Edited by Greg Janetka
Today’s tracker features a partisan count update and spotlight on Pennsylvania, where the legislature saw a flurry of activity before recessing for the summer.
This is an abridged version of our weekly Tracker report. For the full report click here.
Weekly highlight
The Pennsylvania General Assembly currently sits in summer recess and is not scheduled to get back to work until August 23.[1] Its last days before going on break were busy ones, highlighted by Gov. Tom Corbett (R) signing the new budget into law fifteen minutes before the new fiscal year was to begin and legislation passed after the Legislature’s own deadline.[2]
Back in 2005, lawmakers ignited a firestorm of controversy when they passed legislative pay raises in the early morning hours. The raise, which was eventually declared unconstitutional by the courts, led to a number of reforms, including a rule that sessions have to end by 11 p.m..[3] Legislators suspended that ruled this year in order to pass about a dozen bills, including HB 254 which extends Philadelphia’s red-light camera program and allows Pittsburgh and 14 suburban Philadelphia municipalities to begin such programs.[2]
The amendment expanding the use of red-light cameras was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R) on June 28 and adopted without debate, discussion or a public hearing. The final vote on the bill did not occur until 1:10 a.m. on July 1, when it passed the House by a margin of 113-72. Rep. Greg Vitali (D) rallied against the bill, arguing that 1 a.m. was not an appropriate time to pass it and that it should be shelved. Others objected to it because of privacy concerns and conflicting evidence whether red-light cameras reduce crashes or not. Their effort, however, was in vain as it passed the House by a margin of 113-72.[4]
Tim Potts, co-director of Democracy Rising PA, a nonprofit seeking government reform, addressed the situation, stating:
“No one who pays attention can excuse the way this place operates. Every deadline crisis is a manufactured crisis designed to…keep citizens as completely in the dark as much as possible. And so we continue to push these issues because they will result in more accountability, lower costs to taxpayers, greater transparency and the restoration of people’s confidence in their government.”[3]
Partisan breakdown
As of today, July 9, 2012, the following figures represent the cumulative partisan breakdown of the 50 state senates and 49 state houses. In the 50 states, Republicans currently control 53.6% of all seats while Democrats hold 44.8%. All told, Republicans control 58 chambers while Democrats are the majority in 36 chambers. Four chambers are tied, while one is non-partisan.
The totals represent a loss of 7 Republican legislators from the June 4 Tracker.
The partisan composition of state houses refers to which party holds the majority of seats in the state house or the lower level of each state legislature. Altogether, in the 49 state houses, there are 5,413 state representatives.
See also: Partisan composition of state houses
As of July 9, 2012, the breakdown of chamber control by party is as follows:
18 chambers
30 chambers
1 chamber (Oregon)
The partisan composition of state senates refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in the state senate. Altogether, in the 50 state senates, there are 1,971 state senators.
See also: Partisan composition of state senates
As of July 9, 2012, the breakdown of chamber control by party is as follows:
Sessions
This week 2 out of 50 state legislatures – Ohio and Massachusetts – are meeting in regular session. As of May 16, all states had convened their 2012 sessions. No states are projected to adjourn this week.
Thirty-eight states have adjourned for the year, while four states – Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas – will not hold regular sessions in 2012.
Special Sessions:
In 2011, special sessions were a widespread occurrence in state legislatures. This was largely due to states’ having to complete the redistricting process for legislative and congressional districts. Overall in 2011, there were 45 special sessions in 28 states.
Since the beginning of 2012, there have been 15 special sessions in 13 states. There are no special sessions currently ongoing.
2012 Legislative Elections
A total of 86 of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 6, 2012.
1,301 (65.97%) of the country’s 1,972 state senate seats are up for election in November 2012, and 4,714 (87.12%) of the country’s 5,411 state house seats are up for election. Altogether, 6,015 (81.47%) of the country’s 7,383 state legislative seats will be up for election during the presidential election year.
- 43 of the 50 state senates are holding elections.
- 43 of the 49 state houses are holding elections.
The 6,015 seats up for election is 110 fewer than the 6,125 that were contested in 2010.
Filing deadlines
No states have signature filing deadlines this week.
So far, deadlines have passed in 42 states. The final two remaining states have deadlines this week.
States with upcoming deadlines:
Primaries
-
- See also: 2012 election dates
There are no state legislative primaries taking place this week.
So far, primaries have taken place in 24 states.
A total of 75 state legislative incumbents have been defeated in a primary – 53 Republicans and 22 Democrats.
States with upcoming primaries:
- July 31: Georgia
- August 2: Tennessee
- August 7: Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Washington
- August 11: Hawaii
Recalls
Wisconsin
Recalls against four Republican state senators took place on June 5.[11] Going into the recalls the Senate was tied, meaning if the Democrats could win one of the recalls they would take control of the chamber.[12]
Incumbents Scott Fitzgerald (R) and Terry Moulton (R) won easy victories. Republican Jerry Petrowski easily won Pam Galloway‘s (R) former seat. Unofficial results showed John Lehman (D) defeated Van Wanggaard (R) by 779 votes and he declared victory. Wanggaard considered a recount – the county’s board of canvassars had until June 15 to submit final vote totals. [13] With the official canvass showing Lehman winning by 834 votes, Wanggaard called for a recount on June 15.[14]
The recount began on June 20 and concluded July 2.[15] Final tallies released show Lehman won by 819 votes – 36,358 to 35,539.[16] Wanggaard was looking at possible legal challenges. If none are filed the results will be certified on Wednesday.[17]
There have been a number of allegations of voter fraud in the recall, with Assemblyman Robin Vos (R) among the loudest voices. PolitiFact invested the claims, ultimately rating them “False” as based on the information currently available. According to the report, “The Racine County Sheriff’s Department is investigating issues regarding election procedures and paperwork, but a top official told us they do not suspect fraud. What’s more, Vos acknowledges he has no direct evidence of fraud.”[18]