The Gov Hub Newsletter: June 10, 2024

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Gov Hub
June 10, 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 & topics. Find a typo? Congrats, today is your lucky day!

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THE ACTION ITEMS

Get ‘em done from your phone

ACTION 1 – PRICE GOUGING

The Ask: Tell your reps to pass the Price Gouging Prevention Act.

The Background: Corporations love to line their pockets, even if it takes price gouging masked as inflation to do so. The Price Gouging Prevention Act aims to tackle this practice by banning price gouging at the federal level – yes, with protections for small businesses acting in good faith.

ACTION 2 – SCOTUS

The Ask: Tell the Senate to subpoena Justice Alito.

The Background: The man with the flags – Justice Alito – needs to come to the table and share why he and the wife he blames for it all, had a pro-insurrection flag flying at his home and a Christian Nationalist at his shore house. Tell the Senate they need to bring him in.

ACTION 3 – VOTING

The Ask: Check your voter registration. 

The Background: Don’t wait ‘till it’s too late. Check your registration and remind a friend.

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

  • This Karen for Democracy, is a Karen worth getting to know as she runs for a seat she most likely can’t win in North Carolina. Also, her dog is in the vid, soooo, it’s gonna be a watch for us [and you].

  • A big AF inflatable IUD stood tall in DC last week is rumored to be going on the road to bring eyes to the need for the right to contraception to be protected and codified – especially since it’s under attack by the GOP – the short of it + the long of it.

  • The National Park Service is taking applications for its Underrepresented Communities grants, which aim to diversify the places and spaces nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. Apply here for this grant cycle by August 29, 2024.

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills

FEDERAL: The Biden-Harris Admin has been going after junk fees, and this bipartisan duo [Rep. Young Kim & Rep. Kathy Castor] has been too with the FEES Act. The bill aims to bring cost transparency for consumers on lodging costs i.e. hotels, motels, inns, etc. Broadly, the bill, if passed, would require “accurate price listings that include all mandatory and resort fees” and say toodles to misleading price advertising. 

FEDERAL: Another bipartisan bill, the PIFCA bill, aims to prevent infant formula shortages like the mega-sized one in 2022 and prevent infant deaths. Via a meeting of two Senate minds [and their staffers, duh] – Senator Gary Peters and Senator John Hoeven – the bill would enhance the FDA’s oversight capabilities on infant formula manufacturing with a three-pronged approach. As per the presser:

  • Require infant formula manufacturers to conduct testing for Cronobacter or Salmonella in infant formula marketed for consumption.

  • Require infant formula manufacturers to share positive contaminant results with the FDA.

  • Requires infant formula manufacturers to consult with the FDA on how to properly dispose of contaminated products.

FEDERAL: Aaaaand for another bipartisan bill – yes, that makes three in this line-up – there’s this bill focused on rural small businesses. Now if you just read the four last names as listed at the start of the presser introducing the bill, it sounds like something that should be on a t-shirt – “Golden, Pappas, Bean, Mann.” Are we wrong? Do we need more coffee? All possible. Also possible with this legislation, the Rural Small Business Resilience Act, should it pass, is a requirement for the Small Business Administration. It would require specific outreach policies to be created for rural communities and address their specific needs, as well as ensure that rural small biz’s have access to SBA disaster assistance when needed. 

PENNSYLVANIA: A new bill focused on bolstering tourism in PA has supporters and detractors. The bill, HB 1891, if passed, would give counties and municipalities the ability [and the option] to establish what would be known as tourism improvement districts. They would also be able to create a specifically related tax to support the district.

ELECTION SZN 2024

Guides, chatter, who’s who

  • How does a presidential candidate pick a running-mate? This 2-minute read provides a snapshot of the process.

  • The lean of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court hangs in the balance yet again this year, and this liberal judge is stepping into the race for a critical seat on the bench.

HGW LISTENS

Hit play on these pods

GATG MERCH LAUNCH: GOV CLUB SWEATSHIRTS

Summer sweatshirts = perf summer fits

Just in time for summer nights that require a cozy sweatshirt, The Gov Club Collection is built for the chic to chill pipeline of moments. The Collection is inclusive of five color options to match all your faves. Get ‘em all. 

BOOKMARK IT

Don’t lose the link

TRANSLATABLE: Hot off the presses, Translatable is here – a community designed to support transgender kids and their families. The platform comes via Dwayne Wade and his daughter, Zaya. Bookmark it here.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

‘25 ILLINOIS BUDGET INCLUDES $23 MILLION FOR BIRTH EQUITY INITIATIVE: A lot was rolled into Illinois’s 2025 budget, including the nixing of a 1% grocery tax set to go into effect in 2026 to reduce the impacts of inflation, an increase in funding for early childhood education, and $23 million for the state’s new birth equity initiative, which includes a child tax credit. The initiative, which was introduced by Governor Pritzker and Lt. Governor Stratton this winter, aims in application to reduce maternal mortality and address the maternal health gap that has Black women in the state 2x more likely than their white counterparts dying from a pregnancy related condition. According to Axios, the initiative will include insurance coverage for doulas and licensed midwives in births and abortions.

NORTH CAROLINA DMV TO OPEN ON SATURDAYS THIS SUMMER; IDS NEEDED TO VOTE: ICYMI, to vote in the state of North Carolina you need to show a photo ID. However, there are MANY obstacles to getting an ID – cue this deep dive that includes a solution at the federal level. In the meantime, North Carolina has extended its office hours for the summer in part because of a backlog and long wait times, a concern for many as we zoom toward E-day. Regardless of the ‘how we got here,’ the hours and openings can be viewed here.

CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL BECOMES LAW IN COLORADO: Ticket sales and transparency became a big theme legislatively this year [scroll above for proof in the pudding], and Colorado Governor Polis signing this bill into law caps that off. The law aims to protect consumers from deceptive ticket selling practices and sellers. The law hits four main pillars as per Ticket News:

  • Prohibit hidden fees by instituting all-in, up-front price transparency

  • Ban any increase of the ticket price after a consumer selects the tickets for purchase

  • Guarantee refunds for canceled shows

  • Ban the use of deceptive websites which impersonate a venue or a seller

TWO ELDER-CARE LAWS TO PROTECT SENIORS BECOME LAW IN CT: Two bills, which combined include 36 pieces of legislation, according to WSHU, were signed by Connecticut Governor Lamont last week with the goal of improving eldercare and protecting seniors. The two bills – Public Act 24-29 and Public Act 24-141 focus on at-home care and nursing homes, and a drastic need to improve standards of care and related oversight processes. Specifically, the laws will ban putting more than two residents in a room at nursing homes starting in 2026, require a Medicaid registry for at-home workers and require them to wear photo ID, an increase in agency oversight, and higher staff training requirements.

WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME

ICYMI a quick political news note

LOUISIANA TEES-UP LEGALIZATION OF RAW MILK SALES: In a leave science behind vein of thinking, Louisiana has a bill heading to the governor’s desk for consideration that would legalize the sale of raw, unpasteurized milk. In recent years, raw milk has become a focus for the granola-to-alt right pipeline, positioning it as a ‘something the government doesn’t want you to know about.’ Meanwhile, pasteurized milk, like the majority that’s in stores nationwide, is milk that has undergone a process to kill bacteria, like the type that can cause typhoid, amongst other heinous things. Nonetheless, raw milk has grown in popularity, and this bill-likely-to-become-law comes as a result. The bill will require that any unpasteurized milk be labeled as such, with warnings about bacteria and that it shouldn’t be for human consumption. As for animals that imbibe the milk? Well, we’ll leave this here to read.

KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

  • Politico: Colorado’s Weed Market Is Coming Down Hards and It’s Making Other States Nervous

  • AP: From women pastors to sexual abuse to Trump, Southern Baptists have a busy few days ahead of them

  • Time: What is Project 2025?

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