Daily Brew: Do you live in a state governed by trifecta party control

August 23, 2018

Use this area to offer a short teaser of your email's content. Text here will show in the preview area of some email clients.   Welcome to the Thursday, August 23 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: 69% of Americans live in a state with a government trifecta Proposed recent changes to the Clean Power Plan are examples of hybrid rulemaking Noteworthy U.S. House CA-45 Democratic challenger is lining up with her incumbent opponent in support of the ballot initiative to repeal the gas tax  Do you live in a state under trifecta government? Sixty-nine percent of Americans live in a state with a government trifecta, which means one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s office, while 31 percent live in a state with divided government. Heading into the 2018 elections, 34 of 50 states are state government trifectas. 48 percent of Americans live in the 26 states with Republican trifectas 21 percent live in the states with Democratic trifectas. All told, 67 million Americans live in Democratic trifectas, while 156 million Americans live in Republican trifectas. Divided government states represent 101 million people. Those population shares are based on the U.S. Census Bureau's 2017 population estimates. Learn more at Ballotpedia about state government trifectas, and which ones are vulnerable in the 2018 election cycle         What is hybrid rulemaking? Recent proposal from the EPA is one example The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposal for the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule earlier this week. If  adopted, the ACE would replace the Clean Power Plan, a regulation adopted under the Clean Air Act during the Obama administration whose enforcement was enjoined by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2016. You may have seen the old “how a bill becomes a law video” - but in practice governing can be a bit more complicated. Here’s how we got here. 1963: Clean Air Act (CAA) passed by Congress. Congress mandates EPA use hybrid rulemaking to promulgate any administrative rules under the CAA 2015: Obama administration EPA promulgates Clean Power Plan, an administrative regulation per the CAA. 2016: Supreme Court blocks the Clean Power Plan (CPP) from going into effect 2018: Trump administration EPA proposes replacing CPP with Affordable Clean Energy rule through the hybrid rulemaking process required by the CAA. If implemented, the ACE rule would do the following: Set greenhouse gas emission guidelines for states, allowing states to determine their specific emission standards for existing coal-fueled power plants (under the Clean Power Plan, emission standards were set by the federal government) Identify technologies that could be used by states to meet their emission standards Extend the timeline for states to develop greenhouse gas emission reduction plans from nine months to three years Extend the timeline for the EPA to act on a state plans from four months to one year Extend the timeline for the EPA to implement a federal plan in the absence of a state plan from six months to two years In order to make this rule change, the agency must follow the hybrid rulemaking requirements mandated by Congress in the Clean Air Act. This type of congressionally mandated rulemaking above and beyond the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is known as hybrid rulemaking. Under hybrid rulemaking, agencies are required to follow certain elements of both the informal and formal rulemaking processes, such as holding a public comment period in addition to a formal hearing. Learn more about hybrid rulemaking→ U.S. House CA-45 Democratic candidate is lining up with her incumbent Republican opponent in support of ballot initiative to repeal California gas tax Democrat Katie Porter, who is challenging incumbent Mimi Walters (R) in California's 45th Congressional District, released an advertisement on Monday saying she opposes increasing the state's gas tax. Porter's campaign manager said the ad should be considered an endorsement of Proposition 6, which would repeal the gas and diesel tax increases and vehicle fees that were enacted in 2017 and require voter approval for fuel tax and vehicle fee increases in the future. State legislative Democrats supported the legislation to increase the fuel taxes, while legislative Republicans opposed the bill. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters is also backing Proposition 6, with her congressional campaign committee donating $184,000 to the Yes on Prop 6 PAC. California's 45th Congressional District includes a part of Orange County, where voters recalled state Sen. Josh Newman (D) on June 5, 2018, following a recall campaign that focused on Newman's support for the gas tax increase. Ben Christoper, a reporter for CALmatters, described Porter's endorsement of Proposition 6 as "the most prominent defection from the Democratic ranks yet." He added, "It also may mark the first time that the anti-tax Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and a single-payer advocate have stood on the same side of a tax policy debate." Learn more→