The Tap: Thursday, May 12, 2016

   ← May 11

May 13 →   

---

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 #16 of The Tap, which was published on May 14, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Following their meeting on Capitol Hill, Donald Trump and U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) released a joint statement about the importance of party unity to Republican success in the general election. The statement read, in part, “The United States cannot afford another four years of the Obama White House, which is what Hillary Clinton represents. That is why it’s critical that Republicans unite around our shared principles, advance a conservative agenda, and do all we can to win this fall. With that focus, we had a great conversation this morning. While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground. We will be having additional discussions, but remain confident there’s a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall, and we are totally committed to working together to achieve that goal.”
  • Ryan, who did not offer an endorsement of Trump, told reporters, "This is our first meeting, I was very encouraged with this meeting, but this is a process. It takes some time, you don't put it together in 45 minutes.”

• Reimbursements to insurers under Section 1402 of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, were found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell, Judge Rosemary Collyer found that the Affordable Care Act did not “unambiguously appropriate” funds for the reimbursals and that payouts under Section 1402 require annual reauthorization. Since January 2014, these funds have not been reauthorized. Judge Collyer held accordingly that payouts made since January 2014 violate Congress’ sole authority under the Constitution to authorize and appropriate monies for federal expenditures. Judge Collyer stayed her ruling pending appeal.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the final version of a rule intended to cut methane emissions released by the oil and gas industry. Under the new rule, methane emissions are expected to decrease by 40 percent to 45 percent below 2012 levels. The rule is expected to affect around 15,000 wells across the United States and will require oil and gas producers to limit emissions from wells, pumps, and compressors as well as along the routes used to transport oil and natural gas. Environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), argued that the rules were a good first step but did not go far enough because they do not cover the entire system around extracting oil and natural gas. Industry groups, meanwhile, argued that "methane emissions from fracked natural gas wells have fallen nearly 79 percent since 2005" and thus the new rules were expensive and unnecessary.
• The Missouri Voter ID Amendment was placed on the November 8, 2016, ballot by the Missouri Legislature. If passed, the measure would empower the state government to require the presentation of voter identification at public elections for the purpose of identifying individuals and proving national and state citizenship. An initiative designed to require voters to prove their identity was also proposed this year in Nevada, and a similar proposal was introduced in the Arkansas State Legislature.

• The Senate passed HR 2028 - the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 by a vote of 90-8. The $37.5 billion package “provides FY2016 appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies.” It is the first 2017 appropriations measure approved this year. The White House has threatened to veto the bill, saying in a statement, "At this funding level, the number of research, development, and demonstration projects supported in cooperation with industry, universities, and the national labs would be reduced, limiting innovation and technological advancement.”
• The following legislation was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate: S Res 442 - A resolution condemning the terrorist attacks in Brussels and honoring the memory of the United States citizens murdered in those attacks, and offering thoughts and prayers for all the victims, condolences to their families, resolve to support the Belgian people, and the pledge to defend democracy and stand in solidarity with the country of Belgium and all our allies in the face of continuing terrorist attacks on freedom and liberty; S Res 463 - A resolution honoring the memory and service of Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco; S Res 464 - A resolution commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Alaska State Troopers; S 1523 - A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the National Estuary Program, and for other purposes; and S Res 394 - A resolution recognizing the 195th anniversary of the independence of Greece and celebrating democracy in Greece and the United States.
• The House passed HR 5046 - the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act of 2016 by a vote of 413-5. The legislation proposes authorizing “the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award grants to state, local, and tribal governments to provide opioid abuse services.”
• The House passed HR 1818 - the Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 by a vote of 415-1. The legislation proposes directing “the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program for states with a shortage of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to streamline state requirements and procedures to assist veterans who completed military EMT training to meet state EMT certification, licensure, and other requirements.”
• The House passed HR 4586 - Lali's Law by a vote of 415-4. The legislation proposes offering grants to fund programs that help pharmacists provide citizens with “opioid overdose reversal medication without person-specific prescriptions.”

State

• Dean Skelos (R), the former majority leader of the New York State Senate, was sentenced to five years in prison on federal corruption charges. He was found guilty on December 11, 2015, of eight counts of extortion, bribery, and conspiracy. Skelos was convicted of using his position in the Senate to benefit three companies—a real estate developer, an environmental technology company, and a medical malpractice insurer—in exchange for the companies’ agreement to give his son a no-show job. Prosecutors said that the three businesses provided Adam Skelos with about $300,000 and other benefits. Todd Kaminsky (D) was elected in a special election on April 19, 2016, to fill the seat left vacant by Skelos. The Senate’s partisan balance currently stands at 32 Democrats and 31 Republicans. Even though Democrats now hold a numerical advantage, a coalition between Republicans and the five members of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) will keep Republicans in control of the chamber. In addition, Sen. Simcha Felder (D) has caucused with Republicans since he was first elected in 2013. The state Senate has been included in Ballotpedia’s 20 battleground chambers to watch in 2016. Last week, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D) received 12 years in prison for his kickback scheme.

• Former Kaiser executive Donna Lynne was sworn in as Colorado's 49th lieutenant governor. Lynne replaces outgoing Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia (D), who announced back in November 2015 that he would resign in order to assume a position as president of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Lynne, nominated by Governor John Hickenlooper (D), was unanimously confirmed by the state Senate last week and has stated she will not run for re-election in 2018.

• Alaska Governor Bill Walker (I) appointed Alaska attorney Susan Carney to the Alaska Supreme Court. Carney will be sworn in later this year after the May 31 retirement of Justice Dana Fabe, the first woman to serve on the Alaska Supreme Court. This is Gov. Walker’s first state supreme court appointment. Justices in Alaska are chosen by appointment and stand in retention elections thereafter. There are five justices on the court. Justice Fabe was appointed by Gov. Tony Knowles (D); of the remaining four justices, one was appointed by Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and three were appointed by Gov. Sean Parnell (R). Carney has worked for 18 years as an attorney at Alaska’s Office of Public Advocacy; for 10 years before that, she served as a public defender. She will serve until 2020 and then must stand in a retention election for a 10-year term if she wishes to remain on the bench.

Local

• The Maryland State Board of Elections decertified the results of the Baltimore primary election, which means that the results are once again considered unofficial. An elections administrator noted that there were “hundreds more” ballots cast than voters who checked in at polling locations. The decertification of the vote totals will result in a precinct-level review by election officials, but it will not result in a recount. The state investigation is not expected to impact the mayoral election, however, in which State Sen. Catherine Pugh (D) won a crowded Democratic primary by more than 2,000 votes. Pugh is expected to win the general election in a heavily Democratic city to replace retiring Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D). Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland and the 26th-largest city in the United States by population.

Preview 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

• Donald Trump is expected to meet with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and other congressional leaders in Washington, D.C.

State

• The Arkansas General Assembly is projected to adjourn its regular session. In even-numbered years, regular sessions are limited to 30 calendar days. Arkansas is one of 23 states with a Republican trifecta. Republicans control the governor’s office, the House by 29 seats, and the Senate by 13 seats.

• Dean Skelos (R), the former majority leader of the New York State Senate, is scheduled to be sentenced on federal corruption charges. He was found guilty on December 11, 2015, of eight counts of extortion, bribery, and conspiracy. Skelos was convicted of using his position in the Senate to benefit three companies—a real estate developer, an environmental technology company, and a medical malpractice insurer—in exchange for the companies’ agreement to give his son a no-show job. Prosecutors said that the three businesses provided Adam Skelos with about $300,000 and other benefits. Todd Kaminsky (D) was elected in a special election on April 19, 2016, to fill the seat left vacant by Skelos. The Senate’s partisan balance currently stands at 32 Democrats and 31 Republicans. The state Senate has been included in Ballotpedia’s 20 battleground chambers to watch in 2016.