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The Tap: Monday, May 2, 2016

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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 #15 of The Tap, which was published on May 7, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

  • Hillary Clinton suggested that Bill Clinton might become involved in reviving American manufacturing if she were elected president. "I’ve told my husband he’s got to come out of retirement and be in charge of this, because you know, he’s got more ideas a minute than anybody I know. Gotta put people back to work and make it happen. So we’re going to give it all we’ve got, absolute full-in 100 percent effort, because I worry we won’t recognize our country if we don’t do this,” she said.
  • While campaigning in Indiana, Ted Cruz spoke with a Donald Trump supporter protesting outside of a small event at a restaurant. He called on the man to explain why he liked Trump and then highlighted Trump’s business dealings and rhetoric around violence at his campaign events as negatives. The man called him a liar and said, “You’ll find out tomorrow. Indiana don’t want you.” Cruz pushed back, "Sir, with all respect, Trump is deceiving you. He is playing you for a chump. Ask yourself two questions: Why is it that the mainstream media wants Donald Trump to be the nominee? And why is that John Boehner supports Donald Trump?"
  • Connor Eldridge, a former U.S. attorney running for a U.S. Senate seat in Arkansas as a Democrat, released an ad connecting his opponent, sitting U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), to Donald Trump. The ad presents audio and video clips of Trump making derogatory and critical statements about women before featuring Boozman saying, “I’ll support the candidate regardless of who we pick … whether Donald Trump … it certainly would be a lot better presidency.” Ballotpedia rates the Arkansas Senate race as safely Republican.
  • Politico reported that, while Marco Rubio hadn't endorsed Ted Cruz for president, Rubio did rent his fundraising list to the Cruz campaign. Rubio suspended his presidential campaign in March 2016 and has called Cruz "the only conservative left in the race."
  • U.S. Secretary of Education John King Jr. said that Mississippi’s HB 1523 and North Carolina’s HB 2 are “hateful laws and should be repealed.” Mississippi’s law allows business owners to deny service to LGBT individuals due to religious objections. North Carolina’s bill bans transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity. King did not directly address whether federal funding, including student loans and Pell grants, will be taken away from these states, instead saying, “I do not want to get ahead of enforcement actions we may take in regards to North Carolina and Mississippi. My hope is legislators will realize they’ve made a terrible mistake.” Under Title IX, a university cannot deny accommodations to students based on gender.
  • Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told the United States to remove its military presence from the Persian Gulf and said Iran has the ability to “eradicate American forces from the region.” Khamenei said, “Today, the enemies utter words bigger than their mouths; for instance they develop plans to bring to a halt Iran’s military wargames in the Persian Gulf, what a foolish remark. The Persian Gulf is the Iranian nation’s home and the Persian Gulf and a large section of the Sea of Oman belong to this powerful nation. Therefore, we should be present in the region, hold wargames and display our power and it is the Americans who should say why they have come from that side of the world and stage drills in here. What are you doing here? Go back to the Bay of Pigs. Go and hold exercises there. What are you doing in the Persian Gulf? The Persian Gulf is our home.”
  • Puerto Rico was unable to pay most of a $422 million debt payment. Congress is working on creating an aid package for Puerto Rico, but lawmakers are unable to agree on a solution to the debt crisis. Congressional Republicans want to create an oversight board to prevent future financial mismanagement, but Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla wants to “be granted Chapter 9 bankruptcy rights -- or something similar -- to make it easier for the island to restructure some of its debts, akin to what Detroit did,” according to CNN.
  • The Supreme Court agreed to hear SCA Hygiene Products v. First Quality Baby Products and Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, Inc. next term. In certain circumstances, if a plaintiff waits too long to file a claim, a defendant can use what is known as a laches defense. Generally, a laches defense is used to show that a plaintiff has waited an unreasonable amount of time to file a claim and that this delay is prejudicial toward the defendant. In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Petrella v. MGM that laches cannot be used as a defense against copyright infringement claims if those claims were filed within the statutory period permitting such challenges. The Federal Circuit, while conforming to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Petrella for copyright cases, allows laches defense against timely filed patent infringement claims. In SCA Hygiene Products v. First Quality Baby Products, the Supreme Court will decide if and to what extent laches can be used as a defense against timely filed patent infringement cases. In Star Athletica, the court will review whether design elements of "useful articles," like stripes on a uniform, are protectable under the Copyright Act.
  • Writing for a five-justice majority in Ocasio v. United States, Justice Alito affirmed the 4th Circuit holding that a criminal defendant may be convicted of a Hobbs Act violation when conspiring to commit extortion of a co-conspirator.

State

Read Ballotpedia’s comprehensive coverage of state supreme court changes »
  • The Texas Supreme Court halted air quality ordinances in Houston, Texas, ruling that the city’s ordinances requiring facilities to pay registration fees and permitting criminal sanctions against facilities that violate air quality standards were inconsistent with state law. In an 8-1 decision, the court stated that only the state’s environmental department, the Texas Commision on Environmental Quality, has the authority to enforce air quality standards; thus, Houston cannot pass ordinances that are inconsistent with the state’s rules. The case was brought by the Business Coalition for Clean Air Appeal Group, which includes Dow Chemical Company and ExxonMobil as members. Houston is home to numerous chemical plants as well as the largest petrochemical facility in the United States. Houston officials said that the ordinances, which were passed in 2007, were meant to rectify what they saw as the lack of air quality enforcement by the Texas environmental commission. Industry groups said that the ordinances had usurped the state’s regulatory authority.
  • Virginia Republicans announced that they might challenge a recent gubernatorial executive order that restored voting rights to all convicted felons upon completion of their sentences (which include prison, parole, and probation time). Republicans announced that they had hired attorney Charles Cooper "to examine the legal options to remedy this Washington-style overreach by the executive branch." On April 22, 2016, Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) issued the executive order. Prior to that, certain convicted felons in Virginia never regained the right to vote, even upon completion of their sentences. According to estimates, the order will enfranchise more than 200,000 individuals, many of whom are black. Regarding this racial disparity, some applauded the governor's action as a needed remedy against systemic racism and discrimination. Others, however, argued that McAuliffe issued the order in a partisan attempt to boost the prospects of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who has enjoyed broad-based support from the black community. To learn more about voting rights in Virginia, see this article.
  • David Altmaier assumed office as the second Florida commissioner of insurance regulation after months of deadlock between Governor Rick Scott (R) and Cabinet members over who would replace outgoing Commissioner Kevin McCarty. The appointment came last Friday at the final hour before McCarty's scheduled resignation on May 2. Given the prolonged search, McCarty had announced earlier in the year that he would stay on after the appointment of a new commissioner in order to facilitate a smooth transition during Florida's hurricane season. Though no longer commissioner, McCarty will remain with the commission for 60 days past his resignation date. Florida is one of 23 Republican trifectas.


Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #14 of The Tap, which was published on April 30, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

  • The Supreme Court holds a non-argument session on May 2.




The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
March: 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
April: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
May: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
June: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
July: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
August: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
September: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
October: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7• 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
November: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
December: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 31
January: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
February: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17
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