The Gov Hub: October 23, 2023

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Gov Hub
October 23, 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. Typos are included free of charge.

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THE ACTION ITEMS

Jump right in

ACTION 1:

The Ask: Tell your [federal] reps to end solitary confinement by co-sponsoring [and then passing] the End Solitary Confinement Act.

The Action: Send this pre-written digital note to your rep.

The Background: Solitary confinement is an inhumane practice that is still legal in 2023. There is a bill to change that however. That bill, introduced by Rep. Cori Bush and a number of colleagues, would do the following:

  • End solitary confinement in federal prisons, jails, and other detention settings with limited exceptions, including a 4-hour maximum for emergency de-escalation procedures.

  • Allow for longer-term separation from the general facility population, while ensuring all people incarcerated in federal facilities have meaningful access to at least 14 hours of out-of-cell time, group programming [access to at least 7 hours of], and basic needs and services.

  • Impose strict due process protections, including access to representation and neutral decision-makers.

  • Create oversight and enforcement mechanisms, including mandatory reporting, a private cause of action, oversight by a community monitoring body, and enhanced media access.

  • Incentivize states and municipalities to adopt similar bans on solitary confinement [monetary].

ACTION 2:

The Ask: Tell your [federal] reps to support the Office of Small Farms Establishment Act.

The Action: Send this pre-written digital letter to your reps.

The Background: In the same vein as needing to protect small businesses on America’s main streets and downtowns, protection is needed for small farms. According to the American Farmland Trust, small farms, which are those under 180 acres, make up 20% of agricultural sales [crop product]. A whopping 70% of farms are considered small farms and receive a tiny percentage of gov help – 12%. These farms are key to the health of local economies and food supply chains, making their protection vital. Current USDA programs are not necessarily suited for that role and are often geared toward large-scale operations. The Office of Small Farms Establishment Act would look to fix that, and create tailored, more scale appropriate programming, training, and resources for small farms, as well as provide more equitable access to support.

ACTION 3: North Carolina

The Ask: Tell the NC House Rules committee to move forward with HB 44, which, if passed, would result in a constitutional amendment vote on the ‘24 ballot on the future of a no longer enforced [but still harmful] literacy test provision that’s still included in NC’s constitution.

The Action: Send a digital note to your state reps [North Carolina residents].

The Background: The North Carolina constitution still includes a Jim Crow era, racist section that required voters to pass a literacy test in order to vote. While the section is not enforceable thanks to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the symbolism and its continuation as a part of the state’s constitution is harmful. Getting rid of this section is necessary and must be done via ballot measure. The way it gets to the ballot is via the NC leg.

IRL-ISH ACTION → VIRGINIA: Become a poll observer and help protect the integrity of our elections. Basi if one of your fave activities is people watching and another passion of yours is democracy, the role of poll observer was made for you. The deats and responsibilities as listed here really bring that point home. To become a poll observer in VA for the upcoming election, sign up for this training from the VADems scheduled for tomorrow [October 24, 2023].

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 disease you’ve definitely been on the receiving end of but never knew had a name for, until now has been identified as – Correctile Dysfunction. Countless men all around the world have been diagnosed.

  • The thrifting find of the century goes to… the human that found this RBG x Cheetah shirt. You have to see it to believe it. PS for our thrifting besties → the Pre-Loved Podcast is a fun must.

  • While the House GOP is busy playing this game with regards to the speakership, the Dems are taking a walk down Pelosi memory lane feat. her iconic red coat and sunnies moment. The video’s audio being blair waldorff x maneater really…ATE.

BOOKMARK IT

Don’t lose the link, bookmark it

NYC RAT INFO PORTAL: The rats don’t run this city, we do…if only. The un-cute Ratatouille's are constantly saying gotcha to us and the rat czar, poppin’ up all over the place. Yum. On the positive side, there is a way to see the rat status of various buildings across the boroughs and see where the NYC Health Department is at with taking action to fix the sitch via the Rat Map. Okay, it’s technically called the Rat Information Portal, but that’s kind of a snooze of a name, so the Rat map it is! You can search specific addresses throughout the city to see where they’re at rat-wise. Naturally, we highly recommend doing this before signing a lease. HIGHLY. Now there just needs to be one of these on cockroaches…. Bookmark the Rat Map here.

ARENA CAREERS TALENT BANK: Whether you’re actively looking for a role in progressive politics or it’s on your radar for a later-ish date, the Arena Talent Bank is a must. The Talent Bank directly connects jobseekers with Democratic campaigns and other employers in progressive politics. Iconique. If you’re looking for a job, or expect to be within the next three months, you can submit your resume easy peasy, and they’ll share your info directly with potential employers. The whole process takes under four minutes to complete – hello, good investment. Submit your resume here and bookmark the page for reference.

NEWSEUM’S MEDIA LITERACY LEARNING LIBRARY: Being media literate is so critically important, especially as more media mediums come into play. But, let’s BSFR, media literacy has always been important, albeit education has not always been as available or accessible as it should be on the topic. Deep dive on that issue aside, Newseum offers a huge library of media literacy courses, videos, tools, explainers, quizzes, and more, that can sharpen your media literacy skills – and give you the 411 if you haven’t taken a media literacy course before. It’s free, it’s actually fun, and it’s a sea of resources you can come back to time and time again. Make a profile, take a course, and bookmark the full array of options, here.

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills

FEDERAL: The cuteness factor for this resolution is off the charts. S. Res 409 is literally “a resolution authorizing the use of the atrium in the Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building for a Bipawtisan Howl-o-ween Dog Pawrade on October 31, 2023 from 4:00-6:00pm.” Our only question is how do we get invited to this shindig? Will there be a photoshoot for pawticipants? If so, we hope they end up here.

FEDERAL: There really is a designated day for everything. A few new ones to add to the calendar thanks to recent Senate resolutions are:

FEDERAL: The O DAIRY Act feels like it could turn into a Sound of Music-esque jingle, and we’re not opposed to that. The Organic Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Reporting Yields Act, which is def more fun to think about as O DAIRY, would aim to help organic dairy farmers. The newly introduced bill, if passed, would:

  • Extend emergency assistance to organic dairy farmers facing losses, including any time a farm’s net income decreases by over 10% in any given year.

  • Promote industry organic data collection that will be shared with farmers so they can plan better.

  • Direct the Department of Agriculture to study the viability of an organic safety net program. A safety net program would get aid to farmers faster if there are future disasters.

  • Create new funding for regional dairy processing infrastructure to strengthen demand for locally-produced organic dairy.

WISCONSIN: Ballot tracking may just get an upgrade in Wisconsin. A bipartisan effort is behind Assembly Bill 38, which would allow voters to get text updates in two scenarios – when their absentee ballot application is received by the local clerk [step 1] and when their completed ballot is received by the local clerk [step 2]. Interestingly, part of the argument for the bill is to rebuild trust with voters on the election system – which isn’t that crazy of an argument, but it’s surprising given what the state GOP has gone haywire about. The bill, if passed, would help keep voters in the loop in the same way your online shopping order keeps you up to speed on the delivery date.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political reads and achievements [yes, those do exist]

IRS COLLECTS $160M IN BACK TAXES FROM MILLIONAIRES THX TO THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: The Act that did it all – or at least a lot of good things, the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided a much-needed funding increase to the IRS for ya know actually operating, going after corporations and individuals not paying taxes, being staffed, having updated technology, has been moving full steam ahead with audits. Throughout the year and thus far, the IRS has recovered $160 million in back taxes from millionaires skipping or cheating the bill. The latest round began in September with the IRS going after 1,600 taxpayers with income over $1mill and having more than $250K in taxes owed. On the corporations front, the IRS’s funding will bring a new hairy eyeball to what many corps are not doing – paying up. Oh la la.

EPA FINALIZES RULE THAT CLOSES LOOPHOLE ON PFAS REPORTING: The EPA has finalized a rule that tightens reporting requirements for facilities that either use or release certain types of PFAS or forever chemicals. The new rule, when implemented, designates 189 compounds from the PFAS group of chemicals as “chemicals of special concern” With their new name in tow, a loophole [the de minimis exemption] that facilities took advantage of to avoid reporting data about their use or release of PFAS to what is known as the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory [TRI] is no more. Facilities will have to report data on the use and release of these 189 compounds to the TRI to enable TRI’s ability to understand their origin and trajectory into our waterways, blood streams, air, and so on. As they say, the more you know, the more you can solve for it.

WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME

ICYMI, political ongoings in no particular order

NEVER-ENDING HOUSE SPEAKER RACE HAMSTER WHEEL: The House Speaker race seems like a mashup of GroundHog Day the movie and an old school version of The Bachelor – cue, the gavel ceremony instead of the rose ceremony. As of this morning [October 23, 2023] and reporting from Roll Call, there are nine Republicans with their eyes on becoming the Speaker of the House, which at this point seems like the worst job of all time. Regardless, Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick T. McHenry, has dropped that he’s looking to have a vote on Tuesday following closed door meetings, chit chat, and decisions between those interested in becoming Speaker and the conference. Perhaps, don’t bet on it? Anyways, the short list of nine include:

FEDERAL JUDGE OVERTURNS CALIFORNIA’S ASSAULT WEAPON BAN: Late last week US District Judge Roger T Benitez ruled that California’s 34-year old assault weapons ban is unconstitutional and infringes upon second amendment rights. Benitez’s ruling leans on the new standards put into motion surrounding gun safety laws across the country, that come from a spring 2023 decision from SCOTUS. As reported by CNN, that decision thanks to good ol’ Clarence Thomas, requires that gun safety laws have to be consistent with the “Nation’s historical tradition of complying with the second amendment.” To translate, that means gun safety laws have to have a “historical parallel to the nation’s founding.” Because they clearly got everything right then…..anyways, in California, in the present day, the Benitez stayed his injunction for 10 days so that the state can appeal, which California Attorney General Rob Bonta has already filed. The ban is still in effect for the moment.

ARKANSAS GOV. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS BANS “WOKE” WORDS FROM STATE DOCS: The governor that’s become the center of the great lectern controversy, has made an interesting use of taxpayer money yet again by issuing an executive order banning what she refers to as “woke” and/or “anti-women” words in state documents. Given this move, you’d think she’d also banned the word “priorities” because it’s seriously nowhere to be found when it comes to that of Arkansas residents. The terms banned and their “replacements’” can be viewed via this list. SMH.

KEY STORIES TO HAVE ON YOUR RADAR

  • AP: North Dakota lawmakers are preparing to fix a budget mess. What’s on their plate?

  • Abortion, Every Day: Calculated Cruelty

  • NPR: Supreme Court ducks, leaving Louisiana redistricting stuck in uncertainty

  • Politico: Justice Barrett expresses support for formal Supreme Court ethics code

  • Democracy Docket: Recent Audits Show Pattern of Inadequate Polling Access for Voters With Disabilities

NEW ON THE POD

The latest and greatest

There are no off years in the world of governor races, and that includes 2023, which has TWO major races come November 7, 2023. Kentucky and Mississippi are gearing up to vote for their next governors, and the stakes are higher than ever. These stakes are ones that are discussed in depth on the latest episode of Girl and the Gov, The Podcast with guest Ofirah Yhesel, the Director of External Affairs at the DGA – the Democratic Governors Association. The convo looks beyond 2023 as well, zeroing in on races to come in 2024 like North Carolina and New Hampshire. It also focuses on how the DGA supports candidates and current governors alike throughout. Get the scoop by tuning in via Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, and YouTube.

2023 GOVERNOR RACE QUICK LINKS → Mississippi Voter Info | Kentucky Voter Info

2023 ELECTION CAL

This does not account for all local elections. Please be sure to check if there’s an election near you.

DATES & SLATES:

  • VIRGINIA | November 7, 2023: State Senate + House of Delegates [Virginia’s version of the State House], School Boards + Municipal

  • NEW JERSEY | November 7, 2023: State Senate + State Assembly [NJ’s version of the State House], School Boards + Municipal

  • KENTUCKY | November 7, 2023: Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Commissioner of Agriculture, School Boards + Municipal

  • OHIO | November 7, 2023: Special statewide election – Abortion ballot measure [Issue 1], Local + Municipal

  • PENNSYLVANIA | November 7, 2023 [guide]: State Supreme Court, Superior Court, Philly mayor + City Council, Philly judicial offices, local ballot measures

  • MISSISSIPPI | November 7, 2023 [November 28 runoff]: Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Commissioner of Insurance, Public Service Commission [3 seats], Transportation Commission [3 seats], State Senate, State House, School Boards

  • NEW YORK | November 7, 2023: Local + Municipal, NYC City Council

  • LOUISIANA | November 18, 2023 [runoffs]: Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, State House [select districts], Local + Municipal [select Parishes]

CANDIDATE WATCH ‘24

The following Dems have said put me in coach for…

  • ARKANSAS: Marcus Jones has announced that he is running for Congress, with aims of flipping the state’s 2nd Congressional District. Learn more about his campaign here.

  • NORTH CAROLINA: Mike Morgan has put his hat in the ring for the governor’s seat. Learn more about his campaign here.

California Senate Race Update of Note: Newly appointed Senator Butler will not run for a full term in 2024. In other words, the ‘big three’ candidates can continue their verbal jousting with one another through the primary.

* Inclusion does not indicate an endorsement *

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