RandySF
RandySF's JournalMore blue states declare themselves sanctuaries for transgender health care
Democratic governors and state lawmakers across the country are mobilizing against a surge of Republican restrictions on transgender health care by establishing their states as sanctuaries for gender-affirming care.
Earlier this month, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order making Maryland the 11th state, plus the District of Columbia, to declare itself a sanctuary. A bill in New York has cleared the legislature and is awaiting the signature of Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Last year, California became the first state to declare itself a sanctuary. It has since been joined by Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington. A growing number of cities, including New York City; Kansas City, Missouri; and West Hollywood, California, also have become sanctuaries.
These states and cities are emerging as havens with legal protections to shield health care providers, transgender people and their supporters from lawsuits and criminal penalties levied by other states.
Maryland’s executive order prohibits the use of state resources, such as incarceration facilities, to comply with subpoenas against transgender people and their health care providers. It mandates that all state agencies “take whatever action is necessary” to protect those involved in providing, receiving or assisting in travel for gender-affirming care.
https://stateline.org/2023/06/22/more-blue-states-declare-themselves-sanctuaries-for-transgender-health-care/
Ohio House passes bill blocking gender-affirming care and trans athletes
The Ohio House of Representatives passed a controversial bill that would prevent doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans youth and prevents trans athletes from participating in Ohio women’s sports.
Wednesday’s 64-28 vote comes a week after House Bill 6, dubbed the “Save Women’s Sports Act”, was added to House Bill 68, also known as the “Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act (SAFE Act),” through a substitute bill. State Reps. Jamie Callender, R- Concord, and Brett Hillyer, R-Uhrichsville, were the only Republicans present to vote against the bill.
HB 68 now moves to the Senate for committee consideration.
HB 6, introduced by State Rep. Jena Powell, R-Arcanum, was voted out of the House Higher Education Committee in May, but has not been taken to the House floor for a full vote.
“Allowing biological males to compete against biological females is a discriminatory policy that turns back the clock over a half century on advances we have made for women,” Powell said. “Women deserve the opportunity to compete on a level playing field.”
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/ohio-house-passes-bill-blocking-gender-affirming-care-and-trans-athletes
L.A. voters could clamp down on pay for hospital executives
Los Angeles voters will decide next spring whether to clamp down on pay for hospital executives, capping their total wages and other compensation at $450,000 annually, after the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to put the proposed measure on the March 2024 ballot.
The L.A. ballot measure is backed by a union representing healthcare workers, which argues pay for hospital executives has been excessive and out of line with the mission of providing affordable care.
SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West contends that hospital executives should not be making any more than the total compensation of the president of the United States, which the ballot measure states is currently $450,000.
“Health care executives receive lavish, million-dollar salaries far above the wages of health care workers, and patients struggle to afford basic care. The current compensation structure incentivizes wealthy executives to keep the system the same,” SEIU-UHW spokesperson Renée Saldaña said in a statement. “Excessive executive compensation diverts funds to a small group of individuals that could be invested in expanding access to high-quality, affordable care for everyone.”
The Hospital Assn. of Southern California called the proposal “deeply flawed” and argued that it would make it harder for Los Angeles hospitals to recruit and retain top talent, who would instead opt to work at healthcare facilities in other cities.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-06-21/healthcare-executives-pay-los-angeles
L.A.-CC06: Voters have to look hard to spot the differences in the race for Nury Martinez's seat
The two women running in the June 27 election for a Los Angeles City Council seat representing the central and east San Fernando Valley have striking similarities. Both are Democrats in their 30s, have master’s degrees and were raised in the Valley by family members who emigrated from Mexico.
Candidates Marisa Alcaraz and Imelda Padilla also agree on many city issues. Both support city-mandated minimum wage increases, the hiring of more police officers and the ability to bar homeless people from putting tents near elementary schools.
Voters casting ballots in the election for District 6 — which takes in all or parts of the neighborhoods of Lake Balboa, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta, North Hills, North Hollywood and Sun Valley — may not see many differences in the candidates.
“To the average voter, they both look rather similar,” said political consultant Eric Hacopian, who isn’t involved in the race. “Elections like this, especially in the middle of the summer, are won by who has the better turnout programs.”
Still, one notable contrast is between the candidates’ professional backgrounds. Padilla, 35, has held an assortment of jobs over the last decade, including working at a medical group, for an L.A. County program to help young women, as a consultant and, briefly, as an aide in council District 6.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-06-20/city-council-district-6-candidates-imelda-padilla-marisa-alcaraz
California doubles down on inclusive education as red states ban books in classrooms
SACRAMENTO — As books tackling racial and LGBTQ+ themes have been banned across the country, California’s Department of Education and Democratic lawmakers are doubling down on offering diverse and inclusive lessons in schools.
Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and legislators, meeting for the first time Wednesday as part of a new task force, called on textbook publishers to commit to producing materials that are “free from discrimination and inclusive of the diverse narratives that reflect the student body of California.”
Members of the task force, all of whom are Democrats, said that includes instruction about the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities, as well as Black, Native American, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander histories.
Nearly 77% of public school students in California are people of color, according to state data.
Although California is considered a leader in inclusive education, and already has extensive curriculum standards in place requiring diversity in school lessons, the first-of-its-kind hearing was a symbolic show of force by Democrats who control the state Capitol as GOP-controlled states including Florida and Texas have approved legislation to curtail some teachings.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-06-21/california-doubles-down-on-diverse-lessons-in-schools-as-book-bans-happen-across-u-s
MD-05: On eve of big party in his honor, Hoyer's political plans remain unknown
The most senior Democrat in the House of Representatives, the longest-serving member of Congress in Maryland history, Hoyer is the Energizer Bunny of Free State politics. His vitality and zeal for public service outpaces politicians half his age.
So as Hoyer prepares to be the guest of honor at Thursday evening’s annual dinner for the Maryland Democratic Party, as he prepares for his wedding Saturday to Elaine Kamarck, a political thought leader in her own right, there’s rampant speculation about whether he will seek a 21st full term in 2024, or if he’s finally ready to turn the keys to the 5th congressional district, which includes Southern Maryland, parts of Prince George’s County and a small piece of Anne Arundel County, over to someone else.
Even Hoyer’s closest friends, former staffers and longtime Capitol Hill denizens say they aren’t sure whether he’s running for reelection.
“I have less an idea of what he’s going to do than what I’m going to do — and I have no idea what I’m going to do,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th), who is contemplating a run for U.S. Senate and has promised to announce his decision early next month.
Hoyer’s office was not able to make the congressman available for an interview by Maryland Matters’ deadline Wednesday evening.
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/06/21/on-eve-of-big-party-in-his-honor-hoyers-political-plans-remain-unknown/
After primaries, Va. political leaders fire opening shots of 2023 general election fight
As the Virginia political world pivoted from primary season to November’s general elections, Republican leaders sought to portray the opposition as a battered party drifting further left while Democrats argued nothing can hide the extremism at the GOP’s core.
Tuesday’s packed slate of General Assembly primaries gave both parties a chance to preview their messages as they head deeper into an election year with full control of the legislature up for grabs. Establishment-backed candidates mostly prevailed on the Republican side. Democrats saw more mixed results, with multiple big-name incumbent senators falling to progressive challengers as others narrowly held onto their seats.
That outcome gave Democrats a more complicated picture to explain, even as party leaders said they continue to feel momentum is on their side in the first cycle of full legislative elections since the fall of Roe v. Wade. Republicans, meanwhile, highlighted the fact that Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s endorsees won big in contested primaries and sought to portray the state GOP as the more unified party.
Republicans had a 52-48 majority earlier this year in the House of Delegates, which now has several vacancies on both sides of the aisle due to resignations and people running for higher office. In the Senate, Democrats have a 22-18 majority, enabling them to block the most contentious Republican policy proposals.
All 140 General Assembly seats are on the ballot in November. Depending on what voters decide, Republicans could take full legislative control, Democrats could further restrain Youngkin’s power by keeping the Senate and flipping the House, or a mixed result could continue the current dynamic of divided government.
https://www.virginiamercury.com/2023/06/22/after-primaries-va-political-leaders-fire-opening-shots-of-2023-general-election-fight/
Virginia primaries raise stakes for Youngkin this fall
RICHMOND — Virginia’s primary elections this week have set the table for an epic battle in the fall for control of the General Assembly, with Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) staking his political future on a handpicked slate of loyal conservative candidates while Democrats generally favored new liberals over veteran moderates.
The ideological middle ground is fast disappearing, meaning Youngkin will probably face feast or famine in the next legislative session as he looks to cement his status as one of the nation’s most prominent governors and potential GOP presidential material.
“Regardless of which party ends up in the majority, the legislature that takes office next January will clearly be less inclined to compromise across party lines than it has been in the past,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political analyst at the University of Mary Washington.
A Republican sweep this fall, when all 140 seats in the Assembly are on the ballot, would give Youngkin total control to enact his agenda. If Democrats hold on to their thin advantage in the state Senate or flip the House, they will be in no mood to help the ambitious governor.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/06/21/virginia-primary-elections-youngkin-results/
Who's running for Pennsylvania attorney general?
Running
Keir Bradford-Gray
Philadelphia’s former chief public defender is the latest Democratic entrant into the attorney general’s race. Keir Bradford-Grey, currently a partner in Montgomery McCracken’s litigation department, announced her campaign Wednesday. She would be the first Black attorney general and the first attorney general with primarily public defender experience in the commonwealth’s history.
Eugene DePasquale
The first candidate to throw their hat in the ring is one whose name is known in the Harrisburg region. Former Auditor General and three-term state representative Eugene DePasquale formally kicked off the race at the start of June when he announced his run. DePasquale served as the state’s top watchdog and investigator for nearly eight years through most of then-Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration. More recently, he unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Scott Perry for the 10th Congressional seat back in 2020.
Joe Khan
Former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan resigned from his position in February to return to the private sector. A Democrat from Doylestown Borough, Khan, who remains a partner at Yardley’s Curtin & Heefner LLP as a public sector attorney, became the second Democrat to join the race when he formally announced his run on June 7. Khan, whose father immigrated from Pakistan, has made a point of saying that the party needs an attorney general who is “engaged with immigrant communities” across the state. His brother, Tarik Khan, was elected to the state House last year to represent the 194th District in Philadelphia.
Potential candidates rumored to be in the mix
Former U.S. Attorney Scott Brady (R)
Former U.S. Congressman Conor Lamb (D)
Former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain (R)
State Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R)
State Rep. Jared Solomon (D)
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer (D)
York County District Attorney David Sunday (R)
State Rep. Craig Williams (R)
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli (R)
https://www.cityandstatepa.com/politics/2023/06/ag-days-whos-running-pennsylvania-attorney-general/387732/
Democrats Want To Make It Safer Give Birth In Pennsylvania
If you’re a person thinking of giving birth in Pennsylvania, you might consider moving first. When compared with global maternal health statistics, the odds are against pregnant people in the United States. Worse still for parents and infants in the Keystone State, maternal mortality outcomes here are in the lower half of the nation.
Recently, some Pennsylvania lawmakers have voted to change that. Last month, State Senator Judith Schwank of Berks County brought SB 262 to her colleagues. It passed unanimously on June 13. Not a single member of the Pennsylvania Senate voted against the bill which would change the Maternal Mortality Review Act (more about that later) by adding a reporting requirement to include information from the Department of Health.
“Once we get this data in, we will be able to help set different protocols,” resulting in better outcomes, said Audrey Mindy, policy associate in Senator Schwank’s office. Those changes may incorporate a host of new technologies including better telehealth options for pregnant individuals living in maternal health deserts.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health agrees. In a statement to the Bucks County Beacon, Press Secretary Mark O’Neill confirmed SB 262 “amends the Maternal Mortality Review Act to strengthen the data collection capabilities of the Department of Health to better understand maternal morbidity in Pennsylvania and create evidence-based best practices, interventions, and policy solutions.”
Bucks County Representative Perry Warren looks forward to voting for Schwank’s initiative when it comes before the house this week. During his decades-long marriage, Warren’s wife Elizabeth, a neonatal nurse, would come home from work describing mostly unnecessary, negative maternal health outcomes. He’s enthusiastic and endorses the need to gather data and “raise awareness.” He believes the mandated “reporting will help the legislature seek solutions.”
https://buckscountybeacon.com/2023/06/democrats-want-to-make-it-safer-give-birth-in-pennsylvania/
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