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The Tap: "Pond scum" and "Chicken"—This week in state legislator insults

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February 29, 2016Issue No. 5

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What happened last week: February 22 - February 28
What's happening this week: February 29 - March 6

Navigate The Tap by clicking the tabs below:

Federal

What's on tap?

Super Tuesday: Twelve states, one territory, and the Democrats Abroad will hold elections on the biggest presidential primary night of the cycle. On the Democratic side, an estimated 865 pledged delegates are up for grabs in 11 states and one U.S. territory. This represents roughly 21.3 percent of the total number of pledged delegates in the Democratic Party’s nominating process. The eventual Democratic nominee needs a total of 2,383 delegates to secure the nomination. On the Republican side, an estimated 595 pledged delegates are at stake on Super Tuesday in 11 states. This represents roughly 25 percent of the total number of pledged delegates in the Republican Party’s nominating process. The eventual Republican nominee needs a total of 1,237 delegates to secure the nomination.

 

Highlights

  • South Carolina held its Democratic primary on Saturday
    • Hillary Clinton won with over 70 percent of the vote in the February 27 South Carolina Democratic primary.
    • “Clinton’s landslide was propelled by a huge advantage she had among black voters. The television networks’ exit poll, the representative sampling of South Carolina primary voters as they left their precinct voting stations, showed Clinton beating Sanders among black voters by a margin of more than 70 percentage points. The exit poll also showed that black voters made up roughly three out of every five voters in the primary. When absentee and early votes are factored in—the exit poll only surveyed primary day voters—that black share could actually climb a bit.,” wrote senior staff writer Jim Barnes.
  • Nevada held its Republican Caucus on Tuesday
    • Donald Trump extended his winning streak to three, capturing the February 23 Nevada Republican presidential caucuses with 46 percent of the vote.
    • “Florida Sen. Marco Rubio won less than a quarter of the vote and held a narrow lead over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for a distant second place finish. Rubio won a plurality of the late deciders: among those who said they made up their minds on how they were voting within the last week, roughly two-out-five cast their ballots for the Floridian. But more than twice as many voters said they decided before that, and among that group, Trump won a majority,” wrote senior staff writer Jim Barnes.
 

Federal

Last week

February 22

  • Ted Cruz requested that his communications director Rick Tyler resign after he reposted a video of Marco Rubio commenting on how much guidance the Bible offers with the inaccurate subtitle: “not many answers [are in it].” Rubio actually said the Bible has “all the answers.” Cruz called Tyler’s action “a grave error in judgment,” but suggested “that Marco’s campaign believes it’s political [sic] advantageous to try to distract the topic from his own record.”
  • President Barack Obama (D) sent a letter to Congress asking for $1.9 billion to respond to the spread of the Zika virus. He wrote, “This funding would build upon ongoing preparedness efforts and provide resources for the Departments of Health and Human Services and State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).”
  • Former Health and Human Services Secretary and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) endorsed Hillary Clinton. “I just feel that she's the only person, frankly, in the field of candidates who has the experience and background that prepares her nationally and internationally to be the leader of the country," she said.
  • The suspended presidential campaign of Chris Christie sold its email list of supporters and donors to the campaign of Marco Rubio. A spokesperson for Christie’s campaign stated that “[I]t is standard practice for other campaigns to buy lists … Anyone can rent/buy the list via the vendor”.

February 23

  • Nevada held its Republican Caucus.
    • Donald Trump won the Nevada Republican caucuses with 46 percent of the vote.[7] Marco Rubio came in second with 24 percent. Trump carried Clark County 49-25 over Rubio. According to entrance polls conducted by CNN, Trump outperformed his opponents with a wide range of different voters, including men and women, voters 30 years of age and older, white and Latino voters, college-educated and non-college voters, conservatives and moderates and Evangelical and non-Evangelical voters. Second place finisher Marco Rubio beat Trump 37-31 percent with voters aged 17 to 29.
  • President Barack Obama (D) submitted his most recent plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay to Congress. In a speech delivered from the Roosevelt Room in the White House, he said, “For many years, it’s been clear that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay does not advance our national security -- it undermines it. This is not just my opinion. This is the opinion of experts, this is the opinion of many in our military. It’s counterproductive to our fight against terrorists, because they use it as propaganda in their efforts to recruit.”
  • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Iran will receive “below the $50 billion (level)” due to the implementation of the nuclear deal. According to Business Insider, “Iran gained access to about $100 billion in frozen assets when an international nuclear agreement was implemented last month, but much of it already was tied up because of debts and other commitments.”
  • The U.S. Department of Education proposed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). According to a press release from the department, “IDEA, aims to ensure fairness in the identification, placement, and discipline of students with disabilities.” Acting U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said, "We have a moral and a civil rights obligation to ensure that all students, with and without disabilities, are provided the tools they need to succeed, regardless of background. IDEA exists for the purpose of ensuring that students get the unique services they need, and we owe it to them and to ourselves to uphold all of the law's provisions."
  • U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked state attorneys general to help the Obama administration strengthen the national background check system. At the National Association of Attorneys General Annual Winter Conference, Lynch said, “We need your help to make the national background check system as robust, as accurate and as up-to-date as possible – and that includes removing legal and technological barriers that have needlessly kept some states from reporting fully in the past. The FBI will be announcing each state’s reporting status for the first time next month and we stand ready to help you improve your reporting in any way we can, both now and in the future. The bottom line is that the more records you make available, the more you will enhance the safety and security of the states you serve.”
  • The Office of Inspector General within the Department of Health and Human Services released a case study detailing the problems that occurred during the two years leading up to the October 1, 2013, launch of the federal health insurance exchange, Healthcare.gov. The primary finding of the report was that “the absence of clear leadership” was the critical factor that led to the website’s failings, “which crashed within two hours of its launch” and signed up only six people on its first day. The report also found that leaders at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency tasked with the creation and implementation of the website, failed to recognize or ignored the size and seriousness of the problems that were raised before the launch. The case study was conducted by interviewing 86 individuals involved in the project, searching through 2.5 million emails, memos, status reports and other project documents, and reviewing outside research and analysis of the launch and written and oral congressional testimony regarding the site.
  • Gov. Tom Wolf (D-Penn.) endorsed Pennsylvania District 2 challenger Dwight Evans instead of incumbent Chaka Fattah on Tuesday. In July 2015, Fattah was indicted on various crimes, including bribery, money laundering, and bank and mail fraud. Fattah has chosen to campaign in 2016 despite the indictment and is contesting the charges against him. Evans and Fattah will face of in the Democratic primary on April 26, 2016.
  • Marc Short, president of Freedom Partners, became a senior advisor to Marco Rubio's presidential campaign. Freedom Partners is a Koch-supported 501(c)(6) nonprofit issue advocacy group.
  • The Washington Post reported that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) has been advising Donald Trump throughout the month.

February 24

  • It was reported that Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval (NV) was being vetted for the vacancy left by the death of Justice Scalia as one of several possible nominees to the seat. Even though Sandoval is a Republican, Senate leadership did not back down on their promise to withhold a confirmation until the next election. “This is not about the personality,” Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) said. Later in the week, on February 25, Sandoval publicly expressed that he was withdrawing his name from consideration.
  • Donald Trump received his first congressional endorsements from U.S. Reps. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.). Collins said in a statement that Trump "understands the importance of American exceptionalism, and has the unique qualifications to make America great again." Hunter stated, “We don’t need a policy wonk as president. We need a leader as president.”
  • Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) endorsed Hillary Clinton on Wednesday. “I think that my work with her over the years has been something that I have looked upon with awe. She was the first lady. She started the trend toward looking to do something about health care. She understood the issue well, she was the front on the health care during that administration," Reid said. He noted that he believed “the middle class would be better served by Hillary” than Bernie Sanders.
  • U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch defended the legality of the government ordering Apple to help the FBI obtain information from the cellphone of Syed Farook, one of the murderers in the San Bernardino mass shooting. In a written testimony, Lynch said, "It’s a long-standing principle in our justice system that if an independent judge finds reason to believe that a certain item contains evidence of a crime, then that judge can authorize the government to conduct a limited search for that evidence. And if the government needs the assistance of third parties to ensure that search is actually conducted, judges all over the country and on the Supreme Court have said that those parties must assist if it is reasonably within their power to do so. That’s all we’re asking, and we owe it to the victims and the public whose safety we must protect to ensure we have done everything under the law to fully investigate terrorist attacks on American soil.​
  • During a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said that the Obama administration’s plan to move some prisoners from the Guantánamo Bay detention center to the United States is prohibited by law. She said, “It’s certain that we would be prohibited from doing so. I’m not aware of any efforts to do so at this time, in any event.” Her statement came after President Obama announced his plan to close Guantánamo Bay.
  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will begin requiring documentation as proof for some life changes that allow individuals to sign up for health insurance outside of the open enrollment period on the federal exchange, Healthcare.gov. Previously, no proof of the life event was required, and health insurance companies said the system was being abused and “distorting the risk pool.” CMS will now require proof for a loss of coverage, a permanent move, a birth or adoption, and marriage in order to qualify for a special enrollment period.
  • Bernie Sanders hired Bill French to lead his campaign's foreign policy team. French left his job as a policy analyst at the nonprofit National Security Network to join the campaign. Up to this point, Sanders did not have a foreign policy advisor on his campaign staff.
  • Armstrong Williams, Ben Carson's senior advisor, hinted to Breitbart News that Carson may suspend his campaign after Super Tuesday.
  • John Kasich added Mike Schrimpf as his campaign's communications director. He had previously worked as the deputy chief of staff for Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R). Schrimpf's twin brother, Chris, also works for the Kasich campaign as a senior communications advisor.
  • President Obama signed HR 644 - the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 into law on Wednesday. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson commented on the legislation, saying, “Most importantly for the Department of Homeland Security, this law is the first comprehensive authorization of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) since the creation of DHS in 2003. This is the result of careful collaboration by four Congressional committees establishing a modern foundation for CBP’s critical missions: countering terrorism and transnational crime, advancing comprehensive border security and management, and enhancing U.S. economic competitiveness by enabling lawful trade and travel.”
    • U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker also commented on the legislation in the following statement: “Importantly, new authorities created by this bipartisan legislation will enhance the Department of Commerce’s ability to coordinate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection on AD/CVD enforcement efforts. The Department will also have access to the newly authorized Trade Enforcement Trust Fund that would make available resources dedicated to monitoring the implementation of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements by our trading partners and to engaging them in capacity building efforts in areas such as labor, environment, and intellectual property protection.”
  • The Washington Post reported that Jeb Bush’s campaign committee and, separately, the pro-Bush super PAC Right to Rise spent a combined $125 million on political consultants. Over 95 percent of the combined ad budget expenditures for the campaign committee and the super PAC went through two consulting firms, Oath Strategies and Revolution Agency. According to the paper, Right to Rise’s director Mike Murphy was a founding partner of Revolution Agency, the group that handled media for Bush’s campaign committee.

February 25

  • Republicans held their tenth debate in Houston, Texas, at the University of Houston. CNN, Telemundo, and Salem Media Group sponsored the debate, which was moderated by Wolf Blitzer, María Celeste Arrarás, Hugh Hewitt and Dana Bash. All five remaining Republican candidates participated.
    • Ballotpedia surveyed over 80 Republican Party political insiders after the debate. Over 76 percent of the Insiders (party strategists, pollsters, media consultants, activists, lobbyists and allied interest group operatives) believed that Marco Rubio won the debate.

  • FILING DEADLINE: Nebraska presidential filing deadline
  • Twenty states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to reduce mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants. The rule is a major but controversial initiative requiring power plants to implement new technology to reduce their emissions. In June 2015, the Supreme Court mandated that the EPA perform a cost-benefit analysis, though it did not strike down the rule. The states argue that the rule is an unlawful exercise of executive power beyond what Congress intended and will force power plants to close. The EPA’s cost analysis is expected before April 16, 2016. As the EPA works on its analysis, the rule remains in effect. This rule is not affected by the stay on the Clean Power Plan, which the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted on February 9, 2016
  • The Emergency Committee for American Trade, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have joined the U.S. Coalition for TPP to urge Congress to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In a joint statement they said, "We are intensifying our broad education and advocacy efforts on the Hill and around the country as the administration and Congressional leaders work to address the next steps that are required to secure passage of the TPP.”
  • Rep. Matt Salmon (R) announced his retirement and quickly endorsed State Senate President Andy Biggs in the race to replace him. Salmon has represented Arizona's 5th Congressional District since 2013 and cited time spent away from his family as his primary reason for retiring. Salmon is the 36th member of the U.S. House to announce that he will not be seeking re-election in 2016. Arizona's 5th District is considered a safe Republican seat.
  • On Thursday, leaders of the Republican Study Committee voted against the 2015 spending bill. “The opposition from the Republican Study Committee severely compromises the GOP’s efforts to pass a joint budget resolution, which would allow them to begin the appropriations process and achieve what Ryan calls ‘regular order,’” according to The Hill.
  • President Obama nominated South Carolina State Supreme Court Associate Justice Don Beatty for a U.S. district judgeship, throwing the identity of the state’s next supreme court chief justice further into doubt. Chief Justice Costa Pleicones is retiring this year. Beatty’s seniority would make him an obvious frontrunner in the General Assembly’s May judicial elections (South Carolina is one of only two states where judges are selected by the general assembly), though some Republican lawmakers feel Beatty is too liberal for the role. Though Beatty’s federal confirmation will take months (if confirmed at all), he must file by March 7 to continue with plans to run for chief justice.
  • During a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said that U.S. Cyber Command is beginning to conduct operations against ISIS. Carter and other officials did not discuss the details of the operations, but “the attacks include efforts to prevent the group from distributing propaganda, videos, or other types of recruiting and messaging on social media sites such as Twitter and across the Internet in general,” according to The Military Times.

February 26

  • Former presidential candidate Gov. Chris Christie (R) endorsed Donald Trump. “The best person to beat Hillary Clinton in November on that stage last night is undoubtedly Donald Trump,” Christie told the press conference. “Generally speaking I'm not big on endorsements. This was an endorsement that really meant a lot,” Trump said when he accepted the endorsement.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Delaware and Washington presidential filing deadline
  • Maine Gov.Paul LePage (R) endorsed Donald Trump. “I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular, so I think I should support him since we’re one of the same cloth,” LePage said during his endorsement. A week earlier, LePage encouraged other Republican governors to draft an “open letter” to Americans distancing themselves from Trump.
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran briefly broke a provision of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement with Iran and world powers. The IAEA said that "On 17 February, the agency verified that Iran’s stock of heavy water had reached 130.9 metric tonnes," but Iran is only allowed to have 130 tonnes. Iran then shipped 20 tonnes out of the country to comply with the agreement.

February 27

  • South Carolina held its Democratic Primary.
    • Hillary Clinton won the primary with over 70 percent of the vote and carried every county.
    • Clinton’s victory marked her second consecutive primary win. She won the Nevada Democratic caucuses on February 20. Bernie Sanders received roughly 25 percent of the vote. According to exit polls conducted by CNN, Clinton outperformed Sanders with several major demographics in South Carolina, including women, men, black voters, non-college graduates and college graduates, voters aged 45 and older, voters who identified as liberal, moderate and conservative and voters with incomes ranging from less than $30,000 per year to more than $100,000 per year.
  • Donald Trump appeared on Fox News and expressed a desire to make it easier to sue for libel. “I love free press. I think it's great. We ought to open up the libel laws, and I'm going to do that,” Trump said.
  • Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) endorsed Donald Trump. “For years I pleaded with the federal government to do their job and secure our border. Today, we can elect a President who will do just that — Donald J. Trump,” Brewer said in a statement published by the Trump campaign.

 

Congress is IN session SCOTUS is IN session
Congress will be in session this week. The Senate will be in session Monday-Friday, and the House will be in session Monday - Thursday. SCOTUS is in session and will hear five cases next week. On March 2, 2016, the court will hear the abortion clinic regulations case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. The justices will consider whether two provisions of Texas House Bill 2, which require abortion doctors and facilities to meet certain requirements, constitute "undue interference from the State" in a woman's right to obtain an abortion. It is the first abortion law case the court has added to its docket since 2007.

This week

February 29

  • The U.S. Senate reached a deal on a federal aid package for Flint, Michigan, that the chamber is expected to vote on as early as this week. The $250 million bill would assist Flint and other locations facing contaminated drinking water. About $200 million would go to loans for states and localities to improve drinking water systems. Around $50 million would finance health programs to help those with lead poisoning and to reduce toxins in homes. The bill was negotiated by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). On February 23, the Michigan State Legislature passed related legislation. Read more about this in the State and Local section of this article.
  • Several education cases with petitions for certiorari were among those discussed by the Supreme Court justices on Friday, February 26, to decide whether the petitions will be granted. In one case, Bell v. Itawamba County School Board, at issue is the authority of public schools to “discipline students for their off-campus speech.” Three other cases involve a school voucher program in Colorado and whether it violates the United States Constitution to deny public funds for school choice because students may use those funds to attend religious schools. The justices are expected to announce their decision to review the cases or not early this week.

March 1

March 3

March 4

  • FILING DEADLINE: Connecticut presidential filing deadline

March 5

March 6

 

Where was the president last week? Federal judiciary
President Barack Obama remained in Washington, D.C. last week. Included throughout his schedule last week were meetings with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the National Governors Association and Vice President Joe Biden.   As of last Friday, no judicial hearings had been scheduled for this week.

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State and Local

What's on tap?

SUPER TUESDAY -- It’s not just a presidential primary date, as voters will be heading to the polls across the country to elect down-ballot officials as well. Check out the elections we are covering in Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Tennessee.

 

Highlights

State

  • On February 22, South Dakota House Rep. Lee Schoenbeck was physically blocked from entering the state capitol building after insulting House Majority Leader Brian Gosch (R) and declining to apologize. Schoenbeck called Gosch “pond scum” and “chicken” after the majority leader asked lawmakers to vote against a measure to fund an increase in teacher pay. The next day Schoenbeck announced that he planned to resign, but later changed his mind after his wife suggested that he should “stick it out.” Schoenbeck said on February 26, 2016, that he plans to finish out this year's legislative session and would not be resigning early. Schoenbeck was elected in 2014 and will not seek re-election in 2016.
    • South Dakota teachers have the lowest average annual salary for public school teachers in the country at $39,580, compared to the United States average of $56,383 (school year 2012-2013). Between 2000 and 2013 teachers salaries in South Dakota decreased only -0.4%, but during that time those salaries were consistently the lowest in the United States. The measure passed 47-21 on February 22 and now moves to the state Senate. South Dakota is one of 24 Republican state government trifectas.

Local

  • On February 23, Carson City, California, Clerk Jim Dear lost a recall election and was replaced by Donesia Gause, who ran unopposed for the position. (You can find more details below.) In 2015, Ballotpedia covered 180 recall efforts organized against 275 officials. Of the 61 officials whose recalls made it to the ballot, 40 were ousted and 21 were retained.
 

State

Last week

February 22

  • The Michigan State Board of Canvassers approved a second petition to recall Governor Rick Snyder. This is the first petition to address the Flint water crisis; the previous petition refers to an executive order giving Snyder’s office control of the state’s office to reform schools, which was previously under the Michigan Department of Education. Michigan recalls have become significantly harder after Snyder himself approved changes to the state laws governing recalls in 2012, requiring stronger charges against officials and faster signature collection. Only two governors have ever been successfully recalled in the U.S.: Lynn Frazier (R-North Dakota) in 1921 and Gray Davis (D-California) in 2003.
  • The Department of the Interior (DOI) released a draft environmental assessment of the impact of fracking in the Santa Barbara Channel. This assessment is the first step in a legal settlement between the Center for Biological Diversity and the DOI. As part of the settlement, the DOI agreed to temporarily halt new permits for fracking in the channel until a final environmental assessment is completed. In a press release about the draft assessment, the Center for Biological Diversity stated its unhappiness with the report, stating the "Interior’s assessment provides only a cursory analysis of offshore fracking’s biggest threats to California’s coastal environment." The public has 30 days to comment on the draft environmental assessment.
  • Opponents of North Carolina's newly drawn congressional map filed a motion in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, requesting that the court "establish an expedited schedule to determine if the new map … is valid under constitutional considerations." The complainants, alleging that the new map is "no more appropriate than the version struck down by the court," have requested that the court rule on this matter by March 18. In early February, the original map was thrown out by the district court, which determined that the map constituted an illegal racial gerrymander. The state legislature approved a new map on February 19, 2016. During the same special session, the legislature also approved a bill delaying the state's congressional primary to June 7. The congressional primary was originally slated to take place on March 15. Primaries for other offices will still take place on March 15.
  • In the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a trial commenced to determine the validity of Virginia's photo voter identification law. The suit challenging the law was brought by the Virginia Democratic Party, which has argued that the law unduly, and unconstitutionally, burdens black, Latino and young voters. Attorneys for state officials argue that the requirements constitutes a reasonable effort to prevent voter fraud and maintain election integrity. Judge Henry Hudson is presiding over the case. The court's decision will not impact the state's presidential primary, which is scheduled to take place on March 1. Approved in 2013, the law requires all voters to present a valid form of photo identification at the polls. If a voter is unable to produce a valid form of ID, he or she is required to cast a provisional ballot. The law took effect on July 1, 2014.
  • The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals announced it will hear the legal challenge against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “waters of the United States” rule regulating more bodies of water. The court previously blocked the rule from going into effect until legal challenges against it are resolved. States, ranchers and farmers argue that the rule expands the EPA’s authority beyond what is authorized under the Clean Water Act and could interfere with agriculture, while the EPA argues that the rule is lawful and necessary to protect the water quality of previously unregulated wetlands and streams.
  • Despite the Supreme Court's ruling stopping the implementation of the Clean Power Plan earlier this month, the Virginia General Assembly approved a bill requiring the state Department of Environmental Quality to develop a plan to implement the federal rule. The bill passed the House in a 64-34 vote after passing in the Senate in a 21-19 vote on February 3, 2016. Virginia is one of 18 states supporting the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan. Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly are controlled by Republicans.
  • Roger Page was sworn into the Tennessee Supreme Court as the first justice appointed under the state’s new process for confirmation. That process, revised by a state ballot measure in 2014, requires that supreme court justices be appointed by the governor, confirmed by the state legislature and retained in nonpartisan elections at the end of their eight-year terms. Page will fill the seat left vacant by former Justice Gary Wade. The court is nonpartisan; two of the five justices were appointed by former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen and three justices (including Page) by current Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.

February 23

  • The Michigan legislature passed legislation providing Flint, Michigan, $30 million to offset residents’ water bills due to the city’s drinking water crisis. Residents would pay for other water costs unrelated to drinking water, such as flushing toilets or washing clothes. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) said he will sign the bill. Around 9,000 residents have not been paying their bills since the crisis began, while 21,000 residents have been paying. With the bill’s passage, the state’s emergency funding to address Flint’s water crisis will top $70 million, according to Snyder. On February 29, the U.S. Senate reached a deal on a federal aid package for Flint, Michigan. Read more about it in Ballotpedia’s federal version of The Tap.
  • Nevada's attorney general, Adam Paul Laxalt, filed a briefing joining states opposed to the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan. This brief means the state is only opposing the plan to decrease carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants in a limited capacity. Previous to the motion, Nevada had been one of five states that had not taken legal action to support or oppose the plan. A total of 27 states have come out against the plan, while 18 states have stated their support for the plan. On February 9, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court halted the implementation of the plan while a lower court heard arguments about the plan's legality.
  • Massachusetts State Sen. Brian Joyce (D), currently under FBI investigation, said he will not run for re-election in November. The investigation follows a request made by Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker (R) to the state Ethics Commission to look into accusations that, among other activities, Joyce received free dry cleaning for over a decade. Joyce says he is not considering resigning. A spokesperson for President of the Senate Stanley Rosenberg said an announcement will be made upon the completion of the investigation. The chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party called for Joyce to step down. Massachusetts has divided partisan control: both legislative chambers are held by Democrats; Governor Charles Baker is a Republican who was elected in 2014.

February 24

  • It was reported that Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval (NV) was being vetted for the vacancy left by the death of Justice Scalia as one of several possible nominees to the seat. Even though Sandoval is a Republican, Senate leadership did not back down on their promise to withhold a confirmation until the next election. “This is not about the personality,” Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) said. Later in the week, on February 25, Sandoval publicly expressed that he was withdrawing his name from consideration.
  • The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the final indictment charge against former Governor of Texas Rick Perry. In 2014, a grand jury in Travis County indicted Perry on two felony charges: coercion of a public official and abuse of official capacity. The first charge was dropped in July 2015.
  • Health Republic Insurance of Oregon, one of the 12 failed co-ops established under the Affordable Care Act, “filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government” for failing to provide the risk corridor payments promised to insurers by the law. The risk corridor payments were intended to stabilize insurers during the implementation of the ACA, but last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced insurers would only be receiving 12.6 percent of the requested payments for the 2014 plan year. Many of the co-ops were counting on the payments to remain financially solvent, and subsequently closed at the end of the year. The lawsuit claims that insurers are owed $5 billion in payments and damages by the federal government, and that “[t]he money could have helped it and others stay open.”

February 25

February 27

  • Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) endorsed Donald Trump. “For years I pleaded with the federal government to do their job and secure our border. Today, we can elect a President who will do just that — Donald J. Trump,” Brewer said in a statement published by the Trump campaign.

 

This week

March 1 - Super Tuesday

Alabama Primary Elections

Arkansas Primary Elections

  • Legislature: Arkansas, home to some of the country’s least competitive state legislative elections, will hold primary elections for the state House and state Senate. Arkansas is currently a Republican trifecta state.
    • Only seven Democratic Party candidates are running in the Arkansas State Senate election, which is less than half who filed to run in 2010. Since Republicans run unopposed in so many districts in the state senate and state house, Democrats cannot regain control of the chambers.
    • In an interview with Ballotpedia, H.L. Moody, communications director for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, said potential Democratic candidates are unable to capture donations, and some “don’t see a path to victory.” Without the numbers to win the state senate, Moody said that the party’s goal was to “start building back where we can,” beginning with the House.
  • Supreme Court: Two seats on the Arkansas State Supreme Court, made vacant by the retirements of Associate Justice Paul Danielson and Chief Justice Howard Brill, are up for election. Justices are elected to eight-year terms in nonpartisan elections.
    • Circuit Judge John Dan Kemp faces Supreme Court Associate Justice Courtney Goodson for the chief justice position. Outside spending on TV ads has broken the state’s previous record: $798,315 had been spent on commercials as of Feb 18. At least $532,030 of that came from the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, which is critical of Goodson. Kemp has said he had no prior knowledge of the ads.
    • Attorney Clark W. Mason will face Circuit Judge Shawn A. Womack to fill the seat left vacant by Associate Justice Danielson.

Texas Primary Elections

Nebraska Filing Deadline: Filing period ends for non-incumbents running in the primary election.  

State government in session

Thirty-eight states are in regular session; California and Louisiana are in special session. Convening this week: No regular sessions are scheduled to convene this week.

AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WY.

Recesses:

  • NJ until 02/29/2016
  • KS until 03/02/2016
  • NH until 03/03/2016
  • WI until 3/8/2016
  • PA until 03/14/2016

Adjourned sessions:

  • NM
  • WY on 3/4/2016
  • OR on 3/6/2016

All states whose initials appear in red or blue in the above list have unified Republican or Democratic Party control across the state house, the state senate and the office of the governor. Ballotpedia identifies these as “trifectas.” There are seven Democratic and 24 Republican trifectas.

State government special elections

As of this week, nine legislative special elections have been held in 2016. Three involved party changes: one from Republican to Democrat (Oklahoma, SD 34), and two from Democrat to Republican (Texas, HD 118, and Minnesota, HD 50B). Another 28 (not including runoff elections) have been scheduled in 17 states.

Local

Last week

February 22

  • The Charlotte, North Carolina City Council voted 7-4 to change the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance on April 1, 2016, to include gay, lesbian and transgender residents. The ordinance bars private businesses from discriminating against gay, lesbian or transgender customers in "places of public accommodation" as well as bathrooms and taxies. Prior to the vote, the nondiscrimination ordinance covered residents on the basis of race, age, religion and gender. The city council had voted 6-5 against a similar ordinance in 2015, but the governing majority of the board changed when two new at-large council members, Julie Eiselt (D) and James Mitchell (D), were elected in November 2015. Both Eiselt and Mitchell supported the ordinance. Before the city council’s decision, 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation while 69 cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. According to the Charlotte Observer, the state's General Assembly "could strike down the entire ordinance, or they could eliminate the provision that allows for bathroom flexibility. They also could send the issue to voters to decide in a referendum." Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has indicated that he expects the state legislature to take immediate action in response to the ordinance when it returns to session in May. The North Carolina state government is a Republican trifecta. There are 24 Republican trifectas and 7 Democratic trifectas among the 50 states.

February 23

  • Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney (D) endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination in the presidential election. In his statement, Kenney said, “I share Secretary Clinton's progressive vision for America and her quest to tear down barriers that deny opportunity and exclude so many Americans from access to the American Dream. I trust Hillary Clinton with our nation's future.” Pennsylvania will hold its presidential primary election on April 26, 2016. Philadelphia is the fifth-largest city in the United States.
  • New York City held a special election for the District 17 seat on the city council. Six candidates appeared on the ballot for a term that will expire on December 31, 2016. Maria del Carmen Arroyo (D) resigned from the city council on December 31, 2015. Rafael Salamanca Jr., who ran as part of the local Community First party, won the Bronx election. In 2016, 43 of America’s 100 largest cities by population are holding elections.
  • Residents in Carlsbad, California, voted on the Agua Hedionda South Shore Development Specific Plan, but the results were too close to call until mail-in ballots are counted and certified results are released. The unofficial vote total was 19,425 against to 18,282 in favor. More than 200 acres of land in the area would be developed if the plan is approved. Some of the measure’s supporters include the city's mayor and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, and its opponents include the conservation committee of the San Diego Sierra Club.
  • In California, Carson City Clerk Jim Dear lost a recall election and was replaced by Donesia Gause, who ran unopposed for the position. Recall proponents had criticized Dear’s “erratic behavior,” which included a June 2015 court battle against the city council over the temporary appointment of an election official to complete the tallying of election results earlier in the month. A reporter for the local newspaper stated that Dear reacted to the appointment "with a dramatic public fight in which the council members largely ignored him while he lashed out, calling them corrupt and evil.” In that meeting, Dear argued, “This is a nation and a city of laws, not a nation and a city of despots and dictators. For 11 years (while I was mayor), no corruption. Now we have corruption. For 11 years, the district attorney of the county of Los Angeles, the attorney general of the state of California, not one time did they ask me a single question. The FBI had a three-year investigation in Carson and they never asked me, Jim Dear, one single question. But they did ask questions of the corrupt officials. The corrupt officials have people in the audience that will snicker and heckle.”
  • In Oregon, Columbia River People’s Utilities District Director Craig Melton survived a recall election. Only 37.39 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of his recall. The recall’s advocates had argued that Melton demonstrated “poor leadership” by voting to remove two interim managers in less than six months. Melton criticized the recall effort for allegedly misleading residents during the petition drive effort. Ballotpedia has covered eight local recall elections so far in 2016.
  • Community group “Our CV Our Kids” halted its plans to recall Coachella Valley Unified School District school board members Maria Machuca, Lowell Kamper and Manuel Jarvis-Martinez. The group had criticized the board members for low student test scores and wasting money on the construction of a “District Community Education Support Complex” building. The group’s leader, Roel Sanchez, stated that they would abandon the recall effort because an election would cost the district an estimated $40,000-$50,000, and they believed that incurring this expense could not be reconciled with their criticisms over the board’s misuse of funds. “Our CV Our Kids” announced that it would instead shift its focus to ousting the incumbents in the district’s regularly-scheduled general election on November 8, 2016. CVUSD served 18,850 students during the 2013-2014 school year and was the 88th-largest district by enrollment in California.

February 25

  • Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane (R) delivered his State of the City address. The mayor framed his speech with the question, “What kind of community do we want?” Lane was first elected as mayor in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012. Scottsdale, the 94th-largest city in the United States, will hold a general election for three of six city council seats on November 8, 2016.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Petition signatures were due for the effort to recall County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist from his position in Pierce County, Washington. On February 9, 2016, the recall proponents announced that they would not be able to gather the required amount of signatures to put the recall on the ballot. They needed to gather 38,642 signatures and had only about 13,000 signatures as of February 9. They said that they would make another effort to recall Lindquist in the future, who they alleged misused the powers of his office and county funds.

February 26

 

This week

February 29

  • In Oregon, Glendale School District board member William Boal faces a recall election. Two other board members, Henry Perry and Judith Dickerson, were also initially targeted by the recall advocates but both resigned from office instead. A five-member committee chaired by Pete Ney initiated the recall effort on the grounds that the board failed to follow its own policies and district procedures, as well as to keep district administrators accountable. In response to the recall effort, Boal pointed to rising student test scores, higher graduation rates and other accomplishments and asked for "a vote of confidence" in the district's leadership from voters.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline to run for three seats each on the Edison Township, Newark and Passaic school boards in New Jersey. The general election will be held on April 19, 2016.

March 1

  • SUPER TUESDAY -- It’s not just a presidential primary date, as voters will be heading to the polls across the country to elect down-ballot officials as well. Here’s what Ballotpedia is covering.
  • Arkansas will hold a general election for local judgeships on the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth circuit court districts. In 2016, Ballotpedia is covering local judicial elections across the United States.
  • Both Tennessee and Texas will hold primary elections for local judgeships. In Tennessee, no Democratic candidates filed to run for any of the partisan offices. This means that only a Republican primary election will be held. The general election will be held on August 4, 2016. In Texas, 259 district court judgeships and 36 county court judgeships are up for general election on November 8, 2016. The primary election will feature only those seats where two candidates from the same political party filed for the same judgeship. Of the 295 judgeships up for election, only 136 features races with more than one candidate. Incumbents are running for re-election to 182 seats.
  • One seat with an unexpired eight-month term on the Orange Unified School District’s Board of Education will be up for special election. The Trustee Area 1 seat was vacated when incumbent Diane Singer (D) moved out of the area. The board appointed Gregory Salas (R) to the position in September 2015, but Singer led a successful petition drive requiring Salas to leave the position after 38 days and the board to create a special election to fill the position. California law allows citizens to petition for a special election within 30 days of a board appointment. The special election will have an estimated cost of $326,000 to $385,000. Salas is facing Andrea Yamasaki (D) for the position in a contest that pits the board’s Republican appointee against a Democratic candidate supported by the special election petitioners. Both the school board and the election are officially nonpartisan. Orange Unified served 29,750 students and was the 36th-largest school district in California in the 2013-2014 school year. The district will hold its regular election for four of seven seats on the board, including the Trustee Area 1 seat, in the general election on November 8, 2016.
  • School board primary elections will be held in Alabama and Tennessee’s largest school districts. In Alabama, the general election for most districts will be November 8, 2016, although some districts may have elections on August 23, 2016. Overall, 12 of the state’s largest school districts will hold elections for 26 seats in 2016. In Tennessee, Knox County Schools is the only district of the state’s largest to hold a primary election. All 19 of those districts will hold general elections for a total of 73 seats on August 4, 2016. In 2016, 641 of America's 1,000 largest school districts by enrollment are holding elections.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline to run for city office in both Chesapeake and Norfolk in Virginia. The Chesapeake race features the mayor’s office and three of the seven seats on the city council up for general election on May 3, 2016. The Norfolk race also features the mayor’s office up for election as well as two of the eight seats on the city council. Norfolk’s general election will also take place on May 3, 2016. Chesapeake and Norfolk are the 92nd and 79th-largest cities in the United States, respectively.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline to run for a total of 18 seats across six of Nebraska’s largest school districts and 11 seats across three of Virginia’s largest districts. In Nebraska, primary elections will held in districts where more than two candidates file for each seat up for election. The primary election will be on May 10, 2016, and the general election will be held on November 8, 2016. In Virginia, the three districts with upcoming elections are Chesapeake, Hampton and Newport News. The general election will be held on May 3, 2016.

March 4

  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline to run for a total of eight seats across six of Delaware’s largest school districts. The general election will be held on May 10, 2016.

March 5

 

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