Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Ariana Figueroa, Georgia Recorder U.S. House Republicans on Friday passed a bill designed to empower parents to inspect books and other teaching materials in local public schools, but Democrats sharply criticized the measure, saying it would censor teachers and ban books. The legislation, called the Parents Bill of Rights, passed on a 213-208 vote. …

Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix The Florida House of Representatives passed a permitless carry bill (HB 543) along party lines Friday that would allow people to carry guns without being required to obtain a concealed-weapons license from the state. If ultimately approved, it would make the Sunshine State the 26th state …

Jacob Fischler, New Jersey Monitor March 23, 2023 A U.S. House panel grilled TikTok’s CEO for more than five hours Thursday over the social media giant’s ties to China, and indicated there may be bipartisan consensus for a national ban on the platform. Members of both parties showed an unusual …

Jennifer Shutt, New Jersey Monitor Congress’ Joint Economic Committee released a report Thursday detailing the economic repercussions of defaulting on the nation’s debt, adding fuel to the fire as Democrats pressed Republicans to address the nation’s borrowing limit without tying action to spending cuts. The report, from Democratic staff on …

Danielle J. Brown, Florida Phoenix After weeks of multiple bills moving through legislative committees, GOP House lawmakers on Thursday combined three controversial measures into one — all about how Florida public schools operate regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. The combination bill is now headed to the full House, even …

Jacob Fischler, Michigan Advance Members of a U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday previewed what they would push for in bipartisan rail safety legislation likely to progress through Congress in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hinted …

Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.-10) on Wednesday introduced legislation to establish an Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The Office of Gun Violence Prevention Act would bring together those most impacted by gun violence with leaders across federal …

Four U.S senators this week called on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to use her existing authority to go after American billionaires and multimillionaires who “use trusts to shift wealth to their heirs tax-free, dodging federal estate and gift taxes.” “They are doing this in the open: Their wealth managers are …

Baylor Spears, Wisconsin Examiner Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic lawmakers announced a bill Tuesday that would repeal Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban to effectively “restore Roe” in the state. The action comes two weeks before Wisconsin’s consequential Supreme Court Election. It follows Republicans’ announcement of a bill last week that would …

Jennifer Shutt, New Jersey Monitor The CEO of Moderna on Wednesday defended the company’s decision to drastically increase the price of its COVID-19 vaccine later this year, arguing that an expected drop in demand, changes to its distribution process and the overall benefit of the vaccine warrant the higher cost. …

Joseph Harding, the former Florida representative who resigned in December after he was indicted on federal fraud charges, has taken a plea deal from the U.S. Justice Department. On Tuesday, Harding, who represented part of Marion County in the Florida House of Representatives, entered guilty pleas to one count of …

Jacob Fischler, Georgia Recorder Former President Donald Trump’s claim that he would be arrested Tuesday had not materialized by early evening on the East Coast, but U.S. House Republicans harshly criticized any such move as an abuse of prosecutorial authority. In an all-caps post to his social media site, Truth …

Anna Gustafson, Michigan Advance Nearly a decade after the water crisis began to devastate Flint in 2014, leaving thousands of people to drink lead-contaminated water in the Black-majority city, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday the state’s historic Flint water settlement totaling about $626.25 million has been formally approved. …

Stephen Fowler, GPB News Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys filed a motion Monday seeking to essentially shut down prosecutors’ ability to issue indictments based on a special purpose grand jury investigation into the failed attempt to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election. In a 51-page filing that includes more than 430 pages …

Jennifer Shutt, Florida Phoenix The U.S. director of national intelligence has three months to declassify information on potential links between China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19, after President Joe Biden signed legislation Monday. The bill was one of the first Biden has signed since a 118th …