Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

The Tap: The next secretary of state: Difference between revisions

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Text replacement - "[[Legislative_tampering" to "[[Legislative_alteration")
m (Inventory category installation for: On-site_newsletters)
 
Line 359: Line 359:
|verbatim=none
|verbatim=none
}}
}}
[[Category:On-site_newsletters]]

Latest revision as of 15:30, 6 August 2021


December 10, 2016Issue No. 45

The Tap Graphic-750x191px.png

The week in review: December 3 - December 9
What's on Tap next week: December 10 - December 16

Navigate The Tap by clicking the tabs below:

Federal

What's on tap?

Whoever the next secretary of state is, he or she will be four heartbeats away from the presidency in the line of presidential succession and will be responsible for crafting American foreign policy and representing the U.S. on the international stage. For these reasons, the selection of a nominee for secretary of state is often one of the most debated, complex, and anticipated decisions that president-elects make. Donald Trump’s selection of a secretary of state to serve in his new administration is proving to be no exception. Over the weekend, it was reported that he had expanded his search from four potential nominees to eight. In our Tuesday edition of You’re Hired, Ballotpedia’s daily briefing on the Trump transition, we took a quick look at the known contenders and some of their views on key foreign policy issues such as Russia, China, the Iran nuclear deal, ISIS, Syria, and international trade. Click here for more.

 

Federal

The Week in Review

Sunday, December 4

Guantánamo Prisoner Moving Out

  • Yemeni detainee Shawki Awad Balzuhair was released from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Cape Verde. According to The New York Times, “His departure reduced the detainee population to 59, of whom 20 are recommended for transfer.” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the Obama administration will continue to release prisoners from Guantánamo Bay until President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Earnest said, “That’s difficult work, but that’s work that we’ve been doing for almost eight years now. And that’s work that will continue at least through Jan. 20. After that, the president-elect’s team will have to decide how they want to handle that situation.” In 2009, President Barack Obama said that he would close the prison, but Congress has blocked his ability to do so through defense authorization and spending bills.

Monday, December 5

Ben Carson Nominated as HUD Secretary

  • President-elect Trump announced that he had chosen former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson as his nominee for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Carson’s professional experience includes working as the director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and running his own philanthropic organization. Carson endorsed Trump after suspending his own bid for the Republican nomination in March 2016.

HUD has a $48 billion budget and more than 8,000 employees. Here are some of the programs and initiatives that the agency oversees:

    • Federal Housing Administration, which insures home loans for first-time and low-income buyers who may not meet the down payment requirements of traditional lenders.
    • The Community Development Block Grant program, which provides funds to states for small business and community development that aims to eliminate blight and create jobs in low- to moderate-income areas.
    • The Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8 housing), which provides a subsidy to cover the gap between what tenants can pay and the listed rental price of housing for low-income families.
    • Enforcement of federal anti-discrimination laws in relation to housing.
    • Administration of funds to state and local governments to provide for those who are homeless.

Carson has spoken critically of HUD policies under the Obama administration. In July 2015, he criticized a HUD rule that provided guidelines for communities to use to ensure their compliance with the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Carson, in an op-ed for The Washington Times, referred to this rule as an example of “government-engineered attempts to legislate racial equality,” which he said, “create consequences that often make matters worse.” Carson added, “There are reasonable ways to use housing policy to enhance the opportunities available to lower-income citizens, but ... entrusting the government to get it right can prove downright dangerous.”

Al Gore Meets with President-elect Trump to Discuss Climate Change Policy

  • Former Vice President Al Gore (D) met with President-elect Donald Trump (R) and Ivanka Trump to discuss climate change issues. Gore wrote and starred in the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which argued that human activity plays a significant role in global warming and climate change. Gore has argued that climate change issues require immediate governmental action. Regarding his conversation with the president-elect, Gore said, “I found it an extremely interesting conversation, and to be continued, and I'm just going to leave it at that.” As a candidate, Trump criticized the theory of human-caused climate change, previously calling it a hoax in 2012. Additionally, Trump has promised to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement and rescind the Clean Power Plan, policies designed to address climate change that were initiated by President Barack Obama (D) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Trump told interviewers at The New York Times on November 23, 2016, that he would look at the Paris agreement with an open mind. He also said that he believed there is likely some connection between human-generated carbon dioxide emissions and climate change, but did not specify what kind of connection. To read more about how Trump can begin the process of rescinding and modifying federal agency rules related to climate change when he assumes office, see this article.

SCOTUS On Tap: Illegal Racial Gerrymanders

  • The U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in two voting rights cases. Both cases came to the Supreme Court after the court noted probable jurisdiction, which is the most common avenue by which the court hears decisions of a panel of judges on a U.S. district court.
    • In Bethune-Hill v. Virginia Board of Elections, the court reviewed a three-judge panel decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In March 2015, the Supreme Court held in Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama that "the prioritiz[ation] [of] mechanical racial targets above all other districting criteria" was "untethered to any 'strong basis in evidence' for sorting voters on the basis of race." In so doing, the court struck a proposed scheme of state legislative districts as having created racially gerrymandered districts in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Bethune-Hill and a class of Virginia residents challenged 12 legislative districts drawn by the Virginia House of Delegates, arguing that these districts constitute illegal racial gerrymanders in violation of the same provisions of the Constitution as in the Alabama case because the Virginia Legislature's decision that those districts be drawn with a minimum of 55 percent minority voting age population unconstitutionally relied on race as a "predominant factor" for district design.
    • In McCrory v. Harris, the court reviewed a three-judge panel decision of the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of North Carolina. In February 2016, the panel ruled that two of the state's 13 congressional districts, District 1 and District 12, constituted illegal racial gerrymanders in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The court determined that state lawmakers had placed disproportionately large numbers of black voters in these two districts, thereby diluting the impact of their votes. Governor Pat McCrory (R-N.C.) and the North Carolina State Board of Elections appealed the district panel’s decision. It is unclear what impact Governor McCrory’s concession to his opponent, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper (D), will have on whether the court will issue an opinion if McCrory is out of office before the court’s opinion comes down. McCrory would lack standing, and the case could be considered moot, if McCrory is out of office by the time a decision is reached.

Tuesday, December 6

SCOTUS On Tap: Patents and Insider Trading

  • The U.S. Supreme Court issued three unanimous opinions on Tuesday. To date, the court has issued four opinions in argued cases—each of which was unanimously decided—this term.
    • In Samsung Electronics v. Apple, the court reversed and remanded the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In an opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court held that the term “article of manufacture” under Section 289 of the Patent Act was sufficiently broad to include both products sold to consumers, as well as components of those products. As Justice Sotomayor noted, “A component of a product, no less than the product itself, is a thing made by hand or machine. That a component may be integrated into a larger product, in other words, does not put it outside the category of articles of manufacture.” The case will return to the federal circuit for additional proceedings based on the court’s interpretation of the Patent Act.
    • In Salman v. United States, the court affirmed the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, the court held that the Ninth Circuit’s interpretation of the Supreme Court’s holding in Dirks v. SEC was correctly applied in the case. Dirks is a 1983 Supreme Court decision that defines “personal benefit” requirements for insider trading cases. In Justice Alito’s words, “Dirks specifies that when a tipper gives inside information to 'a trading relative or friend,' the jury can infer that the tipper meant to provide the equivalent of a cash gift. In such situations, the tipper benefits personally because giving a gift of trading information is the same thing as trading by the tipper followed by a gift of the proceeds.” Salman, in trading on information he knew to be improperly disclosed by his brother-in-law, was just as culpable for insider trading as was his brother-in-law. The court rejected Salman’s argument that a requirement of the Second Circuit—that a tipper also receive something of a "pecuniary of similarly valuable nature" in exchange for gifts to friends or family—was required under Dirks in order to prove insider trading.
    • In State Farm v. U.S. ex rel. Rigsby, the court affirmed the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In an opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court held that a breach of the requirement to keep documents under seal for 60 days when bringing lawsuits under the False Claims Act did not automatically merit dismissal of the case in all instances. Justice Kennedy noted that while the False Claims Act did not provide an explicit remedy should the seal requirement be violated, “the FCA’s structure is itself an indication that violating the seal requirement does not mandate dismissal. This Court adheres to the general principle that Congress’ use of 'explicit language' in one provision 'cautions against inferring' the same limitation in another provision ... And the FCA has a number of provisions that do require, in express terms … dismissal …"
  • The Supreme Court heard arguments in Life Technologies Corporation v. Promega Corporation. The case came on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 35 U.S.C. §271(f)(1) states, “Whoever without authority supplies or causes to be supplied in or from the United States all or a substantial portion of the components of a patented invention, where such components are uncombined in whole or in part, in such manner as to actively induce the combination of such components outside of the United States in a manner that would infringe the patent if such combination occurred within the United States, shall be liable as an infringer.” Life Technologies challenged the holding of the Federal Circuit that a single component shipped from the United States to its overseas manufacturing facility constituted a “substantial portion of the components of a patented invention” and, subsequently, a patent infringement in violation of federal law.

Wednesday, December 7

You’re Hired

  • At a transition breakfast, Trump announced that he had chosen to nominate Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as his administration’s ambassador to China, making Branstad the second governor Trump has said he would nominate for a high-level appointment in his administration. Branstad is the longest-serving governor in the state’s history, having served from 1983 to 1999 and again from 2011 until the present. Branstad was a supporter of Trump during the presidential election. The Iowa governor has known Chinese president Xi Jinping since 1985, when Xi visited Iowa as part of an agriculture delegation. Branstad has also visited China four times since being elected in 2011, including a 2013 trip that was part of a trade mission with Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. His most recent trip there was in November.

What this means for Iowa:

    • If Branstad’s nomination is approved by the U.S. Senate, Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds (R) would become governor until 2019, when Branstad’s term is set to end.
    • Reynolds ascending to the governor’s office would vacate the lieutenant governor’s office. According to the state constitution, the president pro tem of the state senate would become the new lieutenant governor. Although that office is currently held by a Democrat, Republicans winning the chamber in November 2016 means that it will be a Republican official who replaces Reynolds in the lieutenant governor’s office in the event of Branstad’s confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
    • As a result of Republicans gaining a majority in the state senate in the 2016 elections, Iowa will be one of 25 Republican trifectas, with the party controlling governorship and majorities in both legislative chambers. Republicans are expected to pursue “tax reform, water quality improvements and, potentially, changes to the state’s collective bargaining laws,” according to the Des Moines Register.
    • Losing Branstad as governor, however, means losing “the unquestioned leader of the Republican Party in Iowa,” according to the Des Moines Register.
  • Multiple news outlets reported that President-elect Trump had settled on retired U.S. Marine Corps General John Kelly as his nominee for secretary of homeland security. According to The New York Times, Trump “has not yet formally offered the job to General Kelly, in part because the general is out of the country this week. The president-elect plans to roll out the appointment next week, along with his remaining national security positions, including secretary of state.” Kelly joined the U.S. Southern Command in 2012 and served as its leader until his retirement in 2015. The Southern Command oversees military activity in Central and South America as well as the military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. After retiring, Kelly took an advisory role with the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Kelly is the third military general Trump has said he would nominate for high-level administration positions. He previously announced his intent to nominate retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn for National Security Advisor and retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis for Secretary of Defense.
  • President-elect Donald Trump selected Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Pruitt is one of 27 state attorneys general who have sued the EPA over the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s signature climate change policy aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions at power plants. Pruitt also joined a federal lawsuit against the EPA’s rule targeting methane emissions from new oil and natural gas operations. Regarding the theory of human-caused climate change and policies to address it, Pruitt and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange wrote in the conservative journal National Review on May 17, 2016, “Healthy debate is the lifeblood of American democracy, and global warming has inspired one of the major policy debates of our time. That debate is far from settled. Scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind. That debate should be encouraged — in classrooms, public forums, and the halls of Congress.” According to the Trump transition team’s website, the Trump administration plans to redirect the EPA’s activities to a limited set of issues, particularly air quality, water quality, and drinking water quality. In addition, Trump has promised to rescind the Obama EPA’s regulations, particularly the Clean Power Plan and the Waters of the United States rule, a rule defining which bodies of water fall under federal jurisdiction and regulation. For more on where Pruitt stands on environmental policy, click here.

Quoted:

  • “Today, Michelle and I join the American people in remembering those who gave their lives at Pearl Harbor—many of them not much older than boys—and in honoring their families—spouses, siblings, sons and daughters who still carry the memories of their loved ones in their hearts. We give thanks to the veterans and survivors of Pearl Harbor who faced down fear itself, met infamy with intrepidity, freed captive peoples from fascism and whose example inspires us still. For out of the horrors of war, this Greatest Generation forged an enduring international order, became the backbone of the middle class and powered America’s prosperity. Their courage and resolve remind us of that fundamental American truth—that out of many we are one; and that when we stand together, no undertaking is too great.”

Mayors Talk Immigration Reform

TIME’s “Person of the Year”

  • President-elect Donald Trump was named "Person of the Year" by TIME. In an interview with the news magazine, Trump indicated that he would create some form of relief for individuals brought to the United States illegally as children. "We’re going to work something out that’s going to make people happy and proud. They got brought here at a very young age, they’ve worked here, they’ve gone to school here. Some were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And they’re in never-never land because they don’t know what’s going to happen," he said. Trump also discussed his blue collar appeal during the election, saying, "What amazes a lot of people is that I’m sitting in an apartment the likes of which nobody’s ever seen. And yet I represent the workers of the world. ... I’m representing them, and they love me and I love them."

SCOTUS On Tap: Keep on Truckin’

  • The U.S. Supreme Court concluded its December sitting by hearing arguments in Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp. The case came on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. After Jevic Holding Corporation entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a settlement was reached between Jevic's first-priority secured creditors and a committee assigned to represent Jevic's unsecured creditors. Jevic's truck drivers were omitted from the settlement despite the fact that the drivers had higher-priority claims under Section 507 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The bankruptcy court, citing the "dire circumstances" in the bankruptcy, approved the settlement, which was affirmed by a federal district court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, though the circuit panel did admit that “it is a close call.” The drivers challenged the holding that the Bankruptcy Code permitted a bankruptcy court to authorize distribution of settlement proceeds in a manner that violated the Code's priority scheme.
  • In a one-page order, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed an appeal brought by New Mexico resident Steven Michel, who filed a lawsuit in a federal district court seeking to force the Senate to vote on the stalled nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court of the United States. That lawsuit was dismissed in November by Judge Rudolph Contreras, who held that Michel lacked legal standing to bring such a suit. In upholding Judge Contreras' decision, the circuit panel agreed that "the district court correctly held that appellant lacked standing to bring this action because he failed to demonstrate an injury in fact. Rather than being 'concrete and particularized' ... appellant’s alleged injury – the diminution of the effectiveness of his votes for Senators – is 'wholly abstract and widely dispersed.'"

Thursday, December 8

You’re Hired

  • Andrew Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns fast food chains like Hardee’s and Green Burrito, is Trump’s pick for the Department of Labor. Puzder served as a trustee for a joint fundraising committee for Trump’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee. At the 2016 Republican National Convention, he was on the Platform Committee as a delegate from California and was a co-chairman of the subcommittee on “Restoring the American Dream,” which focused on economic, labor, and tax issues. In 2010, he co-authored a book called Job Creation: How it Really Works and Why Government Doesn’t Understand It. In the book, he argued, “Private enterprise, unencumbered by excessive government intervention, will create jobs.” In our daily briefing on the Trump transition (which you can subscribe to here), we highlighted where Puzder stands on a few key labor issues such as the new overtime rule, minimum wage, and immigration. Click here to read more.
  • Trump has selected businesswoman Linda McMahon to lead the Small Business Administration, a federal agency that was created in 1953 “to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns.” McMahon is the co-founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. She has never held public office but ran as a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.
    • Earlier this year, McMahon co-founded a company called Women’s Leadership LIVE, LLC, which aims to promote leadership opportunities for women. In describing the new venture, McMahon said, “Our goal is to build a world where women obtaining and exercising power is both expected and commonplace. Even in 2016, women are clearly underrepresented in leadership. ... This is not about setting quotas, but about having a diversity of perspectives and experiences in decision-making roles. We are making progress, but there are still glass ceilings that need to be cracked.”
    • The administrator position is a cabinet-level position and will have to be confirmed by the Senate. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who ran against McMahon in 2010, reacted positively to news of her nomination. “Her sense of focus and drive are qualities much in need along with her devotion to jobs and economic growth which the Trump administration needs. I’m hopeful she will create jobs and drive economic progress for the country,” said Blumenthal. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who ran against McMahon in 2012, also spoke positively of her nomination, saying, “Linda McMahon's a talented and experienced businessperson, there's no doubt about it. She helped shepherd the WWE from a mere idea into an incredibly successful enterprise. Of course I know firsthand what a fierce fighter Linda McMahon is, and though we haven't always seen eye to eye, I have confidence she'll bring that fight to the SBA on behalf of Connecticut small businesses.”

Friday, December 9

You’re hired

  • On Friday afternoon, it was reported that Donald Trump plans to nominate Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) as secretary of the Interior Department. First elected in 2004, McMorris Rodgers became the chair of the House Republican Conference in 2013, the fourth-highest ranking post in House GOP leadership. News of her potential nomination has already led some Republicans to begin vying for the conference chair position, which is responsible for presiding over all official meetings of House Republicans. Republicans have controlled McMorris’ seat in Washington’s 5th Congressional District since 1995, and its largest county, Spokane—where roughly two-thirds of the district’s population lives—hasn’t backed a Democrat for president since Bill Clinton in 1996. McMorris Rodgers sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee and gave the GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech in 2014. She endorsed Trump in May 2016.
    • McMorris Rodgers has advocated for increased U.S. energy production, including fossil fuels, and has criticized the federal government’s ability to manage public lands. Trump, too, has called for increased energy production in the U.S., but he has voiced support for the federal management of public lands. In an interview with Field & Stream in January 2016, he was asked if he would support the transfer of public lands from the federal government to the states. Trump said, “I don’t like the idea because I want to keep the lands great, and you don’t know what the state is going to do. We have to be great stewards of this land. This is magnificent land.” In contrast, the [ 2016 GOP Platform] calls for the federal government “to convey certain federally controlled public lands to states.” Ballotpedia took a look at where McMorris Rodgers has stood on a variety of issues and legislation related to the Interior Department’s jurisdiction. Read more here.
    • See also: The Trump administration on energy and the environment
  • It was also reported on Friday afternoon that Trump had offered Gary Cohn the position of director of the National Economic Council. Cohn is the president and COO of Goldman Sachs. Trump’s nominee to head the Treasury Department, Steven Mnuchin, also worked at Goldman Sachs, as did his chief strategist, Steve Bannon. The National Economic Council has been around since 1993 and was established by President Bill Clinton to advise the president on domestic and international economic policy and to help implement the president’s economic agenda. Senate confirmation is not required for the appointment. According to The Wall Street Journal, Cohn is a registered Democrat who “isn’t politically vocal.” He has donated to political candidates on both sides of the aisle.
    • Cohn’s views on several issues on which he would likely advise Trump—such as international trade, financial regulations, and corporate taxes—are not entirely known, though some of his views may be at odds with Trump’s. Cohn’s stance on federal financial regulations, for example, appears to be mixed. Last month, in an interview with CNBC, he said, “As central banks start to flood the market with liquidity, we need to be able to transmit that into main street — to entrepreneurs... to small and medium-sized companies. I do think that part of the regulation we've gone through has inhibited our ability to transmit that capital....On the other hand, remember U.S. banks today are the strongest banks in the world.... that's a huge competitive advantage for U.S. banks and I don't want to lose that.” Trump has been more critical of regulations on the financial sector, saying in October 2015, “[T]he regulators are running the banks. The bankers are petrified of the regulators. And the problem is that the banks aren’t loaning money to people who will create jobs.”
    • See also: Trump administration officials on financial policy and Financial policy under the Trump administration
  • President Barack Obama “has ordered a full review into hacking by the Russians aimed at influencing US elections going back to 2008,” according to CNN. White House homeland security and counterterrorism advisor Lisa Monaco said, "The President has directed the Intelligence Community to conduct a full review of what happened during the 2016 election process. It is to capture lessons learned from that and to report to a range of stakeholders. This is consistent with the work that we did over the summer to engage Congress on the threats that we were seeing."

Congressional Legislation

Monday, December 5

  • Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) said that they would block the Senate from passing any bills by unanimous consent until a vote was held on S 3470—the Miners Protection Act of 2016. The legislation would fund coal miners’ pensions and healthcare plans, which are set to expire in April 2017. In a joint statement, the senators said, “These miners cannot wait another day and it’s up to us to protect what they’ve earned for a lifetime of dangerous, backbreaking work. We are confident this bill would pass on the floor and we demand action to provide long-term certainty for these miners."
    • On Friday, when their effort to amend a short-term funding to include an extension of benefits for miners failed, the senators decided to stop blocking a vote on the funding bill in order to avoid a government shutdown.

Tuesday, December 6

  • Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the outgoing House Freedom Caucus chairman, attempted to force a vote on a resolution to impeach Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen, but the move was rejected. The resolution accused Koskinen of impeding a congressional investigation into the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Wednesday, December 7

  • Key vote: The Senate passed HR 34—the 21st Century Cures Act—by a vote of 94-5. The $6.3 billion bill allocates funding to address the opioid epidemic, Vice President Joe Biden’s “cancer moonshot” program, Alzheimer’s disease, and reform of the mental health system. Additionally, the bill streamlines and increases the speed of FDA approval for new drugs and medical devices.
    • After the Senate passed the bill, President Barack Obama released the following statement: “We are now one step closer to ending cancer as we know it, unlocking cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, and helping people seeking treatment for opioid addiction finally get the help they need. The bipartisan passage of the 21st Century Cures Act is an example of the progress we can make when people from both parties work together to improve the health of our families, friends and neighbors. … This bill will make a big difference, and I look forward to signing it as soon as it reaches my desk.”

Thursday, December 8

  • Key vote: The House passed HR 2028—the legislative vehicle for the Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017—by a vote of 326-96. The legislation funds the government through April and includes:
    • a budget cap of $1.07 trillion from fiscal 2016;
    • $8 billion in funding for the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS);
    • $170 million in funding for cleaning up contaminated water in places like Flint, Michigan;
    • $4.1 billion in disaster relief;
    • $872 million for medical research and drug abuse; and
    • an expedited process to waive the requirement that executive cabinet members be retired from active duty military service for seven years, which would allow General James Mattis to be considered for secretary of state.

Friday, December 9

 

Congress is NOT in session SCOTUS is NOT in session
The Senate and House will be not be in session. Members will return to Capitol Hill on January 3, 2017. The Supreme Court is between argument sessions. The court has a non-argument session scheduled for Monday, December 12. The court will continue to issue orders throughout the session break and will next hear arguments on Monday, January 9, 2017.

What’s On Tap Next Week

Saturday, December 10

2016 Elections Aren’t Over

Sunday, December 11

  • President-elect Donald Trump will be interviewed by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday.

 

Where was the president last week? Federal judiciary
President Barack Obama traveled to MacDill Air Force Base on Tuesday to meet with military members. He was in Washington, D.C., for the remainder of the week.  
  • 112 total federal judicial vacancies
  • 66 pending nominations
  • 18 future vacancies

Back to top for State and Local updates

State and Local

Highlights

State

  • North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory (R) conceded that he lost the November general election to state Attorney General Roy Cooper (D). The concession followed a recount in Durham County, which did not significantly change the vote total and left Cooper with an edge of more than 10,000 votes out of more than 4.7 million votes cast. McCrory was the first governor in the state’s history to lose a re-election bid. He stated in a video, “Despite continued questions that should be answered regarding the voting process, I personally believe that the majority of our citizens have spoken and we should now do everything we can to support the 75th governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper.” Cooper released a statement thanking the governor and his wife, Ann McCrory, for their service and stating, "I’m proud to have received the support from so many who believe that we can come together to make a North Carolina that works for everyone." North Carolina is a Republican trifecta, but Cooper’s victory in the gubernatorial race will result in a divided government following his swearing-in. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers. Prior to the November 2016 election, there were 23 Republican trifectas. Following the election, there will be 25 Republican trifectas.

Local

  • Today, Saturday, December 10, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will hold general elections for mayor and six city council seats. Sharon Weston Broome (D) and Bodi White (R) will compete to become the next mayor after the two were separated by less than 5,000 votes in the November primary. The only city council seat for which both a Democratic and Republican candidate are running is District 12, where Rose Williams Carey (D) faces Barbara Freiberg (R). Incumbents are running for re-election in four of the city council races. Baton Rouge is the 93rd-largest city in the United States by population and the second-largest in Louisiana.
 

State

The Week in Review

Ballot measures update

2017

  • Three statewide measures are certified to appear on the ballot in 2017 in Maine, New York, and Ohio. Over the last five odd-year election cycles, an average of almost 7 citizen-initiated measures and 34 statewide measures total have appeared on ballots.
    • An initiative in Ohio would dictate that state agencies pay no more for prescription drugs than the Department of Veteran Affairs. This initiative is nearly identical to California Proposition 61, which was narrowly defeated in the November 8 election after opponents, consisting mostly of pharmaceutical companies, spent over $109 million on the opposition campaign.
    • Washington and Ohio feature signature submission deadlines for initiatives in late December 2016.

2018

Monday, December 5

High Stakes for Maine’s Recount

  • The recount process for Question 1, the Maine Marijuana Legalization measure, began, with teams consisting of volunteers recruited by both sides of the ballot measure campaign and secretary of state office staff hand counting “yes” and “no” votes. Volunteers started by assessing ballots from the city of Portland, and they will move on to other larger communities before ballots from smaller areas are counted. The recount could take more than a month and cost taxpayers more than $500,000 to complete. Initial election results showed Question 1 passing by less than half of a percent of the vote. If the election results are not reversed, recreational marijuana will become legal 30 days following the proclamation of the official results by the governor.
    • Voters in eight other states were also presented with marijuana-related ballot measures. Recreational marijuana was approved in California, Massachusetts, and Nevada. Medical marijuana was approved in Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota, with a measure lifting restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries also passing in Montana. Arizona was the only state in which a marijuana-related measure was not approved, with voters narrowly defeating a measure to legalize recreational marijuana.

More Voters Means More Signatures Needed in Nebraska

    • Nebraska voters were presented with one veto referendum that addressed the death penalty. The measure, Referendum 426, gave voters the choice to either retain legislation that would have upheld Nebraska’s ban on the death penalty or repeal the legislation. The majority of voters chose the repeal option, thereby reinstating the death penalty in the state of Nebraska.
    • In Nebraska, the total number of signatures required for initiatives is based on the number of total registered voters in the state. Therefore, 2016 election results do not affect the signature requirements for initiatives and veto referendums. Proposed initiated state statutes require a signature number equal to 7 percent of registered voters, proposed initiated constitutional amendments require a number equal to 10 percent of registered voters, veto referendums that do not suspend a law require a number equal to 5 percent of registered voters, and veto referendums that do suspend a targeted law require a number equal to 10 percent of registered voters. The number of registered voters increased by a little over 50,000 since the 2014 election, leading to increases of between 3,000 and 6,000 in the number of signatures likely to be required for 2018 petitions. Likely signature requirements range from a little over 60,000 for veto referendums to a little over 121,000 for initiated constitutional amendments.

Californians Get Sworn In

Tuesday, December 6

Democratic 527 Group Elects 2017 Leadership

  • The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) voted to re-elect Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy (D) for a second one-year term as chair of the organization. In his 2016 term as chair, Malloy helped the DGA to set a fundraising record for a presidential year by collecting $29.2 million through the first three quarters. Democrats lost ground at the gubernatorial level in November’s elections, however. In 2016, Republicans took control of governor’s offices in Missouri, New Hampshire, and Vermont, whereas the sole gubernatorial pick-up for Democrats was in North Carolina. Following swearing-ins, Republicans will control 33 governorships, Democrats will control 16 governorships, and an independent (Bill Walker in Alaska) will control one governorship. Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) was elected to served as vice chair and chair-elect of the DGA, which will result in him taking office as chair in 2018. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) was elected to serve as the policy chair. The DGA is a 527 group that provides funding and policy consulting to political campaigns.

Resignation Notice

  • Kris Hansen (R), of Montana’s 14th State Senate District, announced plans to resign from the Senate following her appointment to state Auditor-elect Matt Rosendale’s staff. She will serve as chief legal counsel for the auditor’s office. Montana law requires the secretary of state to inform county commissioners and the appointee’s respective party within seven days of the vacancy. The party’s central committees then have 45 days to name three possible replacements. The county commissioners then have a 15-day window to select the final appointment from those replacement candidates. Hansen has served in this seat since 2014. The Montana State Senate is currently controlled by Republicans, who have 32 of the 50 seats in the chamber. The state’s House is also controlled by the Republicans, but the governorship is held by Democrat Steve Bullock, preventing a Republican trifecta.

Wednesday, December 7

The Limit Does Not Exist. Montana Fixes Clerical Error in Initiative 182

  • Judge James P. Reynolds of the Montana 1st Judicial District Court allowed immediate enactment of a provision in Montana Initiative 182 removing the state’s three-patient limit for medical marijuana providers, a change that would have otherwise been delayed for six months because of what proponents called a clerical error in their initiative. Despite the intention of the measure’s authors, Initiative 182—approved by Montana voters in November—was written so that the three-patient limit would be repealed on June 30, 2017. The measure was designed to repeal certain legislation impacting medical marijuana dispensaries and physicians and to incorporate PTSD as a qualifying condition to receive medical marijuana. Voters in Montana first approved medical marijuana in 2004 via Initiative 148. The legislature passed a law prohibiting marijuana dispensaries from having more than three registered patients in 2011, although court litigation held up the effective date of this three-patient limit until August 31, 2016.

Michigan Asks to See Some IDs

  • The Michigan House of Representatives approved a bill that, if enacted, will alter the state's photo identification requirement for voters. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, voter identification requirements come in two forms: strict and non-strict. Under strict requirements, a voter who does not possess the required form of identification may be required to cast a provisional ballot. Under non-strict requirements, a voter who does not have the necessary identification may still vote without casting a provisional ballot. Michigan currently enforces a non-strict photo ID requirement, meaning that a voter who does not possess the required identification is still permitted to cast a regular ballot if he or she signs an affidavit attesting to his or her identity. The bill approved by the House (HB 6066) would establish a strict photo ID requirement, meaning that a voter who lacks the required identification would have to vote via provisional ballot. The House approved the bill 57-50. All but five Republicans voted in favor of the bill; all Democrats voted against the bill. State Representative Lisa Lyons (R), who sponsored the bill, said, "This legislation is simple: in order to have your vote count, you have to prove that you are who you say you are. The legislation preserves the integrity of our elections and will deter and detect fraud." State Representative Jeff Irwin (D) voted against the bill, saying, "This is going to cause confusion. There are going to be arguments and long lines are going to get even longer, but I guess that’s the point. If we pass this bill and sign it into law, there will be properly registered voters expecting to vote who will not be able to." HB 6066 will now move to the Michigan State Senate for consideration. As of December 2016, 16 states enforce photo ID requirements for voters; of these, eight are strict requirements, meaning that a voter without the proper identification is generally required to cast a provisional ballot. To learn more about voter identification requirements in the United States, see this article.

It’s Official: Maine and New Hampshire Elected Officials Sworn In

  • The newly elected members of the Maine State Legislature were sworn into office on the first day of the new legislative session. All 186 seats of the state legislature were up for election in 2016. Maine is under a divided government. Prior to the November 2016 election, there were 20 states under divided government. Following the election, there will be 19 states under divided government. The state Senate has a partisan balance of 17 Democrats and 18 Republicans. There are 77 Democrats, 72 Republicans, and two independents in the state House.
    • Before swearing in members, Governor Paul LePage (R) urged legislators to alter elements of Question 2, which taxes incomes over $200,000, and Question 4, which increases the state’s minimum wage to $12 by 2020. In November, voters approved Question 2 by a margin of less than 1 percent, and they approved Question 4 by a margin of about 10 percent. LePage argued that the measures would hurt the economy, indicating that he would introduce legislation to phase the minimum wage increase in over a longer period and maintain a lower minimum wage for tipped workers. He also indicated that he would introduce a budget with income tax cuts and spending reductions to counteract the tax on incomes over $200,000. Maine is one of 12 states that allow legislators to repeal or amend initiated state statutes with no restrictions.
  • The newly elected members of the New Hampshire General Court were sworn into office. All 424 seats of the state legislature were up for election in 2016. The next legislative session will begin on January 4, 2017. New Hampshire is currently under a divided government, but it will become a Republican trifecta after Governor-elect Chris Sununu (R) is sworn into office in January 2017. Prior to the November 2016 election, there were seven Democratic trifectas and 23 Republican trifectas. Following the election, there will be six Democratic trifectas and 25 Republican trifectas. The state Senate has a partisan balance of 10 Democrats and 14 Republicans. There are 174 Democrats and 226 Republicans in the state House.

Thursday, December 8

Dropping a Virginia Gubernatorial Bid

  • U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (R) withdrew his 2017 election bid for the Virginia governorship. He had previously declared his intention to run in December 2015. In the statement announcing his withdrawal, Wittman said, “I think the best place for me to serve right now is staying there in Congress. Especially now with an administration coming in that’s committed to rebuilding our military.” The move results in the Republican primary field dropping to the following three candidates: political consultants Ed Gillespie and Corey Stewart and state Senator Frank Wagner. The incumbent, Terry McAuliffe (D), is term-limited and ineligible for re-election in 2017. Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam is the only Democratic candidate who has declared for the race thus far. The filing deadline is April 7, 2017, and the primary election will be held on June 13, 2017. Virginia has a divided government. Republicans control both state legislative chambers, but Democrats control the governorship. Following swearing-ins from the 2016 election, there will be 25 Republican trifectas and six Democratic trifectas. Trifecta control of Virginia is at stake in the 2017 elections.
  • MILegalize, the group behind a marijuana legalization initiative that was not put on the ballot in 2016, has filed an appeal with the United States Supreme Court for a lawsuit seeking to put the measure on the ballot in 2018. Prior to June 2016, Michigan law featured a loose 180-day window for signature gathering but allowed initiative proponents to prove older signatures valid. The state legislature passed a law to restrict the petition circulation window to a strict 180 days and Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed it into law on June 7. MILegalize filed its suit after 137,000 of the more than 350,000 signatures it gathered to qualify the marijuana legalization initiative for the ballot were deemed invalid because they were collected outside of the 180-day window, which dropped the petition below the requirement of 252,523 valid signatures. The lawsuit argued that the process required by state elections officials to prove validity was so difficult that it amounted to a denial of due process, that it was illegal for the legislature to impose a new restriction in the middle of a petition drive, and that the signatures in question should have been counted. The case first appeared before the Michigan Court of Claims in June 2016, where the judge found the 180-day law to be constitutional. MILegalize asked the Michigan Supreme Court to bypass the court of appeals and take the case, but the state supreme court denied that request. The group asked the U.S. Supreme Court to direct the case back to the lower courts and order them to canvass existing petitions.
  • State Circuit Court Judge Mark Barnett issued a preliminary injunction after hearing arguments for a South Dakota Initiated Measure 22 lawsuit, temporarily putting the measure’s effects on hold. The measure revised state campaign finance and lobbying laws and created a publicly funded campaign finance program as well as an ethics commission. Most of the provisions enacted took effect on November 16. The lawsuit—which was launched by 24 Republican members of the state legislature, a number of their family members, and the South Dakota Family Heritage Alliance Action, Inc.—argued that many of the initiative’s provisions, including the $100 limit on gifts to legislators, were unconstitutional and that the measure violated the state’s single-subject rule. South Dakotans for Integrity, the group that backed the initiative, filed a request to intervene in the defense of Measure 22. South Dakota is a Republican trifecta. Prior to the November 2016 election, there were 23 Republican trifectas. Following the election, there will be 25 Republican trifectas.
    • The measure was one of five 2016 ballot measures that addressed campaign finance issues. One of these, Washington Initiative 1464, would have also created a publicly funded campaign finance program by allowing each citizen to allocate state funds called “democracy credits” to qualified candidates. Initiative 1464, which was also designed to repeal the state’s non-resident sales tax exemption to pay for “democracy credits,” was defeated by voters.

 

What’s On Tap Next Week

Tuesday, December 13

 

State government in session

All states whose initials appear in red or blue in the list below have unified Republican or Democratic Party control across the state house, the state senate, and the office of the governor. Ballotpedia identifies these as “trifectas.”

  • Prior to the 2016 election: Seven Democratic and 23 Republican trifectas
  • Post-election: Six Democratic and 25 Republican trifectas
    • The pre-election figures are the current number of trifectas in the 50 states. As new members are sworn in for the 2017 legislative sessions, the number of trifectas will be updated to reflect the post-election totals.

Three states—Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio—are in regular session; Massachusetts is in an informal session. North Carolina will convene a special session on December 13 over hurricane relief.

  • Informal session: In an informal session, no attendance is taken and only a few members attend the session. These sessions address day-to-day business and non-controversial bills. The bills do not require debate or a roll-call vote, and they must be passed unanimously. If one member objects, the measure is blocked.

Two states are in recess:

  • CA and ME until 1/4/2017

The following states have convened their 2017 regular sessions:

  • CA, ME

The following states have adjourned their 2016 regular sessions:

  • AK, AL, AR, AZ, CO, CA, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MO, MN, MS, NC, NE, NM, NH, NY, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY

Four states have no regular sessions in 2016:

  • MT, ND, NV, TX

State government special elections

As of this week, 64 seats have been filled through state legislative special elections in 2016. Another two (not including runoff elections) have been scheduled in two states. As of this week, six state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2017 to fill a vacancy. Due to redistricting, another 28 state legislative special elections will be held in North Carolina in 2017. A federal court ruled 28 district maps unconstitutional because of racial gerrymandering. North Carolina lawmakers have until March 15 to redraw the maps.

Ten of these 2016 special elections involved party changes: four from Republican to Democratic (Oklahoma, SD 34; Massachusetts, HD Twelfth Essex; Kentucky, HD 62; and New Hampshire, HD Rockingham 21), four from Democratic to Republican (Connecticut, HD 90; Texas, HD 118; Minnesota, HD 50B; and New York, SD 9), one from Democratic to independent (Texas, HD 120), and one from Republican to independent (Louisiana, HD 85).

  • An average of 37 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past three even years (2010: 26, 2012: 45, and 2014: 40).

Next week: December 13:

Local

The Week in Review

Monday, December 5

Houston Sued: Civil Rights in City Jail

  • Houston, Texas, was the target of a pair of lawsuits alleging that the city jail violated civil rights by detaining individuals for days illegally without allowing a hearing over whether there was probable cause during the initial arrest. The suits claim that the city violated the Fourth and 14th amendments, which deal with probable cause and due process. An attorney with Civil Rights Corps said, “It has become routine practice in this country to lock up poor people for days or weeks after arrest.” A city spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuits. The Texas Fair Defense Project joined Civil Rights Corps in filing the lawsuits. Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in Texas.

Ohio Keeps An Eye Out With Body Cameras

  • The city council in Columbus, Ohio, voted to approve a $9.1 million contract to provide police officers with body cameras. The cost will be paid over five years, with $4.1 million going toward storage, $3.6 million toward the equipment, and the rest earmarked for training, licensing fees, and other accessories. The cameras will first be distributed to the city police department’s traffic bureau by the end of January 2017 before being rolled out to all other bureaus after that. Columbus is the 15th-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in Ohio.
    • As of 2013, a survey of 500 police departments nationwide found that less than 25 percent of those departments utilized body-worn cameras. Other large cities have also initiated body camera programs this year. In June 2016, the Los Angeles City Council voted to approve a $57 million deal to equip the city's police force with body cameras by the end of 2017. To read more about the use of police body cameras across the United States, click here.

Tuesday, December 6

Special Election Watch: Tampa, Florida

Recalled: East Cleveland, Ohio

  • East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton and City Councilman Thomas Wheeler were recalled from office in Ohio. Norton was previously targeted for recall in 2015, while Wheeler survived recall votes in December 2015 and June 2016. Both officials were targeted for failure to fulfill the duties of their offices as East Cleveland considered bankruptcy and annexation by Cleveland in 2016.

County Board Partisan Switch

  • The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors appointed District 3 Supervisor Sheila Kuehl (D) to the South Coast Air Quality Management District board. Kuehl replaces Michael D. Antonovich (R) on the board, switching the 7-6 Republican majority to a 7-6 Democratic one. Republicans held their majority on the board for 10 months. Kuehl said that she favors a “strongly regulatory” approach, adding, “We need to pay attention to any form of pollution that can be regulated.” The district describes itself as “the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.”

Mayors Talk Climate Change

  • Democratic mayors from five large American cities called on Donald Trump to recognize climate change as a “real and urgent threat” as part of the C40 Mayors Summit in Mexico City. The call came on the tails of a C40 report that showed that its 12 member cities from the United States had taken 2,400 individual actions to combat climate change over the past decade. During his campaign, Donald Trump said he supported rescinding the Climate Action Plan. His nominee for head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has criticized the agency’s Clean Power Plan. “Mayors don’t look at climate change as an ideological issue. They look at it as an economic and public health issue,” said C40 President of the Board Michael Bloomberg. C40 is a group of 90 affiliated cities from across the world whose aim is to address climate change.

Sanctuary Cities

  • Mayor Jim Kenney (D) of Philadelphia stated that the city would remain a sanctuary city regardless of possible policy changes at the federal level. President-elect Donald Trump had previously suggested he would pull federal funding from cities that did not cooperate with immigration officials. The mayor told PennLive that he wants “everyone to understand that cities, including Philadelphia, have been the bastion of protection for minorities, LGBT people, for immigrants, and we're not walking this back.” Kenney did say, however, that he would cooperate with the new administration on anything he views as “positive.” Philadelphia is the fifth-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in Pennsylvania.
  • The city council of Santa Ana, California, voted to make the city a sanctuary city. The move made the city the first in Orange County to declare itself a sanctuary city. The Los Angeles Times called the move “largely symbolic,” noting that the vote was on a nonbinding resolution that did not add any additional protections for immigrants in the country illegally. Santa Ana is the 57th-largest city in the United States by population and the 11th-largest in California.

Baltimore’s New Mayor

  • Catherine Pugh (D) was sworn in as the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland. Pugh was elected on November 8, 2016, and replaces Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D). Pugh is expected to deal with a number of issues as the city’s new mayor, including a record homicide rate, combating police misconduct, and addressing poverty in the city. Baltimore is the 26th-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in Maryland.

Confiscated Firearms: Tucson City Council vs. Arizona State Law

  • The city council of Tucson, Arizona, voted unanimously to fight a new state law impacting firearms in court. The city currently destroys confiscated handguns and semi-automatic weapons, though the new state law now requires that they be sold to the state. The state attorney general’s office threatened to take the city to court if it did not stop destroying the firearms. As part of the vote, the council asked the city manager and chief of police to suspend the destruction of confiscated firearms until a resolution is reached in court. Tucson is the 33rd-largest city in the United States by population and the second-largest in Arizona.

Deadlines

  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed for candidates in Los Angeles, California, to file to run for the mayor’s seat, eight positions on the city council, city controller, and city attorney. Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) faces two challengers, the current controller and attorney are running unopposed, and incumbents are running for re-election in seven of the eight city council races. A primary election will take place on March 3, 2017, and any candidate can win outright by winning a majority of votes. In races where someone does not win a majority, a general election will take place on May 16, 2017. Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in California.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed for candidates to file to run for three seats on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. Nine candidates, including two incumbents, filed to run for the three seats. A primary election will be held on March 3, 2017, with a general election scheduled for May 16, 2017. Similar to the city elections held at the same time, a candidate can win the primary election outright by getting a majority of votes. The school district served 653,826 K-12 students during the 2013-2014 school year, which made it the second-largest school district in the United States.

Wednesday, December 7

Mayors Draft Letter to Trump on Immigration

  • A group of mayors signed a letter urging Donald Trump to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, with the letter delivered in person by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D). President-elect Donald Trump has stated that he would abolish DACA. DACA was implemented in June 2012 by then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and allows individuals who were brought to the United States as children to receive relief from being deported for a period of time if they meet certain criteria. The criteria include time of residence in the country, education or military service, and criminal convictions. The mayors wrote: “Ensuring DREAMers can continue to live and work in their communities without fear of deportation is the foundation of sound, responsible immigration policy.” Fourteen Democratic mayors across America’s 100 largest cities by population signed the letter.

Dallas In The Red

  • The city council of Dallas, Texas, decided it would bring a looming financial crisis to the state legislature for help. The city faces problems on two fronts: an underfunded pension system for police and firefighters and lawsuits over backpay for those groups. To fully fund the pension system would cost roughly $1 billion, while the backpay lawsuits could cost the city up to $4 billion. City officials said that if the city had to deal with those deficits of up to $5 billion alone, it would delay investment in infrastructure or other services for decades. Additionally, property taxes could rise by hundreds of dollars annually for the average homeowner in the city. Any change in the pension system would need to be approved by the legislature because state law governs the pension system. Dallas is the ninth-largest city in the United States by population and the third-largest in Texas.

A CEO surcharge

  • The city council of Portland, Oregon, voted to adopt a surcharge on companies whose CEOs make significantly more money than their average employee. The surcharge would be added to the city’s business tax. Companies whose CEOs make 100 times more than their median employees would be taxed an additional 10 percent, while companies whose CEOs make 250 times would see their taxes rise 25 percent. City officials said this would be the first such tax in the nation linked to chief executive pay. Portland is the 29th-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in Oregon.

Public Funds for Portland Politics

  • In Portland, Oregon, the city council voted 3-1 to use public money to match public funds raised for political campaigns in the city. The new system will begin in 2019 to allow for candidates to use funds for the 2020 election cycle. To qualify, a candidate must raise no more than $20,000 during the primary election and $20,000 during the general election, with a $250 limit on individual contributions. The new system is estimated to cost the city $2.4 million per election cycle.

 

What’s On Tap Next Week

Saturday, December 10

More 2016 Elections

  • Houston ISD will hold a runoff election for the District VII seat. Anne Sung was the top vote recipient on November 8 but did not receive a majority of the vote. She will face John Luman in the race to replace outgoing board member Harvin Moore. The school district served 204,245 students during the 2013-2014 school year, which was 4.02 percent of all public school students in Texas.
  • Mansfield City Councilman Mitch Lewis faces a recall vote in Louisiana. Lewis has been targeted for recall because of his support for Mayor Curtis McCoy's policies. McCoy previously faced recall petitions over abuse of power claims, but the effort failed due to a lack of signatures.

Tuesday, December 13

Texas Runoff Elections

  • Austin, Texas, will hold a runoff election for one city council seat. Incumbent Sheri P. Gallo will try to retain her District 10 seat against challenger Alison Alter. Gallo earned the most votes in the November general election, beating Alter by about 5,000 votes. If she wins, Gallo would be the fourth city council member to win re-election this year. The fifth incumbent who ran this year, Donald S. Zimmerman, was defeated in the general election. Austin is the 11th-largest city in the United States by population and the fourth-largest in Texas.
  • A runoff election will be held for two seats on the Austin Community College (ACC) District Board of Trustees. Both seats are open, which means an incumbent is not running for re-election. Sean Hassan and Michael Lewis will face off for Place 4, while Guadalupe Sosa and Julie Ann Nitsch will compete for the Place 9 seat. According to the ACC website, the board is tasked with representing the residents of the ACC taxing district and establishing policies to make sure the college meets the needs of the community.

 

Back to top for Federal updates


About

Ballotpedia wants to keep you in the know. In this weekly newsletter, we let you know the important things that happened last week in the federal, state and local levels of government, as well as what you should look for this week. The Tap covers election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events—everything you need to stay up-to-date on American politics. A summary of the in-depth, nonpartisan content that is added to Ballotpedia every week is now available in this digestible format for free to anyone who wants to be informed.

There are two ways to read The Tap. One is here on the website. Click the tabs for information at each level of government. For previous issues, see Ballotpedia:The Tap. You can also subscribe to have The Tap delivered to your email inbox every Saturday.



Back to top

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Tap:_The_next_secretary_of_state&oldid=8441478"