Infrastructure and Transportation Update - September 2023

California

Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill to require human drivers on board self-driving trucks, a measure that union leaders and truck drivers said would save hundreds of thousands of jobs in the state…

California is experimenting with digital driver’s licenses. Residents can download the CA DMV Wallet app on their smartphone and follow the instructions to scan their driver’s license, or ID…

President and Administration

In Europe, French manufacturers Airbus and Dassault are pushing for regulators to allow passenger planes to operate with only one pilot in the cockpit for the majority of a long-haul flight…

The Inflation Reduction Act will spur significant greenhouse gas reductions across multiple sectors while "substantially" decreasing the use of fossil fuels, according to a report released by EPA in mid-September…

Since oil and gas drilling began nearly 150 years ago, the salty wastewater it produces has been a nuisance for operators…

In mid-September, the EPA issued a final rule widening states' authority to block infrastructure projects over water quality concerns, handing a win to Democrat-led states that have used it to block new oil and gas pipelines, export terminals and other energy infrastructure…

Congress

On Thursday, 9/28, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he is preparing legal action against the Biden administration's decisions he contends will give electric vehicles too much leeway to qualify for federal incentives aimed at stimulating U.S. manufacturing…

In mid-September, the House passed a bill that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing waivers for California pollution standards that aim to limit the sale of new vehicles powered by gas-powered engines, though the GOP-backed bill is unlikely to become law…

In early September, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and 80 other Democratic members of Congress asked the EPA to tighten its sales requirements for zero-emission trucks…

Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) is pushing to curb the threat of "forever chemicals" at airports, seeking to enlist the help of federal agencies…

Weekly Update 10/2/23

California

Laphonza Butler, President of Emily’s List, will replace Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office confirmed Sunday night, 10/1…

On Monday, 9/25, Governor Newsom signed a bill to curb book bans — his most concrete policy rebuke of attacks on instruction about race and sexual orientation that have taken root in more conservative enclaves of California…

President and Administration

Greg Beckett texted his girlfriend one Thursday evening in January…

In an interview on Friday, 9/29, President Biden argued that there is no constitutional reason the Supreme Court can’t have a code of ethics as justices prepare to start a new term…

Congress

Today, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) threatened to use a procedural tool — called a motion to vacate — to try and strip Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) of his office sometime this week…

Education

Los Angeles charters could lose access to space in nearly 350 district schools under a resolution the school board approved Tuesday, 9/26…

Education has become the fifth most targeted industry for data breaches, according to a recent report from Nord Security, with U.S. schools experiencing a sharp increase in hacks in recent years…

Public Safety and Justice Update: 9/29/23

Two new laws (SB2 and AB28)  regulating gun control in California were signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this week…

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a controversial bill this week that designates human trafficking of a minor as a serious felony, expanding a law that criminal justice activists for years have been trying to weaken…

A bill that could have freed some of California’s aging killers serving life in prison without parole failed to advance this year, after running into opposition from victim advocates and law enforcement officials…

Fan violence is increasing at high school football games, sometimes involving gunfire. In Sacramento, 15 shots were fired at a recent youth football game…

In January, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price vowed to hold police accountable for misconduct, announcing that her office would review six fatal police shootings and two in-custody deaths to determine whether any of the officers involved should face criminal charges…

Three Baton Rogue, LA police officers are on administrative leave after a series of federal lawsuits exposing the abuse and sexual humiliation taking place at an unmarked torture warehouse known as the “Brave Cave” that was operated by members of the Baton Rouge police department (BRPD)…

A judge dismissed the case against a former Philadelphia police officer charged with murder in connection to the death of Eddie Irizarry…

Weekly Update 9/25/23

California

Governor Newsom is pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to review a controversial ruling that has prevented cities from clearing homeless encampments…

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Gov. Newsom (D) have agreed to participate in a televised debate in November that will be moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity…

President and Administration

With a potential government shutdown now less than a week away, President Biden and other administration officials this weekend intensified their warnings of the consequences of closing government agencies as they pressed congressional Republicans to find a way out of their spending stalemate…

The federal government will again offer free COVID-19 tests through the mail starting today, 9/25, amid an uptick in the number of COVID hospitalizations…

On Friday, 9/22, President Biden announced the establishment of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to reduce gun violence and implement and expand upon key executive and legislative action which has been taken to save lives…

The Education Department is outlining procedures schools will use to extend spending deadlines for nearly $130 billion in federal pandemic aid…

Congress
House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) released a long-awaited budget on Tuesday, 9/19, that proposes fiscal goals for the next decade, while his party fails to coalesce around any kind of plan to keep the government open…

House Republicans plan to launch their impeachment investigation of President Biden this week…

Education

As a new school year gets underway in California, districts are desperately trying to lure thousands of missing, tardy and truant students back to the classroom in what many view as a pivotal moment for education in California…

The rapid growth of universal school choice programs continued Friday, 9/22, as the North Carolina legislature passed a state budget with an education savings account available to any family that wants to opt for private education…

Weekly Update 9/18/23

Federal Government Funding: Appropriations Update

The House has only passed the Military Construction-Veteran Affairs bill…

California

In a rare 40-0 vote, the state Senate on Thursday night, 9/14, passed one of the most consequential reforms to the state’s mental health programs in decades, sending it to the governor for certain signing before voters get to weigh in next year…

Governor Newsom announced a lawsuit Saturday, 9/16, against five major oil companies and their subsidiaries, seeking compensation for damages caused by climate change…

President and Administration

The Biden administration is going after health insurers for flouting a federal law requiring them to provide mental health care on the same terms as other care…

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Mandy Cohen formally endorsed updated COVID-19 shots for all individuals six months and older on Tuesday, 9/12, following the CDC's vaccine advisory panel's recommendation earlier in the day…

The Biden administration announced a slate of cancer moonshot initiatives on Wednesday, 9/13, aimed at achieving the president's goal of reducing the cancer death rate by half over the next 25 years…

With schools continuing to find themselves caught in emotional debates over students’ access to controversial books, the U.S. Department of Education has hired a new official to oversee its response to content challenges and take action if it finds that removing materials violated students’ civil rights…

The Agriculture Department plans to use $1 billion allocated from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to support nearly 400 programs that will increase the amount of green space in urban communities…

Education

Middle- and high-school students, who have the least time to catch up before they leave the K-12 system, may be suffering the most as schools emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, warns a new report released Wednesday, 9/13…

A new study reveals vastly improved college enrollment and completion rates for students who attended both KIPP middle and high schools as compared to a similar group of children who applied for enrollment but were not selected in the network’s lottery system…