The Gov Hub Newsletter: June 17, 2024

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Gov Hub
June 17, 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 – GUN VIOLENCE

The Ask: Tell your [federal] reps to pass the Break the Cycle of Violence Act [H.R 5003/S. 2638].

The Background: The Break the Cycle of Violence Act is a proactive community intervention style bill that would save lives and save taxpayers money in emergency services. The bill would allocate $5 billion in federal grants to intervention programs and another $1.5 billion in workforce initiatives that have been proven vital and successful in past iterations. 

ACTION 2 – ABORTION PILLS

The Ask: Tell your governor to veto any bill that crosses their desk that reschedules and criminalizes the possession of abortion pills.

The Background: As covered in a recent edition of this newsletter, Louisiana passed a bill to reschedule abortion pills and criminalizing possession without a prescription. As states like to play copy cat with one another, it’s possible a bill could be passed in your state in the same vein. Tell your governor no thanks, hard veto.

ACTION 3 – DEEP FAKES

The Ask: Tell Google to stop supercharging the spread of nonconsensual deep fakes.

The Background: Deep fakes are continuing to become a larger and larger issue, especially impacting women of note. The issue is compounded by Google's search results which include the deep fakes per a person whose deep fake is circulating around the internet when a user searches for information on that person. Those search results ‘super charge’ the spread of the nonconsensual imagery or videography. Google needs to delist the websites that host and spread the deep fakes.

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

  • While we’re on the topic of public transit, this DC suburb has begun its journey of executing a climate-centric, clean public transit project that will integrate a micro-grid and position a bus depot in Montgomery county, MD to become “the nation’s largest self-sustaining bus depot.”

  • What does it mean for a city or town to actually be walkable? And what are those barriers made by design that make what looks like a close walk on Google Maps actually a death trap? Tap into an analysis with The Happy Urbanist.

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills – all bipartisan

FEDERAL: The Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act is a bipartisan bill that, if passed, would provide easier, more simplified access to vital information for caregivers surrounding Medicare resources for their loved ones. It would also provide an improved way for caregivers to share feedback on the system, improved training for 1-800-MEDICARE operators, and more. Behind the bill is NH Senator Maggie Hassan [D] and NC Senator Thom Tillis [R]. 

FEDERAL: This bipartisan bill – the HOLD Act – passed unanimously in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill, if passed, would allow for more living organ donors to qualify for wage, travel, and caregiver reimbursements, removing the current income restrictions for reimbursements that result in many donors having to finance their own organ donation processes.

ELECTION SZN 2024

Guides, chatter, who’s who

  • What are the rules for the first presidential election of the szn? These puppies. Will anyone follow the muted mic piece? Only time will tell.

  • In Florida, the Democratic party is taking the ‘if you don’t run, you can’t win’ approach this year by contesting every state legislative seat for the first time since the state flipped Republican 30 years ago. Better late than never?

  • Trump’s passion for coming for Biden’s cognitive abilities was thrown an LOL curve ball when he [Trump] challenged Biden to a cognitive test only to get confused over the name of the doctor that tested him. 

  • This New Jersey Congressman – Andy Kim –  is running for US Senate, taking on ‘Bobby Goldbars’ the name dubbed to Senator Menendez by Senator Fetterman for his indictments involving gold bars and bribery.

HGW LISTENS

Hit play on these pods

  • Sundays are for bed rotting, and Mondays are for catching up on what was discussed on the Sunday Shows by people that are actually productive on Sundays, which includes this podcast version of yesterday’s Face The Nation.

MERCH ME UP

The Gov Club Merch Collection Drops New Additions

GATG red, not MAGA red.

The Collection has been expanded from the classic Gov Club sweatshirt to include a cozy long sleeve t-shirt, a French terry navy crewneck, and a cutie lil’ crop top. Shop all of the options here.

BOOKMARK IT

Don’t lose the link

ONLINE PASSPORT RENEWAL: The State Department has released the beta version of its online passport renewal option, making it easier and more convenient to renew your passport. Need to check passport renewal off your to-do list? Bookmark the resource here.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

MARYLAND GOVERNOR TO PARDON 175K MARIJUANA CONVICTIONS: Maryland Governor Wes Moore [D] has announced that he will conduct a mass pardon today in the state for 175,000 people convicted of low-level marijuana-related charges. Of the that number, 150,000 of the pardons will be to drop low-level possession convictions, while other convictions to be pardoned involve possession of paraphernalia. The mass pardon will be conducted via an executive action signed by the governor. The goal is to rectify historic inequalities in the justice system which have disproportionately impacted Black and Brown individuals. The impact of the convictions have included barriers to jobs, housing, education, and more. In addition, the pardons come following the state legalizing recreational cannabis in 2022 via a constitutional amendment, and decriminalizing possession of weed in 2023. According to NBC, after the EO is signed, the Maryland Judiciary will update each individual's docket in a process that will take about two weeks, while the state corrections department will update criminal records in a separate process estimated to take about 10 months to complete. Additionally, the pardons do not include expungement.

BEES & BIRDS IN CALIFORNIA TO BENEFIT FROM NEW ENVIRONMENTAL RULE: There’s a lot of buzz around this bit of good news – the California Fish and Game Commission has finalized a new regulations that bans the use of Neonicotinoid, a type of super duper toxic insecticides that impacts bees, birds, and other wildlife. The ban will be specific to lands that fall under the jurisdiction of the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, and will take effect on July 1, 2024. What’s ‘extra extra tell me all about it’ for this piece of news is that it comes from advocacy done by EarthJustice [advocacy works], which filed a petition back in 2017 on behalf of the American Bird Conservancy, according to The Hill. The benefit of the regulation is the protection of pollinators, habitats, and refuges.   

43 ATTORNEYS GENERAL REACH SETTLEMENT $700 MILLION AGAINST JOHNSON & JOHNSON: Vis à vis a national coalition of attorneys general, a settlement totaling $700 million has been reached with Johnson & Johnson over allegations that the company mislead consumers about the safety of its baby powder and body powder products containing talc. The agreement also includes a ban for the company on producing, distributing, and marketing the products directly or through any third parties. This particular settlement is separate from the many other lawsuits Johnson & Johnson is engaged in related to these products. Many of the others are specific to allegations of cancers and health issues caused by the use of Johnson & Johnson’s products.

GET #VIRAL…

…go viral

What content trends and social media marketing concepts work for political accounts? Find out weekly with #VIRAL, The Newsletter. The go-to resource for campaigns, electeds, and orgs across the Dem sphere, the newsletter provides the blueprint for winning social media content on today’s most important platforms. Give your team time back in their day, and your channels an upgrade.

WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME

ICYMI quick political news of note

SCOTUS REJECTS FEDERAL BAN ON BUMP STOCKS: In a major hit to gun reform, SCOTUS struck down a ban on bump stocks, equipment that can fashion a gun into a machine gun. The court argued that the ban, which actually came to be under the Trump admin, was an overstep of the ATF’s authority, and that regulation would need to come from Congress [PS Schumer is planning a vote on this]. The challenge to the ban came via a Texas gun shop owner and made its way to SCOTUS based on a back and forth amongst lower courts. Will this impact state level bans? Find out here.

NORTH DAKOTA VOTERS APPROVE CONGRESSIONAL AGE LIMIT: Last week, North Dakota voters went to the polls and said yes to an age limit on congressional candidates. Those wishing to run for US House or Senate to represent the state cannot be so old as to turn 81 years of age while in office. While the voters gave this initiative the thumbs up, its constitutionality is up for debate and potentially conflicts with a prior SCOTUS ruling that found congressional term limits a no-go. That said, someone will need to file suit and challenge the initiative for that to come into play according to AP. Interestingly, the initiative does not include state-wide elected positions, only the US House and Senate. 

KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

  • Media Matters: Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes tells his followers to join Project 2025

  • AP: A new airport could spark the economy in a rural part of Florida. Will the workforce be ready?

  • USA Today: Immigrants who missed hearing lose deportation battle at Supreme Court

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