The Tap: Wednesday, April 27, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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 #14 of The Tap, which was published on April 30, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.
Federal
- Ted Cruz announced during a rally in Indiana that if he were to receive the Republican nomination, tech executive and former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina would be his running mate. He said, “Carly respects the Constitution and the Bill of Rights … She is someone you can be confident in, if the occasion should arise, to be Commander in Chief and keep this country safe.” After Cruz introduced her, Fiorina said of the presidential election, “There is a lot at stake, and in fact, this is a fight, this is a fight for the soul of our party and the future of our nation.”
- Former Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) called Ted Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh” during an event at Stanford University. He continued, “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a b**** in my life.” Cruz responded on Thursday, saying, “The interesting thing is I’ve never worked with John Boehner, I don’t know the man. Indeed, during the government shutdown, I reached out to John Boehner, to work with him to get something meaningful done, he said, ‘I have no interest in talking to you.’”
- On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the final scheduled oral argument for this term in McDonnell v. United States. The court considered whether “official action” is limited to the actual exercise, the threatened exercise, pressuring others to exercise governmental power, or some combination of the three for the purposes of prosecution under federal bribery and fraud statutes and, if “official action” is not limited in this manner, whether the statutes under review are unconstitutional. The case came on a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The petitioner in this case is former Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell, who, along with his wife, was found guilty in 2014 of conspiring to take cash and gifts from the owner of Star Scientific in exchange for promoting a dietary supplement.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved forward with a state incentive program related to the Clean Power Plan, despite the Supreme Court’s temporary stay on the Clean Power Plan’s official implementation. The voluntary program, known as the Clean Energy Incentive Program, would give states credit toward their CO2 emissions reductions under the Clean Power Plan. States would devote funds to renewable energy programs and energy-efficiency measures in low-income communities. The program is meant to allow states that are supportive of the Clean Power Plan to prepare for the plan’s mandatory emissions reductions should the plan be fully implemented.
- The Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed rule to implement certain provisions of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. According to a press release from the department, the rule would institute the Quality Payment Program, which would “help clinicians transition from payments based on volume to payments based on value” by using the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) or Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs). “MIPS allows Medicare clinicians to be paid for providing high value care through success in four performance categories: Quality, Advancing Care Information, Clinical Practice Improvement Activities, and Cost.” Clinicians who choose to participate in “Advanced Alternative Payment Models – would be exempt from MIPS reporting requirements and qualify for financial bonuses.” HHS is accepting comments on the proposed rule until June 27, 2016.
- Four Senate Republicans joined 46 Democrats to block an amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that would have prevented the Obama administration from buying more heavy water from Iran as part of the nuclear deal. The vote prevented the Senate from advancing on HR 2028 - the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016.
- The Senate blocked the amendment again on Thursday.
Congress
- The House Passed HR 4923 - the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 by a vote of 415-2. HR 4923 proposes letting U.S. companies ask the International Trade Commission to lower or suspend tariffs on materials that they use in their products, as long as those materials are not available in the U.S.
- The House passed HR 699 - the Email Privacy Act by a vote of 419-0. HR 699 proposes requiring the government to obtain a warrant before asking communications service providers for customers’ electronic information. The bill would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, which allows the government to obtain electronic information and communications after 180 days without a warrant.
- The House passed HR 4498 - the HALOS Act by a vote of 325-89. HR 4498 proposes requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission to amend Regulation D of its rules (17 C.F.R. 230.500 et seq.), with respect to presentations and communications. The bill would allow start-up companies to present their ideas to angel investors and businesses without penalty.
- The House passed S 1890 - the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 by a vote of 410-2. The bill proposes allowing companies whose trade secrets have been stolen to sue in federal court for damages. It passed the Senate on April 4, 2016, by a vote of 87-0. The White House supports the legislation, and President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law.
- The following bill was passed by voice vote in the House; HR 4240 - the No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act.
State
- On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the final scheduled oral argument for this term in McDonnell v. United States. The court considered whether “official action” is limited to the actual exercise, the threatened exercise, pressuring others to exercise governmental power, or some combination of the three for the purposes of prosecution under federal bribery and fraud statutes and, if “official action” is not limited in this manner, whether the statutes under review are unconstitutional. The case came on a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The petitioner in this case is former Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell, who, along with his wife, was found guilty in 2014 of conspiring to take cash and gifts from the owner of Star Scientific in exchange for promoting a dietary supplement.
- Justice David Prosser of the Wisconsin Supreme Court announced that he will retire in July. Prosser was appointed by Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) in 1998 and has spent 18 years on the high court’s bench. Justice Prosser was last re-elected in 2011, narrowly defeating challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg in a race that prompted a statewide recount. Kloppenburg was defeated again in the 2016 Wisconsin Supreme Court election on April 5, losing to incumbent Justice Rebecca Bradley. Prosser’s replacement will be Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) second appointment to the court, which has been split 5-2 in favor of conservative justices. Justice Prosser’s successor would face election in 2020. That is the first year in which no other justice’s seat will be up for election, and the Wisconsin State Constitution limits supreme court justice elections to one per year.
- The Maine Legalize Marijuana Initiative has been cleared to appear on the ballot in November. The initiative petition was initially disqualified for not having enough valid signatures, but the support campaign filed a lawsuit to appeal the decision on March 10, 2016. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy overturned the secretary of state’s decision on April 8, 2016, and ordered a second review of the signatures. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced that the second review resulted in enough valid signatures to qualify the measure for ballot. Ballotpedia is tracking 82 statewide measures that are certified for the ballot in 2016, most of which will be decided during the November election.
- In a related case, an appeal to get the Maine Casino or Slot Machine Initiative on the ballot was withdrawn on April 19, 2016. This measure had also been disqualified for lacking sufficient valid signatures, which resulted in a similar lawsuit. Justice Murphy upheld the secretary of state’s decision in this case, however, and with the appeal of her decision withdrawn, the casino measure will not appear on the ballot in November.
- Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) signed a budget bill for the state’s higher education institutions. The bill provides for an increase of $71.3 million for 2016-2017 operating funds for Missouri’s colleges and universities. That amounts to about a 4 percent increase for each institution. The budget also includes $3.6 million for schools that meet certain performance targets and about $7 million for various scholarships. In return for an increase of funding, colleges and universities in the state agreed to freeze tuition at current levels for the next year. According to the College Board, average tuition in Missouri for the 2015-2016 school year amounted to $3,194 at two-year colleges and $8,564 at four-year colleges. Missouri is one of 20 states under divided government.
- Members of the group the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan filed an ethics complaint against Norm Shinkle, the vice chairman of the Michigan State Board of Canvassers. The board met on Monday to vote on a measure that would have made it easier for groups to prove the signatures collected to get a proposed measure on the ballot are valid. The board adjourned after not having the necessary quorum to meet. During the adjournment, Shinkle left the meeting, thus delaying the vote over whether to change this ballot measure rule. Shinkle stated that he left to meet a client, while a member of the Committee to Ban Fracking, LuAnne Kozma, alleges that Shinkle left the meeting to prevent the vote from occurring. Signatures collected to get a proposed ballot measure on the ballot are assumed to be invalid after 180 days in Michigan. After that point, the signatures have to be proved valid by local clerks. Two groups, the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan and MI Legalize, which is working on a ballot measure that would decriminalize marijuana, are working with the state board to "modernize" the process initiative proponents can use to prove that signatures are valid once they are more than 180 days old.
Local
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D)’s chief legal counsel confirmed that subpoenas were sent by both the Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Manhattan District Attorney amid probes of de Blasio’s fundraising activities. Investigators are trying to determine whether donors to de Blasio’s campaign or the nonprofit Campaign for One New York received favors in exchange for their donations. De Blasio raised money to try and help Democrats regain control of the New York State Senate in 2014. Republicans held a coalition majority heading into the election and emerged on the other side with an outright numerical majority. De Blasio will be up for re-election in 2017.
- The ride-sharing service Uber announced that it plans to cease operations in Houston, Texas, unless the city council votes to repeal a regulation that requires fingerprint-based background checks for drivers. Uber made a similar move in Galveston and Midland in February 2016, and has threatened to also leave Austin over the background checks. This is not a recent trend, as Uber regulations and a threat by the company to leave played a role in San Antonio’s 2015 mayoral race. Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest in Texas.
- The Anaheim City Council voted to table a resolution denouncing remarks made by Donald Trump (R). After five hours of public comment by 76 speakers, the resolution to "reject and condemn the divisive rhetoric of presidential candidate Donald Trump" was put on hold. An altercation in front of city hall took place between Trump detractors and supporters, with one detractor pepper spraying five individuals, including two children. Trump won all five Republican presidential primaries on the night before the council meeting.
- A judge in York County, Pennsylvania, pleaded no contest to assaulting four women who appeared in his courtroom. Jeff Joy, who was elected in 2011, was charged in August 2015 with oppression, indecent assault, and harassment. Three women each accused Joy of visiting their home, with one claiming that he groped her. Joy was also accused of making sexual remarks toward a fourth woman in the courtroom. As a result of his plea, Joy was ordered to resign from the court and never again serve as a judge, in addition to performing 100 hours of community service and serving two years of probation.
- FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to run for eight school board seats across four of New York’s largest school districts. Those districts are New Rochelle, Newburgh Enlarged City, Schenectady City, and Utica City. The general election for these districts will be on May 17, 2016.
Preview of the day
The excerpts below were compiled from issue #13 of The Tap, which was published on April 23, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.
Federal
- The Supreme Court will hear the final scheduled oral argument for this term on Wednesday in McDonnell v. United States. The court will consider whether “official action” is limited to the actual exercise, the threatened exercise, pressure on others to exercise governmental power, or some combination of the three for the purposes of prosecution under federal bribery and fraud statutes and, if “official action” is not limited in this manner, whether the statutes under review are unconstitutional. The case comes on writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The petitioner in this case is former Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell. The court heard 69 oral arguments this term.
Local
- FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to run for eight school board seats across four of New York’s largest school districts. The general election for these districts will be on May 17, 2016.
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