The Tap: Tuesday, January 24, 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 #50 of The Tap, which was published on January 28, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

Carson Moves Out of Committee

Kansas Sets Date for Special Election

  • Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback set a date for the special election to replace Mike Pompeo (KS-04). Pompeo was confirmed by the Senate to be the new CIA director earlier in the week. The special election will take place on April 11, 2017, and no primary elections will be held. Instead, party leaders will choose nominees at special conventions.

Executive Actions

  • President Donald Trump signed executive actions to expedite final approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. The actions did not officially approve the projects as each require a different type of approval. The Keystone pipeline, which would deliver crude oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast, requires a presidential permit issued by the U.S. State Department for the pipeline to cross the U.S.-Canadian border. The Dakota Access pipeline requires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allowing the pipeline to be built under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. In a memorandum to the secretary of the Army regarding the Dakota Access pipeline, Trump stated that the pipeline was more than 90 percent complete and that the "construction and operation of lawfully permitted pipeline infrastructure serve the national interest." In a memorandum regarding the Keystone XL pipeline, Trump stated that TransCanada, the company responsible for the Keystone pipeline, should re-submit its application for a presidential permit.

Key Vote

Nikki Haley Confirmed as UN Ambassador

  • Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was confirmed by the Senate to be the next ambassador to the United Nations. Only four senators voted against Haley’s nomination— Chris Coons (D-Del.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

Elaine Chao Moves Out of Committee

Wilbur Ross Moves Out of Committee

Tom Price Confirmation Hearing

  • On block grants to Medicaid. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) asked Price if block granting Medicaid to states—which would give each state a set amount to administer the program as it sees fit—meant that Medicaid would then no longer be a right but a possibility subject to funds granted to states. He questioned, “When you move to a block grant do you still have the right [to Medicaid if you qualify]?” Price responded, “No. I think it would be determined by how that is set up.” Read more about Price’s hearing here.

Mick Mulvaney Confirmation Hearing

  • On spending for military and defense. In a contentious line of questioning from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Mulvaney was asked about his legislative record regarding military spending and if he would support increased defense spending. “The best possible route forward is to raise the top line defense number and to have corresponding reductions in the non-defense discretionary,” Mulvaney said. Read more about Mulvaney’s hearing here.

Linda McMahon Confirmation Hearing

  • Former professional wrestling executive Linda McMahon appeared before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. During her confirmation hearing, McMahon identified improving the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster relief programs as her first priority. “Disasters don’t pick a time. They happen. And we need to be prepared for those disasters. I don’t know how effective they’ve been. I know that when Sandy hit a few years ago, Hurricane Sandy … it was a delay in time of response from the SBA. … We have to be ready for disaster relief. When our small businesses are put out of business for a while, the economy suffers,” she said.

State

Minnesota Governor Diagnosed with Cancer

  • Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) announced that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, though he said he intends to finish his term. His announcement came following his collapse while delivering the annual State of the State address on Monday night. The governor’s physician said that he believed the fainting was caused by dehydration and standing for an extended period of time and was not due to the prostate cancer. Dayton, in his second term as governor, was first elected in 2010. His current term expires in January 2019. In the event of a vacancy in the governor’s office, Lt. Gov Tina Smith (D) would become governor. Minnesota is one of 19 states currently under divided government.

Resignation in the Washington Senate

  • Washington State Sen. Brian Dansel (R) resigned his position to join the Trump administration, leaving the chamber in a partisan tie. Dansel accepted a job as a special assistant to the U.S. secretary of agriculture. Although Democrats outnumber Republicans 25-23 in the chamber, one Democrat caucuses with the Republicans, giving them the majority. The vacant seat will not affect partisan balance, since vacancies in Washington are filled by appointment, with the state central committee of the political party that last held the seat supplying a list of names. Democrats could technically break tied votes in the senate with the help of Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib (D). Washington is one of 19 states currently under divided government.

New Laws Amending Arkansas Issue 6

  • Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed a pair of bills into law amending Issue 6, the marijuana initiative approved by voters in 2016. House Bill 1058 eliminated the requirement that a physician declare in writing that the benefits of medical marijuana would outweigh the health risks for the patient, but it kept intact the requirement that physicians provide written certification stating that the patient has a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. House Bill 1026 pushed back two deadlines: the date that the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division needs to set up rules for dispensaries and cultivation facilities and the date the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission needs to set up a licensing process. Originally, both of these deadlines were set for 120 days after the election. HB 1026 extended them to 180 days. Because HB 1058 and 1026 made changes to a constitutional amendment, they had to pass with a two-thirds majority in each chamber. Arkansas is currently one of 25 Republican trifectas.

South Dakota House Attempts to Repeal Initiative 22

  • The South Dakota House of Representatives passed House Bill 1069 54-13 in an attempt to repeal Initiative 22, a campaign finance and lobbying measure passed by voters in 2016. The initiative created an ethics commission and a publicly funded campaign finance system, revising state campaign finance and lobbying laws as well. HB 1069 was passed with an emergency clause, meaning that citizens will not be allowed to initiate a veto referendum campaign to overturn it. Leadership in the Senate halted debate on the bill and tabled discussion until February 1. In order to become law, HB 1069 would need to pass the Senate by a two-thirds majority and be signed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R). The governor has already publicly stated that he supported repealing and replacing the initiative. South Dakota is currently one of 25 Republican trifectas.

Ohio Marsy’s Law Initiative Supporters File Amendment Summary

  • Supporters of a Marsy’s Law initiative filed 2,500 signatures and an amendment summary with the Ohio attorney general. If the petition language is approved, organizers would need to gather 305,591 valid signatures by July 5 to place the measure on the November 7 ballot. The measure would repeal and replace Section 10a of Article I of the Ohio Constitution, a section addressing the rights of crime victims, with a Marsy's Law. The amendment would provide crime victims with specific rights, such as the right to be notified about and present at proceeding;, to be heard at proceedings involving release, plea, sentencing, disposition, or parole of the accused; to be protected from the accused; to be notified about release or escape of the accused; to refuse an interview or disposition at the request of the accused; and to receive restitution from the individual who committed the criminal offense. So far, one statewide ballot measure has been certified for the 2017 ballot in the state of Ohio.
    • Henry Nicholas, the billionaire co-founder of Broadcom Corp., started campaigning for this kind of legislation to increase the rights and privileges of victims. He was the primary sponsor of the original 2008 Marsy's Law in California and was behind similar 2016 initiatives in South Dakota, Montana, and North Dakota—all of which were approved. He also supported 2016 legislative efforts to enact Marsy’s Laws in Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Nevada, and North Carolina. The legislation is named after Nicholas' sister Marsy Nicholas, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. Henry and his mother were also confronted by Marsy's ex-boyfriend after his release from prison; they were unaware of his release from prison on bail.

Resignation in the South Carolina House of Representatives

  • South Carolina State Rep. Chris Corley (R) resigned from the chamber just before Speaker James Lucas introduced a bill to expel him over a felony aggravated domestic violence charge. Prosecutors say that Corley struck his wife on the head and pointed a gun at her on the night of December 26. The representative’s attorney did not dispute the facts in court. Corley faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charge. A special election will be held to fill Corley’s seat. Republicans hold a 79-44 majority in the chamber, and South Carolina is currently one of 25 Republican trifectas.

Minnesota House Passes Bill To Address Costs of Police Services at Protests

  • The Minnesota House Civil Law and Data Practices Committee passed a bill along a party line vote that would allow cities to charge protesters for police services and sue to recoup expenses incurred while policing protests. Rep. Nick Zerwas (R), the bill’s sponsor, said that $2.4 million was spent in the previous 18 months across some of the state’s largest cities due to protests. Rep Ilhan Omar (D), an opponent of the bill, said that a significant portion of that money was paid out because of excessive force by police. Laws targeting protests and protesters have been proposed in several other states, including North Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Colorado, Virginia and Washington. The bill would still need to pass the full House and Senate and be signed by Gov. Mark Dayton (D) before becoming law. Republicans control the House 77-57 and the Senate 34-33. Minnesota is one of 19 states currently under divided government.

California Governor Delivers State of the State Address

  • California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) delivered a State of the State address that the New York Times called “a fiery anti-Trump message.” The self-written speech, titled “California Is Not Turning Back, Not Now, Not Ever,” declared resistance to the climate change and immigration policies of the new administration. Brown did, however, praise Trump’s call for a $1 trillion public works investment across the country. This is not the first time this year that California lawmakers have said they expect a battle with the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the California State Legislature announced it would retain former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to represent the state in any legal disputes with the federal government. State Sen. Kevin de León (D) said at the announcement that “the former attorney general of the United States brings us a lot of firepower in order to prepare to safeguard the values of the people of California.” California, which is currently one of six Democratic trifectas, was carried by Hillary Clinton by more than four million votes in the 2016 presidential election.

Colorado Senate Passes Bill Addressing Gun Safety Training for Public School Employees

  • The Colorado Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee passed a bill along a party line vote that would allow county sheriffs to train public school employees in gun safety. Senate Bill 005 will now move to the full chamber for consideration. Majority Leader Chris Holbert (R) said that the bill was meant to standardize training requirements for those already allowed to carry guns on school campuses. Opponents of the legislation say that it would result in an increase in the number of guns on school campuses across the state, which they say increases the chance of a tragic incident. Before becoming law, SB 005 would need to pass the full chamber, pass the Colorado House of Representatives, and get the signature of Gov. John Hickenlooper (D). Republicans currently control the Senate 18-17, but Democrats hold a 37-28 majority in the House.

Virginia’s Special Election

  • FILING DEADLINE: The deadline passed to file to run for one state legislative special election in Virginia. House District 71 will be up for election due to incumbent Jenn McClellan's (D) election to the state Senate in a special election on January 10, 2017. The election to fill her former seat will take place on February 7. Republicans currently control the lower chamber of the state legislature by a 66-33 majority. Virginia is one of 19 states currently under divided government.

Local

City Budget Proposed for NYC

  • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) proposed a city budget of $84.7 billion for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, which will begin on July 1, 2017. In his announcement, Mayor de Blasio stated, “This is a budget against a backdrop of a lot of uncertainty. [...] It's a budget that focuses on what we can do for ourselves while we wait to see the shape of things in Washington." He indicated that the budget proposal could be revised in the coming months in response to actions by the new federal government administration. The proposed budget is approximately a 3 percent increase from the $82.1 billion preliminary budget the mayor proposed in 2016 for the upcoming fiscal year, and it is more than 16 percent more than the $72.7 billion budget that Mayor de Blasio inherited from Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) upon his swearing-in in 2014.
    • New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D) and city council finance committee Chair Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D) both called for cost reduction in the budget. An independent organization in the city, the Citizens Budget Commission, responded to the budget proposal with a statement saying, "A substantial portion of the expenditure growth derives from challenges managing serious problems, notably an inability to stem the growth in homelessness and in the reliance on overtime among city agencies." New York City is the largest city in the U.S. by population.

Recall Elections in California

  • In California, two municipal recall elections were on the ballot:
    • Greenfield – As of this publication, votes are still being counted to determine whether Mayor John Huerta Jr. survived a recall election. As of January 27, votes to approve the recall were leading votes against the recall 573 to 323. Final results will be published after mailed ballots are counted by county election officials. If Huerta is recalled, the winner of a race between City Councilwoman Leah Santibanez and Jesus Garcia will succeed him as mayor. As of January 27, Garcia led with 409 votes to Santibanez’s 213 votes. The recall effort began due to allegations that Huerta interfered with a criminal investigation of Greenfield's medical marijuana industry. On September 27, 2016, the Greenfield City Council voted 3-2 to censure Huerta for his actions. Huerta told Monterey County Weekly that the recall effort was led by conservatives in the city who oppose marijuana businesses.
    • Paradise Irrigation District – Board members Larry Duncan and Sep Carola were recalled with 82 percent and 78 percent of the vote, respectively. Duncan was replaced by Anne Rice in District 3, and board President Carola was replaced by Marc Sulik in District 4. The recall effort began due to allegations against the board of poor money management and communication with constituents. In their responses to the recall petition, both Duncan and Carola wrote in support of a rate increase for the special district in order to prevent its fiscal issues from resulting in a state takeover and the possibility of its sale to a private company.

Filing Deadline for Tuscaloosa

  • FILING DEADLINE: The filing deadline passed to run in the general election for all eight seats on the Tuscaloosa City Schools school board—one of the largest school districts in Alabama, as measured by student enrollment. The general election will be held on March 7, 2017. Tuscaloosa City Schools is the state’s 16th-largest school district. It served 10,249 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 1.4 percent of all public school students in the state.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #49 of The Tap, which was published on January 21, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

Confirmation Votes

  • The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting to consider the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be the next U.S. attorney general. Sessions, currently a U.S. senator representing Alabama, was selected by Donald Trump to be attorney general on November 18, 2016. Hearings on Sessions’ nomination were held before the committee on January 10-11, 2017. A committee vote on whether to report the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation is expected during the meeting. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and will be broadcast here.

Confirmation Hearings

State

Virginia’s Special Election

  • FILING DEADLINE: The deadline will pass to file to run for one state legislative special election in Virginia. House District 71 will be up for election due to incumbent Jenn McClellan's (D) election to the state Senate in a special election on January 10, 2017. The election to fill her former seat will take place on February 7. Republicans currently control the lower chamber of the state legislature by a 66-33 majority. Virginia is one of 19 states currently under divided government.

Local

Greenfield Recall Election

  • An election to recall Mayor John Huerta Jr. will be held in Greenfield, California. Huerta was targeted for recall due to allegations that he interfered with a criminal investigation of Greenfield’s medical marijuana industry. On September 28, 2016, the Greenfield City Council voted 3-2 to censure Huerta for his actions. Recall organizers submitted 1,081 valid signatures to Monterey County election officials. This total exceeded the 1,078-signature threshold necessary for a recall to reach the ballot.
    • This is the second time Huerta faced a recall; he survived a recall election on June 5, 2012. Huerta was accused of putting public safety in jeopardy, being an ineffective leader, and causing damage to the city’s reputation. Recall organizers successfully gathered signatures from 25 percent of Greenfield’s registered voters—the threshold necessary to force an election. While Huerta was retained with 52.3 percent of the vote, two Greenfield City Council members were recalled from their seats.

Butte County Recall Election

  • In Butte County, California, a recall election will be held to remove Larry Duncan and Sep Carola from their seats on the Paradise Irrigation District board. Duncan represents Division 3 and Carola, the board president, represents Division 4. The recall effort was launched in March 2016, and supporters said they sought the recalls due to the board’s poor money management and communication with its constituents. The recall will be held via mail-in ballot. Anne Rice and Wally Schmidt are running to replace Duncan in Division 3. In Division 4, Marc Sulik is running to replace Carola.

Tuscaloosa City Schools Election

  • FILING DEADLINE: The filing deadline will pass to run in the general election for all eight seats on the Tuscaloosa City Schools school board—one of the largest school districts in Alabama, as measured by student enrollment. The election will be held on March 7, 2017. Tuscaloosa City Schools served 10,249 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 1.3 percent of all public school students in the state.



The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
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