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The Tap: Wednesday, March 30, 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 #10 of The Tap, which was published on April 4, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

  • During a town hall hosted by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Donald Trump said that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions if abortion is criminalized. Shortly after the remarks were made public, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks released the following statement from Trump: “This issue is unclear and should be put back into the states for determination. Like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions, which I have outlined numerous times." Trump issued a second statement on Wednesday evening, stating, "If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman.”
    • Trump’s rivals have all commented on his position:
      • Ted Cruz released the following statement on Wednesday: “Once again Donald Trump has demonstrated that he hasn’t seriously thought through the issues, and he’ll say anything just to get attention. On the important issue of the sanctity of life, what’s far too often neglected is that being pro-life is not simply about the unborn child; it’s also about the mother — and creating a culture that respects her and embraces life. Of course we shouldn’t be talking about punishing women; we should affirm their dignity and the incredible gift they have to bring life into the world.”
      • John Kasich said, "Of course, women shouldn't be punished.”
      • Hillary Clinton tweeted, “Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse. Horrific and telling.”
      • Bernie Sanders also tweeted his response, writing, “Your Republican front-runner, ladies and gentlemen. Shameful.”
  • The U.S. Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Luis v. United States. In so doing, the court remanded the case back to the 11th Circuit. Five justices agreed with the court’s judgment in the case, however, the plurality opinion authored by Justice Stephen Breyer was joined by only three other justices, meaning that the court’s opinion in this case is not a binding precedent governing future cases. The case addressed whether a federal law permitting the freezing of a criminal defendant’s untainted property assets unconstitutionally violated petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right to an attorney due to her inability to pay counsel.
  • The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases: Welch v. United States and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co. The first case addressed a circuit split between the 7th and 11th Circuits over the Court’s 2015 opinion in Johnson v. United States (135 S. Ct. 2551) as to whether the court’s ruling in the case can be applied retroactively to defendants whose convictions became final before the court’s opinion in Johnson was handed down. The case is on appeal from the 11th Circuit. The second case addressed whether a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ determination under the Clean Water Act constituted final agency action and, as such, would be subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act.The case is on appeal from the 8th Circuit.
  • President Barack Obama hosted the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, a biannual meeting of world leaders to discuss keeping nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. According to Reuters, the meeting’s major issue will be “concern that Islamic State could eventually target nuclear plants and develop radioactive ‘dirty bombs.’” Russia declined to attend this year’s summit, despite having participated in the previous three. Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said, “Frankly, all they’re doing is isolating themselves in not participating as they have in the past.”
  • The Internet Association, an industry group that represents major technology companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon, has endorsed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. In a statement, the group said, “The Internet industry is encouraged that the TPP recognizes the Internet as an essential American export, and supports the agreement’s passage. Historically, pro-Internet policies have been absent from trade agreements, which is why the TPP is an important step forward for the Internet sector that accounts for 6 percent of the GDP and nearly 3 million American jobs.”
  • Marco Rubio this week sent letters to state Republican parties in 21 states and territories requesting that delegates he won in a primary or caucus not be reallocated to another candidate. If the states grant his request, it could become more difficult for Donald Trump to amass the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination. A Rubio aide told MSNBC that Rubio “wants to give voters a chance to stop Trump.” Generally, when a candidate drops out of the race, his or her delegates are reallocated proportionally, but each state has different rules on how the process works. Alaska has agreed to grant Rubio’s request, and Alaska GOP Chairman Peter Goldberg told NBC News, “most states are leaning towards giving [Rubio] his delegates.”
  • The editorial board of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which endorsed John Kasich, published an op-ed challenging Clinton’s commitment to transparency on Wednesday. “Clinton has a long track record of public service but an equally long record of obfuscation, secrecy and working in the shadows to boost her power and further her ambition. We encourage voters to think long and hard about that record when choosing the next president,” they wrote.
  • FILING DEADLINE: South Carolina’s congressional filing deadline. South Carolina has one U.S. Senate seat and seven U.S. House seats up for election in 2016. The senate seat is currently held by Tim Scott (R), and six of the seven house seats are held by Republicans, while the remaining one is held by a Democrat. All eight incumbents up for re-election in 2016 are running, but only two will face a primary challenger in June. In District 1, Mark Sanford (R) will face State Rep. Jenny Horne, and in District 5, Mick Mulvaney (R) will face challenger Ray Craig in the primary. Ballotpedia rates each race as safe for the party that currently holds it in the general election.
  • Ballotpedia released its March Federal Vacancy Count on March 30. During the month of March, three new vacancies were announced and no nominations were confirmed. There were 12 new nominations since the February 2016 update. See also: The Federal Vacancy Count 3/30/2016.

State

  • On Wednesday, March 30, Alabama State Rep. Ed Henry (R) announced plans to introduce articles of impeachment next month against Governor Robert Bentley (R) over allegations of Bentley's affair with one of his aides. Bentley responded at a news conference that he had no intentions of resigning. Rebekah Mason, the aide with whom Bentley is accused of having an affair, resigned her post the same day. Henry’s statements follow Tuesday’s report from the Alabama Ethics Commission that they would investigate allegations that Gov. Bentley misused state funds in order to conduct an affair with Mason. State Auditor Jim Ziegler (R) had requested the investigation last week after recordings surfaced of phone conversations between Bentley and Mason that included comments of a sexual nature.
  • The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Griffin v. Branstad. In 2008, plaintiff Kelli Jo Griffin was convicted of a felony drug offense and subsequently lost the right to vote. Iowa is one of only two states in which convicted felons permanently lose the right to vote. The state constitution permanently disenfranchises all individuals convicted of "infamous crimes." In 2014, with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, Griffin brought suit against Terry Branstad in his capacity as governor. Griffin's attorneys called on the court to clarify that "infamous crimes" include only those crimes that constitute an "affront to democratic governance," such as electoral fraud and bribery. Meanwhile, state solicitor Jeffrey Thompson urged the court to uphold the current interpretation of the law, which considers all felonies "infamous crimes." The court is expected to issue a ruling in the case by June 30, 2016.
  • The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in U.S Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc. The case centers on whether a North Dakota mining company, and therefore other private landowners, can challenge federal decisions about water permits in court. The company, Hawkes Co. Inc., is challenging a decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requiring the company’s mining plans to go through an extensive federal permitting process under the Clean Water Act. The issue in the case involves whether the Army Corps’ decision is a “final” regulatory action, which can be reviewed by a court. The federal government has argued that the decision is not a final action; property rights groups have argued that such a view provides landowners with no opportunity to challenge government decisions affecting them. According to court reporters, most of the justices appeared skeptical about the government’s view that landowners cannot challenge certain federal decisions under the Clean Water Act. The court’s ruling is expected in June 2016.
  • Governor Paul LePage (R) of Maine signed New England’s first “right-to-try” law. The law allows terminally ill patients with six months or less to live to access experimental medication without permission from the Food and Drug Administration, as current federal law requires. The law also protects doctors and drug companies from liability in the event of an adverse reaction. Insurance companies are not required to cover the cost of experimental treatments if a company decides to charge a patient for access. Maine is the 27th state to enact a right-to-try law. For detailed information about right-to-try laws in the United States, see this article on Ballotpedia.

Local

  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to run for five of the nine seats on the Kershaw County school board in South Carolina. The general election will be on June 14, 2016. Kershaw County was the 22nd-largest school district by student enrollment in South Carolina and served 10,493 students during the 2013–2014 school year.

Preview 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

State

  • Filing Deadline: South Carolina
    • State legislatures: South Carolina has 46 state Senate and 124 state House seats up for election in 2016. Both chambers are firmly held by Republicans. South Carolina has a Republican governor, making it one of 23 states with a Republican trifecta. In 2014, South Carolina had the 46th most competitive elections, according to Ballotpedia’s competitive analysis. The competitive index analyzed the 46 states with state legislature elections in 2014.

Local

  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline to run for five of the nine seats on the Kershaw County school board in South Carolina. The general election will be on June 14, 2016. Kershaw County was the 22nd-largest school district by student enrollment in South Carolina and served 10,493 students during the 2013–2014 school year.



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
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February: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17
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