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 your [federal] reps to pass a 2023 farm bill that’s good for the trifecta - the environment, the land, and communities.

The Action: Send this pre-written letter from the Sierra Club – you can also add a personal note to drive the message home [if not, just hit the read more to see the full pre-written message].

The Background: If you tuned into our interview with Vanessa Garcia Polanco, Policy Campaigns Co-Director at National Young Farmers Coalition, you already know the Farm Bill is a big deal. This year, it’s up for revision and renewal, which means it’s an opportune time to make sure that the legislation that covers everything from rural energy policy to land management and forestry provides agricultural opportunity and environmental protection. One tidbit on our radar [again, see the pod eppy] – making sure that the bill includes assistance for small, Black, Indigenous, people of color, urban, and beginning farmers and ranchers through land access grants and debt relief. This bill is a behemoth, send the note to make sure it includes the 411 to your reps on what you expect to see in it.

ACTION 2: Florida

The Ask: Help put abortion on the ballot in 2024 by signing and sending in a petition.

The Action: If you’re registered to vote in Florida, fill out this petition, print it, and send it to the address listed here. You can also pick-up and drop off IRL at the hubs listed on the map.

The Background: Florida has passed another extreme abortion ban at six weeks. Changing the future of reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy in the state comes down to passing an amendment to the state constitution. To make this happen, petitions need to be signed on behalf of this ask and sent in to be counted. The amendment is this. Does this crew at GATG agree with the parental notification bit? No, but do we think the core of this amendment is a critical step in regaining access in the state? Yes.

ACTION 3: New Jersey

The Ask: Tell NJ’s NJDEP [New Jersey’ Department of Environmental Protection] to adopt the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII), a greenhouse gas reduction program, before the end of spring 2023.

The Action: Send this pre-written note from Clean Water Action.

The Background: The state of NJ has an opportunity to give itself an environmental glow up with the Advance Clean Cars II program. The program, which could join 10 other friends [states] in making some environmental magic happen, would generate a route to lowering vehicle emissions and facilitating a transition of EVs. The program would set a sales target for new light-duty vehicles sold in the state to be a zero-emission vehicle by 2035. NJ Governor Murphy got the ball rolling in Feb by directing the state Department of Environmental Protection to propose adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) program by the end of 2023. The next step is getting this adopted this year, which would reduce “light-duty CO 2 emissions 72% below 2021 levels in 2035” according to Environment New Jersey.

RSVP, YES PLEASE

Get booked and busy with these must-add-to-calendar political events:

Flip The Vote | Trivia Night with Crooked Media’s Jon Lovett

About: Flip The Vote is hosting a trivia night with the infamous Jon Lovett from Pod Save America in conjunction with the unveiling of the org’s fundraising strategy for 2024. The event will be part fun trivia meets key election deats you need to know with regards to maximizing your campaign investments through the Flip The Vote crew.

When & Where: Virtual; June 5, 2023 – 8:30pm EST

RSVP: Say yes to the event, and send in an RSVP.

Floridians Protecting Freedom | Volunteer Petition Training

About: If you’re an FL registered voter and are interested in volunteering with Floridians Protecting Freedom to collect petitions in your neck of the woods to get abortion on the ballot in ‘24, this training is for you. PS stop and don’t collect $200 and scroll back to the top to get the 411 on getting abortion on the ballot in FL.

When & Where: Virtual; June 6, 2023 – 5:00-6:00pm EST

RSVP: Sign up and add to the cal!

CalMatters | Fatal Shootings: California’s Bid to Police Its Police

About: Scheduled for early birds? Absolutely. Critical for risers of all hours? Again, absolutely. The panel hosted by CalMatters, is designed to dissect and discuss the challenges California’s justice department is facing in investigating police shootings. The convo’s participants include moderator, Nigel Duara, reporter at CalMatters; DA for Contra Costa County, Diana Becton; CEO of the California District Attorneys Association, Greg Totten; and Deputy Sherrif & Policy Advisor for the Plumas County Sheriff's Office, Ed Obayashi. Full deats on the who, what, why, and how can be found here.

When & Where: IRL [CalMatters Studio] or virtual; June 13, 2023 – 8:30-9:30am PT

RSVP: Register and roll though.

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. For ones that are floating our boat, see these:

• CALIFORNIA: We’ve seen a huge movement get shakin’ and bakin’ by legislative staffers on fair pay and the right to unionize on Cap Hill, and that movement has made its way to California. This bill, led by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, passed off the floor in the state assembly late last week that would give legislative staff in CA the right to unionize. In the amendment process, changes were made to make sure that political affiliation was not a part of the equation here.

• NYC: An unfun fact gleaned in learning about this bill led by City Councilmember Moya, is that over 200K birds die annually in the city by smashing into the windows of skyscrapers during migration szn. Why you may ask? Confusion caused by the lights left on especially in commercial towers. Now maybe there’s a reason that lights are left on, but we’ll say this – whoever is last out of these offices clearly didn’t have their parents yelling at them to turn the lights off every time they left a room to save power and money. Alas, the bill is Intro 1039 and would mandate that private commercial/industrial buildings turn off unnecessary lights at night.

…and for those that make us go oi vey:

• FEDERAL: What’s interesting about this bill is that studies show that lowering speed limits makes streets safe, but the bill aims to ban the federal government from requiring a national speed limit for vehicles heavier than 26,000 pounds. The DRIVE Act as it is more widely known, stands for Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-wheelers, would prevent a federal speed limit for tractor trailer trucks, which considering that in any mountainous area, runaway truck ramps are standard issue, lowering speed limits seems like the logical, SAFE thing to do…but just us thinking out loud. There are arguments for leaving these limits to the states...but there’s this little thing called the federal highway system aka the interstate….so…a state regulating a federal entity? Make the math, math.

• FEDERAL: In England they say God Save the Queen [we’re not acknowledging King Crusty], and in America they say…God Save the Gas Stoves…? Okay, not exactly, but Republicans like this one, are trying to pass a bill dubbed, “The Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act.” Right, right, nothing more in this country that needs protectin’ than a gas stove. If you were wondering how much Rep. Armstrong took in from the oil & gas industry recently, it measures at $217,250 for 2021-2022. Now, that math does math. ~mOrEover~ the bill, if passed, would prohibit the use of federal funds to ban gas stoves.

New On Girl and the Gov, The Podcast

One time long ago, someone called Girl and the Gov, The Podcast, ‘The Call Her Daddy of Politics, ‘ and this episode embodies that sentiment full throttle. Don’t believe us? Watch it play out here:

The much-requested ‘just-us’ eppy covers the waterfront, sharing the silly – political worms with mustaches – to the series – updates on Nebraska’s 12-week abortion and gender affirming care for minors ban. The convo can be listened to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, and viewed on YouTube:

PREVIEW: This week’s interview is with Devon Murphy-Anderson, the co-founder of Mi Vecino, an on-the-ground voter engagement and registration org in Florida that we’re in awe of. The conversation focuses on two immigration related laws passed into existence by DeSantis [if you want to see what we really refer to him as, follow us on Instagram], the horrendous intentions of the bills, and the heinous impacts. Recorded right after DeSantis had a De-saster presidential campaign announcement, the conversation, which goes live on Wednesday, touches on what people need to know about Disney’s enemy #1.

POD APPLAUSE: HerCampus Washington took a listen to the pod’s Working in DC Starter Pack episode with Comms Director Jessica Gail, and had these takeaways from the political careers-focused interview.

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Candidate Watch ‘24

The following have said put me in coach for….

• Veteran Tim Sanchez is running for Congress in California’s 12th District [Rep. Lee’s soon-to-be old seat]. Learn more about his campaign here.

• • Garden Grove, CA Councilmember, Kim Nguygen. Learn more about her campaign here.

  • Lawyer and activist, Cheyenne Hunt. Learn more about her campaign here and follow her on TikTok here [yes, this is why she may ring a bell and we’re here for it – no this is not an endorsement because we don’t do those at GATG, but it is excitement for Gen-Z’s making big political moves].

  • And from the young Millennial camp, attorney Aditya Pai is running for the seat as well. Learn more about his campaign here.

• Keeping it California for this round-up, CA Assemblymember has announced that he’s running for the position of mayor in Sacramento, California. Learn more about the whole nine yards, here.

• And the trend continues with this candidate announcing a run for Rep. Katie Porter’s seat – Mike Schaefer, State Board of Equalization Member. According to this report, Schaefer would be looking to only hold the seat for one term to ‘keep it blue.’ Also, to note – this is the simplest explainer we could find on what the State Board of Equalization does.

FULL SEND….IT TO A FRIEND

• What is the fiscal gap? We brought in the math people to explain this term that’s essential to understanding the debt ceiling conversation – which has gone on longer than most of our relationships at this point.

• Speaking of things that involve #math, this explainer on what Shared Revenue means and how the model operates in Wisconsin is fire flames amazing. For a sample of the explainer pie – “shared revenue is unrestricted funds sent from the state to local governments.”

• This amazing congressional staffer – Sarah Drory – shared her abortion story with ELLE. It’s everything and more, and it sheds light on how the fight for reproductive freedom also includes knocking down the taboo and/or stigma around abortion and reproductive healthcare as a whole.

• Mississippi doesn’t have online voter registration. No, this is not April Fools Day – it’s very much a thing, and one that the GOP-led legislature refuses to address. Could be that the voter engagement and turnout that would happen by improving accessibility would have them voted out of office…just a theory. PS while we have you, if you aren’t registered to vote and live in a state with online – do it here, do it now.

• A report from the team at AP on how racial health disparities have harmed generations of Black Americans brought about a number of findings, like these. There are five key takeaways, but realistically they can all be linked to systemic and structural racism, and the continued proliferation of white supremacy.

LONG WEEKEND CATCH UP

TOP STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

• INDIANA DOCTOR FINED BY MEDICAL BOARD REGARDING ABORTION FOR 10-YEAR OLD RAPE VICTIM: The original story that started it all may ring a post-Roe nightmare bell – a doctor in Indiana, Caitlin Bernard, performed an abortion on a 10-year old rape victim. The specific story went viral as an example of the cruelty inflicted by abortion bans. The doctor’s actions however did not go into the night without becoming political fodder. The Republican AG filed a complaint against Dr. Bernard, which resulted in a hearing late last week where the the Indiana medical licensing board voted to reprimand and fine her under the guise of ‘violating HIPAA’ in providing a reporter covering the initial story, information on the 10-year-old rape victim. Many in the medical community call that a stretch and a half, many are also deeply concerned at this attack on doctors providing patient care. Very important to note here that the board is appointed by the governor in Indiana, and this is the governor’s POV on abortion.

• THE CROWN ACT BECOMES LAW IN TEXAS: A positive note out of Texas with this story – the CROWN Act has been signed into law, prohibiting race-based hair discrimination in the state’s workplaces, schools, and housing policies. The law will go into effect in September. For those that live in any state not amongst the 21 others that have passed a CROWN Act, tell your reps to get it down by sending them this note.

• TEXAS STATE AG, KEN PAXTON, IMPEACHED: While we’re on the topic of Texas, notoriously scandal-ridden Texas State Attorney General, Ken Paxton has been impeached by the state house. He’s been on ~put on ice~ or suspended from performing his duties while he undergoes trial in the state senate. This time ‘round the criminal merry-go-round, he’s accused of bribery, abuse of office, and obstruction - “the classics.” Aside from the interesting element of an elected representative potentially being held accountable for misconduct, is the complication of his wife being a state senator [Sen. Angela Paxton]. All we can say is we’ll keep you updated on where this shakes out.

• THE DEBT CEILING, THE RACE TO RAISE IT: After many many chitchats between Biden, McCarthy, and their teams, a tentative deal on the debt ceiling was made. Do we think they should’ve brought in ~priceline negotiator~ sooner? Yes. Are we forever annoyed that that jingle lives rent free in our heads? Also, yes, but we digress…today is a big day for debt, with the House officially starting consideration of the debt limit bill via the House Rules Committee, which according to The Hill, will hold a vote on ‘the rule dictating debate over the measure.’ If and when they get their ducks in a row, the bill will make it to the Senate – regardless, both are up against a Monday deadline. The deal as of rn [subject to change], looks like this.

D2C - Direct to Constituent:

WEST VIRGINIA | VETERANS CARE: From the office of Senator Manchin are deats on how to explore the Medical Foster Home option for veterans in your life. The program’s private residences serve as an alternative to nursing homes and provide 24/7 care tailored to the needs of each person.

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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Other *tings* of note on the comms front:

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