May 3, 2024 -- Since 2006, Gavel to Gavel has tracked state-by-state legislative activity with potential impact on state courts.
New and active legislation includes:
- Security
- Colorado legislature approves bill that prohibits a person from knowingly carrying a firearm, both openly and concealed, in a courthouse or other building used for court proceedings, including their adjacent parking areas; and
- Hawaii House and Senate agree on a bill to limit access and publication of personal information about judges.
- Judicial Selection
- Hawaii legislature sends a constitutional amendment to the November 2024 ballot that would make the appointment and Senate consent procedure for District Court judges the same as those for Supreme Court justices and Intermediate Court of Appeals and Circuit Court judges;
- Mississippi governor signs bill into law that makes elections to the state's Justice Courts nonpartisan; and
- South Carolina House Judiciary Committee amends a Senate-approved plan to replace the members of the state's Judicial Merit Selection Commission and change how the commission operates.
- Other
- Louisiana Senate approves plan for each judicial district to submit a daily report to the Louisiana Supreme Court containing data on every criminal case in the state including the number of days from initiation of prosecution to adjudication for all criminal cases; and
- Louisiana House committee requests a study of the feasibility and practicality of mayor's courts in the state.