For the past 150 years, Texas has held statewide elections to appoint judges to the State Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals. A lawsuit filed by attorney Carmen Rodriguez and movement organizer Juanita Valdez-Cox could radically alter the way those elections are carried out. in February, plaintiffs – including Rodriquez, Valdez-Cox, … [Read more...]
Blue States Try to Replace Obamacare Individual Tax Mandate; Red States Seek to Offer Stripped-Down Versions
Just before Christmas, the Republican tax plan that slashed rates on corporations also duplicitously repealed the “individual mandate,” the Obamacare tax that allows the federal government to fine people who don’t have their health insurance, leaving a lump of coal in the Christmas stockings of middle-class Americans, who count on a pool of both … [Read more...]
Trump Administration Falls Behind on Environmental Penalties
The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) released a report earlier this month showing that, when compared to the last three presidents, the Trump administration has lagged behind on environmental regulation enforcement. During their first years in office, Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all handed out more penalties and … [Read more...]
Trump’s Infrastructure Plan Could Majorly Hurt the Nation’s Waterways
On February 12th, the Trump administration released a plan for changing the way infrastructure projects are carried out. The plan contains recommendations that have environmentalists and public health experts worried. Specifically, the administration proposes streamlining the permit process for dumping “dredged or fill material” into various water … [Read more...]
Sessions Opposes Sentencing-Reform Measure
In 1984, Congress passed the Sentencing Reform Act and set up the Sentencing Commission, a governmental body that wrote stringent sentencing guidelines for drug offenders. Since the law was passed and the commission was created, the federal prison population has grown by nearly 800 percent. A large portion of that growth came from the influx of … [Read more...]
States Take Environmental Matters into Their Own Hands
It seems that certain states may begin to push back against the Trump administration’s anti-regulatory position. In December, the administration decided to delay action on proposed rules pertaining to the regulation of dangerous chemicals known as TCE, NMP and Methylene Chloride. The EPA announced the decision as part of an overarching … [Read more...]
Redistricting Cases Being Considered Throughout the US
Several cases being considered by the Supreme Court and a slew of other cases being heard throughout the country could point toward a radical change in US politics. For years, the issue of partisan gerrymandering has been swept under the rug, in a process of constant deferral. Ever since Davis v. Bandemer, Justices have found it difficult to … [Read more...]
Federal Court Strikes Down Redistricting Map in North Carolina
On February 9th, a federal court in North Carolina struck down a redistricting map, agreeing with the Plaintiffs’ that it was an example of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering. A three-judge panel rendered the unanimous decision and, in doing so, made history, as this was the first-ever federal court decision to strike down a map due to … [Read more...]
States and Cities are Banning Bump Stocks Used in Las Vegas Massacre
Increasingly frustrated by Speaker Paul Ryan’s close relationship with the National Rifle Association (NRA), states and cities are banning the so-called “bump stock” recoil devices that gunman Stephen Paddock used to fire on a crowd of concert-goers gathered on the Las Vegas Strip, killing at least 59 people and injuring more than 500. Officials … [Read more...]
EPA Removes ‘Major Source’ Provision from Clean Air Act
The EPA recently announced its decision to rescind a provision of the Clean Air Act that requires industries deemed “major sources” of pollution to always be classified as “major sources” and to be regulated as such. The move has been criticized by environmental advocates like John Walke, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who said, … [Read more...]
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