The Tap: Monday, February 6, 2017

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #52 of The Tap, which was published on February 11, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

State

Democratic AGs File Suit Against Feds

• Sixteen Democratic attorneys general filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the lawsuit filed against the federal government by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) and Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson (D). The officials joining the lawsuit represent California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. The lawsuit came in response to an executive order that barred individuals from seven countries from entering the United States and suspended the refugee admissions program. In total, 18 of the 21 Democratic state attorneys general have come out against the executive order. The other three yet to join in the suit are Andy Beshear (Kentucky), Jim Hood (Mississippi), and Josh Stein (North Carolina).

Missouri Veto Referendum Filed

• The same day that Gov. Eric Greitens (R) signed right to work legislation into law, the presidents of the Missouri AFL-CIO and Missouri NAACP filed a veto referendum to halt the law until voters can weigh in on it in 2018. Senate Bill 19, which was set to go into effect on August 28, 2017, would mandate that no person can be required to join a labor union or pay dues to a labor union as a condition of employment. Anyone convicted of violating SB 19 would be charged with a Class C misdemeanor. Opponents of the bill behind the referendum petition have until August 28, 2017, to collect enough valid signatures to get the referendum on the 2018 ballot. Missouri became one of 25 Republican trifectas after the 2016 gubernatorial election.
  • The last veto referendum that qualified for the ballot in Missouri went before voters in 1982.
  • The Missouri secretary of state has not yet released November 2016 election results from the state’s individual congressional districts. Since the exact signature requirements for getting measures on the ballot in each district are based on those results, the signature requirements are currently unavailable. To see the requirements that were in place from 2013 through 2016, click here.

Two More States Began Legislative Sessions

• State legislative sessions began in Nevada and Oklahoma. Nevada is currently under divided government after both chambers flipped from Republican to Democratic control in the 2016 elections. Oklahoma, meanwhile, is one of 25 Republican trifectas. In total, 212 legislators are back to work across those two states. That number accounts for 2.8 percent of the 7,383 state legislators across the country.

New Jersey Enacts Opioid Legislation

• New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) signed a bill into law that places new requirements on doctors who prescribe Schedule II drugs and all opioids to minors. Doctors in the state must now discuss the risks of dependence and addiction with the minor’s parents and obtain written acknowledgment of the discussion. The acknowledgment will be included in the patient’s medical record. The law went into effect immediately and was intended to curb the opioid abuse epidemic occurring nationwide.

New York Assembly Passes Sanctuary Legislation

• The New York State Assembly passed legislation that would prohibit state and local law enforcement across the state from enforcing federal immigration laws and making arrests based on suspected immigration status. The law, like the legislation currently being considered in California, would make New York a sanctuary state. The legislation passed by a 77-58 vote, with Republicans joined by Democrats from upstate New York voting against the law. To become law, the bill would need to pass the New York State Senate, which is currently controlled by a Republican coalition. President Trump recently signed an executive order limiting federal funds to sanctuary cities and has threatened to do the same to states that adopt similar policies. If this law is adopted, New York would become the first sanctuary state.
  • See also: Minority and coalition control of state legislative chambers

NCAA Issues North Carolina Ultimatum

• The North Carolina Sports Association sent a letter to the North Carolina State Legislature stating that if House Bill 2 wasn’t repealed, the NCAA would not allow basketball tournament games in the state until at least 2022. The NCAA has said that it would not consider bids from any school, city, or arena to host March Madness games from 2018-2022 unless lawmakers comply. House Bill 2 was passed in March 2016 and prohibits individuals from using any bathroom that does not correspond with the sex on their birth certificate. The NCAA has already pulled seven events during the 2016-17 season from the state across a number of sports. Senate Bill 25, which would repeal House Bill 2, was proposed last week by Senate Democrats and is currently under consideration in the Senate. North Carolina is currently one of 19 states under divided government.

Florida Senate Considers Death Penalty Legislation

• The Florida State Senate will consider a bill requiring unanimous jury approval before any death sentence after it passed the Criminal Justice Committee unanimously. Senate Bill 280’s sponsor, Randolph Bracy III (D), is the committee’s chair. The legislature passed a bill in 2016 that would require a jury vote at least 10-2 to recommend a death sentence, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in October 2016 that any jury recommendation had to be unanimous. In a major case during the U.S. Supreme Court's October 2015 term, the court ruled 8-1 in Hurst v. Florida that any death penalty had to be imposed by a jury rather than a judge, as Florida was doing at the time. A similar bill filed in the state House has not yet been heard in committee. Florida is one of 31 states where the death penalty is legal and is currently one of 25 Republican trifectas.

Nebraska Senator Appointed

• Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) appointed Rob Clements (R) to a vacant seat in the Nebraska State Senate, representing District 2. The seat was previously held by Bill Kintner (R), who resigned at the end of January 2017 in light of a cybersex scandal and controversial tweets that appeared to make light of sexual assault. Clements will serve a two-year term and will be eligible to run for two four-year terms after that. Clements is a banker and former chair of the Cass County Republican Party. Republicans hold a 32-15 majority in the state legislature.

Local

Baltimore City Council Shows Support for $15 Minimum Wage

• A majority of the Baltimore City Council, including President Bernard “Jack” Young, expressed its support to gradually increase the city’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2022. Under the proposed legislation, adults over the age of 21 and employed by large companies would receive incremental raises following the city’s minimum wage schedule over the next year and a half. Baltimore is already in the process of raising its wage to $10.10 by 2018. Incremental pay increases would follow through 2022 alongside cost-of-living increases. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees would have until 2026 to reach the $15 minimum wage and would be required to increase the hourly wage by 60 cents over the next decade. Similar legislation was defeated in 2016, with Young in vocal opposition to the proposal. Young said his support for the new proposal stems from the allowances made for small businesses and that it does not require companies to pay young workers or those earning tips a higher wage. Additionally five of the eight new members elected to the council in November 2016 support the proposal. Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) did not offer her position on the legislation but asked the council to evaluate the potential effects it could have on job opportunities in the metro area. Supporters will need a simple majority of eight votes to pass, but 12 votes would be needed to override a mayoral veto. A public hearing will be held on the proposal on March 1, 2017, to allow business leaders and community members the opportunity to voice opposition or support for the legislation. Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland and the 26th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
  • Several other cities have implemented a minimum wage increase in the last year.
    • Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., have all begun the implementation of a $15 minimum wage.
    • Two more cities— Miami Beach and San Diego—approved smaller minimum wage hikes in June 2016. The Miami Beach City Commission voted in favor of increasing the minimum wage to $10.31 in 2018, with additional increases over time until it reaches $13.31 in 2021. San Diego voters approved Proposition I by more than 63 percent of the vote, which will increase the city’s minimum wage to $11.50 in January 2017. San Diego is the second-largest city in California and the eighth-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #51 of The Tap, which was published on February 4, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

DeVos Confirmation Vote

• The U.S. Senate is expected to hold a final confirmation vote on the nomination of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education. The Senate voted on Friday, February 3, to end debate on the matter and advance her confirmation. The vote was 52-48 along party lines. Monday’s vote is expected to be a 50-50 tie; Vice President Mike Pence will be present to break the tie.

State

Two More States Begin Legislative Sessions

• State legislative sessions will begin in Nevada and Oklahoma. Nevada is currently under divided government after both chambers flipped from Republican to Democratic control in the 2016 elections. Oklahoma, meanwhile, is one of 25 Republican trifectas. In total, 212 legislators will be back to work across those two states. That number accounts for 2.8 percent of the 7,383 state legislators across the country.

Local

Gallup-McKinley County Board of Education Discusses Notice from State

• The Gallup-McKinley County Board of Education will hold a board meeting to discuss the Notice of Disapproval and Failure to Meet Requirements it received from the New Mexico Public Education Department. The notice, which was also addressed to Superintendent Frank Chiapetti, was sent on December 15, 2016. The notice instructed board members to withdraw an existing directive to the superintendent, provide a plan on how board members would avoid engaging in actions under the responsibility of the superintendent, and require the Indian Education Committee to comply with the directives from the Public Education Department. The board faces suspension if it does not comply with the notice.
  • Three of the five seats on the district’s school board will be up for general election on February 7, 2017. Only District 2 incumbent Sandra Jeff is running for re-election; District 4 incumbent Joe Menini and District 5 incumbent Lynn Huenemann did not file to run for re-election. Gallup-McKinley County Schools is the state’s sixth-largest school district. It served 11,947 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 3.5 percent of all public school students in the state.