A Monday afternoon joint session of the North Dakota legislature helped put the flood crisis in that state in stark relief. While most lawmakers heard an update from North Dakota’s National Guard Commander, Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, some members of the State House and Senate remained in Fargo, desperate to defend their homes from the high waters threatening North Dakota’s largest city.

Due to blizzard conditions that have enveloped the capitol, the legislature is not expected to decide until Wednesday morning whether it will convene for the day. During today’s session, Sprynczynatyk described the extent of his agency’s $40 million response to the flooding:

During his briefing to lawmakers, Sprynczynatyk said 2,400 National Guard members are helping to fight rising floodwaters in North Dakota, the largest task force ever assembled in the state. He called the flooding "epic in nature."

He said Guard members are strategically stationed throughout Fargo and the surrounding areas in case of an emergency.

National Guard members also are protecting the man-made dikes that have been erected throughout Fargo. One person was arrested over the weekend when authorities found the person stealing sandbags off a dike.

"You have to deal with the human element, as well," Sprynczynatyk said.

The thoughts and prayers of all of us at the DLCC are with the people of North Dakota in this trying time.

Nathan Thomas is a researcher and communications assistant for the DLCC.

Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted has introduced a bill that would radically alter the way that legislative and Congressional districts are drawn in his state.

The way the law is currently written, the legislature takes responsibility for drawing the lines for U.S. House districts, while an Apportionment Board -- made up of the governor, secretary of state, auditor and a legislator from each party -- draws the lines for the state lawmaker's districts.

The Hamilton Journal-News reports:

Husted on Monday, March 30, said he would introduce a resolution to establish a bipartisan seven-member commission to oversee the creation of the districts after each census. The next census is in 2010.

The resolution would require a five-vote super majority for the adoption of a redistricting plan. Also, at least one of the required five votes would have to come from each of the three groups represented on the commission: two Republican legislative leader appointments; two Democratic legislative leader appointments and three remaining members, who would be selected by the four legislative leaders.

If approved by the legislature, the resolution would appear on the ballot next fall.

The National Popular Vote movement was the subject of one of our events during last summer’s NCSL Legislative Summit, and it was profiled by one of our 2008 Klindt/Dye Summer interns last July, as well.

In this new session, state legislatures have continued to make progress on this issue, passing National Popular Vote legislation in four new state chambers in the last few months.

The Michigan House passed the NPV bill by a 65-36 margin in December. Last month, the New Mexico House passed the measure 41-27. And both the Oregon House and the Colorado House passed NPV legislation this month.

Even though the NPV bill has passed in 21 state legislative chambers, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey remain the only four states to enact NPV. There is no doubt we’ll continue to see advancement on this front at the state level.

For more information on the NPV movement, visit nationalpopularvote.com.

Lizz Gramling is the DLCC's director of operations.

The Supreme Court has already taken aim at the Voting Rights Act once this year when it weighed in with the Bartlett decision earlier this month.

Now the Court is set to consider the civil rights law again, and their decision could have similar long-term ramifications for state elections.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires certain state and local governments (those who once systematically suppressed minority votes) to obtain Justice Department approval before altering election practices.

The Court will take up a case in April to judge whether this section of the law is still necessary. Conservatives point to the election of Barack Obama as proof that it is not, while civil rights leaders correctly note that Obama did not win many of the places covered under Section 5.

The likely outcome is hard to predict:

Court observers expect the vote to be close, with four solid conservatives inclined to void Section 5 while four liberals seem certain to uphold it. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who sometimes splits from his fellow conservatives but has been skeptical of race-conscious laws, is likely to cast the deciding vote. If the court voids Section 5, it will remove one of the most potent pieces of civil-rights legislation in the government's arsenal.

Any change to the Voting Rights Act will require state lawmakers all over the country to examine closely the way that local elections are conducted, and many are likely to introduce new procedures to protect local minority voters.

For nearly two years, Democrats in Colorado have worked to pass a new set of rules that would impose new environmental standards on gas and oil exploration in the state.

This week, the bill that established the new regulations cleared the Senate, and the governor has already indicated that he will sign it into law.

Republicans in Colorado opposed the environment standards strongly, arguing that the regulations will restrict business growth in tough economic times.

But as the Colorado Springs Gazette reports:

Missing from the Republican arguments was any evidence that the downturn in Colorado drilling was caused by the new rules, which go into effect April 1, or could be cured by changing them.

Even still, the Colorado Independent reports that GOP leadership plans to use this issue as a theme to hit Democrats headed into 2010.

Yesterday, the New Hampshire House voted to abolish the death penalty. Last week, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed legislation to do the same. Lawmakers in Maryland are currently weighing a proposal to scale back the punishment dramatically. Similar legislation is being considered in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Montana.

Opponents have sought to end state-sponsored executions for decades, calling for a more ethical justice system. But in many cases, supporters of these bills are citing a different rationale altogether -- capital punishment, they say, is simply too expensive.

Efforts to repeal the death penalty are part of a broader trend in which states are trying to cut the costs of being tough on crime. Virginia and at least four other states, for example, are considering releasing nonviolent offenders early to reduce costs.

The economic realities have forced even longtime supporters of the death penalty, like Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, to rethink their positions.

Across the country, the recession and state budget gaps are forcing policy makers to take a hard look at many kinds of spending.

A report recently released by the Pew Center on the States showed that spending for prisons and the corrections system has outpaced budget growth in education, transportation, and public assistance. Over the past two decades, only spending on Medicare rose at a quicker rate.

The study found that 7.3 million Americans -- roughly one in every 31 citizens -- is in prison, on parole, or probation, and in 2008, funding the prison system costs states $47 billion.

No group prisoners add more to this financial strain than those on death row. Their trials take longer, they file more appeals, and that in turn requires more lawyers and experts witness.

Migration trends over the past decade consistently show people moving from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West.

But the recent migration trends are significantly more complicated.

Estimates out last week show that big urban cities are retaining population and the movement toward the Sun Belt has slowed:

Booming Sun Belt cities and exurban counties across the USA are not attracting as many people as they once did while older industrial centers that had lost residents for decades are losing fewer, according to Census population estimates.

Experts believe that high unemployment and the poor housing market are the prime reasons for these changes in long term migration trends.

All of this is interesting to note because projections for gains and losses of congressional seats are based on the trends.

For instance, if growth in Nevada slows dramatically or comes to a halt, the state could lose out on the new congressional district that many now believe it will get -- and last week's estimate from the Census shows that migration to Las Vegas was only a third what it was in 2007.

After gaining a majority in the Oklahoma Senate (which had previously been tied), Republican lawmakers were determined to pass a Voter ID bill this year.

College students are one group of people who are often particularly hard hit by these ID requirements. Legally, students are allowed to register to vote using college addresses but most who do still have drivers licenses and identification that display the addresses from their permanent residences back home.

These Voter ID laws leave them in limbo -- setting a barrier that is too high to make voting in their college communities convenient.

Democrats in Oklahoma were able to offer students some protection in the final version of the bill by introducing an amendment spearheaded by Rep. Joe Dorman that will allow them to use the identification issued by their colleges at the polls.

Rep. Dorman has a guest post up at FutureMajority where he offers his perspective about the debate and speaks to the importance of reaching out to youth generally.

The whole thing is well worth a read.

Incidentally, Rep. Dorman is practicing what he preaches. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Across the country, funds from the President's Recovery Package are already moving into the states:

The Obama administration this month announced: $8.4 billion for states to fix and build public transportation; $2 billion in funding allocations for state and local law enforcement; $44 billion in education funding to prevent cuts in education and teacher layoffs; and the first installment of $165 million to help states provide more funding in food stamps.

One thing that differentiates this money from federal appropriations like it in the past is the states will be required to account for all the spending closely:

Some 45 states already have set up their own stimulus Web sites and all states will have to document where the money will go and how many jobs are created. The Obama administration has a state-specific page on its Web site www.recovery.gov. The Council of State Governments recently launched www.staterecovery.org and the National Conference of State Legislatures also provides state-by-state information.

Some worry that the funds could create future budget gaps if states fail to account for the stimulus coming to an end, but many leaders have already acknowledged this possibility and will design future budgets with this fact in mind.

Earlier this month, President Obama lifted an eight-year ban on federal funding for stem cell research.

In response, conservatives are mobilizing to pass legislation at the state level to ban the research locally.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

[Last week], Georgia's Senate passed a bill to ban the creation of embryonic stem cell lines. The measure was hastily rewritten to address concerns that it would hamper the fertility industry.

The state legislation defines an embryo as a person, thus prohibiting its use in scientific research and making it illegal for researchers to create new ones. Violators could lose their medical license and be fined up to $1,000 for each offense. The legislation seeks to control the use of embryonic stem cells and moves the debate into the antiabortion arena.

Conservative leaders are indicating that Georgia will be the first of many legislatures they plan to pressure to pass such a bill.

Before they closed their session, legislators in Virginia made a point to pass a series of new measures to designed crack down on predatory practices in the mortgage industry.

The Washington Post reports:

Lawmakers trying to curb the state's escalating foreclosure rate passed several bills during the 45-day legislative session, which ended last [month], to try to keep homeowners in their houses. It was one of the few issues that found widespread agreement this year in a divided General Assembly.

Nationwide, foreclosures continue to be a major area of concern for policy makers. Virginia's legislation becomes part of a national trend -- with legislatures across the country trying to stem the crisis.

If the governor signs the bills later this month, the new laws would take effect on July 1.

The Pew Center for Social and Demographic Trends has released an incredible set of graphics which track migration flows in the United States.

The maps and charts are filled with all kinds of interesting data -- and most show one emerging trend: movement of people from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and more recently, West.

For those who are watching projections of new Congressional seats after the 2010 census, the political significance of this trend is already evident.

The South and West will gain seats while the Northeast and Midwest lose them.

That's a challenge for Democrats -- as our strongest regions of support are those losing population.

Luckily, the Democratic state lawmakers and the DLCC are competitive everywhere.

Last week, the New Mexico Senate approved a rule change that will allow anyone to view proceedings from the chamber floor via a webcast over the Internet:

A single fixed-position camera is used for the Senate's video webcasts. The camera will not move to show individual senators as they are speaking. The camera is mounted at the back of the Senate chambers, and is aimed toward the rostrum and the Senate's presiding officer. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish usually presides over Senate floor sessions.

The House approved a similar provision last month, so both chambers are offering a video feed.

Legislative business in the state is scheduled to wrap up this weekend.

The Maryland General Assembly is considering legislation aimed at promoting healthy food and reducing obesity rates.

The Washington Post reports:

One proposal heard by a House committee yesterday would follow Montgomery County's lead and ban cholesterol-raising trans fatty acids at restaurants throughout the state. Another measure would require fast-food restaurants and other chain restaurants to conspicuously post calorie counts on their menus, as is now required in New York City.

This legislation is part of a national trend to improve food safety. For instance, earlier this year, the California legislature became the first in the country to ban trans fats statewide.

This week, the Supreme Court issued a decision which significantly narrows the protections of the Voting Rights Act.

By a vote of five to four, the Court ruled that the Act does not require state governments to draw districts in a way that favors minority candidates in which minority voters represent less than a majority of the electorate.

The Washington Post reports:

The case before the court, Bartlett v. Strickland, concerned a decision by the North Carolina legislature to enhance minority representation by creating a district that was 39 percent minority. It has consistently elected a black representative. But to create the favorable environment, lawmakers violated a provision of the state constitution that said district boundaries could not cross county lines.

This ruling will have a major impact on the next round of legislative redistricting.

It will almost certainly reduce the number of 'crossover districts' -- where minority voters make up a significant portion of the electorate but not an outright majority. These crossover districts have generally been a boon for Democratic candidates who can build biracial coalitions.

The practical effect of this week's decision will likely result in a reduction of minority lawmakers in Congress and in legislatures across the country.

These new Voting Rights Act guidelines only heighten the importance of the 2010 election cycle.

Democrats have no choice but to win as many legislative races as we can and control the redistricting process in as many places as we can.

In 2009, we are trying to introduce you to some of the best Democratic lawmakers across the country.

Andy Dillon was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in a special election to fill a vacancy in 2004. Two years later, he won an easy reelection and was chosen by the Democratic majority to become Speaker of the House.

As Speaker, Dillon has made overhauling his state's energy policy a top priority. He has introduced measures to increase the production of renewable energy in Michigan and is the architect behind a plan to offer major tax incentives to lure advanced battery designers and manufacturers to the state.

In tough economic times, Dillon is leading by example by reducing his salary and that of other lawmakers by 10 percent. To deal with the housing crisis, he has proposed creating a 90 day foreclosure delay to allow homeowners to meet with lenders and negotiate terms to keep their homes. He is also focused on creating good-paying jobs for Michigan that can’t be outsourced.

Before joining the legislature, Dillon was the president of DSC Ltd. where he earned a reputation of working to save struggling companies. Recognized for his expertise, he testified before the federal government on protecting manufacturing jobs. He previously served as an aide to U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey.

Speaker Dillon recently stopped by the DLCC office to discuss his priorities for Michigan.

Thank you for supporting Speaker Dillon and all our other great Democratic leaders!

Oklahoma State Senator Randy Bass has quite a story.

After having played professional baseball in the United States for several years, Sen. Bass made a big move. He signed up with the Hansin Tigers in Japan's professional baseball league. As a Tiger, Bass went on to win four straight batting titles and become one of the most famous professional players in Japanese history.

Since Bass' departure from the ranks of professional players the Tigers have not again won a championship.

Many blame this on the Curse of Colonel Sanders.

It seems that in 1985 after the Tigers won a national championship largely because of Sen. Bass' performance, fans took a statue of Colonel Sanders from a local Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant because it was the only thing they could find that resembled Bass. They put his jersey on the statue and threw it in the river in celebration. It has remained lost there for 24 years -- until this week.

While Sen. Bass is still a baseball icon in Japan, many people don't know why the senator left the country and his successful baseball career.

In 1988, Sen. Bass' son was diagnosed with brain cancer. He needed treatment at the best facility available, and that was in Los Angeles. Bass asked for time off from his team, but with another championship on the line he was denied.

Sen. Bass did what he had to do. He quit knowing full well the owner of the team would 'blackball' him with the entire league for the rest of his life. Sen. Bass sacrificed his career so he could be with his son. Thankfully, the treatment was successful, his son is alive and well, and has children of his own now.

In 2004, Bass ran for the Oklahoma State Senate and won. As a legislator, Bass has tackled some of the most pressing issues facing Oklahomans today. He wrote and passed one of the most comprehensive identity theft bills in the nation. He was instrumental in making sure the military base in his district was protected during the BRAC process, and this year he is sponsoring legislation requiring many restaurants to provide nutritional information on menus so Oklahomans can make healthy choices about their diets.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is one of a handful of Republican governors who has pledged to reject part of the money allocated to his state by the federal recovery package.

Late last week, the Democratic-led state House of Representatives voted to bypass the governor and accept Mississippi's full allotment of stimulus money.

At issue is millions of dollars in funding designed to provide unemployment compensation to part-time workers.

Barbour did not immediately respond to the vote, but he has previously explained his opposition, telling reporters:

[I]f Mississippi pays unemployment benefits to part-time workers, "nobody knows how many people would come out of the woodwork.

The measure passed the lower chamber by a vote of 69-53.

Not a single Republican voted to accept they money.

One month ago, we learned that Republicans in Texas were planning to to force a major new voter ID law through the state senate.

This morning, senators met to consider the bill proposed by the GOP. The debate is expected to extend far into the night.

Texas already has a law that requires voters to show a registration form or other piece of identification at the polls, but this measure would add an additional burden to many legal voters.

The Houston Chronicle reports:

Republicans want to add the requirement of a photo or alternative forms of ID such as utility bills or bank statements. Democrats say the bill is designed to suppress their base vote, while Republicans say it'll fight voter fraud and increase voting overall.

GOP arguments for this legislation are based on a fantasy -- there simply is no evidence that voter impersonation is a problem. Texas Democratic Party did the research:

There is no public policy justification for a Voter ID law. “Voter Impersonation” at the polls – the only type of fraud that could be addressed by a Voter ID law – is virtually non-existent. Despite spending millions on a 2005-2006 Voter Fraud crusade, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott did not find or prosecute one case of Voter Impersonation.

As Democratic Senator Eliot Shapleigh told reporters:

This is about Republicans scaring off just enough elderly, disabled, blacks and Hispanics to stay in power four more years, plain and simple.

Right now, Capital Annex is liveblogging the Senate hearing to consider the bill.

We'll provide updates as we learn more.

As a response to revenue shortfalls and a renewed public interest in the budgeting process, many states are looking for ways to make government spending more transparent.

Across the country, at least 11 states are currently considering legislation to develop databases which would allow anyone to track the way state tax dollars are spent.

Stateline.org reports:

They could join more than a dozen other states which have passed similar legislation or issued executive or department orders since 2007. These states include Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington.

While creating an online database will not create transparency alone, it is an important step in bringing citizens into the process.

With the 2009 legislative ended, the Washington Post offers its first look at the upcoming fall election for the Virginia House of Delegates.

Democrats need to pick up the six seats needed to regain control of the House, which Republicans have held for a decade.

The Post reports that the strategy for both parties is becoming clear:

The Democrats are planning to pour resources into Northern Virginia to target Fairfax Republican Dels. David B. Albo, Thomas Davis Rust and Timothy B. Hugo.

[...]

Republicans, meanwhile, will be out to prove that the GOP brand is not permanently damaged in Northern Virginia. House Republicans are looking to field formidable opponents to Democratic Dels. C. Charles Caputo (Fairfax) and David E. Poisson (Loudoun). Some Republicans are also talking about targeting freshman Del. Margaret G. Vanderhye (Fairfax), a Democrat who represents McLean.

Both parties will also direct considerable resources to Prince William County. Obama won nearly 58 percent of the vote in Prince William last year, but four of the five delegates who represent the county in Richmond are Republicans.

Republicans are vowing to improve their candidate recruitment efforts this year, and the current GOP speaker is planning to launch a national fundraising campaign.

Democrats, led by Delegate Ward Armstrong -- a DLCC Board Member -- plan to pour resources into the take over effort, and Armstrong has said that he plans to raise millions of dollars for the caucus.

Montana is in line to receive as much as $800 million in money from the Federal Recovery Package.

Earlier this week, lawmakers held a formal hearing to discuss ways to use that money to benefit the state:

Advocates from a variety of areas gave the lawmakers ideas for the money. They pitched such ideas as programs to improve community care for the needy, and schools touted the benefits of investing in education-related initiatives. Local governments said they have long lists of construction projects that could start quickly. Others touted investment in libraries and historic buildings.

While many of the funds will be dedicated for specific projects and uses, analysts believe that that legislators may be able to allocate as much as $200 million as they see fit.

In Iowa, lawmakers are preparing for some long hours in the hopes of making 2009 a short session:

Bills must be passed by at least one committee by the funnel week deadline of March 13 in order to be considered alive for the rest of the session. But from the opening gavel of the 2009 General Assembly Democratic leadership has made it clear they would like to hold a short session to save money. That would mean pushing bills sooner than normal in order to adjourn by April 2.

Budget and tax bills are exempt from the deadline.

In a year with an unprecedented amount of campaign spending, it should come as no surprise that legislative races are becoming more expensive.

Yesterday, the Florida Herald-Tribune looked at the amount of money spent by lawmakers in the state in 2008:

According to the Florida Division of Elections, the 316 candidates who ran for the 120 seats in the House spent a combined $29.7 million. The 50 candidates running for the larger Senate districts spent a combined $11.9 million.

The paper calculated that the average House race cost $94,000, while an average Senate race cost $238,000.

If you make a point to read stories about how the economy is impacting states, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the wave of numbers.

That's why I'm a big fan of this map put together by Stateline.org -- the best graphic I've seen of how the recession is hitting all 50 states.

Using public data going back more than a year, you can track unemployment and foreclosures.

It's a great resource.