Daily Brew: Keeping up with Kavanaugh

July 27, 2018

A checkpoint on the SCOTUS confirmation process + Online sales tax in the wake of South Dakota v. Wayfair + Test your knowledge of popular vote totals   Welcome to the Friday, July 27 Brew. We’ve filtered through the news to bring you three facts to get you started on your day: A checkpoint on the SCOTUS confirmation process Online sales tax legislation in the wake of South Dakota v. Wayfair Quiz: Test your knowledge of presidential popular vote totals How is Kavanaugh’s confirmation proceeding? Sen. Chuck Grassley (R), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated earlier this week that the confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh will likely be held in early September. Let’s catch up on recent events.   Ad buys: The Judicial Crisis Network began a new round of ads this week targeting U.S. Senate Democrats in West Virginia, North Dakota, Indiana, and Alabama. This ad buy brought the network's total spending in support of Kavanaugh's confirmation to $5.3 million. In West Virginia (Joe Manchin), North Dakota (Heidi Heitkamp), and Indiana (Joe Donnelly), Democratic incumbents are involved in battleground midterm re-election campaigns. Both the Judicial Crisis Network (pro-Kavanaugh confirmation) and Demand Justice (opposed to Kavanaugh confirmation) have been spending money since the nomination announcement. Demand Justice plans to spend $5 million throughout the confirmation process.   Poll: A Quinnipiac University poll found that 41 percent of voters thought the Senate should not confirm Kavanaugh, while 40 percent thought it should. The one-point difference was within the poll’s +/- 3.4 percent margin of error. Meetings with senators: Kavanaugh met with Sen. Rand Paul (R) on Tuesday. Sen. Joe Manchin (D) said he will meet with Kavanaugh on July 30, becoming the first Democratic senator to schedule a meeting with the judge. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) said he would not meet with Kavanaugh until the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed on which documents about Kavanaugh's history should be released. Stay connected with the process here         Online shopping sales tax legislation in response to South Dakota v. Wayfair The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. earlier this summer that a state could collect sales taxes from online businesses located outside of its borders selling to customers inside the state. Now that the case is behind us, how are state governments reacting? Three states have responded in the last month by voting on related legislation. New Jersey: Legislators fast-tracked a bill that would require online sellers that do at least 200 sales or collect $100,000 worth of sales in New Jersey to collect sales tax. The bill, which passed both chambers, would take effect on October 1, 2018. The state's independent, nonpartisan General Accounting Office estimated that the tax would bring in between $216 million and $351 million in annual revenue. The legislation is awaiting Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D) signature to become law. New Jersey is a Democratic trifecta. More on this year's New Jersey legislative session→ Utah: Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed SB 2001, which requires online companies that reach the 200 sales or $100,000 worth-of-sales threshold in Utah to collect sales tax beginning in 2019. It also ends an agreement between the state and online businesses that allowed the businesses to keep up to 18 percent of collected sales taxes. Officials predicted the state to generate an additional $60 million as a result of the law, much of which was earmarked as tax breaks for local manufacturers. Utah is a Republican trifecta. More on this year's Utah legislative session→ New Hampshire: A bill to implement procedures for out-of-state tax jurisdictions collecting sales taxes from New Hampshire businesses failed to pass the New Hampshire General Court on July 25. The proposed legislation would have implemented procedures for out-of-state tax jurisdictions attempting to collect sales taxes from businesses located in sales-tax-free New Hampshire that sell products online. After the state Senate unanimously approved the bill, the House passed an amendment in a bipartisan 164-151 vote that removed all but one provision, which would have created a commission to study ways to protect the state's no-sales-tax advantage. The House vote surprised senators, who voted unanimously not to concur with the amendment. New Hampshire is a Republican trifecta. More on this year's New Hampshire legislative session→ #FridayFact Donald Trump received 62.9 million popular votes in 2016. How many did votes were cast for George W. Bush during his re-election win in 2004? A. 49.5 million→ B. 57.2 million→ C. 62.0 million→ D. 73.7 million→