The Tap: Wednesday, January 25, 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

Executive Orders

  • President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on immigration. The first, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” will introduce penalties against sanctuary cities—which limit the enforcement and prosecution of federal immigration laws—including making them ineligible for federal grants. 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.
    • This executive order also prioritizes the deportation of individuals who “pose a risk to public safety or national security.” This applies not only to non-citizens found guilty of a criminal offense, but also to those who have been charged with but not convicted of a crime.
    • “Secure Communities,” a deportation program discontinued under the Obama administration that uses local law enforcement arrest data to identify individuals residing in the U.S. without legal permission, has also been reinstituted as a result of this executive order.
  • Trump’s second order on immigration, “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements,” calls for the construction of a wall along the United States’ southern border, a key component of Trump’s platform as a presidential candidate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) estimated on Thursday that the wall would cost between $12 billion and $15 billion. “We intend to address the wall issue ourselves, and the president can deal with his relations with other countries on that issue and others,” McConnell said, indicating Congress would handle funding the project.
    • Under this executive order, additional detention facilities will also be built near the border to house individuals residing in or entering the U.S. without legal permission.
    • White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Thursday that Trump is considering applying a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico to pay for the construction of the wall.

U.S. Representative Announces Future Retirement

State

Maine Medicaid Expansions Supporters Submit Signatures

  • Supporters of the Maine Medicaid Expansion Initiative submitted more than 66,000 signatures to the secretary of state in hopes of getting the measure on the ballot. They need at least 61,123 signatures to be deemed valid in order to move the initiative to the state legislature. Because of the state’s indirect initiative process, the legislature will have a chance to approve the initiative during its 2017 session if enough signatures are verified, precluding its appearance on the ballot. The measure would require the state to provide Medicaid services through MaineCare for persons under the age of 65 and with incomes equal to or below 138 percent of the federal poverty line. As of January 1, 2017, 32 states had expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and 19 states had chosen not to expand Medicaid. Maine was the only state in the northeastern United States not to expand Medicaid under the ACA.

Former Tennessee Representative Sentenced

  • Former Tennessee State Rep. Joe Armstrong (D) was sentenced to three years probation in a federal tax fraud case. The maximum penalty for his conviction was three years in prison, but Armstrong received probation—with six months of electronically monitored house arrest—instead. Armstrong was convicted of filing a false tax return on August 8, 2016, and the conviction automatically disqualified him from holding public office. He resigned on September 12 before he could be ousted from the state House during a special session. Because he was running for re-election at the time, he was replaced on the 2016 general election ballot by Rick Staples (D), who won the seat. Armstrong served in the state House for 28 years. The chamber is currently controlled by a 74-25 Republican majority.

New York State Senator Joins Independent Democratic Conference

  • New York State Sen. Jose Peralta (D) joined the chamber’s Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), bringing the group up to eight members. The IDC’s coalition with Senate Republicans is responsible for Republican control of the chamber in spite of the Democrats holding a numerical majority. Simcha Felder (D) also caucuses with this coalition but is not a member of the IDC. Peralta said he joined the IDC because of their record of producing results, adding that he wanted to deliver results for his constituents in the areas of affordable housing, homelessness, and school funding. Members of the Senate Democratic Conference, however, said they feel that the IDC is looking out for the personal gain of its members rather than pursuing progressive causes. The Republican coalition currently holds a 40-23 majority in the chamber. New York is currently one of 19 states under divided government.
    • Since 2005, Ballotpedia has found 11 instances in state legislative chambers where either a member of the minority party held the top leadership position or where a member of the majority party held the top leadership position even though that person was not the top choice of most of the members of the majority party.

Resignation in the Montana Senate

  • Montana State Sen. Mary Sheehy Moe (D) resigned from her position, citing a need to be more available for her daughter and three newborn grandchildren that were born prematurely. Cascade County commissioners will be responsible for picking a replacement from a list of names provided to them by the Cascade County Democratic Central Committee. With this vacancy, Republicans hold a 32-17 majority in the chamber. Montana is currently one of 19 states under divided government.

Local

NYC Mayor Interviewed During Fundraising Investigation

  • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) stated that he had been interviewed by prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office regarding a state investigation of fundraising practices by himself and his aides. He did not comment on what was discussed during the interview. The New York Times article on the subject indicated that the mayor is not believed to be a target of the state inquiry, which is investigating whether limits on individual campaign contributions to candidates were sidestepped via contributions to county party committees that spent on behalf of the candidates instead. A federal inquiry related to fundraising is also underway, although that is investigating whether contributions to the mayor’s campaign or a separate nonprofit resulted in the contributors receiving favors from city officials, including the mayor. Mayor de Blasio has denied all allegations of wrongdoing related to the inquiries.

Boston City Councilor Spars with Mayor Over Ethics Allegations

  • In Boston, Massachusetts, City Councilor Tito Jackson stated that Mayor Martin Walsh (D) should “speak plainly and come clean” regarding his attendance of two meetings with a concert promoter who alleged that he was extorted by city officials. In May and June 2016, two city department heads were indicted by federal prosecutors due to these allegations. The concert promoter alleged that Boston Calling was made to hire union stagehands in order to avoid inconvenient city permits or protests from the stagehands’ union. Mayor Walsh responded to City Councilor Jackson’s statements and said, “I’ve been very transparent here at City Hall. It’s political posturing. That’s all it is.” Jackson had previously announced his intention to challenge Walsh for the mayor’s office in the city’s upcoming election this fall. Walsh was first elected to the mayor’s office in 2013 after serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1997 to 2013. Jackson was first elected to the District 7 seat on the city council in 2011 and re-elected in 2015. Boston is the largest city in Massachusetts and the 24th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Search Warrant Issued for Group of Los Angeles Charter School Offices

  • Agents from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles and other federal agencies served a warrant to search the offices of the Celerity Educational Group (CEG), which operates a group of charter schools in Los Angeles, California. The other federal agencies involved were the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI. The search was part of an existing investigation into claims of fraud and improper fiscal management by CEG. A spokesperson for CEG responded to the search by stating, “Celerity has been informed of this investigation and looks forward to cooperatively addressing any concerns raised by the investigating agencies.”
    • CEG operates multiple schools in the Los Angeles area and was recently investigated by the Los Angeles Unified School District inspector general regarding similar allegations. In 2016, the district school board voted unanimously (with one member abstaining) not to renew the charters for two schools operated by CEG. Three of the seven seats on the Los Angeles school board will be up for primary election on March 7, 2017, and general election on May 16, 2017. The Los Angeles Unified School District is the state’s largest school district and the second-largest school district in the United States. It served 646,683 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 10.3 percent of all public school students in the state.

Preview of the day

There were no items for this day in issue #49 of The Tap, which was published on January 21, 2017. See the "Review of the day" tab for more information.





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
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