Weekly Update 3/4/24

Appropriations

Congressional leaders released bill text yesterday afternoon of half a dozen spending measures, a critical step toward funding the government after months of political turmoil spurred by House conservative demands to slash federal budgets…

2024 Election Watch

Today, 3/4, the Supreme Court unanimously restored Donald Trump to 2024 presidential primary ballots, rejecting state attempts to ban the Republican former president over the Capitol riot…

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won her first GOP presidential nominating contest Sunday, 3/3, notching a victory in the Washington, D.C., primary, a win her campaign hopes will spark some momentum ahead of this week’s Super Tuesday contests…

California

Nearly half of Californians say it is difficult to tell if a cannabis retailer is licensed or not, according to a poll conducted by FM3 Research and released Monday, 2/26, by California’s Department of Cannabis Control…

By the end of the year, Californians may be able to get cheap overdose-reversal medication without a prescription…

California is in the midst of making behavioral health care more accessible, but there aren’t enough people to treat everyone…

President and Administration

On Thursday, 2/29, the Biden-Harris administration is announcing a series of new action that will…

The White House plans to announce a new federal task force focused on easing health care costs, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter…

Americans ages 65 and older should receive an additional dose of the latest COVID-19 vaccine this spring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday, 2/28…

The longstanding recommendation that people isolate for five days after testing positive for COVID-19 is no more…

 The evidence is mounting that your daily toke can be bad for your heart…

Vice President Harris announced key steps to lower the cost of childcare for working families and better support early educators, consistent with the President’s historic Executive Order on Care…

Congress

One big question hangs over federal tax policy right now — will the Senate pass a rare bipartisan tax bill or will that measure become another victim of Hill gridlock?…

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he will fast-track a package of kids’ online safety bills for a Senate floor vote this week…

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Wednesday, 2/28, that he will not run for another term as leader, ending a record-setting run atop the GOP conference…

Education

According to a study published by the American Psychological Association, nearly 70 percent of profiled school shooters perpetrated acts of violence against women, including intimate partner violence and sexual assault…

According to a study of 21 nurses from the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing, students who have many partial-day absences often seek out school nurses as a source of comfort and support…

Students who are exposed to violence at school tend to feel less safe, but a new study suggests that lockdown drills and training – designed to prepare students and teachers for a school shooting – may help mitigate those fears…

The Miami Archdiocese’s superintendent of schools says Catholic education is increasingly in demand in South Florida, now that all K-12 students regardless of income are allowed to use taxpayer-funded programs to pay for private school tuition…

Public Safety and Justice Update: 3/1/24

A divided Supreme Court struggled with the legality of a federal ban on bump stock devices, which allow semi automatic rifles to fire hundreds of bullets per minute…

Apparent strangers exchanged angry words and threats that ended in the deadly Super Bowl parade shooting in Kansas City…

Last month, the general manager of the Golden Gate Bridge announced the completion of a suicide barrier — stainless steel netting that extends 20 feet out from the walkway for the length of the bridge, making a jump into the water below extraordinarily difficult…

San Francisco Chronicle reporters spent a year identifying and examining fatal chases, finding that at least 3,336 people died in pursuits in the U.S. over the six years ending in 2022…

A jury found that the National Rifle Association (NRA)’s former leader, Wayne LaPierre, used the group’s funds to pay for lavish personal expenses, including vacations and luxury flights. failed in their duties to the nonprofit organization…

Under a new California law, AB 2188, police are among workers who are protected against employer discipline or termination for using marijuana…

Two more San Jose Police Department (SJPD) police officers — including one who has long since left the agency — have been named as participants in a series of racist texts with a disgraced SJPD officer who abruptly resigned last fall…

Weekly Update 2/26/24

Appropriations

President Biden has invited the “Big Four” leaders — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) — to the White House tomorrow morning to discuss this latest crisis and to encourage Johnson to pass the foreign aid package…

A group of House conservatives are calling for an update on the status of nearly two dozen possible policy riders that could be included in a deal to fund the federal government — and floating a yearlong stopgap measure…

California

A California bill banning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances will be amended to impose a 2030 end date on the use of so-called "forever chemicals," its sponsor announced Wednesday, 2/22…

President and Administration

On Tuesday, 2/21, President Biden announced the approval of $1.2 billion in student debt cancellation for almost 153,000 borrowers currently enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan…

Congress

House lawmakers are expected to vote this week on a bipartisan deal that expands access to rapid training programs…

Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) are pushing top appropriators to include an extension in any upcoming government funding deal that would give schools an extra year to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic-era relief aimed at helping homeless students…

Education

Los Angeles charter leaders say their schools are no longer growing and instead trying to survive…

Weekly Update 2/20/24

Appropriations

The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee said there are a handful of sticking points holding up the Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration spending bill, which will likely need to be moved up to leadership-level negotiations…

The four appropriators in charge of the Transportation-HUD funding bill are done negotiating…

Congress-White House Border Discussions

A bipartisan group of lawmakers rolled out their alternative proposal to send military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and secure the border on Friday, 2/16…

The Senate approved $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan aid by a 70-29 vote early on Tuesday morning (2/13), sending the bill to an uncertain fate in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson is giving the legislation a frosty reception…

California

Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Barbara Lee and Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey will take the stage again tonight, this time for a debate co-moderated by NBC4 and Telemundo 52…

Sen. Bill Dodd, a Democrat from fire-ravaged Napa County, proposed legislation on Wednesday, 2/14, to streamline brush clearing in the name of wildfire prevention…

Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) told MSNBC's Jen Psaki over the weekend that she's keeping an open mind about running for political office after her Senate appointment ends…

California's projected budget deficit has ballooned to $73 billion as tax revenue has fallen since November, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office said today…

On Thursday, 2/15, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office advised legislators to reject a Newsom administration plan to shield schools from near-term funding cuts through a novel budget maneuver, calling it “bad fiscal policy”…

The American Civil Liberties Union will oppose a sweeping mental health ballot measure backed by Gov. Newsom, which would restructure mental health care funding in the state and authorize a $6.4 billion bond…

Tenant advocates in several Bay Area cities are calling for new rent control measures, potentially reining in housing costs for tens of thousands of renters in one of California’s most expensive rental markets…

President and Administration

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had awarded about $23.4 billion in Public Assistance to Puerto Rico's permanent recovery work related to hurricanes Irma and Maria and the 2019 and 2020 earthquakes, as of June 2023…

School buses on rural roads can soon be outfitted with internet access using E-Rate dollars…

On Tuesday, 2/13, the Labor Department said the Consumer Price Index in January was up by 3.1 percent from a year earlier…

On Thursday, 2/15, the White House unveiled a significant expansion of its plans to cancel student debt as President Biden looks to run on the issue during this year’s election…

Congress

House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, 2/13, making him the first Cabinet secretary since 1876 to be impeached by the House…

If Congress lets a key Federal Communications Commission broadband aid program lapse this spring, consumers may have a hard time trusting and signing up for any successor effort later on, Commissioner Anna Gomez said on Monday, 2/12…

Public Safety and Justice Update: 2/16/24

Two juveniles have been detained on gun-related and resisting arrest charges in connection with the shooting after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration…

President Joe Biden renewed his calls for Congress to pass gun violence prevention legislation after Wednesday’s deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade…

Parents of gun violence victims used artificial intelligence (AI) to recreate their children’s voices in calls to urge lawmakers to change U.S. gun laws as part of a new campaign launched on the sixth anniversary of the Parkland, FL, shooting…

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s highly-touted bid to crack down on crime by flooding the streets with 120 California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers has ended after only five days…

Assembly Democrats want to crack down on retail theft by creating a new classification for those who steal and resell inventory…