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The Tap: Wednesday, February 1, 2017

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

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #51 of The Tap, which was published on February 4, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

House Vote to Repeal Stream Regulation

  • The U.S. House of Representatives voted for a resolution under the Congressional Review Act disapproving of the U.S. Interior Department’s 2016 stream regulation. The regulation, also known as the Stream Protection Rule, would require 100-foot buffer zones between streams and coal mining sites. In addition, the rule would require coal mining companies to restore streams to their pre-mining conditions after mining is completed. The resolution passed by a vote of 228 to 194. On January 30, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R) introduced a similar resolution in the Senate to repeal the rule.

Updated Guidance on Immigration Order

  • During a news conference, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced that White House counsel had published updated guidance on how President Donald Trump’s January 27, 2017, executive order temporarily banning entry of individuals from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen would apply to legal permanent residents. Initially, green card holders would have had to request a waiver and be rescreened to avoid detention. Spicer said that green card holders would no longer need to do so.

SCOTUS Nominee Begins Meetings on the Hill

Senior Status

Judicial Retirement

  • Lee Satterfield, an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, retired from that court. From 2008 to 2016, Judge Satterfield served as the chief judge of the court. The court has 62 seats. Judge Satterfield’s retirement will create a fifth vacancy on that court. Though the court is a local court serving the District of Columbia, a vacancy can only be filled by a nomination from the president. That nomination is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Price Committee Vote

  • The Senate Finance Committee voted to favorably report the nomination of Tom Price for secretary of health and human services. The vote was 14-0, with no Democrats in attendance. The nomination will now go before the full Senate for confirmation.
  • On January 31, 2017, Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee boycotted the meeting to vote on Price's nomination. On February 1, 2017, Democrats again boycotted the committee's meeting. In a letter to committee Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the Democratic members of the committee said, "We have significant concerns that both Mr. Mnuchin and Congressman Price gave inaccurate and misleading testimony and responses to questions to the Committee." Republicans then suspended the committee's rule that requires a member of the minority party be present for a vote and moved to approve the nomination out of committee.

State

Oregon Starts Its Session

  • The state legislative session began in Oregon. Oregon is currently one of six Democratic trifectas. The state’s 90 legislators—a number that represents 1.2 percent of the 7,383 state legislators across the country—were back to work. All told, by this point, 84.9 percent of legislators were in session and back at work for 2017.

Oregon Representative Resigns

  • Oregon Representative Victor Gilliam (R) resigned at the start of the state’s legislative session. Gilliam, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2015, did not directly cite the disease in his resignation letter. He wrote that “several changes in life show it’s time to announce my resignation as your state representative.” The Board of County Commissioners representing the vacant seat must select a replacement from the same political party within 30 days. House Democrats will have a 35-24 majority while Gilliam’s seat remains vacant. Oregon is currently one of six Democratic trifectas.

Oregon Senator Proposes Raising Legal Age to Purchase Tobacco

  • Oregon State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (D) proposed legislation that would raise the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21. The bill was sponsored in the state House by Richard Vial (R). Steiner Hayward has attempted to pass similar bills in recent years but has said that this year, she has garnered bipartisan support; she did not say exactly how many legislators support her proposal. Hawaii (January 2017) and California (June 2016) have recently implemented similar laws, and neighboring Washington considered the issue in 2016. Oregon is currently one of six Democratic trifectas.

California Supreme Court Hears Case on Prop 66

  • The California Supreme Court agreed to hear a case disputing the legality of Proposition 66, which required the court to rule on death penalty appeals within five years of sentencing. In December, the court put a hold on implementation of the measure until it decided whether to hear the case. Now, with arguments on the horizon, the court extended the hold until after a ruling is issued. The plaintiffs in the case are John Van de Kamp, a former California attorney general, and Ron Briggs, a former El Dorado County supervisor. They argue that Proposition 66 is unconstitutional. Proposition 66 passed with 51 percent of the vote in November 2016.

Texas Governor Will Block State Funding to Sanctuary Cities

  • Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced he would be blocking state funding to sanctuary cities across the state. A sanctuary city refers to a city that has enacted policies that limit the involvement of local officials in the enforcement of federal immigration law. The move comes shortly after an announcement by Sheriff Sally Hernandez (D) that Travis County jails would not honor immigration detainers except in cases of murder, aggravated sexual assault, and human trafficking. Abbott made a sanctuary city ban one of the key points of his recent State of the State address to the state legislature. A November 2016 study by Ballotpedia found that 21 of the largest 100 cities by population in the United States either self-identified or were identified by others as sanctuary cities.

South Carolina Names New State Supreme Court Justice

Connecticut Governor Nominates Replacement to State Supreme Court

Virginia House Passes Voter ID Law

  • The Virginia House of Delegates voted 64-33 along party lines to pass a law that would require voters to prove they are a citizen. The bill’s sponsor, Mark Cole (R), said that it was designed to prevent non-citizens from either accidentally or intentionally registering to vote. While courts have ruled that citizenship proof could not be a requirement on federal voter registration forms, Cole said the bill will only apply to state and local registration. Critics of the legislation said that the legislation would force people to dig up paperwork they might not have easy access to. Although the legislation would also need to pass the Senate, it is unclear if Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) would sign the bill. McAuliffe has stated his desire to repeal the state’s voter photo identification law. Virginia is currently one of six states with a strict photo identification requirement for voters.

Local

Chicago Teachers Union Issues Resolutions

  • The Chicago Teachers Union governing body issued a pair of resolutions calling for the resignation of Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool and criticizing the district for using unpaid staff furloughs to address budget issues. The first resolution, which the Chicago Tribune referred to as “a symbolic gesture,” stated that Claypool had attempted “to dismantle and sabotage the Chicago Public Schools.” The second resolution referred to an unpaid four-day professional development period for district staff, which was enacted by the district school board on January 13, 2017. The board announced that the furlough would save $35 million and stated that it was necessary due to the governor’s veto of $215 million in state government funding for the district. Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), who appointed both Claypool and the school board, responded to the teacher union resolutions by stating, “Instead of throwing stones at each other, everyone who cares about Chicago's schools and Chicago's students should be focused on coming together to fight for fair funding in Springfield.” He also stated his support for Claypool’s continued tenure as the district’s CEO. Chicago Public Schools is the state’s largest school district. It served 396,641 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 19.1 percent of all public school students in the state.

New Orleans Mayor Bans Salary History Interview Questions

  • In Louisiana, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D) issued an executive order banning city government job applications and interviews from asking applicants about their salary history. His executive order stated, “Inquiries about salary history during the application and interview processes have been shown to perpetuate wage disparities for women.” The executive order also required the city’s Civil Service Commission to research whether pay disparities exist for current city government employees and to estimate the expense of eliminating those disparities. Landrieu was first elected as mayor in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. He previously served as the state’s lieutenant governor from 2004 to 2010 and as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1988 to 2004. New Orleans is the largest city in Louisiana and the 51st-largest city in the U.S. by population.

New Requirements for NYC Food Vendors

  • New York City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D) introduced a bill that would require street food vendors, including food trucks and carts, to publicly display health inspection letter grades. The same requirement is currently in place for restaurants in the city. When she announced the bill, Koslowitz stated, “You go to a food cart, and you don’t know if it’s in sanitary condition. It’s good for the restaurants, and I think it would be good for the food carts.” Street Vendor Project Director Sean Basinski praised the bill and stated, “Right now vendors are treated much worse than restaurants. They receive more inspections than restaurants do without getting the recognition that goes along with having a letter grade.” Koslowitz’s current tenure on the city council began in 2009, and she also served on the council from 1991 to 2001.

Ohio Filing Deadlines

  • FILING DEADLINE: The filing deadline passed to run for office in one of Ohio’s largest cities, as well as other municipalities in the state. Seats on the Columbus City Council will be up for primary election on May 2, 2017, and general election on November 7, 2017. Columbus is the largest city in Ohio and the 15th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
  • FILING DEADLINE: The filing deadline passed to run in the general election for three of the seven seats on the Columbus City Schools school board—one of the largest school districts in Ohio, as measured by student enrollment. The primary election will be held on May 2, 2017, and the general election will be held on November 7, 2017. Columbus City Schools is the state’s largest school district. It served 50,407 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 2.9 percent of all public school students in the state.

Preview of the day

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

Federal

Senior Status

Judicial Retirement

  • Lee Satterfield, an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, will retire from that court. From 2008 to 2016, Judge Satterfield served as the chief judge of the court. The court has 62 seats. Judge Satterfield’s retirement will create a fifth vacancy on that court. Though the court is a local court serving the District of Columbia, a vacancy can only be filled by a nomination from the president. That nomination is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Shulkin’s Confirmation Hearing

State

Oregon Starts Its Session

  • The state legislative session will begin in Oregon. Oregon is currently one of six Democratic trifectas. The state’s 90 legislators—a number that represents 1.2 percent of the 7,383 state legislators across the country—will be back to work. All told, by this point, 84.9 percent of legislators will be in session and back at work for 2017.

Local

Columbus Filing Deadlines

  • FILING DEADLINE - Columbus: Seats on the city council will be up for primary election on May 2, 2017, and general election on November 7, 2017. Columbus is the largest city in Ohio and the 15th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
  • FILING DEADLINE: The filing deadline will pass to run in the general election for three of the seven seats on the Columbus City Schools school board—one of the largest school districts in Ohio, as measured by student enrollment. The primary election will be held on May 2, 2017, and the general election will be held on November 7, 2017. Columbus City Schools is the state’s largest school district. It served 50,407 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 2.9 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.
March: 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
April: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
May: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
June: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
July: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
August: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
September: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
October: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7• 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
November: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
December: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 31
January: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
February: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17
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