Pluribus AM: AGs launch T-Swift investigation; OR gun law challenged; MT senator quitting for an epic motorcycle tour
Good morning, it’s Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. In today’s edition, AGs launch investigation into Taylor Swift tickets; Ore. gun law challenged; and the state senator who quit to take a motorcycle tour:
Top Stories
VACCINES: Republican attorneys general in 22 states have urged the Biden administration to end mandated COVID-19 vaccines for health care workers working for employers who received Medicare and Medicaid funding. The attorneys general argue the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services overstepped their authority in making the rule. (Center Square)
ABORTION: Fifteen Republican attorneys general have written to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to challenge rules that provide abortion access at VA facilities. The attorneys general said they would sue to block elective abortions in states where those procedures are barred by state law. (Y’all Politics)
TAYLOR SWIFT: Attorneys General in Nevada, Tennessee and Pennsylvania have launched investigations into Ticketmaster’s botched sales of tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour. (Associated Press) Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D), on Twitter: “Trouble, trouble, trouble.”
NEW JERSEY: Legislators have ended a push to add abortion rights to the state constitution at the request of supporters including Planned Parenthood. Some Democrats wanted the measure on next year’s ballot to boost turnout, but others weren’t sold on committing to a frame for next year’s elections so soon. (New Jersey Globe)
OHIO: The state Senate will consider legislation to strip the state Board of Education from developing education policy or implementing programs, after Democrats won enough seats to block a Republican supermajority. Republicans who own a supermajority in the legislature say they will take up the bill in a post-Thanksgiving session. (Ohio Capital Journal)
OREGON: The Oregon Firearms Federation has filed a federal suit against Gov. Kate Brown (D) and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D) seeking to bar Measure 114 from taking effect. The voter-approved initiative bans high-capacity magazines. It is set to take effect Dec. 8. (Oregonian)
TENNESSEE: The state Supreme Court on Friday ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles convicted of crimes is unconstitutional. The majority ruled that the mandatory sentences for those convicted of first degree murder or felony murder did not square with the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 8th Amendment. (Tennessee Lookout)
CALIFORNIA: Most cities and counties will begin receiving their share of $1 billion meant to tackle homelessness if they commit to more aggressive plans to reduce the unhoused population, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Friday. (CalMatters, Sacramento Bee) The Biden administration will grant $1.1 billion to PG&E to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in operation. (Los Angeles Times)
MARYLAND: The state Department of Transportation has delayed contracts for widening portions of the Capital Beltway, I-270 and the American Legion Bridge, key priorities of outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan (R). Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) has said he wants to see a new proposal, likely dooming Hogan’s hopes. (Maryland Daily Record)
MICHIGAN: Outgoing House Speaker Jason Wentworth (R) thinks the state Senate can pass ethics legislation during a lame-duck session this year. Legislation creating new conflict-of-interest rules passed the House by an almost unanimous margin earlier this year. (Detroit Free Press)
In Politics
ARIZONA: Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s (R) Election Integrity Unit has requested a formal response from Maricopa County over printer snafus during the midterm elections. (Arizona Republic) Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates (R) has been moved to an undisclosed location and has a security detail watching him after he received threats in the wake of the midterm elections. (Fox10) Cochise County supervisors voted Friday to delay canvassing election results until someone proves vote tabulators were properly certified. (Arizona Republic)
NEW YORK: The state Redistricting Commission is drawing up new Assembly district lines required by court order. The commission has until Dec. 2 to craft new maps after a state Supreme Court judge ruled lawmakers failed to follow procedures. Commissioners are debating lines in New York City, the Capital Region, the Hudson Valley and Long Island. (State of Politics)
ALASKA: A new political action committee has begun collecting signatures for an initiative to repeal ranked-choice voting, first adopted in 2020 and first used in the 2022 special election that sent Rep. Mary Peltola (D) to Congress. The initiative’s first signatory: Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R), who lost to Peltola in the special election and trails her by a 23-point margin in the yet-to-be-called general. (Anchorage Daily News)
OREGON: Democrats have elected state Sen. Rob Wagner (D) to be the next Senate president. Wagner, 49, takes over from Sen. Peter Courtney (D), who held the job for 20 years. State Sen. Kate Lieber (D) will take Wagner’s old job as majority leader. (Willamette Week)
IDAHO: House Majority Leader Mike Moyle (R) and Assistant Majority Leader Jason Monks (R) are both running to replace outgoing Speaker Scott Bedke (R). Bedke won election as lieutenant governor. Sen. Lori Den Hartog (R) will challenge Senate President Chuck Winder (R). (Idaho Press)
WYOMING: Republicans have elected Rep. Albert Sommers (R) as their next Speaker of the House. Sommers beat out state Rep. Mark Jennings (R), a more conservative legislator. State Sen. Ogden Driskill (R) will serve as Senate president. (Casper Star Tribune)
NEW MEXICO: State Rep. Ryan Lane (R) will serve as House Minority Leader, replacing Rep. Jim Townsend (R), who decided not to seek another term. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
By The Numbers
5: The number of Vietnamese Americans who won seats in Oregon’s legislature. That’s the largest Vietnamese American caucus in any legislature in the country. (Willamette Week)
0.034%: The margin by which Democratic candidate Kris Mayes leads Republican candidate Abe Hamadeh in the race to be Arizona’s next attorney general. That equates to about 850 votes out of 2.51 million cast, well within the 0.5% margin that triggers an automatic recount. (Arizona Republic)
$2.62 billion: Hawaii’s cash balance, as Gov. David Ige (D) prepares to leave office. It’s the most money Hawaii has ever had in the bank, including $1 billion in “rainy day” reserves. (Civil Beat)
Off The Wall
Montana state Sen. Terry Gauthier (R) will submit a letter of resignation today in order to take a motorcycle tour of 20 nations beginning in March. Gauthier, 65, said he couldn’t pass up the trip, which will take him from Central Europe into the Middle East. (Missoulian)
Arizona’s three new snowplows have names, after 7,000 people submitted their votes. Welcome to the roads, Alice Scooper, Snowguaro and Frost Responder. (Arizona Republic) We are suckers for funny snowplow names.