7. Calling Their Own Shots? Unilateral Policymaking in the US States

Introduction: the election law of the US states to date remains insufficiently studied not only in Russia but also abroad. This is due to the fact that the legal regulation of the electoral process in America is attributed to the powers of the states or municipalities, depending on the legal doctrine applied by the state – Cooley Doctrine or Dillon Rule, which objectively imposes a limit on its study and generalization. The purpose of the study is to acquaint a wide range of scientific community with the latest research in the field of the US election law in regard to the first in the domestic law full description of the organizers of elections and referendums at the state and municipal levels in the United States. The author reviews a wide range of regional and local legislation with references to the constitutional, legal and regulatory acts of the US States. The paper is part of a series that explores all fifty subjects of the American Federation and the District of Columbia. Procedure and methods of research: the author analyzes the constitutional and electoral legislation of the United States at the level of Montana at the beginning of 2019. The methodology of the study was the comparative law, formal-legal, formal-dogmatic, specific-sociological, empirical, dialectical, analytical methods, the systematic approach. Results: the information about the organizers of elections and referendums in Montana, which was not previously covered in the Russian scientific literature, is introduced into scientific circulation. The interpretations of certain provisions of the law and legal consciousness of the U.S election law and law enforcement practice are given. The gaps of the legislation requiring additional research are surfaced. The theoretical and practical significance lies in the generalization of both the established and the latest legal sources (constitutions, organic laws, federal laws, charters, by-laws and regulations) of the United States and the subject of the American Federation and the development of proposals for the enrichment of the Russian science and the formation of objective understanding of the processes taking place in the United States in the field of constitutional, electoral law and the state-building. Conclusions: for a systematic and comparative legal analysis the author proposed the review of the legislation on the organizers of elections and referendums of Montana, revealing the existing contradictions, from the point of view of the Russian researcher, which allows considering the full range of elements of the electoral legislation of Montana from a new angle, seeing new legal structures, previously unknown to the domestic statesmen and law enforcers.

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Hunger Rates in the US States

10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_3793-2 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-4

Author(s):

Mark Edwards

Keyword(s):

Us States ◽

The Us

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Workplace smoking restrictions and support for smoking cessation in the USA: state, region, and overall trends from 2010–11 to 2014–15

The Journal of Smoking Cessation ◽

10.1017/jsc.2019.10 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 211-220

Author(s):

Yujiao Mai ◽

Trung Ha ◽

Julia N. Soulakova

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Population Survey ◽

Us States ◽

Smoking Restrictions ◽

Smoking Policies ◽

The Us ◽

The Usa ◽

Workplace Smoking ◽

State Region

AbstractWe discuss the most recent changes in smoking policies and support for smoking cessation offered to smokers at US workplaces. We used reports of employed adults (n = 112,008) regarding smoking restrictions and support for smoking cessation offered at their indoor workplaces from the 2010–11 and 2014–15 Tobacco Use Supplement–Current Population Survey. The percentage of adults who reported having workplace smoking restrictions was 94% in 2010–11 and 93% in 2014–15 (P = 0.001). There was a decrease in the Northeastern region (P < 0.001) and no significant changes in the other three US regions. The percentages decreased in Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee and increased in Indiana, Nebraska, and Wyoming. The percentage of employees who reported having workplace support for smoking cessation increased from 24% to 29% (P < 0.001), which was uniform across all US regions but differed across the US states. The percentages decreased in Hawaii and increased in the majority of states. Analysis of smokers' reports (versus all reports) resulted in lower percentages of workplaces with smoking restrictions and support for smoking cessation. It is essential to further enhance support for smoking cessation offered to smokers at US workplaces.

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Complex Network Analysis of the Contiguous United States Graph

Computer and Information Science ◽

10.5539/cis.v10n1p54 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 54 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Natarajan Meghanathan

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Dominating Set ◽

Maximal Clique ◽

The United States ◽

Clustering Coefficient ◽

Network Graph ◽

Central State ◽

Us States ◽

Centrality Metrics ◽

The Us

We model the contiguous states (48 states and the District of Columbia) of the United States (US) as an undirected network graph with each state represented as a node and there is an edge between two nodes if the corresponding two states share a common border. We determine a ranking of the states in the US with respect to a suite of node-level metrics: the centrality metrics (degree, eigenvector, betweenness and closeness), eccentricity, maximal clique size, and local clustering coefficient. We propose a normalization-based approach to obtain a comprehensive centrality ranking of the vertices (that is most likely to be tie-free) encompassing the normalized values of the four centrality metrics. We have applied the proposed normalization-based approach on the US States graph to obtain a tie-free ranking of the vertices based on a comprehensive centrality score. We observe the state of Missouri to be the most central state with respect to all the four centrality metrics. We have also analyzed the US States graph with respect to a suite of network-level metrics: bipartivity index, assortativity index, modularity, size of the minimum connected dominating set, algebraic connectivity and degree metrics. The approach taken in this paper could be useful for several application domains: transportation networks (to identify central hubs), politics (to identify campaign venues with larger geographic coverage), cultural and electoral studies (to identify communities of states that are relatively proximal to each other) and etc.

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Campaign finance legislation and the supply-side of the revolving door

Political Science Research and Methods ◽

10.1017/psrm.2019.46 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Simon Weschle

Keyword(s):

Campaign Finance ◽

Campaign Spending ◽

Revolving Door ◽

Supply Side ◽

Demand Side ◽

Difference In Differences ◽

Institutional Factor ◽

Citizens United ◽

Us States ◽

The Us

Abstract Existing research on the revolving door examines why employers hire former politicians. I complement this demand-side approach by demonstrating the importance of the supply-side. In particular, I argue that one important institutional factor that shapes politicians' willingness to leave office for a private sector job is campaign finance legislation. Less restrictive rules increase campaign spending for incumbents, which makes revolving door employment less attractive. Empirically, I use novel data from the US states and a difference-in-differences design to show that the exogenous removal of campaign finance legislation through Citizens United reduced the probability that incumbents left office to work as lobbyists. The supply-side approach provides insights into comparative differences in the prevalence of the revolving door.

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Alcohol skin preparation causes surgical fires

Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England ◽

10.1308/003588412x13171221501221 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 94 (2) ◽

pp. 87-89 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

B Rocos ◽

LJ Donaldson

Keyword(s):

Fire Risk ◽

World Health ◽

Training Curriculum ◽

Skin Preparation ◽

Us States ◽

National Patient Safety Agency ◽

The Us ◽

National Patient ◽

Health Organization ◽

The Uk

INTRODUCTION Surgical fires are a rare but serious preventable safety risk in modern hospitals. Data from the US show that up to 650 surgical fires occur each year, with up to 5% causing death or serious harm. This study used the National Reporting and Learning Service (NRLS) database at the National Patient Safety Agency to explore whether spirit-based surgical skin preparation fluid contributes to the cause of surgical fires. METHODS The NRLS database was interrogated for all incidents of surgical fires reported between 1 March 2004 and 1 March 2011. Each report was scrutinised manually to discover the cause of the fire. RESULTS Thirteen surgical fires were reported during the study period. Of these, 11 were found to be directly related to spirit-based surgical skin preparation or preparation soaked swabs and drapes. CONCLUSIONS Despite manufacturer's instructions and warnings, surgical fires continue to occur. Guidance published in the UK and US states that spirit-based skin preparation solutions should continue to be used but sets out some precautions. It may be that fire risk should be included in pre-surgical World Health Organization checklists or in the surgical training curriculum. Surgical staff should be aware of the risk that spirit-based skin preparation fluids pose and should take action to minimise the chance of fire occurring.

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