Changing the death penalty and more news from the states

We’ve made it to Friday. Let’s jump into this morning’s lineup.

The governors of California, Maine, New York, Oregon and Virginia called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to delay the Jan. 1 implementation of new Medicaid requirements that were included in Republicans’ 2025 tax and spending law, according to our Oregon newsroom.

In criminal justice news, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Arizona corrections officials’ last-ditch attempt to delay a court-ordered takeover of the state’s unconstitutional prison healthcare system. 

Later today, Iowa lawmakers will convene for a special session on tax incentives for a steel mill project. And next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin its new term. 

Have a great weekend.

National: A court battle that began when conservative-led states sued to block protections for transgender people has ended in a rollback of protections for people with disabilities — a result disability advocates have feared for months. 

Ohio: Five Haitians from Springfield have been deported back to Haiti after President Donald Trump revoked their legal status, according to a board member of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center. More than 470 people have been deported from the United States to Haiti between Aug. 20- Sept. 17.

Maryland: Democratic Gov. Wes Moore continued his push against administrative barriers to new housing development, signing executive orders to identify administrative bottlenecks that delay project permit approvals and to speed construction of those units. 

New Mexico: Attorneys representing the state requested a district court judge fine Facebook between $35 billion and $40 billion after a Santa Fe jury found that the social media giant willfully violated state law regarding unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Washington: Minimum wage workers will get a 3.5% pay bump in 2027. The state’s minimum wage will climb to $17.73 an hour starting Jan. 1. The current hourly rate is $17.13, which is the highest of any state in the nation.

Texas: An Austin man working as a food delivery driver who was shot by an ICE officer Sept. 20 underwent surgery and is now in recovery.

See the rest of the news of the day from all 50 states, plus our D.C. Bureau and Stateline, on News From The States.

Republican and Democratic state lawmakers are calling for death penalty reform and legislative oversight after Tennessee tried and failed Wednesday to execute a death row inmate for the second time in five months, Tennessee Lookout reports.

State Sen. Tom Hatcher said he supports fellow Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s order for a hold on executions and a third-party review after the state botched Christa Pike’s execution, but that lawmakers are going to have to “step forward” during the next legislative session to change death penalty laws.

“We may look at several other things instead of just lethal injection,” said Hatcher. “I think we’ve got to look at alternative ways.”

​Hatcher was among a group of eight Republican state senators who called for the independent review of death penalty protocol following the failed execution of Tony Carruthers in May.

​State Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbar and state Rep. John Ray Clemmons, both Democrats, called the failed execution process “cruel” and “inhumane,” and urged change.

​“The Department of Correction says it followed every step of its protocol,” Akbari said in a statement. “If that is true, then the protocol itself is a problem. The governor’s third-party review is a start, but it is no substitute for oversight. It is time for the General Assembly to exercise its oversight function over the executive branch.”

Analyst: Democrats show promise in gaining congressional control

Despite a hard push by Republicans to bolster their chances of retaining control in Washington by redrawing congressional districts to the party’s advantage, Democrats are in a good position to gain several seats in the U.S. House in November.

And which party controls the U.S. Senate after January is now a true toss-up, according to The Cook Political Report. Historically, the party that’s out of power picks up seats in the midterm cycle.

In Episode 48, you’ll hear from the leader of The Cook Political Report’s U.S. House coverage. Cook’s analysts have recently moved 15 House races in the Democrats’ direction, and say it’s realistic that the party could also take a majority in the U.S. Senate amid a worsening political environment for the GOP.

The governing board of the South Carolina Arts Commission denied grants to a pair of LGBTQ+ arts groups without giving a reason, South Carolina Daily Gazette reports.

The commission’s board voted 5-3 in a meeting Thursday to reject giving $13,000 to the Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus and almost $4,000 to Spartanburg’s Proud Mary Theatre Company.

The decision came more than a month after the agency’s governing board approved a combined $3.7 million for more than 170 other arts organizations. In August, the board asked the two groups to provide additional information, even though they have received funding in past years and an independent review panel recommended them for approval.

Representatives of the groups, along with the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter, decried the decision as discrimination. None of the board members talked about their vote during the virtual-only meeting, and no public comments were taken.

However, emails provided to the ACLU through public records requests show that at least two board members singled out applications by the choir and theater company ahead of a meeting in June.