Category: Uncategorized

The U.S. Supreme court has not acted on three cases challenging a decision made by the Trump administration to end an Obama-era program that postponed deportation for children who entered the United States unlawfully. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acted to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2017 and…

On February 15, 2019, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled in City of Philadelphia v. Attorney General of the United States that the Trump administration could not deny funds to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, because of its immigration policies.   Judge Marjorie Rendell, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote in…

Sixteen state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in California’s Northern District against President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to pay for a wall along the southern border.   The lawsuit states that the emergency declaration shows a “flagrant disregard for the separation of powers. … President Trump has veered the country toward a constitutional crisis of…

There are 206 pivot counties in the country-those that voted for Barack Obama (D) in both 2008 and 2012 and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. On November 6, 2018, 87 of the nation’s 99 state legislative chambers held regularly-scheduled elections for 6,073 seats. Of those, 453 state house districts and 138 state senate districts intersected with pivot counties. These 591 state legislative districts accounted for approximately 10…

Democratic candidates for the U.S. House carried all six reverse pivot counties in 2018. Reverse pivot counties are counties that voted for John McCain (R) in 2008, Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, and Hillary Clinton (R) in 2016.   The average margin of victory for 2018 U.S. House candidates in these counties was 11.05 percent.…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers issued a proposed rule under the Clean Water Act (CWA) that would distinguish water subject to federal regulation from water subject to state and tribal jurisdiction. The rule, published on February 14, 2019, revises definitions of “waters of the United States” established in 1986…

On February 6, 2019, a resolution was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to restrict the market for short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. Under a rule, effective October 2, 2018, insurers were allowed to sell short-term, limited-duration plans with a maximum coverage period of fewer than 12 months. Before the new rule, those plans…

The first statewide primary of 2019 is approaching – here’s a rundown of five facts about primary systems.   1. An open primary is any primary election in which a voter either does not have to formally affiliate with a political party in order to vote in its primary or can declare his or her…

Gov. Roy Cooper (D) appointed Justice Cheri Beasley to succeed Mark Martin as the chief justice of the state supreme court. Martin is retiring from the court on February 28, 2019. Beasley will assume the position on March 1, 2019. To remain in this position, Beasley must run for election in 2020. Voters elect the…

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 February 4 to February 8, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 1,752 pages, bringing…