The Gov Hub: October 30, 2023

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Gov Hub
October 30, 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: Show your support for survivors of DV and express your support for laws that keep guns from domestic abusers.

The Action: Add your name to this petition.

The Background: November 7, 2023 isn’t just election day in many places around the country, it’s the day in which SCOTUS will hear oral arguments in a case – United States v. Rahimi. The case comes as a challenge to the current law of the land which bars an individual who is the subject of a qualifying domestic violence restraining order from possessing a gun. What SCOTUS will be ruling on is whether this stands – whether a person who is the subject of a qualifying domestic violence restraining order can be prohibited from possessing a gun or not. The potential and dangerous ramifications of SCOTUS striking down this law are huge. TW - when you view the stats of DV and how guns are integrated into that equation, the challenge coming to the table at all, is bone-chilling.

ACTION 2: 

The Ask: Use your digital pen and sign onto HRC’s pledge to oppose hate against the LGTBQA+ community – a passion of newly elected House Speaker, MAGA Mike.

The Action: Take the pledge here.

The Background: After a season we didn’t ask for of “Who’s The Speaker Anyway” a reality show with incredibly low ratings, the winner was declared as Rep. Mike Johnson. The Louisiana rep, who has been described as Jim Jordan in a jacket, has made a name for himself for his bigotry – heard directly from his mouth and in the bills he’s sponsored and cosponsored. He’s anti-LGTBQA+ and he needs to see that his bigoted views will not be tolerated – the only thing that will be tolerated is the protection of the LGBTQA+ community. 

ACTION 3: 

The Ask: Urge the U.S. Department of Education to make colleges and universities safe from antisemitism. 

The Action: Send this note to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. you can also edit the note should you wish to

The Background: There has been a terrifying amount of antisemitism across the world, especially on US college and university campuses, including violent threats at Cornell last night toward Jewish students as seen here. Since the October 7 terrorist attack, there has been a 400% increase in anti semitic incidents in the US. This is as unacceptable as it is dangerous. Solutions must be found and implemented to protect Jewish students across every campus. 

Editor’s Note: If you cannot see the difference between Jewish people around the world and the Israeli government, this is not the newsletter for you. If you find yourself saying “but” “if” “what about” to violence against a group of people for their ethnicity, race, creed, religion, or gender identity, we highly recommend you take a moment and think about why that is wrong. If you find yourself fighting for every group’s safety and exclude Jewish people from your activism, take a seat – you are being the problem you claim to fight against. 

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

  • Mitch McConnell was “seen” scootin’ by at this event ;) It was a bit of a sleepy affair, apparently. He also gave his two cents about whether he’d vote for Trump or not on Face The Nation. His answer that’s not an answer but also is an answer. 

  • This podcast playlist has 66 episodes and over 24 hours of sustainability-focused content that will keep you entertained on HGW’s, office commutes, and more.

  • This man has been banned from soccer for three years and we are shedding a total of zero tears.

  • Friends in VA? Send them this ahead of November 7 and help them make a voter plan.

  • Tomorrow, October 31, 2023 is the last day to request a vote by mail ballot in PA. Request one here and find PA voter tools here. 

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills

PENNSYLVANIA: H.B. 941 made it across the finish line, guaranteeing military families in PA will be able to receive in-state tuition at public colleges or universities even if a parent is deployed or reassigned out of state. The bill turned law, looks to remedy the fact that some students would lose their in-state rate to public PA colleges and universities, because of a parent’s reassignment outside of Pennsylvania between the day they were accepted and the first day of the semester – something outside the control of the student. The changed tuition rate [to out of state] naturally impacted whether students were then able to attend or not. This law looks to prevent military children from having to forgo or change their higher education plans.

FEDERAL: The WIC For Kids Act takes on systemic barriers preventing mothers and their children from accessing WIC benefits. The bill, if passed, would aim to increase access to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program under WIC [Women, Infants and Children Program], by simplifying the enrollment process. Changes like these look to increase participation, which is low despite the amount of children that go hungry because of barriers like those shared here. Part of that would mean automatically granting “WIC eligibility for mothers and children who reside in a household in which a member participates in other assistance programs such as SNAP or Medicaid.” 

GOOD NEWS BEARS

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

BIDEN ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER ON AI: Some say ‘location, location, location.’ And in this case, we say “safety, safety, safety…first.” The case is an executive order put into place by Biden that establishes new safety standards for AI’s development and use. More specifically, the order according to the EO, aims to “protect Americans’ privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for consumers and workers, promote innovation and competition, advance American leadership around the world, and more.” The EO is multi-dimensional and sets into motion a wide ranging set of requirements for AI developers and users, which can be viewed in full here. 

UAW ANNOUNCE DEAL WITH GM: The UAW [United Auto Workers union] announced that it has reached a tentative contract with GM, rounding out deals met in the last few days with Ford and Stellantis. Should the agreement be ratified, workers will return to work in the coming weeks. To math-it, according to reporting from AP, all three deals will “have to be voted on by the 146,000 union members who work at the Detroit companies.” So, what’s in the deals? 25% general pay raises, a reinstatement of cost of living adjustments, a reduction in the path to top wages from eight years to three, as well as additional benefit enhancements and increases. 

INFRASTRUCTURE LAW PUTS $1.3 BILLION TOWARD NEW POWER LINES: The bill that keeps on giving…billions to infrastructure projects around the USA, is putting $1.3 billion toward strengthening the country’s power lines. It’s also doing double trouble apparently because the investment involves bringing renewable energy from New Mexico to Arizona, connecting Vermont and New Hampshire to Canada, and another transmission system in Utah and Nevada. The lines are expected to vastly improve the electric capacity of the electric grid and therefore improve reliability and affordability – love that for us all.

WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME

ICYMI, political ongoings in no particular order

TRUMP VERSUS THE 14TH AMENDMENT: Politics happens in the details, and the case that at least two lawsuits are making – one in Colorado and one in Minnesota – which are using the details of the 14th amendment to try and bar Trump from the ballot in respectively in each of those states. The amendment includes a ban on “those who “engaged in insurrection” against the United States from holding any civil, military, or elected office without the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate.” The argument being made by both lawsuits is that Trump’s efforts leading up to January 6, an insurrection, thus make him constitutionally ineligible to be a candidate for the presidency. The first piece of this puzzle got started today in Colorado with the beginning of a five-day evidentiary hearing. Meanwhile in Minnesota, the state Supreme Court will hold oral arguments on Thurs. Will this change the course of the election? Are people into this approach? We truly can’t say, but there is certainly a lot of discourse on the matter on both sides of the aisle.

JUDGE ORDERS GEORGIA TO MAKE NEW MAPS: Sometimes we wonder what cartographers think of political maps…and then we realize we actually don’t know any, so we can’t ask. What we can do however is share what happened in Georgia late last week. A federal judge ruled that the peach state’s GOP-drawn state and congressional legislative districts violate the Voting Rights Act, and they do so by failing to have enough majority-Black districts. The Georgia GOP really said ‘hold my beer’ to Alabama and Louisiana with this. Anyways, new maps are to be created by December 8, 2023 and will need to include majority-Black districts in these areas.

LUBBOCK COUNTY [TEXAS] APPROVES ABORTION TRAVEL BAN: Because having some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country wasn’t enough for Lubbock County in Texas, three of its county commissioners approved an ordinance that would ban pregnant Texas women from traveling through what is referred to as the unincorporated area of the county to receive abortion care in another state. To add to the creepy factor of it all, the enforcement mechanism channels that of this state law, via private lawsuits filed against people who according to reporting from The Texas Tribune are accused of “knowingly transporting any individual for the purpose of providing or obtaining an elective abortion, regardless of where the elective abortion will occur.” Lubbock is not the only Texas locale to have passed an ordinance of this sort, but it so far is the largest. 

NC STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS X VOTER PHOTO IDS: According to ABC13, the North Carolina State Board of Elections has launched another application period for, “eligible educational institutions and government agencies to apply to have their student and employee photo IDs approved for voting purposes in the 2024 elections.” New applications will be accepted by the State Board starting on November 13, 2023 and run through December 15, 2023. Why is this important? Photo IDS are now required to vote in NC and ensuring that people have accepted IDs and thus can vote, is critical. 

KEY STORIES TO HAVE ON YOUR RADAR

  • USA Today: Can a city official ‘cancel’ a constituent? How a fight over an emoji wound up at the Supreme Court.

  • Politico: Judge reinstates gag order against Trump

  • Axios: White House urges schools to carry overdose reversal drug

  • AP: Misinformation is flowing ahead of Ohio abortion vote. Some is coming from a legislative website

CANDIDATE WATCH ‘24

The following Dems have said put me in coach for…

  • MISSOURI: St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell dropped out of the Senate race to launch a race for Congress. Learn more about his campaign here.

  • VERMONT: Burlington, Vermont City Council President Karen Paul announced that she’s running for mayor in Burlington, Vermont. Learn more about her campaign here.

  • PENNSYLVANIA: Camp Hill Borough Councilwoman Mercedes Evans announced that she’s running for the PA State House in the 103rd Legislative District. Learn more about her campaign here. 

Inclusion does not indicate an endorsement

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:

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

  • 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

  • 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]

THE POD HITS 200

Cheers to the next 100!

The pod is back with an all new episode this week. It's the 200th episode. Yep, that’s right, the big 2-0-0!! Ahead of the big drop, take a scroll and listen down memory lane, and make sure to subscribe, follow, and also, subscribe.

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