The Tap: Thursday, February 2, 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 #51 of The Tap, which was published on February 4, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

SCOTUS Nominee Continues Senate Meetings

• Judge Gorsuch met with several Republican senators including Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.V.), Bob Corker (Tenn.), Ted Cruz (Texas), and Lindsey Graham (S.C.). Senators Cruz and Graham sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will conduct nomination hearings.

Republicans on Senate Committee Approve EPA Administrator Nominee

• Republican members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works revised committee rules to allow the committee's Republican senators to vote on the nomination of Oklahoma Gov. Scott Pruitt (R) to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On February 1, the committee's Democratic senators did not attend the scheduled committee vote so as to deny a quorum allowing a committee vote on Pruitt's nomination. Prior to the revisions, the committee rules required at least two members of the minority party to form a quorum. The 11 Republican committee members all voted in favor of Pruitt's nomination, which will be taken up by the full Senate.

State

Oregon Governor Expands Sanctuary Policies

• Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) issued an order expanding sanctuary city policies across the state. Although Oregon has blocked state and local police from detaining individuals based on immigration violations, Brown’s order will extend that to all government agencies. Brown also asked Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D) to pursue a legal challenge to Trump’s executive order on immigration. Brown cited the recent arrest by ICE agents of immigrants without documentation around the Multnomah County Courthouse without county or court authorization as the cause for her order. Oregon is currently one of six Democratic trifectas.

Maine Senate Votes to Ask State Supreme Court for Guidance

* The Maine State Senate voted 24-10 to ask the state supreme court whether Question 5 was constitutional. Approved by more than 30,000 votes in November 2016, Question 5 established ranked-choice voting in elections for U.S. senators, U.S. representatives, the governor, state senators, and state representatives. Central to the question of legality is the state’s constitution, which currently says winners need only a plurality of votes cast, rather than a majority, and that ballots must be counted by cities and towns. Question 5, however, instituted state-level vote counting and required a majority in the new voting system. The passage of Question 5 made Maine the first state to use the ranked-choice method for elections.

South Dakota House Passes Voter ID Law

• The South Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill 74-16 that would remove the option for voters without valid identification to sign an affidavit and still be able to vote. Instead, under House Bill 1369, the vote would be set aside and not counted unless the voter’s identity is confirmed. In September 2016, a federal judge ordered the state to use the affidavit system, with more than 16,000 filed in the November 2016 election. HB 1369 defines acceptable forms of identification as a driver’s license, a nondriver’s identification card, or a tribal ID. North Dakota is currently one of 19 states with no voter identification requirements.

Missouri Legislature Approves Right-to-Work Bill

• The Missouri General Assembly sent a right-to-work bill to Gov. Eric Greitens (R) for his signature. The governor has said for weeks that he would sign the bill, and Missouri will become the 28th state with right-to-work legislation if he does. The legislation prohibits unions from requiring workers to pay dues as a condition of their employment. It includes a grandfather clause for existing union contracts, and it would not take effect in those instances until the contracts expire. Similar legislation had previously passed and been sent to the former governor, but Jay Nixon (D) vetoed it. When Republicans flipped control of the governor’s mansion in the 2016 election, Missouri became a Republican trifecta.

Local

Atlanta Mayor Calls for Increased City Sales Tax

• In Georgia, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (D) called for the city to increase its sales tax in order to generate revenue for arts funding. The city’s sales tax is currently set at 9 percent after it was increased in November 2016 when voters approved a pair of public transportation referendums. The mayor specifically requested that the city council put a referendum on the November 2017 ballot to increase the sales tax by 0.1 percentage point. In his speech, he said, “Organizations like the Woodruff Arts Center are thriving, but our small- and medium-sized groups, our young and emerging arts, need additional support.” Atlanta is the largest city in Georgia and the 40th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Filing Deadline in Henderson, Nevada

• FILING DEADLINE: The filing deadline passed to run for the mayor’s office and city council in Henderson, Nevada. The primary election will be held on April 4, 2017, and the general election will be held on June 13, 2017. Henderson is the second-largest city in Nevada and the 71st-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #50 of The Tap, which was published on January 28, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

An Expected Announcement

• It is expected that President Donald Trump will announce his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on February 13, 2016. A total of 355 days will have passed between Justice Scalia’s death and Trump’s nomination. On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to succeed Justice Scalia, but the U.S. Senate took no action on Judge Garland’s nomination before the 114th Congress adjourned on January 3, 2017. President Obama did not resubmit the nomination before leaving office.

Puzder Appears Before Committee

• Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder will appear before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Local

An Expected Announcement

• It is expected that President Donald Trump will announce his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on February 13, 2016. A total of 355 days will have passed between Justice Scalia’s death and Trump’s nomination. On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to succeed Justice Scalia, but the U.S. Senate took no action on Judge Garland’s nomination before the 114th Congress adjourned on January 3, 2017. President Obama did not resubmit the nomination before leaving office.

Puzder Appears Before Committee

• Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder will appear before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.