The Tap: Thursday, December 15, 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 #46 of The Tap, which was published on December 17, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

You’re Hired

• Donald Trump officially nominated U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) to serve as the next secretary of the interior. Zinke was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014 and was re-elected in 2016. Prior to his election to the U.S. House, Zinke served in the Montana State Senate from 2009 to 2013 and was a Navy SEAL from 1985 to 2008. During his service, Zinke commanded troops in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq while also training SEALs as an executive officer at the SEAL Training Center. In a statement, Trump said Zinke would help with “smart management of our federal lands” and explore opportunities “to repeal bad regulations and use our natural resources to create jobs and wealth.” Zinke has generally been opposed to regulations from the Bureau of Land Management and the EPA, especially in matters related to oil and gas extraction in Montana. In terms of federally owned lands, he’s been against selling or transferring them to the states, but he did vote for a pilot program that allowed for states to begin managing some federal lands.
  • In July, Ballotpedia did a fact check related to Zinke’s stance on public lands, including his vote for this pilot program. Read it here.

• Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the federal agency that regulates all things communications—tv, radio, cable, satellite, and the internet—announced his intentions to resign on January 20, the day Trump takes office. This means that the Federal Communications Commission could soon undertake the process of rolling back regulations put in place under the Obama administration, including the commission’s landmark net neutrality rules from 2015.
  • The FCC has five members, all of whom serve five-year terms and are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than three commissioners can be from the same political party. Right now, Democratic commissioners have a 3-2 majority. But the Senate did not reconfirm one of those Democrats, Jessica Rosenworcel, for a new term, and Wheeler’s retirement—also a Democrat—will give Republicans a 2-1 majority come January 20. Trump will have the authority to nominate two new commissioners, one of whom we can expect will be a Republican (though he’ll have to nominate a Democrat too). The president also has the authority to select the chair of the commission. It’s normal for FCC chairs to step down at the start of a new president’s term. Wheeler’s term was scheduled to expire in 2018.
  • What does this mean for net neutrality? Last year, the FCC passed a series of major rules reclassifying broadband internet as a public utility and allowing for increased federal regulation. The debate over these rules—centered on what is broadly known as net neutrality, the idea that internet service providers should treat all content equally—was and still is contentious. Congressional Democrats and President Obama favored the rules, while congressional Republicans and several television and telecommunications companies opposed them.
  • Trump hasn’t commented a whole lot on the net neutrality debate, but there are indications that his administration sides with congressional Republicans. In 2014, before the FCC passed the rules, he said, “Obama’s attack on the internet is another top down power grab. ... Will target conservative media.” Moreover, Trump’s advisers on telecommunications issues have voiced opposition to the rules, and the two Republicans currently on the commission, Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly, voted against them. Ballotpedia is not currently aware of any names that have been floated as potential Trump nominees for the commission.

• Fox News contributor and radio show host Monica Crowley will be a deputy national security adviser in the Trump administration, where she will work under the incoming national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. Crowley worked as a foreign policy assistant to former President Richard Nixon and holds a Ph.D. in international affairs from Columbia University. She is the second Fox News employee that Trump has appointed to his national security team. Last month, he announced Fox News analyst KT McFarland as a deputy national security adviser. McFarland worked in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations. Deputy national security adviser positions do not require Senate confirmation.

State

Marijuana Measure Takes Effect

• This November, Massachusetts voters approved Question 4, a measure designed to legalize marijuana and regulate it similarly to alcohol. Beginning at midnight, the measure took effect, allowing Massachusetts residents 21 years and older to have up to one ounce of marijuana in public places and up to 10 ounces of marijuana at home. It also allowed them to grow up to six marijuana plants per person and to give marijuana to someone 21 years or older for free. The start date occurred on schedule since the election results were certified by the Governor’s Council the night before, despite discussions among legislators about slowing down the implementation process. Certain parts of the effective law have limitations or will occur at a later date. Citizens will not be allowed to smoke or grow marijuana in public spaces, for instance, and it will not be sold legally for some time, as applications for licensed retailers won’t be accepted until 2017.
  • Question 4 was one of four ballot measures voted on in Massachusetts in 2016. Voters passed a measure that prohibited certain methods of farm animal containment but did not approve two other measures. One would have allowed for an additional slots-only casino license, and the other would have authorized up to 12 new charter schools in the state per year.
  • Recreational marijuana measures were also approved in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Maine, increasing the number of U.S. residents living in a state with legal recreational marijuana from about 17 million to about 67 million. A recount is underway, however, for the Maine marijuana legalization initiative.
• Colorado Amendment 71, approved on November 8, 2016, established a distribution requirement for collecting signatures for initiated amendments and imposed a 55 percent vote requirement to approve amendments. The initiative also added language to the state constitution explaining the measure's intent: "In order to make it more difficult to amend this constitution..." Petitioners of future ballot initiatives have begun to feel the impact of Amendment 71. Daniel Hayes, the sponsor of an initiative to limit housing growth along the Colorado Front Range, reported that his campaign would seek to place the initiative on the ballot in 2018 instead of 2017 and as an initiated state statute instead of an initiated constitutional amendment. He cited the vote requirement of 55 percent for amendments as an impediment to a successful initiated amendment campaign.
  • A total of four distinct ballot initiatives have been proposed in Colorado for future ballots, three of those being constitutional amendments to which Amendment 71’s requirements would apply. The measures include initiatives to regulate housing growth, establish an Independent Ethics Commission to investigate judicial misconduct and judges' disabilities that interfere with performance, constitutionalize medical aid in dying, and lower the alcohol drinking age from 21 to 18. Between 1995 and 2015, an average of one ballot measure, including initiatives and legislative referrals, appeared on the ballot for odd-numbered years in Colorado.
• The recount for Question 1, the Maine Marijuana Legalization measure, was put on hold for the holiday season. About 30 percent of votes were counted, and the results had not yielded any significant changes in outcome. The measure narrowly passed in November by less than half of a percent of the vote. The No On 1 campaign will be able to choose whether they wish to continue the process or withdraw when it resumes in January. The recount could take more than a month and could cost taxpayers more than $500,000 to complete. If the election results are not reversed, recreational marijuana will become legal in Maine 30 days following the proclamation of official results by the governor.
  • Voters in eight other states were also presented with marijuana-related ballot measures. Recreational marijuana was approved in California, Massachusetts, and Nevada. Medical marijuana was approved in Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota. Arizona was the only state in which a marijuana-related measure was not approved, with voters narrowly defeating a measure to legalize recreational marijuana.
• The Maine Department of Labor announced that it will not punish employers who fail to follow through with standards set for tipped workers under Question 4, which was passed by voters in November and will take effect on January 7. The department indicated that this plan was a temporary way to prepare for how the legislature might deal with the minimum wage issue. Under the measure, the minimum wage for tipped workers will increase to five dollars in 2017 and then continue increasing by one dollar per year until it equals the state minimum wage. The ultimate deadline for the increase would be 2024. Governor Paul LePage (R) has asked legislators to change the law so that the lower minimum wage for tipped workers would be restored, arguing that the higher minimum wage could impact the economy negatively.
  • Voters in four other states were also presented with minimum wage-related ballot measures in November. Arizona, Colorado, and Washington all approved measures increasing state minimum wages. South Dakota voters decided a veto referendum targeting a bill designed to decrease the minimum wage for workers under the age of 18; they rejected the bill.

Local

Oakland Hires Interim Superintendent

• In California, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) announced that Devin Dillon will serve as interim superintendent. Dillon is the chief academic officer for the school district and replaces Superintendent Antwan Wilson, who announced his resignation from OUSD to become chancellor of schools in Washington, D.C. The school district has had eight superintendents serve over the past 16 years, and Wilson’s contract was not completed when he decided to leave. Dillon previously served as the director of elementary schools for the Los Angeles Unified School District and will act as superintendent in Oakland until a permanent replacement is hired. Oakland Unified School District served 46,472 students during the 2013-2014 school year—approximately 0.7 percent of all public school students in the state.
• In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) was fined $48,000 for improper spending and campaign finance violations in 2013. The New York City Campaign Finance Board disperses public matching funds and oversees the expenditure of these funds by campaigns. A detailed report released by the board found that de Blasio’s mayoral campaign in 2013 made delinquent filings, accepted donations beyond the city’s set limits, and spent money that could not be documented as campaign-related. Following the board’s announcement, the New York City Council passed legislation to limit the involvement of nonprofit political groups in political campaigns. According to The New York Times, the legislation was directed at the Campaign for One New York—a nonprofit political group formed by de Blasio and his aides in 2013, which has been at the center of state and federal inquiries into de Blasio’s fundraising tactics. In response, de Blasio insisted that all of his actions were appropriate and lawful and said that he would have no problem signing the bill. The investigation into the Campaign for One New York has not yet concluded. New York is the largest city in the U.S. by population.
• A U.S. District Court judge ordered a stay of Chicago’s new restrictions on Airbnb. The restrictions were scheduled to take full effect on December 17, but a lawsuit filed by Keep Chicago Livable (KCL)—a nonprofit group comprised of citizens opposed to the laws—pushed back the implementation of most of the regulations until February 28, 2017. “I would characterize this as a timeout to allow the judge and the parties to examine and analyze whether this law should be suspended pending a final judgement,” said KCL’s attorney Shorge Sato. Judge Sara Ellis ruled that the city must wait to implement strict record-keeping practices for Airbnb hosts and cannot limit the number of units in a building rented out on home-sharing platforms until next year. However, the city can move forward with the implementation of new zoning and tax laws related to home-sharing rentals. The city has until December 30 to file a response to Judge Ellis’ ruling. According to Airbnb, there are 6,400 Airbnb hosts in Chicago, and 371,000 guests stayed in the city between November 2015 and November 2016. Chicago is the largest city in Illinois and the third-largest city in the U.S. by population.
  • Several large cities have regulated or considered regulating Airbnb in recent months. These cases include:
    • In October, San Diego City Council President Sherri Lightner unveiled a proposal aimed at eliminating short-term rentals in the city. Lightner’s proposal would change city code to label any visitor or tourist a “transient” if they rent a home for less than 30 days. The law would impose a 30-day rental minimum for homes in single-family zones and a seven-day minimum in multi-family zones. Individual rooms and spaces would also have a seven-day rental minimum. Airbnb revealed it had 4,900 hosts within the city limits who would be affected by such a change. The penalties written into the code are a $2,500 fine per violation, with a maximum of $250,000 per parcel of land for violations.
    • In July, Airbnb sued the city of Anaheim due to the passage of a short-term housing rental law. The law, passed by the Anaheim City Council earlier in the same month, ceased the issuing of permits for properties rented for fewer than 30 days. Short-term rental permit holders were given 18 months after August 11, 2016, to cease operations. Airbnb also sued the city of San Francisco in June 2016 after its board of supervisors approved legislation earlier in June that restricted commercial postings from short-term housing rental websites and imposed fines for violating the law.
    • Chicago, New York, and Denver all passed laws regulating short-term rentals. In June 2016, the Chicago City Council passed a law that required Airbnb to purchase a $10,000 license to operate in the city, enacted a 4 percent tax per rental for homeless services, and set a $60 fee per city address listed on the website. Earlier in the same month, New York lawmakers passed legislation to levy fines of up to $7,500 on individuals using Airbnb to rent a full apartment for fewer than 30 days. In Denver, the city council imposed an annual $25 licensing fee for short-term rental hosts.

Preview of the day

There were no items for this day in issue #45 of The Tap, which was published on December 10, 2016. See the "Review of the day" tab for more information.