Category: Uncategorized

On May 21, voters will decide on the next representative from Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District and party nominees for Kentucky’s November gubernatorial election. Ballotpedia will have live results from all three races available once polls close.   In Pennsylvania, Marc Friedenberg (D), a professor, and state Rep. Fred Keller (R) are running in a special…

President Donald Trump made 104 Article III federal judicial appointments through May 15, 2019. How does that figure compare to other modern presidents at this stage of their terms?   We looked at the numbers from the last 13 presidents, dating back to Harry Truman.   Article III judges are lifetime appointments to the U.S.…

A new bill restructuring the way small business regulations are considered was introduced in the Senate on May 7, 2019. The Prove It Act (PIA), introduced by U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), would allow the Small Business Administration (SBA) to require agencies to reconsider findings claiming new regulations would not affect…

A new rule requires pharmaceutical companies to include the list price of some prescription drugs in television advertisements. The requirement applies to medicines covered by Medicare or Medicaid dollars, according to a final rule published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on May 10, 2019.   The agency intends for the rule…

Idaho state agencies had to submit thousands of administrative rules for approval by the state’s Division of Financial Management by May 10.   The Idaho State Legislature failed to pass legislation on April 11 that would have reauthorized administrative rules in the state. As a result, Governor Brad Little (R) directed state agencies to submit…

The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity.   During the week of May 6 to May 10, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 1,082 pages, bringing…

The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity.   During the week of April 29 to May 3, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 1,752 pages, bringing…

A group of congressmen introduced the ALJ Competitive Service Restoration Act on May 1, which aims to restore administrative law judges (ALJs) to the competitive service.   President Donald Trump (R) moved ALJs from the competitive service to the excepted service—two subsets of the larger civil service—through Executive Order 13843 in July 2018. Trump issued…

President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum directing the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security to propose regulations to, according to the President, “strengthen asylum procedures to safeguard our system against rampant abuse of our asylum process.”   The memo, issued on April 29, 2019, gives the Department of Justice and the Department…

As of May 1, 2019, an additional three states have joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) in 2019. Colorado, Delaware, and New Mexico—all Democratic trifectas—joined the compact earlier this year.   The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an interstate compact to award member state’s presidential electors to the winner of the…