Second primary of the year is right around the corner in Illinois

Illinois holds its primary on March 20. Ballotpedia will be covering 253 elections at the federal, state, and local level. blank] Primary season is gearing up into full swing as we head into the second primary of the year on March 20: Illinois. But the real activity this week was in the state legislatures, as lawmakers sent bills on DACA, firearms, and opioids to the governor's desk. As always, get the full details of these and other stories on our website. [Check out the full version →]( West Virginia Legislature passes bill to eliminate state Department of Education and the Arts [House Bill 4006]( would transfer parts of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts to other government agencies. Currently, he Department of Education and the Arts is composed of six agencies and multiple programs which "seek to reinforce the rich heritage of culture, education and artistic creation in West Virginia." The department is run by Gayle Manchin, wife of Democratic U.S. Senator [Joe Manchin](. Opponents of HB 4006 said it did not mention all programs and agencies within the department and questioned where those that were not mentioned would be placed and how they would be funded. House Education Chair Paul Espinosa (R) said the programs were not mentioned by state law and would not be affected by the bill. The bill had the support of state Superintendent Steven L. Paine, who wrote that it "provides the opportunity to restructure education programming for the sake of coordinated delivery and gaining efficiencies." The state Senate advanced House Bill 4006 18 to 15 with all Democrats and three Republicans in opposition on Friday, March 9, and the House of Delegates passed the bill by a 60 to 36 vote on Saturday, March 10. Gov. Justice did not say whether he would sign HB 4006. Florida Legislature sends bill limiting opioid prescriptions to governor's desk The Florida Legislature [approved a bill]( to limit opioid prescriptions and increase funding for treatment. The bill would limit initial prescriptions for painkillers like Oxycontin and fentanyl to three days, but healthcare providers would be allowed to provide prescriptions of up to seven days for acute pain exceptions. No limits would be placed on opioid prescriptions for cases of trauma, chronic pain, cancer, or terminal illness. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported 5,725 opioid-related deaths in 2016, approximately 16 residents per day. According to the Insurance Journal, the legislation was a major priority for the governor and the legislature. As such, Gov. [Rick Scott]( (R) is expected to sign it. Florida would become the eighth Republican trifecta to pass opioid-limiting legislation. Five Democratic trifectas and 16 divided governments have also passed similar legislation. Find out more about [opioid prescription limits and policies by state.]( Wyoming Legislature expands castle doctrine law The [Wyoming Legislature approved House Bill 168]( and sent it to Gov. [Matt Mead]( (R) for approval. HB 168 would expand the state's castle doctrine law, which asserts that the use of defensive force, including deadly force, is reasonable when an individual believes they are in danger, whether real or imagined. State law at the time of HB 168's passage did not apply outside an individual's place of residence. HB 168 would expand state law to include any place an individual is lawfully present. Wyoming was one of 26 Republican [state government trifectas]( in 2018. The Republican party holds the governor's office, a 27 to 3 majority in the state Senate, and a 51 to 9 majority in the state House. Bob Krist files response to legal challenge to gubernatorial campaign Nebraska State Sen. [Bob Krist]( (D) filed a response to a challenge to his candidacy for governor Monday. The case was brought by gubernatorial candidate [Tyler Davis]( (D). Davis said in the lawsuit that Krist's February announcement that he would join the Democratic Party rather than run for governor as a member of the United Nebraska Party had been made too late and was invalid. Krist said in his response that since the United Nebraska Party had never attained legal recognition, he was an unaffiliated candidate under state law at the time of the switch. Krist cited a policy memo drafted in 1998 by then-Nebraska Secretary of State Scott Moore (R) which states that unaffiliated candidates may not, by definition, switch political parties and are therefore not prohibited via statute from joining a partisan primary after the December deadline. Krist and Davis are among the three candidates who filed to appear on [the May 15 Democratic primary]() ballot. The winner will face the winner of the Republican primary, which is being contested between first-term Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) and technical writer Krystal Gabel (R). Gov. Rauner vetoes firearm legislation Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) [vetoed legislation]( that would have required firearms dealers to obtain a license from the state and would have required licenses to be renewed every five years. The Illinois State Legislature approved the bill, SB 1657, in February. A state press release said Rauner thought "the bill created onerous, duplicative bureaucracy that does little to improve public safety." SB 1657 was one of four firearms-related bills advanced by the Democratic-controlled legislature in February. The three other bills (House Bills 1467, 1465, and 1468) were approved by the state Senate the day after Rauner vetoed SB 1657. Illinoisans headed to polls Voters will decide on which Democratic and Republican candidates should appear on the general election ballot. Offices up for [election]( in 2018 include 18 U.S. House seats, six state executive seats, 157 state legislative seats, five Court of Appeals seats, and local judicial and county seats. [Cook County]() will hold elections for 18 commissioner seats, county assessor, county clerk, county sheriff, county treasurer, two board of reviews seats, four water reclamation district board seats, and 38 local trial court seats. In all, Ballotpedia will be covering 253 elections at the federal, state, and local level. Illinois has an open primary system, meaning voters may participate in the primary election without registering with a political party. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Illinois primary will be the second statewide primary in the nation. It was preceded by the Texas primary elections, which took place on March 6. Signatures filed for $8.877 billion water bond initiative in California On March 13, 2018, the secretary of state announced that 399,110 signatures had been filed for [a ballot initiative]() to issue $8.877 billion in bonds for water infrastructure, groundwater supplies and storage, surface water storage and dam repairs, watershed and fisheries improvements, and habitat protection and restoration. The state fiscal analyst said the bond would generate about $8.4 billion in interest over a 40-year period, meaning the bond would cost the state a total of $17.3 billion. At least 365,880 of the signatures submitted—about 91.7 percent—need to be valid. Counties have until April 24, 2018, to conduct a random sample of signatures. The ballot initiative would require that $1.398 billion be spent on projects benefiting what the state defines as disadvantaged communities and an additional $2.637 billion be prioritized for disadvantaged communities. California defines disadvantaged communities as communities with an annual median household income less than 80 percent of the statewide annual median household income (about $51,026 in 2017). Nevada judge orders that thousands of signature removal forms must be counted in the recall efforts against two Democratic state senators Clark County District Judge Jerry Wiese ruled on March 15 that forms submitted by people requesting to have their names removed from the [recall petitions]( targeting state Sen. [Joyce Woodhouse]() (D) and state Sen. [Nicole Cannizzaro]() (D) must be counted. If the forms are found valid, it could drop both petitions below the threshold to force a recall election. Election officials have 10 business days to validate the forms. The judge is expected to rule on April 4 whether the recalls have the signatures to qualify for the ballot. Judge Wiese heard arguments on February 7 in the lawsuit over the recall efforts against Sen. Woodhouse and Sen. Cannizzaro. The lawsuit argues that more than 2,000 names on the two recall petitions should not be counted because those signatories have filed to have their names removed. Democrats currently hold a 10-9 majority in the state Senate with one nonpartisan member caucusing with Democrats and one vacant seat that was previously held by a Democrat. Nevada is one of 16 states under divided government. Democrats control the state legislature and the governor’s office is held by Republican Brian Sandoval. Indiana bill allowing DACA recipients to obtain professional licenses sent to governor The Republican-controlled Indiana State Legislature [sent to the governor's desk]( a bill that would allow DACA recipients, often referred to as Dreamers, to obtain professional licenses for 70 occupations. The bill was a response to changes by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency to block DACA recipients from obtaining select occupational licenses. The agency said they implemented the changes following a 2011 state law. Republican Gov. [Eric Holcomb]( supported the bill: "Indiana state law should allow DACA recipients to skill up and work here in Indiana. While Indiana’s Professional Licensing Agency acted appropriately and in line with what our current laws require, I am encouraged to see there is legislative intent to fix this." The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was an immigration policy established by the Obama administration that allowed individuals brought to the United States without legal permission as children to reside, study, and work in the United States if they met certain criteria. [Click here]( for more information on the DACA program. The Tap has thousands of loyal readers each week. Want to reach them? Advertise in this email! Contact ads@ballotpedia.org for details. The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. 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