The Tap: Wednesday, March 23, 2016

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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 #9 of The Tap, which was published on March 28, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Jeb Bush endorsed Ted Cruz. He said in a statement, “Washington is broken, and the only way Republicans can hope to win back the White House and put our nation on a better path is to support a nominee who can articulate how conservative policies will help people rise up and reach their full potential.”
• Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey (R) announced that he would meet with Judge Merrick Garland "out of courtesy to both Judge Garland and the president" but said he still opposed any action on replacing Justice Scalia until after the presidential election in 2016.
• The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case Zubik v. Burwell. The case is related to the court’s 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, when it was ruled that a closely held for-profit organization could be exempt from providing contraceptive coverage—as mandated by the Affordable Care Act—based on religious objections. Zubik v. Burwell was brought by a group of religious hospitals and schools, and it addresses the question of whether the accommodation offered in Hobby Lobby “burdens their free exercise of religion” by making these organizations “complicit in providing contraceptive coverage in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).”
• The Club for Growth PAC, the political arm of the fiscally conservative 501(c)(4) Club for Growth, endorsed Ted Cruz for president. It is the first time that the PAC has endorsed a candidate in a presidential race. The organization's president, David McIntosh, said, "Ted Cruz is the best free-market, pro-growth, limited-government candidate in the presidential race."
• Shira Scheindlin, a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, announced that she would retire from the bench on April 29, 2016, to join an unidentified New York City law firm as of counsel. Judge Scheindlin is perhaps best known for her rulings against the NYPD’s stop and frisk procedures, as well as her rulings on rules of discovery for electronic evidence (e-discovery). Of her decisions in the NYPD cases, Darius Charney, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights, told The New York Times, “She has put her stamp on changes to a police practice … that has affected thousands, if not millions, of New Yorkers over several decades.”

State

• Before a local LGBT ordinance in Charlotte, N.C., could go into effect on April 1, legislators in the General Assembly of North Carolina called a one-day special session to address the issue. The ordinance would have prevented businesses from discriminating against LGBT customers. It also would have allowed transgender people to use the bathroom of their choosing based on the gender with which they identify. During the special session, the Senate and House passed a bill that overrules the local ordinance and prevents local governments from setting up their own anti-discrimination rules. The House passed the bill by a vote of 82-26, and the Senate passed the bill by a 32-0 vote. Eleven Democrats broke from their party in the House to vote in favor of the legislation, while 11 Senate Democrats walked out in protest before the vote. Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed the bill late Wednesday.
• Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper (D) named Kaiser executive Donna Lynne to replace outgoing Lieutenant Governor Joe Garcia (D). Garcia announced his resignation in November 2015, to take effect June 30, 2016. Like Garcia, Lynne will serve dual roles as lieutenant governor and as the state director of higher education. Hickenlooper has been suggested as a potential cabinet member if Hillary Clinton wins the presidential election. If he takes a post in Washington, Lynne would assume the governorship. Lynne has stated she has no plans to run for re-election to a full term in 2018. Colorado is one of 20 states with a divided government.
• The Oklahoma House Elections and Ethics Committee unanimously approved SB 896, which, if enacted, would make it easier for a political party to retain ballot status in Oklahoma. Current state law stipulates that a party's candidate for governor or president must receive at least 10 percent of the statewide general election vote in order for that party to remain ballot-qualified in Oklahoma. SB 896 would lower that threshold to 2.5 percent. The bill passed the Oklahoma State Senate by a vote of 42-1 on March 10, 2016. The House Elections and Ethics Committee amended the bill slightly, moving its effective date from January 1, 2017, to November 1, 2016. If the bill is approved by the House as a whole, it will return to the Senate for a vote.
• The Alaska House of Representatives Resource Committee approved a bill that would undo most of the cuts Gov. Bill Walker made to the state's oil and gas subsidies. In December 2015, Walker proposed cutting the state's oil and gas subsidies by $400 million in addition to levying a new $100 million tax on the industry. According to Juneau Empire, were the committee's bill to pass and oil prices to remain the same, Alaska would pay more in subsidies to oil and gas companies than the state would earn in royalties and tax receipts. If the bill, HB 247, passes the Finance Committee, it will head to a full vote in front of the Alaska House of Representatives.
• After nearly nine months of budget discussion, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf declined to sign or veto a budget bill passed by the state’s General Assembly, which effectively allows the budget to become law on April 3. The budget does not include any new taxes, but it does include a 5 percent increase in state appropriations to some state universities. The budget also includes an increase of $200 million for state K-12 schools, instead of the $400 million that Wolf had proposed last year. While Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R) expressed gratitude that the budget impasse was over, Governor Wolf argued that this year’s budget only solves short-term problems and creates a larger deficit to address for the next fiscal year.
• South Dakota Governor Daugaard signed into law the first tax-credit scholarship program for low-income students, the Partners in Education Tax Credit Program, which will go into effect in the 2016-2017 school year. This makes South Dakota the 29th state to have this type of private school choice program. The bill, S.B. 159, which the legislature passed earlier in March, allows for a tax credit to insurance companies that contribute to a fund, which will then disburse the scholarships to eligible students.

Local

• Following Arizona's presidential primary election on March 22, 2016, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton (D) called on U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate problems experienced by Maricopa County residents who attempted to vote in the election. Those issues included a reduction in polling locations from 200 in 2012 to 60 in 2016, which resulted in long lines and hours of waiting to vote. Governor Doug Ducey (R) described the wait as “unacceptable.” Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell (R) stated she "screwed up" by cutting too many polling places but refused to resign. Phoenix is the sixth-largest city in the United States.

Preview of the day

There were no items for this day in issue #8 of The Tap, which was published on March 21, 2016. See the "Review of the day" tab for more information.