Verbatim state stories
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Verbatim State Stories
 February 24, 2017 Writing for The Intercept, Spencer Woodman claimed “Over the past few weeks, Republican legislators across the country have quietly introduced a number of proposals to criminalize and discourage peaceful protest.” Legislation introduced by Republican state lawmakers at the time of his writing would not criminalize any form of protest because the proposed changes relate to acts that are already prohibited by law. Only one measure that was introduced after Woodman’s piece would create a new crime related to an already illegal type of protest. |
 February 22, 2017 The February 25th election for Delaware's 10th District senate seat will determine which party will control the chamber. In a recent debate, Republican candidate John Marino criticized Democratic opponent Stephanie Hansen for changing her position on testing opt-out. Marino is incorrect. Hansen's campaign website did not address opt-out as claimed by Marino, but did mention support of legislation to limit standardized testing. The current version reflects Hansen's explicit support of opt-out. |
 February 17, 2017 Referring to President Trump’s executive order, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” Univision's Jorge Cancino claimed that it contains "a clause making it a crime to help an undocumented immigrant." However, executive orders are statements of policy and have no power to make law. The clause referenced by Cancino is a directive by Trump to the Secretary of Homeland Security to enforce existing immigration law, in this case the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). |
 February 16, 2017 Sacramento Bee writer Jim Miller wrote that CalPERS' reduced investment return assumption means school districts will have to contribute more to employee pensions. This is true. CalPERS projects a 30 to 40 percent increase in participating employer unfunded liability payments as a result, though the increased contributions are necessary to fund benefits already earned by government workers. |
 February 15, 2017 Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick recently told Syracuse Post-Standard that the introduction of ridesharing services in upstate New York “could have a dramatic impact on reducing drunk driving and the fatalities attendant to the problem.” The potential impacts of legalizing ridesharing services in upstate New York is a matter of speculation. Research on the impacts of ridesharing is limited, and results are mixed. |
 February 14, 2017 The New York City Council adopted an ordinance requiring shoppers to pay five cents for each plastic or paper bag provided by a store. New York City Councilman Brad Lander claimed the bag tax will induce shoppers to bring bags with them to the store and get rid of plastic grocery bags. Lander is partially correct. Studies have shown that banning or taxing plastic or paper bags increases shoppers use of reusable bags and decreases use of plastic bags, but does not end plastic bag use. |
 February 13, 2017 Endorsing legislation to prohibit holding electronic devices while driving in Washington state, a Union-Bulletin editorial said, “Distracted driving is out of control.” Collisions involving distracted driving increased by 46 percent between 2009 and 2015. Fatalities resulting from distracted driving collisions increased 6 percent during this period. However, fatalities involving an impaired driver consistently accounted for a higher proportion of fatal collisions. |
 February 8, 2017 During the January 23 opening session of the Utah House of Representatives, Speaker Greg Hughes said, “This state has a homelessness crisis amongst us.” But according to HUD estimates, Utah saw reductions in both its total homeless population (6.8 percent) and those defined as “chronically homeless” (72 percent), between 2007 and 2016. During that same period, the population of the state grew by 13 percent. |
 February 3, 2017 Stressing the need for a legislative solution to Oregon's projected budget deficit, state Sen. Mark Hass claimed: “We’re seriously underfunding education.” We found that: (1) Oregon's total education spending and education spending as a portion of all state spending has decreased since the FY 2005-2007 biennium. (2) Per-pupil spending increased between FY 2005 and FY 2014. (3) The proportion of revenues from federal and local sources expended for education decreased, and the proportion of state funds increased, between FY 2005 and FY 2014. |
 February 2, 2017 During a confirmation hearing for Jeff Sessions’ Attorney General appointment, Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono referred to “the Supreme Court's decision that did away with major parts of the Voting Rights Act.” In Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court struck down section 4(b), which prescribes the formula for determining which states and political subdivisions are subject to federal preclearance for new voting laws under Section 5. The decision rendered Section 5 unenforceable until an updated formula is established, but it did not do away with Section 5. |
 January 31, 2017 The Rev. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP, criticized state legislation that he claims “seeks to remove oversight of the General Assembly's actions from the North Carolina Supreme Court's purview.” Barber is incorrect. The North Carolina Supreme Court retains authority to hear cases involving the General Assembly. Recent legislation only eliminated the right of direct appeal to the state supreme court for certain trial court cases. |
January 27, 2017 A Huffington Post article on North Carolina's legislative battles claimed that recently passed bills "drastically limit" the governor's administrative abilities. Although "drastically" is a subjective term, the new laws did limit the governor's authority to appoint department heads, personnel, and members of the State Ethics Commission and State Board of Elections. |
 January 26, 2017 In press release announcing his opposition to the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, claimed DeVos owed Ohio taxpayers $5 million. Brown is incorrect. He was referring to unpaid fines levied against a PAC, for which DeVos had served as a director. But Ohio law does not hold officers of a PAC personally liable for fines levied against the PAC. |
 December 28, 2016 Teachers in North Carolina claim state funding for classroom materials, including instructional supplies and equipment, has declined. Verbatim reviewed ten years of state public school budgets, and the teachers are correct.
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 December 23, 2016 In a Christian Science Monitor commentary, Ben Lilliston, director of climate strategies at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, noted the “rapidly rising costs to governments of dealing with climate-related events like Hurricane Matthew." But there has not been a tested determination of the storm's precise cause, and research is inconclusive about whether storms have increased in either number or severity due to climate change. |
 December 22, 2016 Following the release of the FBI’s latest Hate Crime Statistics report, a spokesman for Equality N.C. told the Daily Tar Heel that HB2 may have played a role in the increase in hate crimes against LGBT people in the statistics. But that isn't possible, since the report only covers incidents in 2015, and HB2 wasn't introduced until 2016. Also, the way the FBI compiles statistics prevents a credible comparison of reported hate crimes year over year.
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 December 14, 2016 In response to Oklahoma voters' rejection of a state sales tax increase, Grove Public Schools Superintendent Sandy Coaly said "we don't want to be at the bottom of anything else, so why do we want to be at the bottom for education.” Is Coaly correct? In terms of per-pupil revenue and spending, Oklahoma is one of the bottom five states. But student performance ranks at or near the national average. |
 December 13, 2016 City leaders in Savannah, Georgia are seeking legislation to give cities greater power to obtain private properties that it considers blighted. The Georgia Municipal Association correctly claimed that current law requires local governments to wait 20 years before selling condemned properties to private entities. |
 November 8, 2016 Koster's opponent in the state's 2016 gubernatorial race, Eric Greitens, claims violent crime in Missouri increased by 12.6 percent in 2015, murders jumped by nearly 25 percent, and St. Louis is “the most dangerous city in the country.” The first two figures do not provide an accurate picture of the crime trends during Koster’s tenure as attorney general, and the ranking of St. Louis as “the most dangerous city” is subjective. |
 November 7, 2016 According to Gov. Pat McCrory, “Since 2013, North Carolina has one of the fastest growing economies in the nation, unemployment is at an eight-year low and more than 300,000 jobs have been added.” That is not entirely correct. The state’s unemployment rate is at an eight-year low, but North Carolina’s real gross domestic product is not one of the fastest growing in the country. Between 2013 and 2016, total employment has increased by about 260,000 jobs. |
 November 7, 2016 His opponent, Chris Sununu, says Van Ostern "has been out promoting a $300 million train that would take 2,000 people a day to work into Boston." Van Ostern does support development of a commuter rail line between New Hampshire and Boston, but the cost of his plan is estimated to be $195.1 million plus a $38.7 million contingency fund, and projects weekday ridership of 3,120. |
 November 4, 2016 Newsom wrote there were "over 10 mass shootings" between October 15, 2015 and October 20, 2016. While there is no standard definition of "mass shooting," two of the private groups that do track "mass shootings" report 42 and 47 in the time period cited. |
 November 6, 2016 Montana has no state sales tax, and during a recent town hall-style teleconference, Republican candidate for governor Greg Gianforte said, “I don’t support a sales tax. You know, never have.” During his campaign, Gianforte has consistently opposed the introduction of a sales tax, but during testimony before a state government committee in 2002, Gianforte said he was in favor of creating a sales tax as part of a plan to lower tax rates on income and capital gains. |
 November 5, 2016 In a debate on September 7, 2016, Senator Ayotte claimed that Governor Hassan voted to support “sanctuary cities” while a state senator. Is Ayotte’s claim accurate? Yes. In 2008, then-state Senator Hassan voted against Senate Bill 353 (SB 353), which would have prohibited New Hampshire and its subdivisions from serving as a sanctuary for illegal aliens. |
 November 1, 2016 |
 September 29, 2016 |
 September 28, 2016 Governor Cuomo (D-NY) claimed that New York’s unemployment rate during his tenure had “dropped in half,” and the state had “[m]ore jobs than ever before in history." Based on data from the New York Department of Labor, the annual average unemployment rate dropped from 8.3 percent in 2011, when Cuomo took office, to 4.9 percent in August 2016—a difference of 41 percent, not 50 percent, as the governor claimed. |
 September 27, 2016 As cited by the Times Union, Grade 29 members of the Public Employees Federation (PEF) did see a 48 percent salary increase between 1999 and 2016. A 2016 proposed salary increase for members of the New York Legislature, at 47 percent, does track that of the state employees specified by the Times Union. |
 August 4, 2016 No. Lottery funding for the form of direct aid controlled by municipalities and used for a range of public services has increased over time. |
 August 1, 2016 We took a look at the voting records and found that Schaefer was the only Republican Senator to vote against the bill but was one of three Republican State Legislators to oppose SB 749 in some form. |
 July 20, 2016 A June 28, 2016, New York Times article claims that students in "half the charters perform only as well, or worse than, Detroit's traditional public schools." Our research finds that claim to be misleading. |
 July 18, 2016 Projections by the Rhode Island House Fiscal Advisory Staff show that the state’s 2017 enacted budget would result in a $313.6 million deficit by 2021. On job loss, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training issued a release on June 16, which said that the state “lost a total of 3,900 jobs since March." |
 July 15, 2016 From 2005 to 2015, the overall homeless population in California decreased 38.5 percent (by 72,561). The state’s homelessness rate—the ratio of homeless population to the total population—fell by 43.7 percent. |
 July 12, 2016 We decided to take a closer look at Alaska Republican Party’s characterization of Beltrami as a "longtime union boss." |
| Verbatim fact check: Did Utah Governor Gary Herbert raise taxes by over $600 million?
June 28, 2016 We determined the claim was true. According to our review of the data, tax revenue fell 56 times between fiscal 2011 and 2017, which totaled $338,337,750. Utah's tax revenue rose 26 times, during the same period, which totaled $984,487,817. The net increase is $646,150,067. |
 June 24, 2016 The RGA PAC’s comparison of the $2 billion surplus and $1 billion deficit leaves out important information. The claim juxtaposes an actual reserve "surplus" with a projected deficit. Instead of ending fiscal year 2002 with a $1.2 billion deficit, the state recorded a $534 million reserve balance. |
 June 23, 2016 Yes. State sources report that drug overdose deaths jumped from an average of about seven per day in 2014 to an average of nine per day in 2015. That's more than twice the number of lives lost to traffic accidents. |
 June 13, 2016 After examining Nanney's voting history we found that she missed 32 percent of votes between the beginning of the 121st session, on January 13, 2015, and March 30, 2016. Between January 1, 2016, and March 30, 2016, Nanney missed 52 percent of votes. |
 June 7, 2016 While some discretionary funded programs under DOD, Homeland Security and the VA would have been suspended, many would have continued. Additionally, other types of federal spending would have remained unaffected by the shutdown. |
| Verbatim fact check: Did Ted Strickland cut spending for certain programs when he was governor of Ohio in 2009?
June 1, 2016 Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is accused challenger Ted Strickland, former governor of Ohio, of having cut funding for certain safety net programs in the 2010-2011 fiscal years. We determined that Portman's claim is only partially accurate. |
 May 31, 2016 Did Hayes vote to block DOT reform? Yes. At an April 28, 2015, Senate Finance Committee markup, Hayes voted to replace the text of a House bill that included DOT reform with the text of a Senate bill that did not. He also voted to move the revised legislation to the full Senate. |
May 21, 2016 Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva claims the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report shows the city had “its lowest crime rate in the past 15 years” in 2014. He’s right, but only if you combine the totals for both property crimes and violent crimes, something the FBI doesn’t do. While property crime declined, violent crime in Stockton actually increased. |
 May 9, 2016 Jim Justice released an ad accusing his two opponents of wanting to raise taxes. We found that Kessler has said he wants to raise the taxes on cigarettes along with some other consumer taxes, while Goodwin has said he would not rule out raising taxes. |
 May 6, 2016 We examined Schwartz's legislative record, and found that she did in fact play an instrumental role in passing legislation intended to limit emissions from coal-fired power plants. |
May 3, 2016 Sen. Ayotte has voted against refinancing student loans. However, her voting record on Pell Grants is much more complicated than Hassan's statement suggests. |
 May 2, 2016 Yes, the bill included exemptions for religious or religious affiliated organizations and nonprofit groups, as well as for small businesses with less than six employees. |
 April 20, 2016 We were unable to find any official data tracking how many families are still displaced three and a half years after Superstorm Sandy. |
 April 15, 2016 Although a definitive answer isn't possible, all the studies published during the last four decades support the contention that the death penalty is more expensive than life in prison. |
 April 11, 2016 We looked at Jim Justice's business activities and found that he did oversee companies that were sued over delinquent payments and back taxes. |
 April 8, 2016 No. Whether you define "middle class" in cultural or economic terms, half of American adults can be considered middle class. |
 April 7, 2016 We find that fracking does have an impact on property values; however, whether that effect is positive or negative depends on a variety of variables. |
 March 14, 2016 It is reasonable to conclude that Strickland played "a central role". |
 March 7, 2016 We examine the NRSC's claims on this topic and find that from 2009 to 2014 Masto, a 2016 Senatorial candidate, took, on average, six trips per year. |
 February 29, 2016 Depends how you look at it. Per-pupil spending has not kept up with inflation, although overall public school spending has outpaced inflation. |
 February 29, 2016 To answer this question, we examine Justice Lehrmann’s voting record, paying particular attention to the two cases Justice Massengale cites. |
 February 26, 2016 We found just the opposite. McNutt has actually called for increasing local control over education and reducing state involvement. |
 February 18, 2016 Based on our own analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, we found that while New Mexico is not, strictly speaking, at the bottom, it is in the bottom quintile. |
 February 17, 2016 Gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte claims, “Montana ranks 49th nationally in wages. And too many kids are leaving to find work elsewhere.” Is he right? |
 February 15, 2016 Indiana governor Mike Pence claims, "Indiana consistently ranks in the top 10 best states to do business.” |
 February 11, 2016 We examine Michigan state Representative Thomas Hooker's claim on this topic and find that there is more to the story than the numbers first suggest. |
 February 4, 2016 He did support Common Core in his first few years as governor. He reversed his position in 2015. |
 January 27, 2016 Pretty close. We counted 739 in total. |
 January 8, 2016 Kentucky State Rep. Jim Gooch claims the EPA admitted its Clean Power Plan will have "no measurable effects" on global carbon rates. Is he right? |
 January 7, 2016 A pro-Marco Rubio super PAC claims New Jersey's "tax burden" is the highest in the nation. True, but what does that mean? |
 January 5, 2016 Ohio lost more than 350,000 jobs under Strickland. But is the former governor to blame? |
 December 30, 2015 California, though the picture changes depending on how you measure the data. |
 December 24, 2015 The West Virginia GOP claims $400,000 from the Justice family to Steve Beshear |
 December 3, 2015 The state lost more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs between 1994 and 2015, but NAFTA wasn't necessarily the cause. |
 November 20, 2015 Days before the general election, the focal point of he race shifts to Syria. |
 November 17, 2015 We look into four claims the candidates made about legislative salaries in a recent gubernatorial debate. |
 November 16, 2015 An ad by David Vitter's campaign claims Edwards supported taxpayer funded pensions for convicts. We say that statement is misleading. |
 November 13, 2015 Vitter's passed five bills into law in sixteen years. But how unique is that number? |
 November 6, 2015 Was Indiana "dead last" for voter turnout in 2014? |
 October 22, 2015 In short, yes. But the question is actually a bit more complicated than it might seem on the surface. |
 October 16, 2015 There are a lot of similarities, but also one key difference. |
 October 14, 2015 About $2 million for the signatures. |
 October 14, 2015 The cost of a Michigan judgeship is shared by many jurisdictions. |
 October 9, 2015 We look into the descriptions of a controversial ballot measure in Ohio. |
 October 9, 2015 Is Alaska's business climate ranked fourth in the nation? |
 October 2, 2015 Was John Kasich the only Republican candidate in the House to unseat a Democratic incumbent in the 1982 midterm elections? |
