skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, April 28, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump touts immigration crackdown despite concerns about due process; NY faces potential impacts from federal vote on emissions standards; ND Tribes can elevate tourism game with new grants; WA youth support money for Medicaid, not war.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Major shifts in environmental protections, immigration enforcement, civil rights as Trump administration reshapes government priorities. Rural residents and advocates for LGBTQ youth say they're worried about losing services.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Migration to rural America increased for the fourth year, technological gaps handicap rural hospitals and erode patient care, and doctors are needed to keep the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians healthy and align with spiritual principles.

New law seeks to change how state legislative vacancies are filled

play audio
Play

Friday, December 13, 2024   

Lawmakers in Annapolis plan to introduce a bill to require a special election if a lawmaker is appointed to a seat in the first half of their term.

Maryland's constitution requires the political party committee in the district the former lawmaker represented to pick a replacement to fill the seat. The recommendation then is sent to the governor, who usually approves the person.

Del. Linda Foley, D-Montgomery County, the sponsor of the bill, said voters are sometimes represented by an appointed lawmaker for as long as four years.

"You end up with a rather large percentage of the General Assembly then being appointed and not elected and not facing the voters," Foley pointed out. "This has been an ongoing debate about whether this is a democratic way to replace people."

Nearly a quarter of state legislators in Maryland, including Foley, started in the legislature by political appointment, rather than an election.

The bill would not do away with the appointment process entirely. State legislators serve four-year terms, running in midterm elections. An appointment would be made, though any lawmaker appointed in the first half of the term would have to run in a special election held during the Presidential primary and general elections.

Foley emphasized the bill is not meant to fill every vacancy with a special election, a process she said would be costly.

"There is a cost factor to holding elections all the time and it's not insubstantial," Foley acknowledged. "Not to say that you can put a price on democracy, but you do have to consider what's the cost of doing this. Two years in office without having to face the voters isn't as problematic as four."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The United States has announced investments of more than $150 billion in electric vehicle manufacturing and charging infrastructure since 2021, contributing to a 40% increase in EV sales in 2022, according to the Department of Energy. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

Congress is preparing to vote Wednesday on whether to roll back Ohio's authority to set tougher vehicle emissions standards. New research from …


Environment

play sound

Members of a Texas House committee this week will consider a bill that would limit the number of permits farmers must have to participate at farmers m…

Social Issues

play sound

Anyone who uses a cell phone or laptop shares hundreds of personal data points, and a New Mexico advocacy group wants that information better …


The Government Accountability Office report found the waivers for the emissions standards don't count as a regulatory rule that falls under congressional authority. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Lawmakers in the U.S. House will vote on a bill this week affecting Virginia's ability to create stronger emissions standards for vehicles and trucks…

Social Issues

play sound

Jude Bruno, president-elect of the Florida Parent Teacher Association, is leading a charge against two controversial education bills which would …

Medi-Cal pays for a range of health services in schools, including aides and equipment for disabled students. (Ermolaev Alexandr/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Medicaid is in the crosshairs, as Republicans in Congress are expected to lay out proposals in May to cut $1.5 trillion from the federal budget…

Social Issues

play sound

President Donald Trump has repeatedly called the arrival of immigrants an invasion and has invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite their removal…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Budding flowers, warmer temperatures and longer days are welcome signs to many in Maryland after the long, dark months of winter. Some people might …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021