The Gov Hub: May 22, 2023

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Gov Hub
May 22, 2023

Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov®. This weekly pop of politics is designed to share action items, resources, and quick links to civic engagement tools and topics to inboxes far and wide.

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The Action Items

ACTION 1:

The Ask: Tell the White House to regulate AI [artificial intelligence] now by issuing an executive order.

The Action: Send this pre-written digital letter with specific regulatory asks included from CAP Action.

The Background: The AI industry is evolving at a dangerously rapid pace and if it is not regulated will have terrifying consequences for workers, families, and our overall security in the US. Industry leader and OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman even agrees with that sentiment – regulation is necessary in the industry before it’s too late [ex: social media]. While Congress may be slow to act, Biden can begin this process by issuing an executive order that could:

  • Require federal agencies to adopt and implement the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights for their own use of AI and create a White House Council on AI.

  • Direct federal agencies and contractors to assess their own automated systems under the government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology AI Risk Management framework.

  • Require federal agencies to assess the use of AI in enforcement of existing regulation and address AI in future rulemaking.

  • Direct the federal government to prepare a national plan to address the economic impacts from AI, especially job losses.

  • Order the national security apparatus to prepare for potential artificial intelligence systems that may pose a threat to the safety of the American people.

ACTION 2: Ohio

The Ask: Tell your state representatives to say no to HB 68 - a ban on gender affirming care.

The Action: Hit fill and send this pre-written digital letter to your rep from Honesty for Ohio Education.

The Background: HB 68 is an inhumane bill that’s designed to ban gender affirming care in the state. The bill limits care from physicians and mental health professionals. For physicians, the bill would ban them from:

  • "Performing gender reassignment surgery on a minor individual"

  • "Prescribing a cross-sex hormone or puberty-blocking drug for a minor individual"

  • Aiding or abetting a minor's access to the above types of care

For mental health professionals, it would ban them from:

  • "Diagnosing or treating" any minor seeking assistance with gender-related conditions without first:

  • "Obtaining the consent of the minor individual's residential parent and legal custodian"

  • Testing that minor for "depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and other mental health conditions"

  • Screening that minor for "physical, sexual, mental, and emotional abuse and other traumas"

The full breakdown of the bill’s heinous nature can be viewed here.

ACTION 3: Vermont

The Ask: Tell Governor Scott to sign S. 6 into law, a measure to limit coercive police interrogations of youth in Vermont and prevent false confessions.

The Action: Send this pre-written digital letter Governor Scott’s way and encourage him to put his John Hancock on the bill.

The Background: A bill to end the use of coercive interrogation techniques by police on people under the age of 22, S. 6, was passed by the legislature this sesh. Now the bill has gone to the Governor for review and needs his signature to be put into law [if he vetoes it, it would be possible that the leg votes to override his veto].

ACTION 4: Georgia

The Ask: Tell Georgia Governor Kemp to convene a special session on gun safety legislation.

The Action: Sign this petition in support of a special session, brought to the table by the Georgia House Democrats.

The Background: Georgia House Democrats introduced innumerable gun safety bills this session, only for them to be held up in committee meaning the bills didn’t go anywhere and thus safety did not improve for the state’s residents or visitors. This can be changed if Governor Kemp calls for a special session and brings the representatives back together to collaborate on and move ahead with gun safety legislation – including legislation like HB44 which would require universal background checks for any transfer or sale of a firearm.

ACTION 5:

The Ask: Tell the EPA not to exempt any PFAS uses or lifecycle stages from the agency’s notification requirement.

The Action: Hit send on this pre-written digital letter from the Environmental Defense Fund.

The Background: Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS have been contaminating everything from our water to our food and beyond causing environmental and long term medical issues. The chemicals, which got their name because they’re virtually impossible to get rid of, have come under the supervision of the EPA. However the steps taken to limit PFAS still have loopholes that can result in PFAS contamination. Specifically, exemptions would allow companies to keep rollin’ with PFAS without notifying regulators when….

  • PFAS are used to produce household “articles” — such as carpets

  • PFAS are produced or carried along as an “impurity”

  • PFAS are created as a byproduct of fuel or waste — including byproducts found in landfills or for enriching soil

These exceptions need to get the boot.

New On Girl and the Gov, The Podcast

This week’s interview is focused on a number of gun violence prevention and reduction facets and is done in an explainer-style courtesy of an amazing guest, Kris Brown, President of Brady. Through the organization and beyond, Kris has been working to reduce gun violence – a topic that has a number of addressable avenues. It’s these avenues – from safe storage and its impact on suicide rates to background check loopholes and their dangers to unregulated gun shows and how those operations impact the gun industry, and more that are critical to the larger conversation in this country about guns. The interview covers regulatory issues through cultural approaches, including campaigns Brady has been working on, and importantly hits procures the answers to these FAQs:

@girlandthegov

WE ARE CURIOUS. How do we finally get guhn reforms? What solutions are on the table? We ask all your Qs and Kris answers! #gunreformsaveslives

The episode shines a light on common sense gun reforms and the conversations that need to be had across party lines. The convo can be listened to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, and viewed on YouTube:

PREVIEW: Upcoming topics on the pod include child marriage, paid family leave, DV laws, Nebraska politics and filibusters, campaign management, and more. Have a Q on any of these topics? Send it in by replying to this note.

LIKE-MINDED LISTENS: If you’re a fan of the pod, you’ll want to add the following to your roster [no, they don’t feed you lobster and pasta – IYKYK]:

Subscribe while you scroll, sign up for The Gov Hub Newsletter here if you’re not already on the list.

Back On Our BILLsh*t

New bills, new BILLsh*t. We’re always keeping an eye out for the bills that make us go YAY and the ones that make us scream NAY [see above in the action items run down for ones that are SMH-worthy]. For ones that are floating our boat, see these:

  • FEDERAL: A bipartisan bill introduced by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley has been taking shape in the form of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2023, which would ‘ensure legally operating cannabis businesses can access banking and financial services,’ taking these businesses from cash only into the 21st century. The bill would enable businesses that comply with cannabis laws in states with accessibility to access financial services much the same as other businesses. Cash-only models for business have pitfalls for both operator and customer, and this would shore up many of those issues.

  • FEDERAL: Whatever you do, don’t Google ‘spotted wing drosophila.’ It’s not just an invasive species that’s impacting crops and plants in Michigan, it’s [pretty gnarly looking. Regardless of aesthetics, Senator Gary Peters of Michigan has brought the bipartisan Spotted Wing Abatement Trust (SWAT) Act to the table. The bill is aimed at stopping the spread of these fruit fly guys that like to lay their eggs in fruit like blueberries, and help cut the cost of getting rid of them – and importantly, protecting crops in the process.

  • ALASKA: This roundup is really hitting it out of the park for bills with bipartisan support, including HB 26 out of Alaska. The bill, which passed through the State House, is designed to preserve Alaska’s native languages through the renaming and establishment of The Council for Alaska Native Languages. As noted in the bill text, the Council would be in charge of “recommending the establishment or reorganization of programs to support the preservation, restoration, and revitalization of Alaska Native languages.”

  • FEDERAL: To keep the bipartisan theme, this bill has officially made it out of the House Natural Resource Committee. The Native American Child Protection Act (NACPA), according to a release from Congressman Gallego’s office, “reauthorizes and revises programs that ensure Tribes have the tools they need to treat, prevent, investigate, and prosecute instances of family violence, child abuse, and child neglect involving Native American children and families.”

JOB BOARD

Opportunities and openings seen ‘round town:

WORK TO BREAK THE CYCLE, TENNESSEE: The Work to Break the Cycle website is a new platform out of Shelby County Tennessee and is designed to connect justice-impact individuals with government jobs. At-large the initiative aims to reduce recidivism, improve public safety, bring ex-offenders into the job market, and reduce the cost paid by taxpayers to incarcerate prisoners – lots of positives. The program and platform is officially live, and provides this group of individuals with stable employment opportunities that offer $16/hour wages, healthcare coverage, and paid parental leave. Job opportunities can be explored in full here.

ALL WE CAN SAVE, PROGRAMS & COMMUNITY MANAGER: The team at All We Can Save is looking to hire a Programs & Community Manager. The full job description for the role at the climate-focused nonprofit can be viewed here and those interested in applying can do so, here.

IOWA YOUTH CONGRESS: The Iowa Youth Congress is a year long program that hosts 100 high school-aged students in the state with the goal of providing a hands-on educational experience on state government – how it works, what it does, and so on. There are a ton of deats, which can be read up on here and an application that’s due by May 31, 2023.

Save & Sends

Sometimes you have to save it, sometimes you have to send it, and sometimes you have to do both when it comes to a social media post. And that is very much the case with this roundup, which will be finding their way right into your group chat.

  • What is the debt ceiling again and why does it matter? This less than 1 minute and 30 second explainer gets the job done. And THIS really provides the vibe check on all of our convos trying to explain the whole kit and kaboodle.

  • What’s Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s plan for using the $5 million of money earmarked for enforcing red flag laws? It’s been crickets, Virginia Moms for Change has been making calls using this script. You can also send a note to his office, here.

  • VP Harris likes JORDY. We like JORDY. We all like JORDY. Also, can the VP’s PR team work on releasing an exclusive VP playlist because that would just be amazing.

  • The Office memes have fully infiltrated this campaign, and we’re here for it. 10/10 work.

  • This was one of the worst campaign texts we’ve seen in a minute. Don’t fret, we gave it a much-needed makeover.

Heaps of Headlines

Quick 411’s on a few of the many headlines and political stories on our radars – and links ‘em all.

  • ENVIRONMENT: A term to add to your vocab – ‘produced water.’ The term refers to “naturally occurring water that comes out of the ground along with oil and gas.” And, according to Inside Climate News, it contains dozens of highly toxic chemicals along with naturally occurring poisons like arsenic and radioactive material like radium 226 and 228.” It’s also being pumped here.

  • YOUTH VOTE: The Up and Up sat down with the Catalist team to discuss how they found that in the 2022 midterms, “65% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 supported Democrats, cementing their role as a key part of a winning coalition for the party.” TBH, we think get out the vote methods like these made a huge difference.

  • LOBBYING: Nepo babies aren’t just a Hollywood thing, they’re also very much a DC thing – and this mother-son lobbying duo proves the point. According to this report, the former Congresswoman and her son are singing the corn kid’s anthem and lobbying on behalf of the Illinois Corn Growers Association.

  • ABORTION: Bigger isn’t always better in Texas, and that’s certainly the case with bigger, wide sweeping abortion restrictions that have had terrifying [and deadly] impact. The result? More women have begun to sue the state and are asking the court to put an emergency block on Texas’ abortion law. The lawsuit led by the Center for Reproductive Rights now includes twelve women.

Candidate Watch ‘24

The following have said put me in coach for….

  • Zak Malamed is running for Congress – specifically George Santos’ seat in New York. Watch his announcement video here.

  • Will Rollins is running for Congress for a second time in a California district that narrowly picked a conservative over him. Learn more about his campaign to flip the seat blue here.

  • Olympic figure skater Sarah Hughes filed to run for Congress on Long Island. The deats available so far are these.

Bookmark It

Love it, link it, bookmark it

EDUCATION LEGISLATION TRACKER, OHIO: From the team at Honesty for Ohio Education is the organization’s education legislation tracker. Easy to use, easy to understand, the tracker shares digestible summaries of legislation being considered in the Ohio legislature, where they stand on the legislation, and related testimony and hearing schedules. The tracker also provides access to live and recorded sessions and hearings, enabling constituents to see the real deal on what’s going on in the conversations around education policy in the state house.

The Gov Club

Focused on political networking and community amongst civically engaged besties, The Gov Club provides members access to free virtual networking events, 1v1s, and connect with one another. The Gov Club has also made moves from its old Slack channel home to the Geneva platform to make connecting with one another easy as pie. Sign up for the Gov Club, here.

Comms Corner

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PODCAST AUDITS: Girl and the Gov®’s Podcast Audit service provides a comprehensive review of the client’s existing show with the goal of identifying areas of improvement. This is for clients with existing podcasts at any stage that want to bring their show to the next level. Start the process with a Discovery Call.

SOCIAL MEDIA AUDITS: Think it’s time for a social media audit? Girl and the Gov® can help with that. Get up to speed on what needs to stay, and what needs to go on your social media accounts for it to go from zero to hero. Book a Discovery Call to learn more about what an audit can do for your accounts.

Other *tings* of note on the comms front:

For pitches, PR, partnerships, and collaborations, and more, send all details to [email protected].