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The Tap: Six Days Until Inauguration

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January 14, 2017Issue No. 48

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The week in review: January 7 - January 13
What's on Tap next week: January 14 - January 20

Navigate The Tap by clicking the tabs below:

Federal

What's on tap?

The inauguration of Donald Trump will take place at the United States Capitol on Friday, January 20. He will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the presidential oath of office. Prior to the presidential swearing-in, Justice Clarence Thomas will swear in Mike Pence to the office of vice president. Thomas will be the first black official to administer the oath of office during an inauguration.

This will be the 10th inauguration held on the west front of the Capitol. Prior to President Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration, the east front of the Capitol was used. The first inauguration of Thomas Jefferson was the first time the Capitol held the ceremonies, with that oath taking place in the Senate chamber.

 

Federal

The Week in Review

Saturday, January 7

Trump Tweets

  • One day after receiving an intelligence briefing regarding Russian-backed cyberattacks designed to interfere with U.S. elections last year, President-elect Donald Trump called for improved relations with Russia in a series of three tweets. He wrote, "Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only 'stupid' people, or fools, would think that it is bad! We ... have enough problems around the world without yet another one. When I am President, Russia will respect us far more than they do now and ... both countries will, perhaps, work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the WORLD!" Read more about Trump’s views on Russia here.

Sunday, January 8

No Meddling With Medicare

  • Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus said that Donald Trump did not want "to meddle with Medicare or Social Security." Priebus, who Trump announced in November 2016 would serve as his chief of staff, continued, "He made a promise during the campaign that that was something he didn’t want to do. But what he wants to do is grow the economy, help shore up Medicare and Social Security for future generations." Republicans in Congress, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), have called for Social Security to be reformed by capping government spending and increasing the retirement age. Read more about the future Trump administration’s position on Social Security here.

Iranian Incident

  • U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS Mahan fired warning shots at four Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy boats near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian boats approached the Mahan “at high rates of speed, coming within 900 yards” but retreated after the shots were fired. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said, "This was an unsafe and unprofessional interaction, and that's due to the fact that they were approaching at a high-level of speed with weapons manned and disregarding repeat warnings via radio, audible sirens, ships whistle, and only stopped their approach following warning shots being fired.” Davis added that in 2015, there were 23 similar incidents, and in 2016, there were 35 incidents.

Monday, January 9

Jared Kushner

  • Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, will serve as a senior adviser to the president-elect. Kushner, who was a key adviser to Trump throughout the 2016 campaign, is a New York-based real estate developer. He is also the owner and publisher of the New York Observer newspaper. He will reportedly not receive a salary for his position in the Trump administration. His attorneys have said that he will sell many of his assets in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest, according to The New York Times.
  • There is a debate over whether or not federal law may prohibit Kushner from holding an official role in the Trump White House. A federal statute from 1967 states, “A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement, in or to a civilian position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a relative of the public official.” Some legal scholars—including Kushner’s attorney—have argued that the law does not apply to the White House. Other scholars, however, have taken the opposite view, arguing that the statute does apply to the White House.

SCOTUS Watch

  • The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases as the court returned for its January sitting:
    • The court reviewed an opinion of the Colorado Supreme Court in Nelson v. Colorado. After an appellate process and new trial, Shannon Nelson was acquitted on five charges related to statutory sexual assault. Between her initial conviction and her subsequent acquittal, the state Department of Corrections (DOC) withheld $702.10 from her inmate account to pay for costs, fees, and restitution that Nelson owed. After her acquittal, Nelson sought to get this money back. A trial court held that it did not have the authority to order the Colorado Department of Corrections to refund the money, but a Colorado court of appeals reversed, ordering that Nelson be refunded. File:Nelson v. Colorado Colorado Supreme Court opinion.pdf, however, holding that Nelson must seek her refund under provisions of the Colorado Exoneration Act and that "due process does not require a defendant to be compensated automatically for the time she spent incarcerated while seeking an appeal or new trial. Similarly, due process does not require an automatic refund of fines paid in connection with a conviction during that time."
    • In Lewis v. Clarke, the court considered whether a Native American tribe’s sovereign immunity against torts extended to non-tribal employees performing work-related actions for the tribe. In an effort to get around the Mohegan Sun tribe’s sovereign immunity, Brian and Michelle Lewis sued William Clarke personally for civil damages, but the Connecticut Supreme Court held that the tribe’s sovereign immunity applied in this case and that Clarke could not be sued personally for work-related actions performed under the authority of the tribe.

Tuesday, January 10

Jeff Sessions Confirmation Hearing

  • The Senate held its first confirmation hearing for one of President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees: U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee has 20 members, with 11 Republicans and nine Democrats. A majority (11) is needed to move Sessions’ confirmation forward. The committee’s nine Democrats have stopped short of saying they intend to try to block Sessions from making it out of committee, while the 11 Republicans have generally voiced support for his confirmation. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), for example, stated, “I take today as a moment of celebration. The reason I am so enthusiastically supporting your nomination is that I have every confidence you will follow the law faithfully.” The hearing has hit on a range of issues, including immigration, antitrust laws, torture, and civil rights issues. Read more here.

SCOTUS Watch

  • The Supreme Court heard argument in two cases:
    • In Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman, the court reviewed a split between circuit courts over whether laws prohibiting businesses from applying surcharges on purchases made with credit cards violate the First Amendment. Merchants typically pay a fee when receiving payments from customers using a credit card for payment. A New York law prohibits passing on these fees as surcharges for customers who use credit cards for payment. The law does allow merchants to offer discounts for anyone paying in cash. A similar case from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals struck a Florida law with the same provision as unconstitutionally restricting speech regarding price information, but here the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the New York law as regulating only commerce, not speech.
    • In Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. v. Haeger, the court heard arguments on whether a federal court judge in Arizona exceeded her authority when she awarded $2.7 million in post-settlement compensatory sanctions to a plaintiff’s descendants after the judge discovered that both Goodyear and its counsel had acted in bad faith. Before a trial was set to begin in which Haeger alleged injuries suffered as a result of faulty tires, Goodyear, through its counsel, announced a settlement. However, after the settlement, Haeger’s counsel discovered that Goodyear failed to produce evidence required under rules of discovery. Judge Roslyn Silver, in a 2012 ruling, held that Goodyear and its attorneys engaged in deliberate and repeated attempts to frustrate the resolution of the case and awarded compensatory sanctions under the court’s inherent power. Goodyear argued that issuing these sanctions exceeded Judge Silver’s inherent authority.

Wednesday, January 11

David Shulkin Nomination

  • President-elect Trump said at his first press conference since becoming president-elect that he intends to nominate David Shulkin, current undersecretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, to become the next secretary of veterans affairs. Shulkin received his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Shulkin was nominated in March 2015 and approved as undersecretary for health in June, and he was tasked with running the VA’s nationwide hospital system. At the time, the VA was still responding to claims that long wait times for healthcare at VA facilities had been covered up by the department. He has stressed the need for further collaboration between the private sector and the VA health system. In May 2016, he said, “We provide a different model of care, which treats the physical along with the psychological, the social, and the economic aspects of health, all of which contribute to the well-being of the patient. … It's become clear that the VA alone can't meet all of the health-care needs of veterans. We have to work more closely with the private sector.” In June 2016, Shulkin commented on some of the modifications he had helped install in the VA’s healthcare system. He said that they had focused on analytics to help better understand which patients needed urgent care, instituting telehealth services for veterans in more remote areas, and a greater emphasis on leadership training for VA employees. Read more here.

Rex Tillerson Confirmation Hearing

  • Rex Tillerson, President-elect Trump’s pick for secretary of state and the former chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for his confirmation hearing. That committee has 21 members, with 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats. One of the members—Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida)—would not publicly commit to voting in favor of Tillerson after the hearing. We wrote about Tillerson’s policy stances back in November in our daily briefing on the Trump White House transition. Tillerson has voiced support for international trade deals and policies such as a carbon tax. Also, in 2014, he opposed sanctions against Russia, with whose president, Vladimir Putin, Tillerson reportedly has a close relationship. His stance on Russia was a frequent topic of discussion in the Senate hearing. Other discussion points included climate change, Trump’s proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims from entering the country, U.S. relations with Cuba, cybersecurity, and international trade. Read more here.

Elaine Chao Confirmation Hearing

  • Elaine Chao appeared before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Chao served as the secretary of the Labor Department under George W. Bush and as deputy secretary of transportation under George H. W. Bush. She is the spouse of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky). As we wrote back in November, Chao, if confirmed, will likely play a role in overseeing and shepherding through Congress a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that Trump has stated he plans to make a priority of his administration. Two key discussion points in the hearing included how to fund infrastructure projects and the possible privatization of air traffic control operations at U.S. airports. Read more here.

James Mattis Confirmation Hearing

  • Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, retired Gen. James Mattis, appeared before the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Mattis’ military career spans more than four decades. He retired in 2013 and is currently a fellow at the Hoover Institution, a public policy think tank in California. His nomination conflicts with federal law passed in 1947, which requires secretaries of defense to have been out of uniform for seven years before holding the office. Congress, however, granted Mattis a waiver, allowing his confirmation to move forward in the Senate. The Armed Services Committee approved the waiver in a 24-3 vote after the hearing; the three no votes were from Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). The Senate later approved the waiver 81 to 17, and the House Armed Services Committee passed it 34-28, largely along party lines. On Friday, the House as a whole passed it 268-151.
  • In December, we wrote in detail about Mattis’ policy views, which appear to conflict with Trump’s stances on issues such as U.S.-Russian relations, the Iran nuclear deal, and enhanced interrogation techniques. In the hearing, he touched on issues such as military spending, Russian foreign policy, women in the military, the Iran nuclear deal, LGBTQ service members, and civilian control of the military. Read more about Mattis’ hearing here.
  • The Armed Services Committee has 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) chairs the committee, while Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.) is the highest ranking Democrat.

SCOTUS Watch

  • The Supreme Court heard arguments in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. Endrew F., a minor with autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), attended schools in the Douglas County School District from preschool through fourth grade. After moving Endrew to a private school, the parents sought reimbursement for tuition and related expenses under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which permits court-ordered reimbursement if a school district violates the requirement for a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the IDEA. Here, a federal district court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the district provided Endrew with a FAPE, and, as such, Endrew's parents were not entitled to tuition reimbursement and related expenses for private school.

The President-Elect’s First Press Conference

  • In a press conference, President-elect Donald Trump announced that his nominee to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia would come within the first two weeks of his inauguration. Trump confirmed that he had met with some of the candidates from his previously announced list of potential nominees and indicated that the candidates were all outstanding.
    • For more: read Ballotpedia’s report on the Trump administration on federal courts

Obama’s Farewell Address

  • President Barack Obama delivered his farewell address to a crowd of more than 20,000 supporters in Chicago, Illinois, urging them to stand up for their values and protect democracy. He said, "Democracy can buckle when we give in to fear. So just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are." He also listed his accomplishments as president, including healthcare reform, marriage equality, and job growth. President George Washington began the tradition of delivering a farewell speech in 1796, when he “issued warnings against unchecked power and partisan entrenchment.”

Thursday, January 12

Obamacare Repeal

Ben Carson Confirmation Hearing

  • Retired neurosurgeon and former 2016 Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson appeared before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for a hearing on his nomination to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Prior to the hearing, what we knew about Carson’s stances on housing policy came primarily from a July 2015 op-ed that he wrote in which he criticized a HUD rule that laid out guidelines to ensure communities’ compliance with the Fair Housing Act of 1968. In that piece, he said, “These government-engineered attempts to legislate racial equality create consequences that often make matters worse.”
  • At his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Carson discussed a range of topics, including housing regulations, public assistance programs, fair housing, and connections between housing and health. On the latter issue, he said, “There is a strong connection between housing and health, which is of course my background. … I am passionate about health as you may have guessed, and where one lives should not cause health problems.” Read more about Carson’s confirmation hearing here.
  • The Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee has 12 Republicans and 11 Democrats and is chaired by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). The highest-ranking Democrat on the committee is Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio).

Mike Pompeo Confirmation Hearing

  • The Senate Intelligence Committee pressed Pompeo on issues such as recent reports of Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election, government surveillance, and the use of torture and enhanced interrogation techniques. Pompeo also spoke, in his opening statements, about how he views his role as the next CIA director in light of his career in Congress. He said, “having been a Member of the House Intelligence Committee and an overseer of our nation’s intelligence enterprise, I understand full well that my job, if confirmed, will be to change roles from policymaker to information provider. … My job will be to stay clearly on the side of intelligence collection and objective analysis of our national security challenges.” Read more about Pompeo’s hearing here.
  • The Senate Intelligence Committee has 10 Republicans and nine Democrats and is chaired by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) The committee’s highest ranking Democrat is Sen. Mark Warner (Va.).

The Presidential Medal of Freedom

  • President Barack Obama awarded Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his lifetime of public service, marking the last time Obama would present the nation's highest civilian honor. Biden received the surprise award with distinction, a rare additional honor given only to Pope John Paul II, former President Ronald Reagan, and retired Gen. Colin Powell in the previous three administrations.

Cuban Migrant Policy

  • In a further attempt to normalize relations between the U.S. and Cuba, President Barack Obama ended the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy that allowed “Cuban émigrés who reach U.S. soil without visas to stay in the country and apply for a green card after one year.” Under the policy, those who were caught before reaching the U.S. were sent back to Cuba. Obama said, “By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries. The Cuban government has agreed to accept the return of Cuban nationals who have been ordered removed, just as it has been accepting the return of migrants interdicted at sea.” Cubans attempting to enter the U.S. illegally will now be subject to deportation.

Federal Coal Policy

  • Judge John Preston Bailey of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must evaluate how federal air quality regulations under the Clean Air Act might affect employment at power plants and coal mines. Bailey argued that the EPA is required by federal law to analyze the economic impact of air quality regulations issued under the Clean Air Act. Bailey rejected a request from outgoing EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who argued that it would take up to two years for the EPA to establish a method for evaluating the economic impact of the air quality regulations. In response, Bailey argued that McCarthy's request was insufficient and unacceptable. Bailey ruled that the EPA must identify power plants and facilities that could close or could see reduced employment due to federal air quality regulations by July 1, 2017. In addition, Bailey ruled that the EPA must produce documentation by December 31, 2017, on how it will evaluate employment shifts at power plants and coal facilities due to the enforcement of the Clean Air Act. Given the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2017, the judge's directives to the EPA will be taken up by President-elect Donald Trump's (R) administration. For more information on Trump and environmental regulations, click here.
  • Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general, announced that he was opening an investigation into how FBI Director James Comey handled public disclosures about Hillary Clinton's private email server investigation following requests for an inquiry from members of Congress and the public. Comey's July 2016 press conference, where he called Clinton's conduct "extremely careless," and the letter he submitted to Congress in October 2016 about potentially new information in the investigation will be reviewed.

Friday, January 13

Obamacare Repeal

 

Congress is IN session SCOTUS is IN session
The U.S. Senate will be in session Tuesday-Friday next week. The U.S. House will be in session on Friday. The Supreme Court is in session and will hear arguments on Tuesday and Wednesday.

What’s On Tap Next Week

Tuesday, January 17

Confirmation Hearings

SCOTUS Watch

  • The Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases:
    • In Lynch v. Dimaya, the court will review statutory language about violent crimes. James Garcia Dimaya was convicted for burglary under a California law. At Dimaya’s deportation hearing pursuant to the conviction, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) held that this conviction constituted a categorical crime of violence as defined under federal law. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Johnson v. United States that the Armed Career Criminal Act's (ACCA) residual clause definition of a violent felony was unconstitutionally vague. That language and definition, Dimaya claimed, was of similar construction to the definition of crime of violence under federal law. Accordingly, on appeal, Dimaya argued that the Supreme Court's decision in Johnson was controlling for crimes defined as crimes of violence under U.S. immigration law. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. The government is appealing that decision.
    • In Midland Funding v. Johnson, the court will explore if a conflict exists between the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Code) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Act). Midland Funding, a buyer of personal debt, filed a claim under the Code for funds owed to them by Aleida Johnson when she declared Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2014. Johnson alleged that Midland violated the Act for knowingly filing a claim made during a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding known to be time-barred by the Act. Alabama law allows creditors six years to collect unpaid debts, but 11 years had passed between Midland taking ownership of the debt and Johnson filing for bankruptcy. A federal district court dismissed Johnson's suit, holding that Midland had rights under the Bankruptcy Code to file a time-barred claim because their right to payment was not extinguished under Alabama law. This, the court held, created an irreconcilable conflict between the Code and the Act. The Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court's decision, holding that because of Midland’s classification as a designated debt collector under the Code, Johnson’s lawsuit could proceed for Midland’s violation of the Act and that no conflict existed in the statutory language.

Wednesday, January 18

Confirmation Hearings

SCOTUS Watch

  • The Supreme Court will hear four cases on Wednesday, with three cases consolidated into one argument.
    • In Lee v. Tam, the court will review a case of patent and trademark law. Simon Shiao Tam, the founder of a rock band called THE SLANTS, attempted to register the band's name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for trademark protection. The PTO refused, citing a provision under the Lanham Act, a federal trademark law, that prohibits extending trademark protection for anyone registering scandalous, immoral, or disparaging marks. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the PTO's claim, holding that provision of the Lanham Act violated rights of free speech under the First Amendment.
    • The court will hear arguments from three related appeals over a decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that the respondents in this case, a class of litigants illegally detained pursuant to investigations of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, had plausibly alleged their various claims against the petitioners such that the parties could proceed to a trial on the merits. Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan have recused themselves in these cases based on their prior involvement as a Second Circuit judge and U.S. solicitor general respectively. The consolidated cases are:

Thursday, January 19

Inauguration Eve

  • President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence will begin the inauguration events with a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Later that evening, the “Make America Great!” concert will be held at the Lincoln Memorial.

Confirmation Hearings

Friday, January 20

Inauguration Day

  • The inauguration of Donald Trump will take place at the United States Capitol. Get the details at the top of this issue.

 

Where was the president last week? Federal judiciary
President Barack Obama gave his farewell speech in Chicago, Ill. on Tuesday. For video of the speech and a full transcript, please visit whitehouse.gov/farewell. President-elect Donald Trump gave his first official press conference as the president-elect on Wednesday from Trump Tower in New York City.  
  • 121 total federal judicial vacancies
  • 0 pending nominations
  • 13 future vacancies

Back to top for State, Local, and fact checks updates

State and Local

Highlights

State

  • On January 10, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a hold on the special legislative elections scheduled for 2017 in North Carolina. The elections, which were ordered by a three-judge panel in November 2016, would be held under new district lines redrawn because of racial gerrymandering. The court will decide whether to hear an appeal by state legislators when they conference on January 19. The justices may then dismiss the appeal or choose to hear arguments in the appeal later in the year. Some believe that this hold means it is very unlikely that North Carolina will hold the elections in 2017, leaving any redistricting done to affect elections held in 2018. Originally, 28 of the legislature’s 170 districts were ordered to be redrawn, but other districts impacted by the redistricting would also be required to hold special elections. With the swearing in of Gov. Roy Cooper (D) earlier this month, North Carolina became a divided government. Republicans hold a 20-seat majority in the Senate and a 28-seat majority in the House. New maps would be redrawn by the legislature, and North Carolina is one of six states where the governor cannot veto state legislative district maps.

Local

  • On Saturday, January 7, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) endorsed Georgia State Senator Vincent Fort’s (D) mayoral bid in Atlanta, Georgia. In his announcement, Sanders stated, “One of the ways we effectively oppose Trump’s right wing extremism is with strong and progressive at the local and state level. One of those leaders is Georgia State Senator Vincent Fort who is for Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.” Fort was first elected to the state Senate in 1996. He endorsed Sanders’ presidential bid for the Democratic nomination.
    • Fort is one of several people to declare their candidacy for the mayor’s office. Mayor Kasim Reed (D) is term-limited and cannot run for re-election. The city will hold its nonpartisan general election for mayor and city council seats on November 7, 2017. Atlanta is the largest city in Georgia and the 40th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
 

State

The Week in Review

Ballot measures update

2017

  • Four statewide measures are certified to appear on the ballot in 2017 in Maine, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Over the previous five odd-year election cycles, an average of about seven citizen-initiated measures and 34 total statewide measures have appeared on ballots.
    • An initiative in Ohio would require that state agencies pay no more for prescription drugs than the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. This initiative is nearly identical to California Proposition 61, which was narrowly defeated in the November election after opponents, including pharmaceutical companies, spent over $109 million on the opposition campaign while supporters raised about $19 million.
    • The next signature filing deadline for citizen initiatives in 2017 is in Maine on January 26.

2018

  • Four measures are certified to appear on statewide ballots in 2018, and a signature petition for a citizen-initiated measure in Nevada designed to establish an automatic voter registration system was certified as sufficient, sending it to the legislature and then to voters if the legislature does not approve it during the first 40 days of its 2017 session. Over the previous five even-year election cycles, an average of 61 citizen-initiated measures and 173 total statewide measures have appeared on ballots.

Saturday, January 7

Kentucky Becomes 26th Right-To-Work State

  • Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) signed a bill to make Kentucky a right-to-work state. Speaker Jeffrey Hoover (R) was the primary sponsor of HB1, which labor unions said would hurt their ability to bargain for better wages and benefits. Supporters of the bill, however, said that it would recruit new businesses to the state. Prior to the new legislation, Kentucky was the only southern state without a right-to-work law. With the law’s passing, Kentucky became the 26th state with a right-to-work law in place. Hoover became the chamber’s new leader after Republicans gained control of the state House from Democrats in 2016. This made Kentucky one of 25 states controlled by a Republican trifecta.

Maine Increases Minimum Wage

  • The minimum wage in Maine increased by $1.50, jumping from $7.50 to $9.00. Question 4 was passed by voters in the state on November 8, 2016. The minimum wage will continue to increase every year until it reaches $12.00. After that, the state’s minimum wage will be linked to increases in the consumer price index. As of the most recent campaign finance reports, filed on December 20, 2016, the support campaign for this initiative received a total of $2,322,283.06 in contributions and spent more than $1.8 million, while the opposition campaign received $115,825.00 in donations and spent $111,150.06. For a state-by-state comparison of minimum wages, click here.

Process Begins for Washington's 2017 Initiatives to the People

  • The filing window opened for proponents of Initiatives to the People in Washington to file the initial paperwork required before gathering signatures. Washington is one of the four states that will feature citizen initiatives in 2017. Washington has two types of initiatives— Initiatives to the People (ITP) and Initiatives to the Legislature (ITL). Since 1995, Washington has featured an average of two ITPs during odd-numbered election years. 2013 was the only odd-numbered year since 1995 when there was not at least one ITP on the ballot. The 150 ITPs on the ballot since 1898 have a total approval rate of 52.7 percent.
    • As of January 12, a total of 11 distinct ITPs had been filed. Five proposed measures deal with taxes and two deal with marijuana. Affirmative action, taxes, transportation, and LGBT issues are the subjects of the other four proposals. To see the full list of proposals, click here.
    • The deadline to submit signatures for Initiatives to the Legislature (ITL) was on December 30, 2016. Proponents did not submit a sufficient number of signatures for any of the 19 distinct proposals that were cleared for circulation.

Monday, January 9

Initiative Filed

  • The Just Want Privacy Campaign filed an initiative in Washington that would change who is able to use private facilities such as restrooms and locker rooms in public schools. The initiative would roll back a 2015 ruling by the state’s Human Rights Commission that guaranteed access to such spaces for people based on the gender with which they identify. The measure would restrict access to private facilities in public schools that are used by more than one person at a time to people of the same biological sex at birth. In order to make the November 7 ballot, Just Want Privacy must submit 259,622 valid signatures by July 7.

Kentucky Passes & Signs Two Abortion-Related Bills

  • Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) signed a pair of abortion-related bills into law. The legislation was approved by both chambers of the state legislature on January 7. The first bill restricts abortions after 20 weeks, and the other requires someone seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound first. The 20-week bill was passed with an emergency clause, which means it went into effect immediately. According to The Hill, similar 20-week restrictions in other states have already been upheld in state and federal courts. Kentucky is the 20th state to pass a 20-week restriction. Kentucky recently became a Republican trifecta as a result of the 2016 elections, when the state House flipped from Democratic to Republican control.

Washington AG Proposes Plans to Limit Assault Weapons

  • Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) proposed two separate plans to limit the sale of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines in the state. The first piece of legislation would ban the sale of those items in the state. As a fallback plan, he also proposed legislation that would make sales legal but raise the legal age to purchase and require the guns to be licensed. Ferguson said that he used a similar definition of “assault weapon” as bills passed in New York and Connecticut, which have already withstood legal challenges. Washington is one of 19 states currently under divided government.

New Hampshire Introduces Bill to Address Alleged Russian Interference

  • New Hampshire State Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn (D) introduced a bill to establish a committee that would “evaluate and recommend” potential state responses to alleged Russian interference in national elections. Woodburn’s first suggestion for the committee was to ban Russian-made vodkas from state-run liquor stores. The senator said that his bill was not a partisan issue, and he invited all of the chamber’s 24 members to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill. “Foreign interference in our elections not only undermines our Constitutional democracy, but our independence and sovereignty,” Woodburn said. New Hampshire is currently one of 25 Republican trifectas.

Will Connecticut See Legalized Marijuana?

  • Connecticut State Sen. Martin Looney (D-11) filed SB11, which would legalize marijuana for recreational use and permit the retail sale of marijuana in the state. Looney suggested that the tax and regulatory structure should be similar to that of Colorado, saying that the plan would generate significant revenue for the state’s General Fund. If SB11 passes both chambers of the state legislature and gets the governor’s signature, Connecticut would become the first state in the country to legalize recreational marijuana through a state legislature rather than a ballot measure. Before being considered by the full Senate, SB11 would need to pass the Joint Committee on Judiciary. Connecticut is currently one of six states with a Democratic trifecta. Although the state Senate is a numerical tie, Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman (D) gives Democrats a tie-breaking vote in the chamber.

Seven More States Jump Into Session

  • State legislative sessions began in Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, and Washington. Of those seven states, six are currently Republican trifectas. Washington, the one state that is not a Republican trifecta, is currently under divided government. The Iowa State Senate came into Republican hands after Democrats lost control of the chamber in the 2016 elections. This is the first time the GOP has had a trifecta in Iowa since 1998. In total, 1,028 legislators went back to work in those six states. That number represents 13.9 percent of the 7,383 state legislators across the country.

Tuesday, January 10

Becerra Recommended for California’s Next AG

  • A nominating panel of the California State Assembly voted 6-3 to recommend U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) as the state’s new attorney general. On December 1, 2016, Becerra was chosen by Gov. Jerry Brown to succeed Kamala Harris as attorney general of California, and Brown formally nominated Becerra on January 3, 2017. Harris left the post following her election to the U.S. Senate in November 2016. Becerra must still be voted on by the full assembly and state Senate. If confirmed, Becerra would become the state’s fourth consecutive Democratic attorney general. That would be the most consecutive attorneys general from one party since Republicans had five consecutive attorneys general from 1887 to 1943.

Special Elections


And Another Seven States Get Started

  • State legislative sessions began in Delaware, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. Of those seven states, Delaware is currently a Democratic trifecta, and South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas are Republican trifectas. New Jersey and West Virginia are currently under divided government. In total, 904 legislators went back to work in those seven states. That number represents 12.2 percent of the 7,383 state legislators across the country.

Wednesday, January 11

Maryland Representative Resigns

  • Maryland Del. Michael Vaughn (D-24) withdrew from his position in the state House before the beginning of the 2017 legislative session. In a letter announcing his resignation, Vaughn said he was dealing with unspecified health issues. Vaughn’s departure now leaves two vacancies in the 141-member chamber following Jill Carter’s (D-41) resignation the previous week. Members of his party speculated that Vaughn may have resigned over an ongoing corruption and bribery probe, noting that descriptions in court filings match the former delegate’s legislative record. Others said they were unaware that Vaughn had any health issues. Vaughn, however, did not respond to the speculation. With his resignation, Democrats now control the chamber 89-50. Maryland is one of the 19 states currently under divided government.
  • Louisiana State Sen. Troy Brown (D) pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of domestic abuse battery. The charges stemmed from an altercation in July where Brown allegedly bit his wife while fighting over a cell phone. In September 2016, Brown pleaded no contest to a separate charge of domestic abuse battery after he admitted to punching his girlfriend at a football party. Brown was fined $300, sentenced to 30 days in jail, ordered to complete 64 hours of community service, and put on probation for three months. Brown was given credit for time served, eliminating all but 38 hours of his prison sentence. Republicans currently hold a 25-19 majority in the state Senate. Louisiana is one of 19 states currently under divided government.

Six States Began Their Sessions

  • State legislative sessions began in Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, and Virginia. Of those six states, only Michigan is a trifecta, having a Republican governor and Republican-controlled state legislature. The other five states are all currently under divided government. In total, 923 legislators went back to work in those six states. That number represents 12.5 percent of the 7,383 state legislators across the country. All told, by this point, 79.8 percent of legislators are in session and back to work for 2017.

Thursday, January 12

Special Elections

 

What’s On Tap Next Week

Tuesday, January 17

Two More State Legislatures Go Back To Work

  • State legislative sessions are scheduled to begin in Alaska and New Mexico. Both of those states are currently under divided government. Although Republicans in the Alaska state House hold a numerical majority, two independents and three Republicans chose to caucus with the chamber’s Democrats, giving them the majority. In total, 172 legislators will be back to work in those two states. That number represents 2.3 percent of the 7,383 state legislators across the country.

Wednesday, January 18

South Dakota Expected to Put Recreational Marijuana On The Ballot

  • New Approach South Dakota is expected to submit a proposal that would put an initiated measure on the 2018 ballot to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Once the proposal is submitted to the attorney general’s office, the attorney general will release a summary statement for the measure. The group announced that they would begin collecting signatures immediately following the summary’s release. South Dakotans have voted on medicinal marijuana twice in the past, but never on recreational marijuana. Initiative 4 (2006) and Initiative 13 (2010) were both defeated at the polls. So far in 2017, there are six statewide proposals pending across the country relating to marijuana legalization.

Hawaii Starts Their Session

  • The state legislative session is scheduled to begin in Hawaii. Hawaii is currently a Democratic trifecta. The state’s 76 legislators—a number that represents 1.0 percent of the 7,383 state legislators across the country—will be back to work. All told, by this point, 82.3 percent of legislators will be in session and back to work for 2017.

Thursday, January 19

SCOTUS Weighs In On NC Special Elections

  • A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is expected on whether the special legislative elections scheduled for 2017 in North Carolina will go ahead as planned. The court issued a hold on January 10 pending a full conference of the court. The elections, which were ordered by a three-judge panel in November 2016, would be held under new district lines redrawn because of racial gerrymandering. Some believe that the court is very unlikely to uphold the lower court’s ruling ordering 2017 elections. In that case, redistricting would still be conducted, but would go into effect for the 2018 elections. Twenty-eight of the legislature’s 170 districts were ordered to be redrawn, but other districts impacted by the redistricting of those 28 would also be required to hold special elections this year under the original ruling. North Carolina is one of 19 states currently under divided government. Republicans hold a 20-seat majority in the Senate and a 28-seat majority in the House.

 


State government special elections

As of this week, three state legislative seats have been filled through special elections in 2017. Another three elections (not including runoffs) have been scheduled in two states to fill a vacancy.

Due to redistricting, additional state legislative special elections may be held in North Carolina in 2017. The special elections have been called in response to a federal court order that ruled 28 state legislative districts unconstitutional because of racial gerrymandering. The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order on January 10, 2017, that would cancel the 2017 special elections in North Carolina. The change would move elections under new maps to the regularly scheduled 2018 elections. The court will decide whether to take up an appeal of this order no later than January 19.

  • An average of 89 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past three odd years ( 2011: 94, 2013: 84, 2015: 88).
  • An average of 44 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past four even years (2010: 26, 2012: 45, 2014: 40, 2016: 66).

Upcoming special elections include:

Local

The Week in Review

Note: In the previous edition of The Tap, we reported that the candidate filing deadline for the Glendale Unified School District in California was January 6, 2017. The actual filing deadline will be on January 26, 2017. We apologize for this error.

Monday, January 9

LA Strategizes to Pay Its Settlement Costs

  • The Los Angeles City Administrative Office released a report stating that the city should borrow up to $70 million via bond measure to cover its legal settlement costs without drawing on its emergency reserves. The report projected that the city would spend $135 million in the fiscal year to pay these settlements, exceeding the $60 million that the city has allocated for them in recent years. Recent settlements included cases involving housing, police shootings, broken sidewalks, and wrongful convictions.
    • Los Angeles will hold a primary election for mayor, eight city council seats, city attorney, and city controller on March 7, 2017. Any race where no candidate earns a majority (50 percent plus one) of the primary votes cast in that race will advance to a general election on May 16, 2017. Thus, the March election is functionally a general election and the May election is functionally a runoff, as it is only held for races that are not determined in the primary. Los Angeles is the largest city in California and the second-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Federal Government Gives 1.1 Billion To Chicago Transit Authority

  • In Illinois, Chicago officials announced that the federal government is providing approximately $1.1 billion in grant funding to the city’s transit authority. This grant will specifically fund expansions to the Red and Purple “L” rail lines on the northern side of the city. The expansion, which is scheduled to begin in 2018, is estimated to cost more than $2 billion, and the city will match the federal grant in order to pay for the project. Chicago is the largest city in Illinois and the third-largest city in the U.S. by population.

D.C.’s New Legal Defense Fund

  • Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced that the city would create a legal defense fund for residents living in the country without legal permission. The $500,000 for this fund, which will be called the Immigrant Justice Legal Services Grant Program, will be moved from the Office on Latino Affairs. In her statement, the mayor said, “If immigration enforcement changes and problems arise, DC’s immigrant population will have our support and the support of DC’s legal community.” The Washington Post speculated that the legal defense fund was being created in response to the incoming Trump administration. Washington, D.C., is the 23rd-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Chaffetz Halts D.C. Law

  • U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced that he would halt a Washington, D.C., law legalizing the prescription of fatal drugs by physicians to terminally ill patients attempting to die. This new law was passed by the D.C. city council in November and signed by Muriel Bowser (D) in December last year. Chaffetz’s committee has authority over city matters and can void city laws through the use of a disapproval resolution. This power was last used in 1991 to void a law that would have changed the maximum height of buildings in the city.
    • This is a form of government preemption. At the state and local level, preemption is a legal concept that allows a state law to supersede a conflicting local law due to the state's power to create cities as granted by state constitutions. The federal government can preempt state law in a similar manner. In this instance, the federal government is preempting local law due to the unique nature of how D.C. is overseen.Click here to learn more about preemption conflicts at the state and local level.

Tuesday, January 10

St. Louis Schools’ Accreditation Restored

  • The Missouri State Board of Education voted unanimously to restore full accreditation to St. Louis Public Schools. The state board removed the district’s accreditation in 2007 after it determined that the district met five of the 14 standards for accreditation. At that time, the district’s budget was short more than $20 million and its graduation rate was 56 percent. The state board also appointed a three-person administrative board that replaced the existing elected school board. The restoration of the district’s accreditation follows a rise in the graduation rate to 72 percent and the creation of a $19 million budget surplus. It is not currently known whether this announcement will result in the elimination of the administrative board and the return of an elected school board for the district. St. Louis Public Schools is the largest school district in Missouri and had 27,017 students enrolled during the 2013-2014 school year.

Omaha Opposes a Change in Retirement Plans

  • The Omaha City Council voted 6-1 to oppose a bill in the Nebraska State Senate that would change the city’s retirement plans for new police officers and firefighters. The change would put new hires in both departments in a cash balance retirement plan instead of a traditional pension plan. A cash balance plan sets pension payouts based on the amount of the retiree’s prior contributions in addition to interest and the city’s contribution to the plan. The state bill was sponsored by State Sen. Mark Kolterman (R) in order to address the approximately $600 million in unfunded liabilities of the city pension system. Chris Jerram, who sponsored the Omaha City Council resolution opposing the bill, stated that its passage would show that the state believes the city is not capable of self-governance. Kolterman’s bill would also include the retirement plans for police officers and firefighters in Lincoln, the state’s second-largest city. Omaha is the largest city in Nebraska and the 42nd-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Voters Approve Parcel Tax Measure

  • A parcel tax measure was approved by Peninsula Fire Protection District voters in Plumas County, California. The measure required a two-thirds supermajority in order to pass, which it received with 81 percent of voters approving the measure. This authorized the district to renew its annual parcel tax—a kind of property tax based on units of property rather than assessed value—of $280 per unimproved parcel and $295 per improved parcel for an indefinite time. This prevented the tax from expiring on June 30, 2017.

Wednesday, January 11

Detroit’s New School Board

  • The new school board for the Detroit Public Schools Community District was sworn in, marking the first time that the district’s school board has held authority since 2009. The district came under the control of an emergency manager in March 2009 due to its $305 million in lingering debt at that time. The district’s debt had grown to $467 million by June 2016. Iris Taylor, who was elected to serve as the new board’s president, stated, “Our job is to continually demonstrate that we are worth trusting and that we are accountable, we’re transparent, we have integrity, we are responsible and that we are committed to the goals to facilitate excellence.” The Detroit Public Schools Community District is the largest school district in Michigan and had 49,043 students enrolled during the 2013-2014 school year.
    • On July 1, 2016, a state law divided Detroit Public Schools (DPS) into two districts: DPS and the Detroit Public Schools Community District. DPS remains as a legal entity to pay down more than $400 million in debt. The Detroit Public Schools Community District manages day-to-day operations for public schools in conjunction with the state-appointed Detroit Financial Review Commission. The district received $617 million in state aid as a part of the law, as well.
    • Detroit's school board election on November 8, 2016, also represented a turning point in the board's composition. The board had previously had 11 members, but its size dropped to seven members as a result of the election. Only one of the seven people elected to the new board, LaMar Lemmons, was a member of the former Detroit Public Schools Board of Trustees. The district's 63 candidates and nine candidates per seat up for election in 2016 far exceeded the typical number of candidates for a school board election in the United States. Ballotpedia reported that an average of 1.89 candidates ran per seat in districts across the country in 2014 and 1.72 candidates ran per seat in 2015.

Additional Officers for Minneapolis

  • The Minneapolis City Council voted to add $1.3 million to its $1.3 billion budget for 2017 in order to hire 15 additional police officers for the Minneapolis Police Department. Three of the new officers will be designated for a pilot program involving responses to mental health calls, and the other 12 new officers will fill community patrol positions. The city police union’s president, Bob Kroll, applauded the increase but called for additional hiring. He told the Minnesota Daily that the city would now have 877 police officers, saying that it had 940 in the last decade. Abdi Warsame, who represents Ward 6 of the Minneapolis City Council, announced his support for the funding increase and stated, “The perception of crime and lack of safety has been an ongoing issue that we have been grappling with.” Minneapolis is the largest city in Minnesota and the 46th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Thursday, January 12

Baltimore PD Reaches Agreement with Dept. of Justice

  • In Maryland, the Baltimore Police Department reached a consent decree agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding its law enforcement practices. The agreement, which could be used to bring the police department to court in the event of a violation, was developed following a federal investigation into the city that found multiple instances of the city failing to respect the constitutional rights of residents. The investigation began in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray, who was in police custody at the time. The decree mandates a number of practices by police officers in the city, including the use of de-escalation tactics and changes to city policies involving sexual assault investigations, prisoner transport, and mental illness distress calls. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch stated, “The reforms in this consent decree will help ensure effective and constitutional policing, restore the community’s trust in law enforcement and advance public and officer safety.” Now that an agreement has been reached, it will undergo a public comment hearing and a review by a federal judge before it is made official. Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland and the 26th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

 


 

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Fact Check

Fact Check by Ballotpedia

Federal fact checks

  • Has Ryan Zinke repeatedly voted to block new national parks? President-elect Donald Trump nominated U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke (R-Montana) to head the Department of the Interior. Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, reacted by claiming Zinke had "repeatedly voted to block efforts to designate new national parks that would diversify the National Parks System.” Ballotpedia found this to be false. Zinke did not cast any votes to block the designation of new national parks. Unlike national parks, which must be established by Congress, national monuments may be designated by the president. Zinke was a co-sponsor of HR 3946, which would have limited presidential authority to create new national monuments. Zinke has also voted on amendments that would limit funds for the designation of new national monuments, not national parks.
  • Did the EPA change its conclusion on the impacts of fracking? In response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final report concerning the relationship between hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and drinking water resources, Erik Milito, a program director with the American Petroleum Institute, claimed that the agency backed away from its 2015 draft conclusion that researchers did not find evidence of widespread impacts. “Unfortunately, consumers have witnessed five years and millions of dollars expended only to see [a] conclusion based in science changed to a conclusion based in political ambiguity,” he said. Is he correct? Both the draft and final reports noted that fracking has led to local-level impacts on drinking water resources in some instances. However, the final report concluded that data gaps prevented researchers from reaching a conclusion on broader impacts while the draft report noted no evidence of widespread impact. Milito is correct that the EPA changed its conclusion—though whether the change is rooted in political ambiguity is a matter of opinion.

 

Read the latest fact checks.


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Ballotpedia wants to keep you in the know. In this weekly newsletter, we let you know the important things that happened last week in the federal, state and local levels of government, as well as what you should look for this week. The Tap covers election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events—everything you need to stay up-to-date on American politics. A summary of the in-depth, nonpartisan content that is added to Ballotpedia every week is now available in this digestible format for free to anyone who wants to be informed.

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