The Gov Hub: January 8, 2024

Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov®. This weekly pop of politics is designed to share action items, resources, & quick links to civic engagement tools and topics. Find a typo? Congrats, it’s your lucky day.

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THE ACTION ITEMS

Jump right in

ACTION 1: New Hampshire

The Ask: Tell your state reps to pass HB463, the Online Election Portal Bill.

The Action: Hit send on this digital note from 603Forward.

The Background: The majority of states have online voter reg and related systems. New Hampshire does not. The result? More roadblocks for voters and an outdated system for administrators. The Online Election Portal Bill would change the status quo by creating an online election information portal. If passed, the bill would enable “voters to complete a new voter application, request an absentee ballot, and update their address and other voter information.” Hellooo, improved accessibility. 

ACTION 2: 

The Ask: Tell your federal reps to pass the The RISE from Trauma Act.

The Action: Hit send on this digital note from Futures Without Violence.

The Background: The bipartisan RISE from Trauma Act would “increase support for children and adults who’ve been exposed to trauma such as parental addiction, witnessing violence, and abuse.” Specifically, it “would increase funding for community-based efforts to prevent and heal the impact of trauma and expand the trauma-informed workforce in school, health, social service, and judicial settings,” as well as enable the creation of “a new HHS grant program to support hospital-based trauma interventions.” It would also cover the launch of other grant programs and trainings, as well as the reauthorization of many currently in existence.

ACTION 3: 

The Ask: Tell your federal reps to pass three tree planting bills aimed at cooling neighborhoods.

The Action: Hit send on this note to tell your federal reps to pass the SHADE Act, the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act, and Neighborhood Tree Act.

The Background: Climate change continues to bring the heat - not in a good way. Planting trees, which offer shade, provide canopy that lowers temperatures, and improves air quality, is a solution to get behind. Trees can be make or break in many ways, including reducing the temperature on a city block by as much as 10 degrees. The SHADE Act, the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act, and the Neighborhood Tree Act all play a role in bringing the needed benefits of trees into focus.

Looking for more action items? Check our library of past Gov Hub’s.

FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND

Just about guaranteed to make it to the group chat

• A bill worth the squeeze is one that would stop Chardonnay from being the ‘house white wine’ at restaurants and bars. It’s the worst white wine – and that’s a hill we’ll die on.

• Garnering high applause in the “it’s not funny, but it’s funny” category, is this “I’m not an insurrectionist” visiting the Capitol technique, this historical re-enactors meet-up for J6’ers, and this POV on the SnapChat memories recap J6’ers must’ve gotten this weekend… Jokes aside, the Insurrection Index lets you search for your least favorite insurrectionists that are running for office. And this pod gives you the background on the index.

• Some have interpreted the ‘right to bear arms’ as the ‘the right to bare arms’ and tbh, we’re searching for a Constitutional lawyer that will take on this argument. Who says the founding fathers knew how to spell?! 

• And to think some call Biden ‘Sleepy Joe’ when the man is within a breath of calling Trump a ‘sick fuck….’ This moment from the campaign trail will be living rent free in our brains for quite some time, and this audio might just make it into this week’s #VIRAL.

• We’re all for term limits unless it involves this very fluffy, very cute, very boop-able mayor.

• We’re also for making networking with the political girlies and sharing the best of political memes in the group chat, The Gov Club. Say hi and share a meme.

FWD, SUBSCRIBE

Inbox musts and mentions

• GALLERY PASS: Kentucky journalist Olivia Krauth has unveiled a newsletter focused specifically on Kentucky politics, providing the girlies a way to stay in the loop on what’s happening in the leg. Add it to your inbox here. 

• CTRL ALT-RIGHT DELETE: Giving a scary issue – the rise of a far-right extremism in the US – a platform to be analyzed and reported on, this newsletter provides an avenue for understanding this growing phenomena and thus how to stop it. Add it to your inbox here.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

NJ EXPANDS VOTER RIGHTS: The Garden State started the year off with a bang, with Gov. Phil Murphy signing the New Voter Empowerment Act into law. The bill turned law will allow 17-year olds who’ll turn 18 by the next general election to vote in the state’s corresponding primaries. The law allows young voters to participate in an election’s candidate selection process, not just in the last step, after nominees have been selected – general election day. For the one bit of sour grapes, the law won’t go into effect until 2026. 

NEW CA HOUSING LAW ALLOWS FAITH INSTITUTIONS TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING: California has a new law in place designed to improve the status of the affordable housing issue plaguing the state. The law, SB4, tackles one of most prominent roadblocks that impacts the building of new affordable housing in CA – zoning and local approval processes. The law automatically rezones the land owned by churches, faith institutions, and nonprofit colleges, and allows them to build affordable housing on their lots without having to go through the grueling approval process – something that usually stops housing from being built at all or creates years long delays. The law, according to deats shared in a release from State Senator Wiener, will open up 170K+ acres for affordable housing development. 

FLORIDA REACHES THRESHOLD TO PUT ABORTION ON THE ‘24 BALLOT: Topping the ‘in for 2024 list,’ are ballot measures. This trend is particularly top of mind in Florida, with the initiative to get abortion on the ballot and have voters determine whether abortion should be protected in the state’s constitution, having hit the required threshold of verified petition signatures. Translation: baby, we’re almost in biz. Organizers on behalf of the BM were required to collect 891,876 state-certified signatures by February 1. They blew that number out of the water, with the final tally coming in at 910,946, inclusive of over 150,000 Republicans. Before the BM makes the ballot fully however, a fight over the language it uses will have to play out. Currently, the state’s AG is challenging the initiative, labeling it “deceptive” and bringing the challenge to the ultra-conservative Florida State Supreme Court. Stay tuned.

WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME

ICYMI, political ongoings in no particular order

SCOTUS TO REVIEW TRUMP’S BALLOT BAN BONANZA: The saga of whether Trump will or will not be on certain ‘24 ballots continues… ICYMI lawsuits have been brought in a number of states with the aim of booting Trump from the ballot. The lawsuits have centered around the 14th amendment and its insurrection clause – ya know, that silly little thing that says if you engage in an insurrection you can’t run for elected office. The majority of state supreme courts that’ve been presented with one of these lawsuits have said ‘not our circus, not our monkeys’ and thrown the cases in the trash. CO and ME have gone a different direction, with their state supreme courts saying CTRL delete all to Trump being on the ballot. Now, SCOTUS is getting involved and on February 8, 2024, will hear oral arguments on whether Trump can be disqualified from the ballot or not. In the meantime, team Trump has appealed both the CO and ME decisions, and until those decisions are resolved, he gets to stay on the ballot in both states… 

REPORT: TRUMP’S BUSINESSES TOOK IN $7.8 MILL IN FOREIGN PAYMENTS: The House Oversight & Accountability Committee followed the money, honey and they found that Trump’s businesses brought in at least $7.8 million buckeroos from foreign govs via at least 20 countries while he was in office. The report that captured this dumping of dollaroos argues that it violates the Constitution via the Foreign Emoluments Clause. As put into simple terms by Roll Call, the clause “prohibits the president from accepting money payments or gifts from foreign governments and monarchs, unless they get Congress’ approval.” So, you see where this dinero exchange might just get a little sticky?! It gets stickier when you think about all the decisions related to those govs that Trump and his admin were making. TBH, it’s giving Senator Menendez vibes…

KEY STORIES TO HAVE ON YOUR RADAR

Stories from around the USA

• NPR: Former top NRA official admits wrongdoing in New York corruption case

• AP: Congressional leaders announce agreement on spending levels, a key step to averting shutdown

• CNN: Deputy defense secretary was not told Austin had been hospitalized when she assumed his duties

ATLAS

Stories from around the globe - section background avail here

• The Guardian: ‘The mood is heating up:’ Germany fears strikes will play into hands of far right

• Semafor: Azerbaijan names former oil exec as COP29 president

• Reuters: Japan minister, in Kyiv bomb shelter pledges funds to fight drones

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

A bill bad to the bone

FLORIDA: A very bad bill, HB1233 has been filed in Florida by GOP State Rep. Black. The bill is discrimination on steroids and if passed would:

• Deny trans Floridians accurate driver’s licenses & IDs.

• Determine that “equality between sexes does not require ‘same’ or ‘identical’ treatment.”

• Mandate the insurers cover the practice of conversion therapy.

• Require the outing & surveillance of trans Floridians by criminalizing their existence. 

• Aim to revoke protections granted in the Florida Civil Rights Act.

HIT PLAY

New episode, new candidate, new energy in WV

What the f is up in WV?! A race for a Senate seat that’s been held by Joe Manchin since the days when some of us still used Blackberries. This cycle includes Zach Shrewsbury, who is running to bring the issues of West Virginians to the forefront, like so. His campaign is making moves to the tune of Tyler Childers’ anthems and policy positions, ones that come to the mic on the latest eppy of the pod. Tune in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

CANDIDATE WATCH ‘24

The following Dems have said put me in coach for….

• MARYLAND: Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn has announced that he’s running for Congress in MD’s 3rd District. Learn more about his campaign here.

• NEW YORK: Saratoga Springs Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi has announced a run for NY State Senate, District 44. Learn more about her campaign here.

• VERMONT: Esther Charlestin announced that she’s running for Governor of VT. Learn more about her campaign here.

• KENTUCKY: Former State Rep. Patti Minter announced that she is running for mayor of Bowling Green, KY. Learn more about her campaign here.

• VIRGINIA: Alexandria School Board Member, Abdel Elnoubi announced that he’s running for Alexandria, VA’s City Council. Learn more about his campaign here.

* Inclusion does not indicate an endorsement *

BOOKMARK IT

Don’t lose the link, bookmark it

THE VOTING RULES GUIDE: Every state’s voting rules are dif, which is a headache that not even Advil can solve. However, VOTE 411’s quick view guide to the key rules and regs per state at least enables you to get up to speed on what the lay of land is in your state. The guide also gets bonus points because it lets viewers compare their state’s rules to others, which is helpful af when thinking about what state’s voting laws may need a refresh. It’s beautifully bookmark-able.

BEFORE YOU GO….