ME: Gov. Mills signs bill protecting providers of abortion and gender-affirming care

Gov. Janet Mills has signed a bill to shield providers of legally protected abortion and gender-affirming care from hostile out-of-state litigation.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Anne Perry, D-Calais, aims to protect health care providers from subpoenas or warrants, health record requests, extradition requests and other civil or criminal proceedings if they provide care – including abortion and gender-affirming care – that has been banned in a patient’s home state.

The bill drew significant debate in the Legislature and prompted a letter from 16 Republican attorneys general in other states who joined together to oppose it, calling it “constitutionally defective.”

Republican lawmakers in Maine who opposed the bill focused their arguments on the impacts of some minors, including 16- and 17-year-olds who can receive abortions and gender-affirming care under certain circumstances. They argued that the bill would make the state a kidnapping and human trafficking safe haven.





https://www.pressherald.com/2024/04/23/gov-mills-signs-bill-protecting-providers-of-abortion-and-gender-affirming-care/

AZ: Abortion Ban Heightens Tensions in Maricopa County's Prosecutor Election

If these statewide solutions fail, though, they’re at least eying Arizona’s local prosecutors as the backstop to an outcome they dread: the prospect of people facing criminal charges—and prison terms—over abortions.

“The least our county attorneys can do is commit that they would not prosecute those cases,” said State Representative Analise Ortiz, a Democrat whose district covers parts of Maricopa County. “They absolutely should do that to bring relief to the millions of people who are scared by this decision.”

Whether such a backstop materializes in Maricopa County—a giant jurisdiction home to more than four million residents in Phoenix and its surrounding areas—is going to come down to November’s prosecutor race.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican who is up for reelection this year, reacted to the ruling with a statement vowing that women would not be “prosecuted for receiving an abortion,” and especially calls out that she would not prosecute abortions that stem from rape, incest, or molestation. The statement did not, however, address whether she would prosecute doctors who provide abortions. Just days prior, Mitchell had said she’d enforce Arizona’s abortion law “whatever that law is.” She has also denounced as unlawful a gubernatorial order barring county attorneys like herself from prosecuting abortion.

Mitchell’s only Democratic challenger, Tamika Wooten, promises she won’t pursue such prosecutions if she becomes county attorney.

“I will not prosecute a woman for her personal health care decisions, nor will I prosecute the medical provider who performs that,” Wooten, a former local prosecutor and defense attorney, told Bolts. “That is a very serious and personal decision that a person must have with themselves and with their health care provider, and it’s not my business.”





https://boltsmag.org/arizona-abortion-ban-county-prosecutor-elections/

Coalition of Idahoans launch ballot initiative to restore abortion rights

As Idaho faces national scrutiny over its strict abortion bans, a Coalition of Idahoans is launching a ballot initiative aiming to restore abortion access, protect birth control and shield physicians from criminalization.

The Idahoans United for Women and Families Coalition said their poll of about 600 residents shows three out of five Idahoans believe abortions should be legal in some or almost all cases. Spokesperson Melanie Folwell said polling also shows 12% believe abortions should never be legal.

“Too often that is the loudest voice in the room,” she said on a press call Friday. “Those are the people influencing our legislators to make the laws that we're now dealing with, and it just doesn't represent the vast majority of Idahoans.”

Folwell said that’s why the Coalition is campaigning to introduce an initiative on the 2026 ballot. Citing a recent study showing 22% of OBGYNs have left the state in the wake of the bans, Folwell said the campaign will focus first on writing policy clarifying Idaho’s many abortion laws.



https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/health/2024-04-23/ballot-initiative-idahoan-coalition-reproductive-rights-abortion

In one Texas county, elections officials shoulder new costs and burdens to appease skeptics

In Brazos County, suspicions about elections burst into the open last fall, just weeks after a visit from an out-of-state group calling for ballots to be hand-counted.

“Everything seems great. But if you study this, you’ll find that it’s possible to pre-program electronic voting machines and make it do whatever you want,” one resident said at a commissioners court meeting last November, without evidence to support the claims.

“Ever since these machines came along, I’ve heard nothing but accusations of fraud,” said another resident. “I am asking you to investigate. Something was wrong in the 2020 election. Voting machines do only what they’re programmed to do.”

Similar comments continued to pour in for months — at meetings, in emails to county officials, and through public record requests to the county elections department — from people who insisted that the best answer is for counties to ditch voting equipment altogether and to hand count ballots.





https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/23/brazos-county-elections-skeptics/

MI: Dem lawmakers announce bills banning PFAS in household products

Two Democratic House members on Monday announced they are sponsoring legislation that would eventually eliminate the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in household products like clothes and cleaning products.

Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are synthetic chemicals that are widely used in various household and industrial products due to their water and oil resistance properties and are the primary acting agent in firefighting foams. They have been found in groundwater and have been linked to health problems including cancer.

State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) and Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) said the bills will be introduced this week to commemorate Earth Day.

“Protecting our environment and public health is paramount, and these bills represent crucial steps towards achieving that goal,” Tsernoglou said. “By phasing out PFAS in household products, we’re taking a significant step towards a healthier, safer future for generations to come.”




https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/dem-lawmakers-announce-bills-banning-pfas-in-household-products/

Hand-counted ballots, voter ID rules: How GOP lawmakers want to change Ohio elections

After signing one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country, Gov. Mike DeWine said the issue of election integrity in Ohio is settled.

Some of his fellow Republicans in the Legislature appear to disagree.

A bill introduced earlier this month would further tighten the state’s voter ID rules, allow the hand-counting of ballots in certain cases, and require voting machines and electronic poll books to meet strict cybersecurity rules. The proposal comes over a year after DeWine signed a bill that enacted the photo ID requirement and other changes to the voting process.

Unlike that law, House Bill 472 deals with complex, behind-the-scenes procedures for administering elections. Rep. Bernie Willis, R-Springfield, said the measure aims to revise outdated standards and ensure Ohio has a plan should it fall victim to cyberattacks before an election.




https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/04/23/ohio-republicans-voter-id-law-election-security/73423189007/

Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners to void registrations

Kenyatta and Pinsley vie for Democratic Party nomination for auditor general

Democratic voters in Pennsylvania head to the polls on Tuesday to select their party’s nominee for a wide variety of statewide and local offices. In the race for auditor general, the state’s fiscal watchdog, Democratic Party voters will decide between two candidates from the eastern region of the commonwealth: state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) and Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley.

Kenyatta made history in 2018 by becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He’s hoping to make history again on Tuesday by becoming the first Democrat of color to serve as the state’s auditor general. If he wins the nomination, it would be the first time two Black auditor general candidates have faced off in the state’s general election, as he would be up against incumbent Tim DeFoor.

Since being elected to the state House, Kenyatta has become a well-known progressive voice in his caucus and has also been one of President Joe Biden’s surrogates on the campaign trail in and beyond the Keystone State.

“I have the personal and professional experience that makes it clear I’m ready to hit the ground running on day one. I was raised by working class parents in a working class neighborhood and understand in my bones the impact of a government program that delivers or doesn’t,” Kenyatta told the Capital-Star in a Q&A. “I also have the professional experience serving in the state house for over half a decade working on budgets and serving on relevant committees like the Finance, State Government, and Commerce committees.”




https://penncapital-star.com/election-2024/kenyatta-and-pinsley-vie-for-democratic-party-nomination-for-auditor-general/

Voters choosing nominees for attorney general in Pennsylvania's top statewide race

Voters across Pennsylvania on Tuesday will choose the Republican and Democratic nominees to run in a wide-open race for the commonwealth’s top law enforcement position in November.

The winner of the November election will take over from Attorney General Michelle Henry, who Gov. Josh Shapiro appointed to his unfinished term last year. Henry said at the time she would not seek election.

Without an incumbent, five Democrats and two Republicans ran for their parties’ nominations for attorney general in the November election.

While the Pennsylvania Republican party endorsed York County District Attorney Dave Sunday over state Rep. Craig Williams (R-Delaware), the Democratic Party did not endorse, leading to a competitive race.

On a crowded Democratic ballot are former Philadelphia Chief Public Defender Kier Bradford-Gray, former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan, state Rep. Jared Solomon, and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.




https://penncapital-star.com/election-2024/voters-choosing-nominees-for-attorney-general-in-pennsylvanias-top-statewide-race/

Bizzarro and McClelland seek Democratic nomination for Pa. treasurer

emocratic voters will choose between State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie) and small business owner Erin McClelland for their party’s nomination for Pennsylvania Treasurer.

The winner will face Republican incumbent Stacy Garrity who is unopposed in the Republican primary. Garrity has held the office since 2020 and will be running for a second and final term.

The state Treasurer is responsible for managing the collection and spending of billions of public dollars — basically, they ensure state revenues make it to the right accounts, and that that money is invested wisely and spent when and where lawmakers and state agencies intend. The Treasurer’s duties also include overseeing investment funds like the ones that pay state employee pensions, and also oversee the distribution of unclaimed property held by the state.

Bizzarro has served in the state House since 2013 and is the chair of the House Democratic Policy Committee. He told the Capital-Star that his experience and networking in government would help him make the office more efficient......

Erin McClelland campaigned on her experience as a small business owner, telling the Capital-Star, “I am the only one in the race that has actually made a payroll as well as worked in the public sector.”




https://penncapital-star.com/election-2024/bizzarro-and-mcclelland-seek-democratic-nomination-for-pa-treasurer/