diligence and increased sensitivity.”[7] Honeyford, who is white, represents a majority Latino district, the first of its kind in the state following redistricting in 2011.[8]

* Wyoming: The Wyoming State Senate has voted down a bill that would allow the carrying of concealed weapons on school campuses and in many public buildings that are currently designated as gun-free zones.[9][10] The bill failed 25 to three in the Senate, but passed the Wyoming House of Representatives easily.[10] The bill passed by the House had little restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons by those who had permits to do so, and allowed them to carry such weapons on school grounds and into the bulk of public buildings. A Senate committee, however, changed the bill to require approval from local governments and school boards before concealed carry permit holders could carry on property under their control.[11] It was this amendment to the bill that some lawmakers cite as the reason for the bill’s failure on the Senate floor. Rep. Cale Case (R) told reporters, “You know I think the folks that were in my shoes voted against it because it had been changed so much and folks that were in the other shoes voted against it because it changed so much.”[10] Senate critics also noted that they were uncomfortable with the low levels of training that Wyoming requires for a resident to obtain a concealed carry permit.[9] Cole, however, is confident that the bill will return for further debate in later sessions.[10]

# Sessions[edit]

#### Regular sessions[edit]

See also: Dates of 2015 state legislative sessions
Click here to see a chart of each state's 2015 session information.

Currently 47 out of 50 state legislatures are meeting in regular session.

The following states have convened their 2015 regular session:[12]

* December 1, 2014: California
* December 3, 2014: Maine

* January 5, 2015: Montana
* January 5, 2015: Ohio
* January 5, 2015: Wisconsin
* January 6, 2015: Indiana
* January 6, 2015: Kentucky
* January 6, 2015: Minnesota
* January 6, 2015: Mississippi
* January 6, 2015: North Dakota
* January 6, 2015: Pennsylvania
* January 6, 2015: Rhode Island

* January 7, 2015: Colorado
* January 7, 2015: Connecticut
* January 7, 2015: Massachusetts
* January 7, 2015: Missouri
* January 7, 2015: Nebraska
* January 7, 2015: New Hampshire
* January 7, 2015: New York
* January 7, 2015: Vermont
* January 12, 2015: Arizona
* January 12, 2015: Arkansas
* January 12, 2015: Georgia
* January 12, 2015: Idaho
* January 12, 2015: Iowa
* January 12, 2015: Kansas
* January 12, 2015: Washington
* January 13, 2015: Delaware
* January 13, 2015: New Jersey
* January 13, 2015: South Carolina
* January 13, 2015: South Dakota
* January 13, 2015: Tennessee
* January 13, 2015: Texas
* January 13, 2015: Wyoming
* January 14, 2015: Illinois
* January 14, 2015: Maryland
* January 14, 2015: Michigan
* January 14, 2015: North Carolina
* January 14, 2015: Virginia
* January 14, 2015: West Virginia
* January 20, 2015: Alaska
* January 20, 2015: New Mexico
* January 21, 2015: Hawaii
* January 26, 2015: Utah

* February 2, 2015: Nevada
* February 2, 2015: Oklahoma
* February 2, 2015: Oregon

* March 3, 2015: Alabama
* March 3, 2015: Florida

#### In recess[edit]

As of today, March 9, there are two state legislatures currently in recess.[13]

* Delaware: Returns March 17.
* Pennsylvania: Returns March 30.

# 2015 Legislative Elections[edit]

See also: State legislative elections, 2015

A total of seven of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 3, 2015.

There are seven chambers in four states with elections in 2015:

* Louisiana (Senate and House)
* Mississippi (Senate and House)
* New Jersey (Assembly)
* Virginia (Senate and House)

The New Jersey Senate also typically holds elections in odd years, but all members were elected to four-year terms in 2013 and are not up for election again until 2017.

Of 1,972 state senate seats in the country, 131 are up for re-election in November 2015, and 407 of the country's 5,411 state house seats are up for re-election. Altogether, 538 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats are up for re-election on November 3, 2015.

### Primary Information[edit]

The state legislative filing deadlines and primary dates are as follows:

Filing Deadlines

* Louisiana: September 10[14]
* Mississippi: February 27[15]
* New Jersey: March 30[16]
* Virginia: March 9[17]

Primary Dates

* Louisiana: October 24[14]
* Mississippi: August 4[15]
* New Jersey: June 2[16]
* Virginia: June 9[17]

# Special Elections[edit]

See also: State legislative special elections, 2015

There is one special election scheduled this week in Maine.

### Maine House of Representatives District 93[edit]

See also: Maine state legislative special elections, 2015

Anne "Pinny" Beebe-Center (D) defeated James Kalloch (R), Ron Huber (G) and Shawn Levasseur (L) in the special election on March 10.[18][19][20]

The seat was vacant following Elizabeth Dickerson's (D) resignation on January 13, 2015, to move to Colorado.[21]

A special election for the position of Maine House of Representatives District 93 was called for March 10. Candidates were nominated by parties rather than chosen in primaries.[18]

Maine House of Representatives, District 93, Special Election, 2015

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Democratic  | Anne Beebe-Center | 52.9% | 915
| Republican  |  James Kalloch  | 44.5% | 770
| Green Independent  |  Ron Huber  | 2% | 34
| Libertarian  |  Shawn Levasseur  | 0.6% | 11
Total Votes | 1,730

March 10 Special election candidates:
Anne "Pinny" Beebe-Center
James Kalloch
Ron Huber
Shawn Levasseur

### Recent election results[edit]

#### March 3, 2015[edit]

☑ Kentucky State Senate District 27

See also: Kentucky state legislative special elections, 2015

Steve West (R) defeated Kelly Caudill (D) in the special election on March 3.[22][23][24]

The seat was vacant following Walter Blevins' (D) resignation on January 4, 2015, to become judge-executive of Rowan County.[25]

A special election for the position of Kentucky State Senate District 27 was called for March 3. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 13, 2015. Candidates were nominated by parties rather than chosen in primaries.[22]

Kentucky State Senate, District 27, Special Election, 2015

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Republican  | Steve West | 54.4% | 5,337
| Democratic  |  Kelly Caudill  | 45.6% | 4,471
Total Votes | 9,808

March 3 Special election candidates:
Kelly Caudill
Steve West

#### Looking ahead[edit]

Upcoming special elections include:

* March 24: Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 170
* March 28: Louisiana House of Representatives District 66
* March 31: Massachusetts House of Representatives First Suffolk District
* March 31: Texas House of Representatives District 124

## See also[edit]

* State legislative elections, 2015
* 2015 state legislative calendar
* Signature requirements and deadlines for 2015 state government elections
* State legislative special elections, 2015
* State legislative recalls

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Oregon Live, "Sweeping 'New Motor Voter' bill clears Oregon Legislature on partisan vote," accessed March 6, 2015
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Katu.com, "Oregon Legislature sends automatic voter registration bill to governor," accessed March 6, 2015
3. ↑ Oregon Live, "Automatic voter registration bill passes Oregon House on party-line vote," accessed March 6, 2015
4. ↑ Wallowa.com, "Automatic voter registration bill passed to governor," accessed March 6, 2015
5. ↑ The Stranger, “Republican State Senator: Poor, "Colored" People Are More Likely to Commit Crimes,” March 2, 2015
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 KIMA, “Offensive comments from senator upsets minority leaders,” March 3, 2015
7. ↑ KIMA, “Sen. Honeyford regrets 'hurtful' choice of words,” March 5, 2015
8. ↑ The Seattle Times, “Sen. Honeyford apologizes for comments on race, crime,” March 5, 2015
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 KOTA Territory News, “Wyoming Senate defeats bill to allow guns in schools,” March 4, 2015
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Bob Beck, ‘‘Wyoming Public Media Statewide Network’’, “Senate Defeats Guns In Schools Bill,” March 3, 2015
11. ↑ Wyoming Tribune Eagle, “Wyoming lawmakers to decide on guns in schools, budget bill this week,” March 1, 2015
12. ↑ Stateside Associates, " Session Calendar 2014," accessed March 9, 2015
13. ↑ StateNet, "Daily Session Summary," accessed March 9, 2015
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Elections," accessed January 2, 2015
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 New Jersey Department of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Timeline," accessed February 2, 2015
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Green Party Watch, "Maine Greens nominate State Rep candidate for special election," February 10, 2015
19. ↑ maine.gov, "Official Results for Special Election State Representative District 93," accessed April 8, 2015
20. ↑ Portland Press Herald, "Rockland Democrat wins House seat in special election," March 10, 2015
21. ↑ Bangor Daily News, "Rockland-area House seat could be vacant for few months," January 13, 2015
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 kentucky.com, "Democrats, Republicans announce candidates for special election in 27th Senate District," January 10, 2015
23. ↑ WKYT, "Republican Steve West wins 27th Senate District seat," March 3, 2015
24. ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections, "Special Election State Senator, 27th Senatorial District (Unexpired Term)," accessed July 21, 2015
25. ↑ Daily Reporter, "Special election set March 3 for northeast Kentucky state Senate seat," January 5, 2015