Ohio House Speaker announces resignation; two Nevada state senators avoid potential recall

In this email, find stories about Kentucky & Virginia vetoes, an Ohio resignation, potential Nevada recalls, and more. [Forward This](mailto:?&body=https%3A//ballotpedia.org/The_State_and_Local_Tap%3A_Ohio_House_Speaker_announces_resignation;_two_Nevada_state_senators_avoid_potential_recall) [blank][Tweet This]( [blank][Send to Linkedin]( [blank][Send to Facebook]( [blank] Welcome to the weekend! We have lots to cover. In this email, find stories about Kentucky & Virginia vetoes, an Ohio resignation, potential Nevada recalls, and more. If you can't get enough, click the link for a comprehensive review of the week. [Check out the full version →]( Kentucky Gov. Bevin vetoes bills, says teacher walkout would be irresponsible and illegal - Republican Gov. Matt Bevin vetoed a [budget proposal]( (HB 200) the Kentucky General Assembly approved on April 2, saying it was not balanced and "ignore[d] fiscal reality." - Bevin also vetoed a bill that would change the state tax code (HB 366) in its entirety. In his veto letter, Bevin said HB 366 had positive aspects but left "in place several extremely bad taxes that harm Kentucky's competitiveness" and added that it "fails to address many inequities in the tax code that currently favor government over free enterprise." - The Jefferson County teachers union called on lawmakers to override Bevin's veto of HB 366, saying it would harm Kentucky teachers. The union also encouraged teachers who were able to take personal days to protest at the state capitol on April 13. - Bevin said a teacher walkout would be irresponsible and illegal. In a press conference to announce the vetoes, he said the [Kentucky Education Association]( (KEA) was responsible for recent conflicts between educators and lawmakers. KEA President Stephanie Winkler responded that Bevin was insulting teachers. Virginia Gov. Northam vetoes bill related to sanctuary cities - Gov. [Ralph Northam]( (D) [vetoed a bill]( that would have prohibited sanctuary cities. The bill's only sentence read: "No locality shall adopt any ordinance, procedure, or policy that restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws." - Northam said in his veto explanation that the legislation would have forced "local law enforcement agencies to use precious resources to perform functions that are the responsibility of federal immigration enforcement agencies." He also said, "Localities have the right to determine whether to expend the resources and voluntarily enter into an agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency." - Bill sponsor Del. [Ben Cline]( (R) said the bill was intended to keep localities from interfering with federal immigration activities. "Ensuring that Virginia localities abide by federal immigration laws is a matter of public safety and upholding the rule of law. Governor Northam’s veto of my bill to ban sanctuary cities in Virginia is indefensible." Newark school board election - The first [school board election]() since the board regained local control will be held on April 17 in [Newark Public Schools](. No incumbents filed for re-election and 13 candidates are vying for the three seats. [Yambeli Gomez](, [Dawn Haynes](, and [Asia Norton]( are running as a slate called Moving Newark Schools Forward. The candidates have been backed by Newark Mayor [Ras Baraka]( and state Sen. [M. Teresa Ruiz](. - Baraka-backed slates have won the school board elections seven consecutive times, leaving the board fully comprised of these candidates in [2017](). That year, the State of New Jersey also gave full local control back to the district after 22 years of state oversight. Recalls against two Democratic state senators in Nevada fail to make ballot - In Nevada, recall officials announced that neither the [Sen. Joyce Woodhouse]() (D) or [Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro]() (D) recall campaigns had the required number of signatures to qualify for the ballot. According to documents filed by [Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske]( (R) on April 6, each recall fell short of the signature threshold by at least 1,500 signatures. More than 2,300 people were removed from the recall petitions after Clark County District Judge Jerry Wiese ruled on March 15, 2018, that they could withdraw their names. - Judge Wiese heard arguments on February 7 in the lawsuit over the recall efforts against Sen. Woodhouse and Sen. Cannizzaro. The lawsuit argued that more than 2,000 names on the two recall petitions should not have been counted because those signatories had 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. Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger announces resignation - On April 10, Ohio House Speaker [Cliff Rosenberger]( announced he would resign effective May 1 due to an FBI inquiry. House leadership decided on April 12 that Rosenberger's resignation was effective immediately. - The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the FBI was investigating Rosenberger for travel expenses and use of a luxury condo in Columbus, Ohio. An FBI spokesman did not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. Rosenberger told the Dayton Daily News that he hired a criminal defense attorney in response to questions the FBI was asking about him. - Rep. [Kirk Schuring]( will serve as acting House speaker until the chamber elects a replacement. Maine Supreme Court hears challenge to ranked-choice voting law - Kennebec County Superior Court Judge [Michaela Murphy]( submitted questions to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court related to a case dealing with the implementation of [ranked-choice voting in Maine's June 12, 2018, primary election](. The case, Senate of Maine v. Dunlap, was filed by the Maine State Senate, which initially requested that the superior court prevent the Secretary of State from "committing and expending public funds of the State of Maine for the development, implementation, and administration of Ranked-Choice Voting in the June 12, 2018 primary elections and all other elections" until the legislature appropriated funds for that purpose. The state supreme court heard oral arguments on April 12, 2018. Upcoming filing deadline in Wisconsin - Wisconsin has a [special filing deadline]( for the State Senate District 1 seat and the State Assembly District 42 seat on April 17. Both seats were vacated on December 29, 2017, after Frank Lasee (R) and Keith Ripp (R) were appointed to new positions. The general election will take place on June 12 and a primary election may be scheduled for May 15. - The special election was called on March 29, 2018, after the [National Democratic Redistricting Committee]( (NDRC) sued Gov. [Scott Walker]( (R) for not calling a special election in 2018 to fill the two seats. The NDRC said that by not holding a special election, constituents in District 1 and District 42 were left unrepresented. Walker argued that calling a special election would be a waste of taxpayer money given that regularly-scheduled elections will be held in November 2018. A Dane Court Circuit Court judge, who was originally appointed to the position in 2014 by Walker, ordered the governor to call the special election. Kentucky Attorney General sues governor over pension legislation - The Democratic Attorney General [Andy Beshear]( along with the Kentucky Education Association and the Kentucky State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit challenging legislation that changes state employee pensions. Beshear argued that the legislation "reduces the retirement benefits of the over 200,000 active members of the pension systems. ... In doing so, it breaks the 'inviolable' contract that the Commonwealth made with its public employees." The lawsuit also claimed that the legislature used an illegal process to pass the bill. - Republican Gov. [Matt Bevin]( signed the [legislation](, which was a key part of teacher protests on [March 30](, on April 10. It moves future teachers from a defined benefit plan to a hybrid cash balance plan, in which retirement payments come out of teacher salaries. - Elizabeth Kuhn, communications director for Gov. Bevin, issued a statement in response to the lawsuit, claiming that former Gov. [Steve Beshear](, the attorney general's father, underfunded pension systems while he was in office. Missouri house committee releases findings in Greitens investigation - A Missouri house special investigative committee released its findings in a 24-page report. In it a female witness, who the committee determined to be credible, detailed multiple sexual encounters with Gov. Eric Greitens (R) involving physical and verbal abuse. Greitens is currently scheduled to appear in court on felony invasion of privacy charges on May 14, 2018. He has maintained that he would appear in court rather than resign over the charges. - The investigative committee could recommend articles of impeachment be introduced against Greitens. Impeachment would require a majority vote in the state House, where it would move to the state Senate to select seven judges for an impeachment trial. The committee is not expected to make any recommendations until after the close of the regular session in May, according to speaker Todd Richardson. No governor has been impeached in Missouri's history. Six out of ten measures defeated in local California elections across four counties - Voters in the counties of Los Angeles, Inyo, Kern, and Lake voted on a [total of ten measures]( Tuesday with six failing and four passing. Districts in Inyo and Lake counties also defeated measures to establish or increase a parcel tax—a type of special property tax—while California City also rejected a measure to renew its local parcel tax at its existing rate of $150 per parcel. The city of Palos Verdes Estates in Los Angeles County was the only jurisdiction to pass a parcel tax measure, Measure E. The tax rate under Measure E is $342 per lot plus $0.20 per square foot of building improvements, and funds from the parcel tax are designated for the police department. 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