Special sessions and legislative arguments abound as states scramble to act on key issues before Election Day.
Colorado is grappling with how to give a Waymo a speeding ticket, Delaware’s governor vetoed four pieces of legislation at the last minute, Iowa legislators set aside a massive tax break for a new steel plant, North Carolina repealed its gas tax, Pennsylvania is arguing over skill games, and Utah is debating whether its new three-judge panels are constitutional.
Here’s what you need to know this week from outside the Beltway:
Colorado
Since Waymo started operating in Denver, the self-driving taxis have exposed a hole in state laws: Police cannot give the self-driving cars tickets when they violate traffic laws. State lawmakers are drafting new legislation that creates a new licensure category for self-driving taxis. There has been a lot of back and forth between the Legislature and Gov. Jared Polis on self-driving vehicles. The Legislature has pushed for more regulations, which Polis has vetoed and spoken out against. Polis is term-limited and set to leave office in January, and Democratic state Attorney General Phil Weiser is the favorite in the race to replace him. The state Legislature is currently in an interim session, giving lawmakers until Dec. 1 to submit bills before the new session starts in January. Whatever bills get submitted now will be the next governor’s problem.
Delaware
Gov. Matt Meyer vetoed four pieces of legislation late last month, bumping up against the Oct. 1 deadline for his office to act on any outstanding bills from the Legislature. Meyer vetoed a bill that would have added consumer protections for third-party electric suppliers amid spiking electricity rates, a bill that would have given the Legislature the power to void a governor’s power to continue a state of emergency, another that would have raised salaries for licensed school social workers, and one that would have adjusted the pay scale for school-based occupational therapists.
Iowa
The state Legislature set aside nearly $1.4 billion in tax breaks to be awarded to the company set to build the $15 billion steel plant in Iowa announced by President Trump last week. Gov. Kim Reynolds called the Legislature in for a special session last Friday and immediately signed the provision into law. The new plant is expected to create 1,750 new jobs, in addition to more than 5,000 construction jobs for building the facility, according to the company.
North Carolina
During a special session Wednesday, the Legislature voted to suspend the state’s gas tax through Nov. 30. Gov. Josh Stein called the fast-tracked bill an “Election Day gimmick,” but he is expected to sign it nevertheless. North Carolina joins the handful of states that have responded to high gas prices by suspending gas taxes or regulations in an attempt to ease voters’ pain at the pump.
Pennsylvania
The Keystone State’s skill games are on the chopping block. In June, the state Supreme Court ruled that skill games are slot machines requiring a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board license, which is obtainable only by casinos and “truck stop establishments.” Businesses that run skill games have until Oct. 13 to remove their machines—unless the Legislature steps in. The state attorney general estimates there are around 70,000 skill-game machines in the state, mostly at bars and convenience stores. These machines resemble slot machines in appearance and contain mini-games that don’t rely entirely on chance. A business consortium representing the state's skill-games operators filed a petition with the court on Thursday, requesting an extension to the Oct. 13 deadline.
Utah
The state Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the state’s new system allowing three-judge panels, recently created by the Legislature to hear constitutional challenges against state law. Since its creation earlier this year, a three-judge panel has heard cases on redistricting and Utah’s abortion ban. Arguments about the practice open up constitutional questions about what the Legislature is and isn’t allowed to do, with potential implications for the fate of the redistricting and abortion cases.
What’s to come:
Iowa’s special session to grant tax incentives for the steel plant and North Carolina’s move to remove the gas tax give candidates talking points less than four weeks out from the election. Not every state will be able to call a special session to address an affordability issue, but keep an eye out for more just-in-the-nick-of-time bills from legislators in states where Republicans might need a boost in November.
