Local Majority provides research that is practical and accessible for state district campaigns. Acting as their personal research department, we distill national research studies and put together packets with specific and targeted information for candidates’ campaigns to support their efforts. Read here for some of our in-depth research reports supporting progressive campaigns.
2018
FLORIDA
Fl-LEGISLATIon
Florida 2018 Legislation review
The legislative record of Florida Republicans in the State House: a sad record of anti-immigrant, pro-charter schools, pro-guns, anti-environment, anti-LGBTQ, and against the expansion of Medicaid.
FL-SAFE GUN REGULATIONS
Florida’s Laws Are an Invitation to Gun Violence
Florida is reeling from its second mass shooting in three years with two of the ten worst mass murders in U.S. history. The Republican governor, Rick Scott, is proud of signing more pro-gun laws than any governor in history, including the 2011 revocation of cities’ rights to regulate guns in parks and hospitals. Scott intends to sign any future bill allowing guns on school campuses. The NRA has donated to many Republican state candidates; and Congressional representatives from Florida voted unanimously in 2017 in the House and Senate to weaken gun registration restrictions on the mentally ill. read more …
FL-Voting RIGHTS
Republicans are Taking Away Your Right to Vote in Florida
After the “hanging chads” debacle in Florida during the 2000 presidential election, one would think that Florida, with its long history of voter disenfranchisement, would take painstaking care to address election-related issues and ensure equal access for all citizens to vote. But one would be wrong. Far from addressing these issues, Florida Republicans doubled down on the false narrative of pervasive election fraud, using it as an excuse to tighten up voter eligibility requirements while simultaneously continuing to purge voter rolls, making it more difficult for Democratic-leaning minority populations to vote. read more …
FL-INFRASTRUCTURE
Florida’s Infrastructure in Disarray
“Infrastructure” is a more encompassing term than we might think. Of course, it includes bridges, roads, and public transit, but there are other vital areas of infrastructure such as drinking water, the energy grid, schools, and coastal areas. Unfortunately, in virtually all areas, Florida’s infrastructure is inadequate and fails to meet the needs of a fast-growing population. As rising temperatures and sea levels, increasingly intense storms, and financial inequality and instability have come to define life for many of Florida’s citizens, the government must address the state’s failing infrastructure.
Current Republican leadership touts its funding of infrastructure and environmental projects. However, this funding, falls short of the amounts experts and advocates state is required, and pales in comparison to what a Democratic-held state house and governor's mansion provided previously. State leadership needs to act in order to stop the irreparable damage that is being done to Florida’s families, communities, and businesses. read more …
FL-ANTI-LGBTQ
FLORIDA DISCRIMINATION
4 Sentence Summary
FL-Environment
Lake Okeechobee and the Blue-Green Algae Problem
The pollution in Lake Okeechobee in central Florida that results in blue-green algae blooms presents serious public health and economic problems, producing dangerous toxins that affect residents of five counties. more ...
FL-HOUSING
Republicans pillaging Affordable Housing Fund
Florida has the third highest homeless population in the nation. The elderly are at particular risk. The Sadowski Fund was set up to address affordable needs through a tax on real estate transactions. 2018 marks the 11th consecutive year that Republican legislators have taken from housing funds to pay for other programs. More than $2 billion from the fund has been used for purposes other than affordable housing. more …
FL-Education
Florida's Abysmal Teacher Pay
According to the Florida Education Association, from 2009-2018 (6 years of which Perry was in the Florida House of Representatives and 2 years of which he was in the Florida Senate), average teacher pay (K-12) in Florida decreased 12.2% in inflation-adjusted dollars. It is now 17% lower than the national average.. more …
FL-Gun Protections
Florida Firearm deaths
4 Sentence Overview
Florida has the 3rd highest number of annual firearm deaths of all states (2,704 in 2016) according to the last count by the CDC. In 2018 alone, there have been four incidents of gunfire on school grounds, including the deadly Parkland school shooting where 17 people lost their lives and another 17 were injured. Despite these stark statistics, most Republican legislators are in support of open and concealed carry laws, guns allowed on college campuses, and arming teachers. Common sense gun laws are needed to protect Floridians.
Sources:
https://everytownresearch.org/gunfire-in-school/
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm
FL-Transportation
Interstate 4 and the Elusive High Speed Rail
Florida’s I-4 is an outdated and dangerous highway unsuited for the contemporary volume of commuters and tourists that are currently utilizing it, many of whom have a significant amount of power in choosing the nation’s president. While the state is working to improve sections of the interstate, what is really needed is an alternative to driving, a high-speed rail alternative (paid for by the Federal Government) that has consistently been shot down by Republican legislators to the detriment of Florida’s commuters, taxpayers, and economy. more ...
FL-Education
Florida Republicans Attack Public Education
There is a Republican-led onslaught against public education in Florida. Not only has funding for successful college scholarship programs been cut, new measures are proposed to further gut public school funding by promoting charter schools in their stead. GOP measures are also proposing to remove long-standing restrictions against the use of public monies to fund private-, sectarian- and religion-based schools.
FL-Energy
Renewable Energy
FL-Climate Change
Sea-Level Rise
FL-Healthcare
Medicaid Expansion
Expanding Medicaid will improve the health of Floridians and their economy!
MICHIGAN
MI-HEALTH CARE
WOMEN'S ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE-MICHIGAN
Although abortion is still legal in the United States, Michigan Republicans have been passing state-level legislation that has chipped away incrementally at women’sreproductive rights. By passing legislation restricting access to abortion, the legislature has effectively limited not only a woman’s right to choose, but also her access to contraception and healthcare in general. read more …
MI-EDUCATION
REPUBLICANS FAILING TEACHERS
Michigan would like to be a top 10 education state, but by nearly all measures, the state’s schools are closer to the bottom than the top of our nation’s school rankings. The Rand Corporation’s research says that teachers are the single most important factor in improving student achievement, and yet Republicans in Michigan are undermining teachers. read more …
MI-ENVIRONMENT
PFAS CONTAMINATION
While the infamous Flint water crisis is still under remediation, a new water contamination crisis is hitting communities throughout Michigan. And it’s not as if state authorities didn’t have plenty of warning. read more …
MI-Economy
Equitable Pay and the Wage Gap
Welcome to a woman’s reality in the workforce, where the same or even better levels of effort are rewarded with consistently lower pay. Women in Michigan combined lose nearly $23 billion every year due to the pay gap and that is just one of many statistics detailing the harsh impact of lost wages based on the gender pay gap. read more …
MI-Economy
Michigan Unemployment
4-Sentence Overview
The unemployment rate in Michigan is 4.1% (August 2018), the lowest it has been since November 2000 when it was 4%(1), but that doesn’t tell the whole story about trends in our state. Over 200,000 Michiganders are still out of work. (1) 45,000 have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks (2) and 172,000 are working part-time but want to be working full-time(2). Republicans are taking credit for gains set in motion during the Obama era while doing little to help the long-term unemployed and underemployed.
Sources:
https://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet
http://milmi.org/Portals/198/LMN_0918.pdf?ver=2018-09-24-132639-677
MI-Education
Michigan’s Broken School System
School choice advocates, led by Betsy DeVos, unleashed one of the most aggressive and unregulated charter school experiments ever on Michigan. According to their theory, competition among charter and public schools would spur innovation in instructional practices, which would improve statewide educational outcomes. Instead, school rankings, on average, remain in the bottom third of the nation. While the rest of the states have enjoyed gains in educational outcomes, the improvements in Michigan have not kept pace. more …
MI-POLITICS
The DeVos Effect: Meddling with Michigan
School choice advocates, led by Betsy DeVos, unleashed one of the most aggressive and unregulated charter school experiments ever on Michigan. According to their theory, competition among charter and public schools would spur innovation in instructional practices, which would improve statewide educational outcomes. Instead, school rankings, on average, remain in the bottom third of the nation. While the rest of the states have enjoyed gains in educational outcomes, the improvements in Michigan have not kept pace. more …
For the past four decades, Betsy and Dick DeVos have been using their significant wealth and connections to influence politics in Michigan, and rarely for the better. Their national identity peaked in 2017 when Betsy was named President Trump’s Secretary of Education, but this is hardly the family’s first interaction with the relationship between questionable ethics, wealth, and politics. more ...
MI-POLITICS
ALEC Legislation—State GOP Gets Marching Orders
Corporations and wealthy individuals directly influence laws by operating and funding the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC sponsors task forces and conferences where legislators and business leaders write bills. Then ALEC matches bills with legislators willing to sponsor them. Goals include increasing profits, privatizing public resources and services, and passing preemption laws that prevent cities from addressing problems locally. more …
MI-LEGISLATION
REPUBLICAN LEGISLATIVE RECORD
Voting in lockstep on issues, the Republican bloc in the Michigan State House of Representatives has imposed an agenda on Michigan that does not represent the views of the general population. An in-depth analysis of recent legislation reveals a lack of connection between GOP politicians and issues of deep concern to their constituents in virtually every district in the state. The GOP has become the “Anti” party (anti-environmental regulations, anti-public education, anti-affordable health care, anti-social assistance programs, anti-reproductive rights, anti-immigration, anti-gay rights, anti-gun safety and more).
MI-TRANSPORTATION
Michigan Deteriorating Roads
4 Sentence Overview
The GOP’s 2019 budget allocates $1 billion for road improvements.(1), less than half of what is needed to fix and maintain state roads. 25% of Michigan’s most travelled roads are in poor condition, another 52% are in fair condition but need routine upkeep and maintenance(2). An independent study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy found that $3 billion in annual contributions is needed to bring all of Michigan’s roads to fair or better condition(2).
Sources:
https://www.mackinac.org/S2018-10
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/budget/FY19_Exec_Budget_613184_7.pdf
MI-POLITICS
Michigan Honest and Open government
4-sentence Overview
Michigan is the only state in the US where citizens do not have the power to compel their governor, lieutenant governor, legislators, or justices to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. While the Michigan House passed the Legislative Open Records Act (LORA) to extend FOIA to legislators, the bill was stalled in committee, where Republican Majority Leader Meekhof vowed to bury it.
In contrast, House Democrats are pushing for transparency, sponsoring four bills in July 2018 that require candidates and individuals serving in judicial, legislative, executive, or educational statewide elected offices to file annual financial disclosure reports.
Sources:
https://miopengov.org/2018/03/20/sunshine-week-michigan-stronger-foia-laws-lora/
https://www.publicintegrity.org/2018/07/09/21942/michigan-state-integrity
MI-HEALTHCARE
Michigan Opioid Epidemic
4-Sentence Overview
Between February 2017 and February 2018, 2,570 people died from opioid related overdoses in Michigan. While the 10-bill bipartisan package passed in December 2017 enacted new limits on prescribers of opioids and provided for prevention education in schools, it falls short in addressing the growing crisis according to the Michigan State Medical Society. Michigan currently has the sixth lowest number of healthcare providers who can prescribe medication to treat opiate addiction (such as buprenorphine) – a problem that is not being addressed by the legislature. There is much more to be done before anyone can claim any kind of victory over this out-of-control epidemic.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm
https://www.msms.org/About-MSMS/News-Media/michigans-opioid-epidemic-and-recent-prescribing-legislation-8
https://www.bridgemi.com/quality-life/michigan-falls-short-frontline-treatment-opioid-crisis
MINNESOTA
MN-HEALTH CARE
WOMEN'S ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE- MINNESOTA
4 Sentence Overview
Minnesota House Republicans have put forth 5 bills restricting abortion over the past two years. Three were vetoed and two didn’t make it to a vote. With the recent appointment of two conservative Supreme Court Justices, abortion’s legality could be left up to the states as early as 2020. The governor and state House elected in November, as well as the Senate already in place, will have the power to make the decision for Minnesota.
MN-EDUCATION
MINNESOTA EDUCATION FUNDING
To balance the budget in 2009, the Pawlenty administration withheld state aid to Minnesota's local school districts. Pawlenty’s unprecedented executive order withheld $1.2 billion in state aid. By the time Governor Mark Dayton took office, the schools were in the hole by an unprecedented amount. read more …
MN-Politics
Legislative Record for Minnesota House Republicans
A look at an incumbent's votes is crucial for understanding the legislator's priorities and positions. Their web sites and public statements can be at odds with how they actually vote. A discussion of some of the general voting themes for House Republicans follows. The GOP has become the “Anti” party (anti-environmental regulations, anti-public education, anti-affordable health care, anti-social assistance programs, anti-reproductive rights, anti-immigration, anti-gay rights, anti-gun safety and more). more …
MN-INFRASTRUCTURE
Minnesota’s ROADS TO RUIN
Minnesota’s roads are vital infrastructure that allows personal and commercial traffic to operate safely and efficiently. These same roads and highways, however, are decaying rapidly due to years of being underfunded. Ignoring a problem does not make it simply go away, yet the Republican-controlled state House seems to think it will. The Legislature controls the purse strings for the state’s transportation system. It is apparent that this goal cannot be met as long as the Republicans control the Legislature. more …
MN-BUDGET
Minnesota’s REPUBLICAN Pickpockets
For several legislative sessions, particularly the rancorous 2018 gathering, the Republican majority has been practicing a fiscal sleight-of-hand. They are doing this even though Minnesota is expected to enjoy a $329 million budget surplus. Having that 1 percent surplus hasn’t kept Republicans from trying to use special state funds set aside for a particular purpose to pay instead for basic needs.
MN-Environment
Strategic Metals Mining
Iron mining has been a prominent industry in northeastern Minnesota since the late 1800’s, but the mining of heavier metals–copper, nickel, and strategic metals such as gold, cobalt, platinum and palladium–has never taken hold. Two mining companies are attempting to get permits to mine and process those metals. Read further for the pros and cons of the issue. more ...
MN-Environment
The 3M Contamination Settlement Controversy
Minnesota sued manufacturing giant 3M for environmental damage caused by waste chemicals, known by the class name of perfluorocarbons, or PFCs, which have dispersed into a 100-square-mile plume in the groundwater. more ...
MN-Politics
Minnesota: Sold to the highest bidder
Privatization that has become increasingly common across states is a result of the outsized power that one constituency—corporate interests—has to influence legislation. But corporations, whose primary motive is profit, don't necessarily consider the societal costs of their actions. We need a society that benefits the majority, not just a few wealthy individuals and corporations.
The American Legislative Exchange Council, commonly referred to as ALEC, and controlled by a few wealthy individuals and corporations, has had a huge impact on laws passed within the states. Its impact comes from writing "model" legislation, which is then given to lawmakers who sponsor it. This has resulted in nearly identical bills being passed in many different states. more ...