Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.

The Tap: Tracking Opposition to the AHCA

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search


March 25, 2017Issue No. 58

The Tap Graphic-750x191px.png

The week in review: March 18 - March 24
What's on Tap next week: March 25 - March 31

Navigate The Tap by clicking the tabs below:

Federal

What's on tap?

This month, House Republicans introduced the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA), a reconciliation bill that proposed modifying the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. The bill did not propose repealing the ACA in its entirety, a move that was criticized by some conservatives who called for a full repeal of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. On Friday, March 24, House Republican leaders withdrew the bill amid dwindling support, cancelling a vote scheduled for that afternoon.

Ballotpedia tracked the opposition in the House to the AHCA. As of March 24, 2017, 36 representatives had expressed opposition to the healthcare bill. If all Democratic representatives had voted against the AHCA—which they were expected to do—and more than 22 Republican representatives had voted against the bill, it would have failed. Two amendments added to the bill last week—one that would have allowed work requirements and block grants in Medicaid, and another that would have repealed the ACA’s essential benefits provision—did little to garner support among Republicans in opposition.

Click here to launch the full list of Republicans in opposition to the AHCA.

 

Federal

The Week in Review

Saturday, March 18

Judicial transitions took place on Saturday

  • J. Daniel Breen, former chief judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, elected to take senior status on Saturday. Judge Breen’s decision created an Article III vacancy on the court. To enter into an Article III position, a judge must be nominated by the president. Nominations are then subject to the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. Under current law, the court has five active judicial posts. Judge Breen’s decision will create a second vacancy on the court.
  • Judge Eric Washington, former chief judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, retired from active service on the court. Judge Washington transitioned to a senior judicial position on the court. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals hears appeals from local courts serving residents of Washington, D.C. Judge Washington was on the court for 17 years, serving as chief judge for 11 years - the longest tenure of any chief judge in the court’s history. Prior to his service on the D.C. Court of Appeals, Judge Washington was an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Judge Washington was succeeded as chief judge by Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby. Judge Washington’s seat on the court must be filled by a presidential nomination. That nomination is subject to Senate confirmation. The court currently has two vacancies out of nine active judicial positions.
  • Judge Jeanette Clark, a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, retired from the court. Judge Clark’s retirement creates a sixth vacancy on the court out of 62 active judicial positions. Judges on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia serve fifteen-year terms on the court. The court hears criminal and civil trials arising in Washington, D.C. Judge Clark’s successor must be nominated by the president. That nomination is subject to the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

Sunday, March 19

Secretary of State Tillerson meets with Chinese President Xi

  • Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where he described the state of U.S.-China relations as being guided by "non-confrontation, no conflict, mutual respect, and always searching for win-win solutions." Hours prior to the meeting, North Korea, whose primary trading partner is China, tested a rocket. "Although neither side brought up the subject publicly, Tillerson had been expected to raise the prospect of financial penalties on Chinese companies and banks that do business with North Korea," CNN reported.

Monday, March 20

Ballotpedia launches the Number of the Day

Number of the Day

  • Scott Rasmussen, Ballotpedia’s newest Editor-at-large, began publishing a daily feature on the site highlighting newsworthy and interesting topics at the intersection of politics, culture, and technology. Each article will focus on one significant number, and why Ballotpedia readers need to know these statistics.
  • Rasmussen’s first article, featuring the 206 Pivot Counties, was released Monday. A total of 206 counties across the nation voted for Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012, but voted for Donald Trump in 2016. These Pivot Counties had an outsized impact on the election results. Despite casting only 5 percent of the national vote total in 2016, they accounted for 51 percent of the popular vote shift toward Republicans.

FBI Director Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee

  • FBI Director James Comey testified before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. During the hearing, Comey confirmed that the FBI was investigating potential ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, although he could not disclose whose conduct was under review.
    • White House press secretary Sean Spicer responded to Comey's testimony during his daily press briefing by noting that several Obama administration officials had said there was no evidence of collusion.
    • Comey was also asked about Trump’s allegations that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower during the presidential election. He said, “With respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets and we have looked carefully inside the FBI. The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components. The department has no information that supports those tweets.”

Department of Homeland Security releases first detainer report

  • The Department of Homeland Security released its first weekly "Declined Detainer Outcome Report," highlighting jurisdictions that have not honored Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers requesting potentially removable individuals in police custody be held for an additional length of time beyond their scheduled released.
    • The report also included examples of criminal charges associated with these released individuals and identified the 10 counties with the most declined detainers: Clark County in Nevada, Nassau and Franklin Counties in New York, Cook County in Illinois, Montgomery and Franklin Counties in Iowa, Snohomish County in Washington, Washington County in Oregon, Alachua County in Florida, and Franklin County in Pennsylvania.
    • See also: Federal policy on immigration, 2017-2020

Supreme Court nomination hearings held

  • The Senate Judiciary Committee began confirmation hearings on Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump nominated Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on January 31, 2017. On Monday, senators made opening statements with the nominee in attendance. Judge Gorsuch also made an opening statement.
    • Read more about day one of the confirmation hearings.
    • Read on for our other daily summaries of the Gorsuch confirmation hearings

The U.S. Supreme Court returns for its March sitting

  • The U.S. Supreme Court returned for its March sitting on Monday with arguments in two cases:
    • In Murr v. Wisconsin, the court reviewed a judgment of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for District III. A St. Croix County, Wisconsin, ordinance prohibits the development or sale of privately owned, adjacent lots unless any one individual lot has at least one acre of net project area. The Murrs, owners of two adjacent lots in the county each less than one acre, challenged the ordinance as a regulatory taking of their property without compensation in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
    • In Howell v. Howell, the court reviewed a probate case on appeal from the Arizona Supreme Court. Beginning in 1992, and pursuant to their 1991 divorce agreement, John and Sandra Howell received equitable amounts of John's military retirement pay (MRP). In 2005, John elected to take VA disability payments effective from July 1, 2004, which, under federal law, reduced the amount of disposable MRP that could be divided between John and Sandra once VA benefits were reduced from John's MRP. Sandra sued in 2013 seeking her equitable portion of the MRP prior to the reduction for VA benefits. An Arizona family court granted her request back to December 1, 2011. A court of appeals upheld the ruling. John argued on appeal that a federal law, the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA), preempted the state court's ruling because VA disability payments are not considered divisible assets. The Arizona Supreme Court rejected that argument and upheld the lower court's award to Sandra.

U.S. House adds amendment to the American Health Care Act of 2017

  • On Monday evening, the House added an amendment to the proposed American Health Care Act. The amendment provided for extra funding for tax credits for older Americans to help them pay their premiums and instructed the Senate to design the tax credits. It also removed a provision in the original bill that would have allowed individuals to deposit leftover tax credit money into a health savings account. The amendment would also allow states to establish work requirements for their Medicaid programs and would allow states to receive federal Medicaid funding in the form of block grants if they chose. Finally, the amendment would repeal many of the ACA's taxes and fees and would delay the 40 percent excise tax on employer-sponsored plans until 2026.

Rep. Jim Renacci announces run for governor

Tuesday, March 21

Coalition of Democratic groups launches anti-Gorsuch digital campaign

  • The People’s Defense, a coalition of 19 Democratic-leaning organizations, launched a digital ad campaign opposing Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. The coalition’s ads aimed to present Gorsuch as a judge who would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade and who would be favorable to corporations, and they initially targeted Democratic senators up for re-election in 2018 in states that President Trump carried in 2016.

Neil Gorsuch confirmation hearings continue

SCOTUS hears argument in two cases

  • The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases on Tuesday.
    • In Microsoft Corporation v. Baker, the court reviewed a judgment of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. After a federal judge denied class action certification to plaintiffs, a group of individual Xbox owners, in a lawsuit against Microsoft, the plaintiffs voluntarily moved to dismiss the case with prejudice, a motion which the court granted. Dismissing a claim with prejudice would permit the plaintiffs to bring the same charges again in future litigation. Despite the voluntary dismissal, the Ninth Circuit noted jurisdiction and reversed, holding that the judge committed legal error in striking class-action allegations from the plaintiffs’ complaint. Microsoft claimed that once the plaintiffs voluntarily moved to dismiss there was no cause for appellate review.
    • In Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc., the court reviewed an en banc judgment from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In its ruling, the circuit court upheld the validity of two of its own precedents as binding in the law of patent exhaustion, that is, when a patent holder no longer has exclusive rights over the use of a patented item once that item has been sold. Impression Products argued that two recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions in this area of law supercede the Federal Circuit's precedents.

SCOTUS issues rulings in three cases

Trump makes first Article III lower court appointment

Wednesday, March 22

Labor secretary nominee Alexander Acosta has confirmation hearing

Neil Gorsuch completes second day of testimony

  • Judge Neil Gorsuch completed two days of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. His testimony was completed in two rounds today. In the first round, each committee member was given 20 minutes to question the nominee; in the second round, committee members were limited to 15 minutes. Hearings on Judge Gorsuch concluded on Thursday with testimony from outside witnesses.
    • Read more about day three of the confirmation hearings.

SCOTUS hears argument in two cases

  • The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases on Wednesday.
    • In County of Los Angeles v. Mendez, the court reviewed a Fourth Amendment ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. While executing a warrantless search for a wanted parolee, two L.A. County sheriff's deputies, without notice, searched a shack within a homeowner’s property line where they happened upon two occupants who were living in the shack with the homeowner's permission. Upon notice of a weapon held by one of the occupants, the deputies fired fifteen rounds from their service weapons, injuring both occupants. At trial, the deputies asserted qualified immunity for the warrantless search and the resulting injuries sustained by the occupants of the shack, but a trial court and an appellate panel rejected that argument, holding that the deputies' actions were not consistent with the Fourth Amendment and that the deputies were subject to civil liability because the deputies' actions provoked the shooting.
    • In Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon, the court reviewed a judgment from the Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals. Prior to any civil lawsuit, a party must be served process. The Hague Service Convention (Convention), to which the U.S. is a signatory, establishes requirements for serving process from one member state to another without the use of consular or diplomatic channels. Water Splash, Inc., a U.S.-based corporation, filed a civil lawsuit in a Texas court against an employee (Menon) who is a citizen of Canada. In hopes of expediting the servicing of process, Water Splash relied on a Texas rule of civil procedure that permitted notice by mail. When Menon failed to respond, Water Splash was awarded default judgment. On appeal, Menon alleged that servicing of process by mail was prohibited by the Convention and that the default judgment against her should be set aside. The Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals agreed with Menon.

SCOTUS issues rulings three cases

  • The U.S. Supreme Court issued rulings in three cases on Wednesday.
    • In Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corporation, in an opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer, the court held that a bankruptcy court does not have the authority to authorize asset distribution to creditors in a structured bankruptcy dismissal outside of the priority order established by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code absent the consent of the creditors. Justice Clarence Thomas authored a dissent in the case which was joined by Justice Samuel Alito.
    • In Star Athletica LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc., in an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court held that a single feature incorporated into the design of a useful article is eligible for copyright protection, but only if the feature can be perceived as art separate from the article and if, imagined separately, the feature itself would qualify for copyright protection. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg authored an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Stephen Breyer authored a dissent in the case which was joined by Justice Anthony Kennedy.
    • In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, in an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court unanimously held that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to offer an individualized education plan (IEP) that is reasonably calculated to enable a child to progress that is appropriate in light of the child's circumstances. The court declined to create a uniform rule for determining the adequacy of an IEP, but noted that the adequacy of an IEP would depend on the circumstances of the child for whom the IEP was created.

Justice Department requests Fourth Circuit expedite its review of Trump immigration EO injunction

House Intelligence Committee chair reports Trump may have been incidentally surveilled

  • House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) told reporters that the communications of President Donald Trump and his associates might have been collected after the election during legal surveillance of other targets. He said, "This is a normal, incidental collection, based on what I could collect."

Thursday, March 23

Gorsuch confirmation hearings conclude

  • The final day of hearings on Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court took place before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Testimony from outside witnesses was presented. With the hearings completed, Gorsuch's nomination now proceeds to a committee vote on whether to report the nomination to the full Senate for final confirmation.

State Department issues permit for Keystone XL pipeline

  • The U.S. State Department issued its presidential permit approving the Keystone XL pipeline, two days before the end of the 60-day timeline established by President Donald Trump's executive order in January. Spanning approximately 875 miles, the pipeline would transport crude oil extracted from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, and shale oil from North Dakota and Montana to Nebraska. It would then connect to existing pipelines and transport oil to refineries along the Gulf Coast. TransCanada, a Canadian-based company, oversees the project. In November 2015, President Barack Obama rejected TransCanada's application for a presidential permit to build the pipeline across the U.S.-Canadian border. For a portion of the pipeline, TransCanada must receive approval from the Nebraska Public Service Commission to begin construction. Specifically, the company must demonstrate to the commission that the pipeline is in the public interest. According to the Omaha World-Herald, public hearings and a formal hearing are expected in the spring and summer, and the commission is expected to rule on the issue in September. Local proponents and opponents of the pipeline must show substantial legal interest to be considered formal intervenors for or against the pipeline by the commission.
    • Proponents of the pipeline argue that it will create thousands of construction jobs and would deliver approximately 830,000 barrels of oil per day to be refined into gasoline in the United States.
    • Opponents of the pipeline argue that it would not lead to reduced gasoline prices for U.S. consumers and could lead to higher carbon dioxide emissions, which could contribute to global warming.

Senate holds confirmation hearing on Sonny Perdue for Agriculture Secretary

Friday, March 24

House Republican leaders withdraw American Health Care Act

  • Shortly before a scheduled vote in the U.S. House on the American Health Care Act, Republican leadership withdrew the bill and canceled the vote. Earlier in the day, an amendment was added to the bill intended to garner support from some of the more conservative GOP members. The amendment would have repealed the ACA's requirement that insurers provide federally determined essential health benefits. However, in the hours leading up to the scheduled vote, 36 Republican representatives remained in opposition to the healthcare bill. “I don't know what else to say other than Obamacare is the law of the land. It will remain the law of the land until it's replaced," House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a press conference following the bill’s withdrawal.

Sorock Research Group.PNG

Weekly Women & Trump 150 Index results

  • Below is analysis provided to Ballotpedia by the Sorock Research Group on this week's results in the Ballotpedia and SRG: Women & Trump 150 Index
    • The week ending March 24, 2017, saw the second-greatest drop in satisfaction with Congress among high-intensity female Trump supporters since the president took office, a drop of 12 percentage points to 2.80 on a 7-point scale. In contrast, satisfaction with President Trump remained steady at 6.79, a slight improvement from the previous week.
    • The feeling of “Safety” diminished from 6.73 to 6.58, a 0.75% drop from last week, likely due to the recent terror attack in London. Their sense of "Relatability" to President Trump, which had dropped last week, has rebounded to 6.73 after his Kentucky rally and a showing of consistency of character when it came to defending his claims of being "wiretapped" as a civilian before taking office.
    • Panelists described President Trump "taking his message to the people,” “vindication on the wiretap,” and “not backing down on his claim about being surveilled.”

 

Congress is IN session SCOTUS is IN session
The U.S. Senate will be in session Monday-Friday. The U.S. House will be in session Monday-Thursday. The U.S. Supreme Court continues its March sitting next week with arguments in eight cases. The court has one more two-week sitting scheduled in April which will conclude arguments for the court’s current term.

What’s On Tap Next Week

Sunday, March 26

Members of Trump administration and Congress to speak at AIPAC Policy Conference

  • Vice President Mike Pence, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and more than 25 members of Congress will speak at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference. The event will run through Tuesday. AIPAC’s “Event Details” webpage refers to the conference as “the pro-Israel community's preeminent annual gathering.”

Monday, March 27

Gorsuch committee vote scheduled for Monday

  • A Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Neil Gorsuch’s nomination is scheduled for Monday. Section I, Rule 3 of the committee's rules for the 115th United States Congress states, "at the request of any member, or by action of the Chairman, a bill, matter, or nomination on the agenda of the Committee may be held over until the next meeting of the Committee or for one week, whichever occurs later." It is expected that the ranking member of the committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), will exercise the Senate rule allowing for a one-week delay. The committee would then vote to report Gorsuch's nomination to the full Senate on Monday, April 3, 2017. The Senate's last day of business before a scheduled two-week recess is April 7, and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that the Senate will vote on Gorsuch's nomination before the recess. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) indicated that Democrats in the Senate will filibuster the nomination. The U.S. Supreme Court will hold its final, two-week argument sitting of this term beginning on April 17, 2017. If Gorsuch is not confirmed by that date, it is expected that he would join the court for arguments starting in the court's next term which begins on Monday, October 2, 2017.

SCOTUS to hear argument in four cases

  • The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in four cases, with three arguments consolidated into one 60-minute argument session.
    • The court will hear consolidated arguments in Advocate Health Care v. Stapleton, St. Peter’s Healthcare v. Kaplan, and Dignity Health v. Rollins. These cases address provisions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ERISA provides exemptions from certain requirements for retirement plans established and maintained by a church (church plans). Subsequent provisions in the law extend ERISA's exemptions to church plans maintained by church-affiliated organizations. In three separate cases, three-judge panels of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (Kaplan), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Advocate), and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Rollins) rejected arguments that ERISA's exemptions apply, however, to plans that were both established and maintained by church-affiliated organizations.
    • The court will also hear argument in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods. In this case, the court will review two competing federal laws governing venue selection in patent infringement cases. TC Heartland alleges, under one law, that the suit filed against them by Kraft must be filed in a federal court in Indiana, the state where TC Heartland is incorporated. Kraft argues that, under a different law, because TC Heartland has business activities that infringed on Kraft’s patents in Delaware, where Kraft filed the lawsuit, the court in Delaware has jurisdiction.

Tuesday, March 28

SCOTUS to hear arguments in deportation case

  • The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Lee v. United States on Tuesday. Pursuant to pleading guilty to possession of ecstasy with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1), Jae Lee was subject to deportation. Lee moved to vacate his sentence. Lee claimed that he only pleaded guilty because his attorney told him he would not be subject to deportation, which was in error. Lee based his appeal on the Sixth Amendment's requirement that defendants be afforded the effective assistance of counsel. On appeal before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, the court found that Lee failed to demonstrate the requisite prejudice in order to sustain such a claim, consistent with that circuit's precedent in Pilla v. United States. The circuit panel, however, noted inconsistency among the federal circuit courts on how claims similar to Lee's are adjudicated.

Wednesday, March 29

SCOTUS concludes its March argument sitting

  • The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in three cases on Wednesday, with arguments in two cases consolidated into one 60-minute argument session.
    • The court will hear consolidated arguments in Overton v. United States and Turner v. United States. The defendants in this case were convicted of several charges related to the murder of a woman in Washington, D.C. Years later, evidence surfaced that the defendants allege was required to be presented during discovery, but which prosecutors withheld. The men sought to vacate their convictions but a lower court judge denied the defendants' motions and an appellate panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed. The defendants petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for relief, arguing that the prosecutors' failure to disclose certain evidence was in violation of the Supreme Court's ruling in Brady v. Maryland.
    • The court will also hear arguments in Honeycutt v. United States. At sentencing for his convictions for his role in a drug conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. §853, a federal district court declined to order forfeiture of proceeds from the defendant, arguing that the defendant never personally benefited from the proceeds of the conspiracy. The government appealed, and a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed, holding the district court erred in declining to order forfeiture. The circuit court held that federal law can require forfeiture of proceeds obtained in a drug conspiracy from any of the co-conspirators even if not all of the conspirators directly or indirectly obtained any proceeds from the conspiracy. In legal terms, the panel held that joint and several liability applied to forfeiture of proceeds obtained in violation of 21 U.S.C. §853.

House committee to hold hearing on climate change science

  • The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will hold a hearing entitled "Climate Science: Assumptions, Policy Implications, and the Scientific Method." The committee is chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas). The hearing will focus on the science underlying the theory of human-caused climate change and opposing scientific views on the issue. The hearing’s witnesses include Judith Curry, former professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology; John Christy, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Alabama; Roger Pielke, Jr., professor at the Environmental Studies Department at the University of Colorado; and Michael Mann, professor of meteorology and atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University.

 

Where was the president last week? Federal judiciary
President Donald Trump spent time in Washington, D.C. this week working with Republican members of Congress on the ACHA. On Monday, he met with HHS Secretary Tom Price and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. On Tuesday, he met with the Republican House caucus at the Capitol. On Thursday, he met with members of the House Freedom Caucus. After the meeting, the caucus’ chair, Rep. Mark Meadows, announced that the caucus and the president had not come to an agreement on changes to the ACHA. On Friday, news outlets followed Ryan’s impromptu meeting at the White House with Trump over the AHCA vote.  
  • 134 total federal judicial vacancies
  • 2 pending nominations
  • 13 future vacancies

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

State and Local

What's on tap?

State

  • On Tuesday, March 21, a special election took place for the District 197 seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Although Lucinda Little (R) was the only eligible candidate filed in the race, she received 8 percent of the vote. Write-in candidates received 92 percent. On Friday, it was announced that Democrat Emilio Vazquez had won the election with 1,964 votes. Democratic Party officials had tried to get Vazquez added to the ballot, but the filing deadline had already passed. The seat became vacant following Leslie Acosta's (D) resignation on January 3, 2017. In late September 2016, it was revealed that Acosta had pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a federal felony, in March 2016. District 197, which includes most of North Philadelphia, has an 85 percent Democratic constituency. The 2012 election was the most recent election in which two major party candidates faced off in the district prior to the 2017 election. The Democratic candidate won that election with 95 percent of the vote.
    • Other candidates filed to run for this race or attempted to run, but were not approved for the ballot. Democrat Freddie Ramirez was removed from the ballot due to a residency challenge. Democratic Party officials then nominated Vazquez, but did so past the filing deadline. Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey rejected efforts to see Vazquez added to the ballot. Green Party candidate Cheri Honkala was also denied a spot on the ballot after her nomination was submitted a day past the deadline.
    • Republicans currently have a 121-81 majority in the Pennsylvania House. Pennsylvania is one 19 states under divided government.

Local

  • In Philadelphia, on Tuesday, March 21, District Attorney Seth Williams was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey under charges of corruption and accepting bribes. The indictment had a total of 23 charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recused itself from the investigation due to its regular work with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Williams’ lawyer responded to the indictment by stating he “vehemently denies that he ever compromised any investigation, case, or law enforcement function,” and Williams pleaded not guilty to the charges in court on March 22. In January, he was fined $62,000 by the city’s ethics board for not reporting gifts that he had not reported in official finance statements. This was the largest fine issued by the board since its establishment in 2006.
    • In February, Williams announced that he would not seek re-election in the city’s general election on November 7, 2017, and he apologized for any “embarrassment and shame” he had brought to his office as a result of ethics violations. A primary election for partisan candidates will be held on May 16, 2017. The filing deadline for partisan candidates was March 7, 2017, and the filing deadline for nonpartisan candidates will be August 1, 2017. Seven Democrats and one Republican filed for the office by the first deadline.
 

State

The Week in Review

Ballot Measures Update

2017

2018

Monday, March 20

Alabama Governor Says He Will See Out Term

Kentucky Governor Signs Religious Activities in Schools Bill

  • Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) signed Senate Bill 17 into law. The law aims to allow students to engage in religious activities and express religious views in public schools, along with letting teachers include lessons about the Bible in discussions on religion and history. Another aspect of the law allows religious student groups to set their own guidelines for membership, which the Human Rights Campaign believes could lead to discrimination against LGBTQ students. Rep. John Blanton (R), however, said he felt the law guaranteed students their First Amendment rights. Of the state’s 138 legislators, 11 voted against the bill across both chambers. Kentucky is currently one of 25 Republican trifectas.

Arkansas Legislature Approves Voter ID Bill

  • Both chambers of the Arkansas General Assembly approved House Bill 1047, which will require photo identification in order to vote. Anyone who does not have the proper i.d. will be allowed to cast a provisional vote that requires further verification by a county clerk. The state will be required to provide photo i.d. free of charge to voters who request them from their county clerk. A spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said he supports the idea of requiring a photo i.d. to vote but would need to read the bill before deciding whether or not to sign it. If he does, Arkansas would become the ninth state with a strict photo i.d. requirement at the polls. The state currently has a non-strict non-photo i.d. requirement. See the map below for a breakdown of voter ID laws by state.

Voter ID Laws by State

$3.1-billion bond issue passes California Assembly

  • The California State Assembly voted 54-to-19 in favor of putting a bond measure before voters on June 5, 2018; all of the yes votes came from Democrats, while all of the no votes came from Republicans. The state Assembly approved the bill by five votes more than the two-thirds supermajority approval required. The proposal would authorize $3.105 billion in general obligation bonds to fund the expansion and maintenance of parks, environmental protection projects, and climate-adaptation projects. The bill calling for the bond measure—Assembly Bill 18—now requires two-thirds supermajority approval by the state Senate and the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in order to be certified for the ballot.
    • California is currently one of six Democratic trifectas. Democrats control the state Senate by a 67.5 percent majority, which means they can pass AB 18 by the two-thirds supermajority required without approval from any Republicans.
    • California voters have decided about 200 proposed bond issues at the ballot since the first one was approved in 1892; they have approved 74 percent of them.

Tuesday, March 21

Arizona Legislature Passes Bill to Protect Opponents of Medically-Assisted Death

  • Although Arizona state law does not currently allow for the medically-assisted death of terminally-ill patients, lawmakers in both chambers approved legislation to allow health care providers to refuse to provide the service on religious or moral grounds. The bill passed along party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. Gov. Doug Ducey (R) will have five days to sign the bill into law. Arizona is currently one of 25 Republican trifectas.

Colorado House Approves Ban on Free Speech Zones

  • The Colorado House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 62, which would eliminate free speech zones or any other policy suggesting that free speech is off limits in certain parts of public university campuses across the state. One of the bill’s sponsors, Jeff Bridges (D), said that the zones marginalized people with differing opinions , and suggested that people today are too comfortable getting their news from sources they agree with. The state Senate would need to approve any differences in the measure that passed the state House. If they do, it would head to the desk of Gov. John Hickenlooper (D). With a Republican-controlled state Senate and a Democrat-controlled state House, Colorado is currently one of 19 states under divided government.

Sanctuary City Ban Sent to Mississippi Governor

  • A bill that would ban sanctuary cities in the state was sent to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) for his signature after it passed both chambers of the state legislature. If signed by the governor, this law would preempt a law in Jackson, the state’s capital, that prevents police from asking someone about their immigration status. Bryant expressed publicly that he would sign the bill into law. If he does, Mississippi would become the fourth state with legislation banning sanctuary cities. Mississippi is currently one of 25 Republican trifectas.

Nevada governor vetoes automatic voter registration initiative; will go before voters

Oklahoma Senate Passes Five Legislative Referrals

  • The Oklahoma State Senate approved five resolutions calling for constitutional amendments to go before voters in November 2018. Each proposed constitutional amendment now requires simple majority approval in the House before being certified for the ballot. One proposal would establish a requirement that voters show proof of identity before voting. Another was a version of Marsy’s Law, a crime victims bill of rights. The legislature is considering two substantively similar versions of Marsy’s Law— HJR 1002, which was approved by the House, and SJR 46, which was approved by the Senate. The differences between HJR 1002 and SJR 46 are (a) formatting and (b) whether other rights of crime victims are granted—as stated in HJR 1002—or guaranteed—as stated in SJR 46—by the state legislature. The other three proposals had to do with the state judicial nominating commission and legislative acts.
    • As of December 2016, 31 states enforced voter identification requirements.
    • The type of crime victim legislation addressed by SJR 56 and HJR 1002 is often referred to as a Marsy's Law. Henry Nicholas, the billionaire co-founder of Broadcom Corp., organized a nationwide campaign for this kind of legislation to increase the legal rights and privileges of victims. The law was named after Henry Nicholas' sister Marsy Nicholas, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1983.
    • In 2018, Marsy’s Law could also be on the ballot in Georgia, Nevada, and Oklahoma through legislatively referred constitutional amendments. A 2017 initiative petition drive is ongoing in Ohio as well.
    • Nicholas was the primary sponsor of the original 2008 Marsy's Law in California and was behind similar 2016 initiatives in Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota—which all passed—and legislative proposals in multiple states.

Wednesday, March 22

Hawaii State Representative Leaves GOP

  • Hawaii State Rep. Beth Fukumoto Chang (R) announced her intention to leave the Republican Party and to become a Democrat. She had served as the state House Minority Leader from 2015 to February 2017, when she was removed by party members after criticising President Trump at a women’s march in Honolulu. Fukumoto Chang’s departure from the party leaves five Republican elected officials in the state legislature, all of whom are in the state House. Democrats control the state Senate 25-0 and the state House 46-5. Their control of the governor’s mansion makes Hawaii one of six Democratic trifectas.

Rhode Island Senate President Announces Resignation

  • Rhode Island State Sen. M. Teresa Paiva Weed (D) announced she would resign her position, effective May 1, to accept a job as the president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island. Paiva Weed was first elected to the chamber in 1992, and was the first woman to serve as Senate President, a post that she has served in since 2009. Pavia Weed is third in terms of Democratic seniority in the state Senate—only Dominick Ruggerio (elected 1984) and Maryellen Goodwin (elected 1986) have served longer. Once her resignation takes effect, Democrats will control the chamber 32-5. Rhode Island is currently one of six Democratic trifectas.
    • A special election will be held to elect a replacement for the rest of her remaining term. Pavia Weed’s District 13 seat is safely Democratic. No Republican ran against her in 2016, while she beat Republican challengers by 10 points in 2014 and 40 points in 2012.

Thursday, March 23

New York Senator Pleads Not Guilty to Corruption Charges

  • New York State Sen. Robert Ortt (R) pleaded not guilty to charges that he was involved in a plan to provide his wife with no-show jobs. Following his arraignment, Ortt dismissed the charges as a political move by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D). The charges stem from his time as mayor of North Tonawanda from 2010 to 2014, when Schneiderman alleges Ortt arranged a deal for his wife to be paid $20,000 for work she did not actually do. Ortt was re-elected to the Senate without opposition in 2016.

North Carolina Legislators Override Gubernatorial Veto

  • The Republican-controlled General Assembly of North Carolina voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) veto of their partisan judicial elections bill. The veto was Cooper’s first as governor. The override means that Superior Court and District Court judicial elections will revert to partisan elections, after using nonpartisan elections since the late 1990s. Prior to that, judges ran with party labels in partisan primaries. The state will be the 21st state to use partisan elections at the trial court level. North Carolina is currently one of 19 states under divided government.

Judge Nominated to Vermont Supreme Court

Arkansas Legislature Amends 2016 Medical Marijuana Initiative

  • The Arkansas State Senate voted 31-to-1 to amend certain provisions of the state constitution that were added by Issue 6, the medical marijuana initiative approved by voters in 2016. The changes included the prevention of medical marijuana from being used by anyone under the age of 21 and a ban on smoking marijuana anywhere tobacco is illegal, in the presence of a pregnant woman or someone under 14 years of age, inside a vehicle of any kind, and in a location that could result in a person prohibited from using it being affected by the drug. Since the House approved the bill— HB 1400—on March 17, it only requires the signature of Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) to be added to the constitution; this amendment does not require voter approval because Issue 6 specifically allowed the legislature to amend its provisions as long as the changes were relevant and in line with the intent of the initiative.

Maryland Senate Passes Fracking Ban

  • The Maryland State Senate approved legislation that would ban fracking in the state following the bill’s approval in committee on Wednesday. The Senate voted 35-12 in support of the bill. Last week, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced his support of the legislation, which alleviated the fears of some state senators of a gubernatorial veto. Since similar legislation has already passed the state House, the Senate’s approval sends the bill to Hogan’s desk for a signature. If signed into law, the legislation would make Maryland the third state to ban fracking, joining New York and Vermont. As of March 2017, fracking has not yet occurred in Maryland. Maryland is currently one of 19 states under divided government.

Friday, March 24

Arizona passes restrictions on initiative process

  • Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed House Bill 2404 into law, which prohibits paying circulators according to the number of signatures collected; requires paid circulators to register with the state, make certain disclosures, complete a training program provided by the state, and pay a registration fee; requires initiative proponents to post bonds for paid signature gatherers ranging from $10,000 to $50,000; and creates an Initiative and Referendum Integrity Fund. The bill was passed in the state Senate and House along party lines last week. No Democratic legislators voted for the bill; critics say it will make it much more difficult to put initiatives before voters, which will cut citizens out of the political process. Gov. Ducey said that the bill would guarantee the integrity of the initiative process and prevent fraud.

 

What’s On Tap Next Week

Saturday, March 25

Louisiana Judicial Elections

  • Two seats on the Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal will be up for election. Three Republican candidates will compete for the Third Circuit seat of James Genovese (R), who was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2016. Two Democratic candidates will face off to succeed the retired Dennis Bagneris (D) on the Fourth Circuit. Another seat is up for election, but Allison H. Penzato (R) won the seat automatically after being the only candidate to file. She will succeed the retired Ernest Drake on the First Circuit.
    • One other seat on these courts will be up for election later in 2017. Judge Paul Bonin was elected to a local judgeship in 2016, so an election will be held to decide his successor.

Louisiana Special Elections

Thursday, March 30

Filing deadline in Virginia

  • The filing deadline will pass for statewide and state legislative elections in Virginia. Three statewide offices will be up for election on November 7: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General. Additionally, all 100 seats of the Virginia House of Delegates will be up for election. Republicans control the state House 66-34, while Democrats hold all three state executive positions up for election this year. Virginia will not hold any state Senate elections in 2017.

 

State government in session

State-gov-in-session-032417.png
State trifectas 2-24-17.png

State government special elections

As of this week, 12 state legislative seats have been filled through special elections in 2017. Another 30 elections (not including primaries or runoffs) have been scheduled in 17 states to fill vacancies. 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 is expected to decide whether to take up an appeal of this order.

  • 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: 65).

Upcoming special elections include: March 25, 2017

April 4, 2017

Local

The Week in Review

Elections Update

  • In 2017, Ballotpedia is covering municipal elections across 54 of America's 100 largest cities by population and several of the largest counties by population, local judicial elections across six states holding elections for general and limited jurisdiction trial courts and one state holding elections for municipal jurisdiction trial courts, school board elections across 463 of the 1,000 largest school districts by student enrollment, all local recalls, all local ballot measures in California, and notable local ballot measures across the United States.
    • So far this year, Ballotpedia has covered six city elections, one county election, and 22 school board elections. Ballotpedia will cover approximately 100 local ballot measures in California in 2017.
    • Local ballot measure elections occurred in California on January 10, February 28, and March 7. On March 7, local voters decided 20 measures; 11 measures were approved, six were defeated, and three were too close to call with certainty until results are certified. Los Angeles city voters decided four measures, including Measure S, a development-related initiative. Measure S was defeated.
    • On March 7, St. Louis voters approved Proposition S, authorizing an annual fee of $5,000 for businesses that offer short-term loans, also known as a payday loan.
    • The next local ballot measure elections Ballotpedia will cover are on April 4 in Alaska, Colorado, and Missouri, and on April 11 in California.

Sunday, March 19

Airbnb tax agreement announced in Miami-Dade County

  • In Florida, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez (R) announced that he had agreed to a tax arrangement with short-term housing rental business Airbnb. The deal, which would apply the county’s 6 percent resort tax to Airbnb rentals, will require approval from the county commission before going into effect. It would not include two of the county’s cities, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour, since they have lower resort tax rates that would be applied instead. Airbnb has been working with the 63 Florida counties with resort taxes, and Miami-Dade County would mark its 36th agreement of this nature. An Airbnb spokesperson responded to the mayor’s announcement by stating, “We expect that this agreement will drive many millions of dollars in new annual revenue to county coffers, on top of the economic infusion Airbnb guests already pump into the South Florida economy through spending with neighborhood merchants.” Mayor Gimenez’s communication head indicated that he would consider instituting additional regulations on sharing economy businesses such as Airbnb and Uber. According to Airbnb, Miami-Dade County is one of its five most popular regions and had an estimated 530,000 tourists who stayed at Airbnb rentals in 2016. Miami-Dade County is the largest county in Florida and the seventh-largest county in the United States by population.

Monday, March 20

Baltimore City Council approved $15 minimum wage but mayoral veto possible

  • In Maryland, the Baltimore City Council voted 11-3 in favor of instituting a $15 per hour minimum wage by 2022. Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) has not announced whether she will veto the bill. During her candidacy for mayor in 2016, Pugh had pledged to sign a minimum wage bill, but she stated concerns about the bill after taking office as mayor and said, “Sometimes the unintended consequences can be greater than the outcome itself.” The council would need 12 votes to override her if she does veto it, but the one council member who was not present at this meeting has stated his support for the bill. If approved, the bill would exempt workers under the age of 21, delay mandatory compliance for businesses with fewer than 50 employees to 2026, and provide a six month exemption for businesses participating in worker training programs approved by the city. Some business owners have criticized the bill and cited concerns that it will force businesses to leave the Baltimore area. Advocates of the bill argue that a higher wage will improve the lives of families in the city. Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland and the 26th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
    • Other cities have considered or implemented higher minimum wages in recent years:
      • Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. have all begun the implementation of a $15 per hour minimum wage.
      • Two more cities— Miami Beach and San Diego—approved smaller minimum wage hikes in June 2016. The Miami Beach City Commission voted in favor of increasing the minimum wage to $10.31 per hour in 2018 with additional increases over time until it reaches $13.31 per hour in 2021. San Diego voters approved Proposition I by more than 63 percent of the vote, which increased the city’s minimum wage to $11.50 per hour in January 2017.

U.S. Supreme Court rejected lawsuit to change Tucson election system

  • The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would not hear a lawsuit challenging the election system in Tucson, Arizona. Under this system, city council candidates are nominated by city ward in primary elections but elected at large by all city voters in the general election. The plaintiffs argued that this system violated the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution by allowing voters in the city’s five wards with Democratic majorities to elect a Democratic in city’s sixth ward, which has a Republican majority. In September 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected this argument and stated, “Tucson’s hybrid system for electing members of its city council imposes no constitutionally significant burden on voters rights to vote.” The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the lawsuit affirmed the lower court’s ruling. The lawsuit was filed by the Public Integrity Alliance, which states its mission is “to promote integrity in the behavior of government officials and institutions.” Tucson will hold a primary election for three of seven seats on the city council on August 29, 2017, and the general election will be on November 7, 2017. The filing deadline for this election will be on May 31, 2017. Tucson is the second-largest city in Arizona and the 33rd-largest city in the U.S. by population.

School bond fails to make 2017 ballot in Portland, Maine

  • In Maine, the Portland City Council did not vote to put a $64 million school bond measure on the ballot in 2017. The vote required support from at least seven of the council’s nine members in order to pass, but the motion to approve received six votes in favor and three votes against after six hours of debate. One of the council members who rejected the motion, Jill Duson, indicated that she would vote in favor of putting a joint bond proposal on the ballot to allow voters to choose between this bond and a smaller bond. In 2016, the city’s school district requested a $70 million bond measure that led to the current proposal. If approved, the $64 million bond measure is estimated to cost a total of $92 million with interest included. Portland is the largest city in Maine and had 66,194 residents as of 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Tuesday, March 21

Anchorage voted to allow Uber and Lyft to operate, state obstacle remains

  • The Anchorage Assembly voted 7-3 in favor of enabling ride-sharing businesses such as Uber and Lyft to operate within the city. The ordinance includes background check and vehicle inspection requirements for drivers. Both businesses ended their operations in Anchorage after the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development fined Uber for not providing workers' compensation insurance. Uber considers its drivers to be independent contractors and therefore exempt from that state requirement. Following the Anchorage Assembly’s vote, Assemblyman Bill Evans stated that the state government would need to change its position on ride-sharing services for them to operate in the city again. In the state legislature, SB 14 and HB 132 have been filed to allow ride-sharing companies to be exempted from workers' compensation insurance requirements. Officials with both Uber and Lyft have stated that future operations in Alaska are contingent on the passage of a bill along those lines. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska and the 63rd-largest city in the U.S. by population.
    • Six of the 11 seats on the Anchorage Assembly will be up for general election on April 4, 2017. One of the incumbents who voted against the ordinance, Pete Petersen, is running for re-election and has a challenger, Don Jones. Following the vote, Jones published a post on his campaign’s Facebook page that stated, “For now, Uber and Lyft have an open door in Anchorage! Economic competition drives down costs for consumers, and at a time like this, the people (and the taxi drivers) should have a choice.”

Wednesday, March 22

Los Angeles County sheriff announced opposition to sanctuary state bill

  • Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced his opposition to a state legislative bill that would make all of California a sanctuary jurisdiction. A sanctuary jurisdiction limits cooperation between its local law enforcement agencies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to prevent the deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally. In these jurisdictions, government workers and police officers are barred from asking residents about their immigration status, and compliance with ICE detainer requests is limited. In response to the sanctuary bill, the county sheriff stated, “I am not a Trump guy. I am not an anti-Trump guy,” and argued that if the bill passes and ICE agents are not able to detain immigrants living in the country illegally from jails, “They are going to have no choice but to go into the communities and arrest not only the individual they are seeking but also people who are with that person, or other people in the area who are undocumented.” He also argued that the bill should expand the type of violent crimes about which local law enforcement officials would be allowed to contact federal immigration officers. He stated, “I look at myself as a son of immigrants, and I feel somewhat sensitive about the needs of that community. But at the same time, we don’t want to put predators back in the communities from where they came, to victimize people over and over again.” Los Angeles County is the largest county in the United States by population.
    • If the bill passes, California would be the first sanctuary state in the nation. In a February interview, President Donald Trump (R) reiterated that he was open to leveraging federal defunding in an attempt to halt California's sanctuary state legislation. The president said the state was “out of control,” adding, “If they’re going to have sanctuary cities, we may have to [defund them]. Certainly that would be a weapon.” Click here to read Ballotpedia’s coverage of sanctuary policy conflicts between the federal government and local governments across the United States.
    • On March 21, Mississippi’s state legislature passed a ban on sanctuary cities within the state. 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. Click here to learn more about preemption conflicts at the state and local level.

Thursday, March 23

Montana school board filing deadline

  • In Montana, the deadline passed to run in the general election for three of nine school board seats in Billings Public Schools. The district will hold its general election on May 2, 2017. Billings is the state’s largest school district and served 11,348 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 7.9 percent of all public school students in the state.

 

What’s On Tap Next Week

Saturday, March 25

Louisiana trial courts primary election

  • A primary election will be held for two trial court judgeships in Louisiana. The race for the Division B judgeship of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court features three Democratic candidates competing to replace incumbent Regina Bartholomew Woods (D). Woods was elected to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in November 2016. The District B judgeship on the Grant Parish Justice of the Peace Court will also appear in the primary election after two candidates, Belvin Bruins (D) and A. Brett Harlan (R), filed for the seat. Former incumbent Gregory W. Tolbert (D) resigned in September 2016.
    • Judicial primary elections in Louisiana serve as the general election if a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote. In that event, the primary election winner is declared elected as an unopposed candidate and will not be listed on the general election ballot. The general election would be held on April 29, 2017, if necessary. Eight justice of the peace positions in the Cameron, Concordia, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Charles, Washington, and Winn parishes will not appear on the general election ballot since the incumbents are running unopposed. No candidates filed to two justice of the peace positions in the Franklin and Plaquemines parishes, which will push the elections for those offices back to the election on October 14, 2017.

Monday, March 27

Corpus Christi mayoral filing deadline

  • The filing deadline will pass to run in the special election for mayor in Corpus Christi, Texas. The election will be held on May 6, 2017. The city’s previous mayor, Dan McQueen, resigned 37 days into his term after he took office on December 13, 2016. At the time of his resignation, he stated, “The city can no longer deal with such differing views and divisiveness. I step down from my position as Mayor, in order to allow the council and city to regain focus on success. Sorry, they are now into my ex-wives and kids. Nothing good will come from that mess.” Nelda Martinez, who served as mayor until she lost her re-election bid to McQueen, is one of several city residents who have announced their intention to run in the special election. Corpus Christi is the eighth-largest city in Texas and the 60th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Tuesday, March 28

South Dakota school board filing deadline

  • In South Dakota, the deadline will pass to run in the general election for a total of three school board seats in the state’s two largest school districts, the Sioux Falls School District and the Rapid City Area School District. Both will hold their general election on June 6, 2017. The pair of districts served a combined total of 37,841 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 29 percent of all public school students in the state.

Friday, March 31

Albuquerque mayoral filing deadline

  • The filing deadline will pass to run in the general election for mayor in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The election will be held on October 3, 2017, and a runoff election will be held on November 7, 2017, if no candidate receives a majority of the vote. Mayor Richard Berry (R) is not running for re-election. Five of nine seats on the city council will also be up for election on the same dates. The filing deadline for city council candidates will be on May 31, 2017. Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico and the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. by population.

 

Back to top for Federal and fact checks updates

Fact Check

Fact Check by Ballotpedia

Federal

  • A C-SPAN survey of 91 presidential historians rated former President Barack Obama as the nation’s 12th-best president, and 8th-best in economic management. An editorial in The Oklahoman challenged the rankings, noting: "the sluggish growth of the Obama years is one of the major strikes against his presidency." In the expansion period that began under President Obama, GDP growth has averaged 2.1 percent per year, the slowest rate among the 11 expansion periods since 1949. Total employment grew 8.6 percent, from 140 million in June 2009 to 152 million in December 2016, and quarterly wages and salaries increased 18 percent, from $7.1 to $8.4 trillion (in 2017 dollars). Employment and wages grew more during five of the 11 economic expansions since 1949.
  • On NPR, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) claimed that “[of] the 20 million who have gained insurance as a result of Obamacare, 14 and a half million of those have come through Medicaid expansion." Rep. Carter is incorrect, and his mistake is a common one. HHS has estimated that 20 million adults, on net, gained health care coverage under the ACA as of early 2016. That figure does not represent the number of distinct individuals who gained coverage through government exchanges and Medicaid expansion. Instead, it reflects the net changes in coverage between 2010 and 2016, accounting for both drop-outs and re-enrollees. As for Medicaid enrollment, HHS estimates that 11.2 million adults (not 14.5 million as Carter claimed) were enrolled in Medicaid under the expansion criteria as of 2016.

State

 

Read the latest fact checks.


Back to top for Federal, State and Local updates

About

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.

There are two ways to read The Tap. One is here on the website. Click the tabs for information at each level of government. For previous issues, see Ballotpedia:The Tap. You can also subscribe to have The Tap delivered to your email inbox every Saturday.



Back to top

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Tap:_Tracking_Opposition_to_the_AHCA&oldid=8441516"