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Our weekly federal news digest highlights redistricting updates in Hawaii, New York and Pennsylvania, and the FDA approving the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Read all about it in this week’s edition of the Federal Tap.
All good things come to an end. Ballotpedia will retire the Federal Tap after the February 19 issue. Don’t worry, Ballotpedia won’t leave you in the dark! Discover our newsletter collection designed to keep you informed, whatever your interests!
Congress is in session
The House and Senate are in session next week. Click on here to view the complete schedule for the second session of the 117th Congress.
Forty-eight members of Congress—six members of the U.S. Senate and 42 members of the U.S. House—announced they would not run again. Among these, thirty-three members, six senators and 27 representatives, have announced their retirement. Five Senate incumbents are Republicans and one is a Democrat, and of the House incumbents, 21 are Democrats and six are Republicans.
SCOTUS is offline.
The Supreme Court will not hear argument next week. To find out about the 2021-2022 mandate, click here.
Where was the president last week?
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Biden remained in Washington DC
Biden traveled to New York on Thursday, where he met with New York City Mayor Eric Andrews (D) and Governor Kathy Hochul (D)
On Friday, Biden traveled to Wilmington, Delaware
Federal Judiciary
- 78 vacancies in the federal judiciary
- 29 pending nominations
- 38 future vacancies in the federal judiciary
Upcoming Article III Judicial Vacancies
According to the latest vacancies data from the US courts, there were a total of 38 advertised vacancies for Article III judges. The first vacancy announcement was made on January 22, 2021, when United States District Court for the District of Maryland Judge Ellen Hollander announced that she would assume the senior status upon confirmation of her successor. The most recent was January 12, 2022, when United States Supreme Court Justice Stephane Breyer has announced that he will be stepping down from the court following the conclusion of SCOTUS’ current term. Twenty-three vacation effective dates have not been determined because the judge has not announced when they will leave the seat. The next upcoming vacancy will be February 14, 2022, when United States District Court for the Central District of California Judge Virginia Phillips to retire.
For a historical comparison, on February 6, 2021there were 60 federal court vacancies and 18 upcoming federal court vacancies reported by US courts.
SCOTUS Releases March Dispute Schedule
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released its March oral hearing schedule on January 28 for the Mandate 2021-2022, providing for nine cases for argument. Two of the cases were consolidated for one hour of oral argument. In total, the court will hear eight hours of oral arguments between March 21 and March 30.
Click on the links below to learn more about the cases:
March 21st
- Morgan v. Sundance, Inc. concerns a circuit split regarding arbitration clauses, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), and the Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility LLC vs. Concepcion (2011).
- Berger v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP wonders if North Carolina lawmakers can step in to defend the state’s voter ID law in constitutional challenges and lawsuits over the Voting Rights Act.
March 22
- Golan vs Saada concerns the interpretation of international law when a minor child is abducted across national borders during a domestic dispute.
March 23
- ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd. (consolidated with AlixPartners, LLC c. Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Investors in Foreign States) concerns arbitration proceedings generally and, in particular, the power of United States district courts to compel parties to produce evidence in private arbitration in foreign or international courts.
March 28
March 29
March 30
To date, the tribunal has agreed to hear 65 cases during its 2021-2022 tenure. Four cases were dismissed and one case was removed from the pleading schedule. Nine cases have not yet been scheduled for litigation.
Food and Drug Administration approves Moderna coronavirus vaccine, receives clearance requests from Pfizer, Novavax
On Feb. 1, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine full approval for use in people 18 and older. This is the second vaccine to receive approval for this age group, the first being from Pfizer on August 23, 2021. Moderna’s vaccine originally received emergency use authorization on December 18, 2020 .
Additionally, on January 31, the FDA received emergency use authorization requests from Pfizer and Novavax. Pfizer has applied for permission to use its coronavirus vaccine for children under 5. The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only vaccine to receive FDA clearance for use in people under the age of 18. The FDA said it would meet to make a recommendation on Feb. 15. For the authorization to become effective, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would also have to meet and authorize the use of the vaccine for this age group.
Novavax has submitted an emergency use authorization request for its coronavirus vaccine for people 18 years of age and older. If approved, it would become the fourth vaccine available for American adults. The last time the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for a new vaccine was in Feb. 2021, when it licensed the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Hawaii and New York Adopt New Maps of Congressional Districts; Pennsylvania Supreme Court takes control of redistricting
Hawaii
The Hawaii Office of Elections officially published the states final congressional redistricting plan January 31 after the Hawaii Redistribution Commission voted 8-1 on January 28 to approve the proposal.
Two congressional district maps were presented to the commission at their September 9, 2021 meeting. One map retained the congressional lines as drawn following the 2010 census. An alternate map slightly adjusted the lines along the west coast of Oahu. On October 14, the committee voted to adopt the alternative proposal. After hearing public testimony, the commission drafted a final proposal on January 26.
Commissioner Cal Chipchase noted the proposals responded to public comment and complied with state laws. “I am satisfied that the technical committee and this commission considered all of the constitutional criteria, as attainable, rather than favoring one or ignoring one condition,” Chipchase said. Bill Hicks, a Hawaiian citizen who submitted proposals to the commission, criticized the commission’s approach to the new maps. “It’s best to build compliant House districts first and use them as the building blocks not just for Senate districts, but for Congressional districts as well. Build congressional districts last, not first,” Hicks noted.
Hawaii was awarded two seats in the United States House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. This map will go into effect for the Hawaii congressional elections in 2022.
New York
New York has adopted a new congress redistricting plan on Feb. 2 after Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed a measure approved by the legislature. According to Marina Villeneuve of NBC 4 New York, the congressional card would give the Democratic Party “an advantage in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional districts and mean re-election problems for several Republican members of the United States House.” After the 2020 census, New York was allocated 26 seats in the United States House of Representatives, a loss of one seat from the distribution after the 2010 census.
On January 3, the New York Independent Redistricting Commission voted 5-5 on two legislative redistricting proposals, one proposed by the Democrats on the commission and the other proposed by the Republicans on the commission. The New York Legislature, which was unable to amend the proposals, rejected both cards on January 10. The commission then had 15 days to draw new maps but announced on January 24 that it would not submit any new proposals. Since the commission did not submit a revised map until January 25, the legislature was allowed to modify or create new redistricting proposals.
New York voters have approved a state constitutional amendment…Proposal 1— in 2014, which created a redistricting commission to draw legislative and congressional districts. After the committee voted 5-5, The Buffalo News Editorial Committee wrote“This outcome was built into the system created by a 2014 constitutional amendment. With both parties chasing an advantage, the failure of Republicans and Democrats to agree was inevitable. Balanced is not synonymous of independent.
Pennsylvania
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided on February 2 that it would exercise control over the selection process for the new congress card. In a 5-2 decision, the court named Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough (R) as special master and ordered her to recommend a new Congressional map by February 7. McCullough was initially given redistricting responsibility after Gov. Tom Wolf (D) vetoed a map approved by lawmakers. Candidates running for U.S. House districts in Pennsylvania can begin collecting signatures Feb. 15.
The court order declared“Given the impasse between the Legislative and Executive branches over the passage of Congressional precincts, and given the impact the extended calls will have on the election calendar, and time being of the essence, demand emergency petitioners for extraordinary assistance is GRANTED, and extraordinary jurisdiction under 42 Pa.CS § 726 is EXERCISED.”
Five state Supreme Court justices were elected in partisan elections as Democrats and two were elected as Republicans. Pennsylvania currently has a divided government with a Democratic governor and Republicans controlling both houses of the legislature. Pennsylvania was awarded 17 seats in the United States House of Representatives, a net loss of one seat from the distribution after the 2010 census.
The redistricting of Congress has been completed for 299 of the 435 seats (68.7%) in the US House of Representatives.
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