The fight isn’t necessarily over even when voters approve a ballot measure

Republican governors, state legislatures and private businesses sometimes resist new policies voters adopt at the ballot box

Even if voters approve a ballot measure with a large majority, that doesn’t mean the battle is over.

Proponents of progressive voting initiatives are now planning for post-Election Day, defending voter-approved measures and preparing state officials to implement them if necessary. said. That’s because some Republican governors, state legislatures, and private corporations have tried to sue, undermine, or have slowed down new policies that voters will adopt at the ballot box.

This dynamic was on full display last week. RJ Reynolds and other tobacco companies have filed requests with the Supreme Court to impose emergency orders blocking California from enforcing its ban on flavored tobacco products. two-thirds Percentage of state residents supported in November elections.

• “One of the things we think is really important to look at is the ballot measure’s entire 360 ​​lifecycle,” he said. Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, executive director of Voting Initiative Strategic Center, This helps liberal voting measures. “Yes, we can win the vote, but the next important step is post-election implementation.”

Part of that work will be in the form of creating legal strategies to help ballot measures remain challenged, or talking to state legislators and agency officials responsible for funding or implementing voter-approved initiatives. It is done.

The advice to groups supporting the ballot measure follows high-profile attempts to change or roll back the ballot measure. Governor of South Dakota. Christie L. Noem (R) instigated and successfully challenged the 2020 ballot measure to approve recreational marijuana.Republican officials slow to roll out Medicaid expansion Nebraska; Initially declined to fund the expansion of the safety net program Missouri; When Tried to add labor requirements and other policies to Obamacare program Idaho.

Matthew Myers the head of Non-Smoking Kids Campaign, He said he expects tobacco companies to take action against the ballot measure banning the flavored products, calling the court challenge “hurray.”

“Our attorneys candidly contacted California officials to A) urge them to be prepared and B) to make them understand the seriousness of the situation.” — and they do — and offer our support and the support of other public health leaders,” Myers said, noting that some of the informal conversations took place in advance of the lawsuit. I got

Tobacco companies argue that states do not have the power to enact such bans. did not immediately return the request for comment.

Meanwhile, the California Department of Public Health is still working on a plan to implement the ban, which is expected to take effect by December 21, while it awaits communication from the country’s Supreme Court. State tobacco control programs have launched quit-smoking campaigns aimed at helping people who want to quit and who may be affected by this policy. This is the first legislature to pass in his 2020, and plans to begin additional messaging once election results are certified and legal challenges are resolved. the department said in a statement.

South Dakota: Last month, the state became the seventh Republican-leaning state whose voters have embraced Medicaid expansion. Medicaid advocates want to avoid efforts by other Republican governors to undermine the expansion, as well as previous legal battles in the state. In 2021, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled against an initiative to legalize voter-approved recreational marijuana after Noem instigated a legal battle. but failed.

“Every attempt was made to prevent problems from occurring,” he said. Deb Fisher-Clemens who is the contract lobbyist Abella Health.

When the campaign drafted a constitutional amendment, it set a strict deadline. States must send amendments to the Medicaid Expansion Plan to the federal government by March 1 and start paying benefits by July 1. Fisher-Clemens said he expects the state to fully implement the expansion, but plans to monitor it and stay in touch with state legislators.

• In a statement, the South Dakota Department of Social Services said coverage would begin on July 1. DSS is “We anticipate that we will make the necessary policy and system changes, and that implementation will require the addition of significant staff and technical resources.
• and September Governors Debate, Noem, who opposes the expansion, said the ballot measure “appears to be written in constitutional terms and will be implemented if the people pass it.” A spokesperson for her office said the governor will discuss expanding Medicaid in Tuesday’s annual budget address.

Kentucky: Abortion rights advocates aim to capitalize on the defeat of an amendment that would have clearly stated that there was nothing in the state constitution that created the right to abortion.

The state’s Republican Attorney General argues that the outcome of the ballot measure should be “irrelevant” to the court’s decision, so the vote is crucial to advancing legal challenges to the state’s near-total abortion ban Abortion rights advocates say the vote is an important data point state legislators should have in their arsenal when they convene next year.

“The poll may be flawed in many ways, but there is nothing arguable about this poll. Tamara Wieder state director Supporters of the Plan Parent-Child Alliance.

Congress ends military coronavirus vaccine mandate

Congress Considering rollback Military coronavirus vaccine mandate for military members as part of approximate $800 billion A bill to reauthorize the Pentagon, a concession intended to win Republican votes in an important year-end package, the Post’s Tony Rom report.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (California Republican) yesterday, fox news he made a direct contract President Biden.

White House officials later disputed that characterization“Leader McCarthy raised this with the President and the President told him he would consider it. The Secretary of Defense has recommended maintaining the mission, and the President supports his position,” the spokesman said. Olivia Dalton said in a statement. “Discussion about [National Defense Authorization Act] in progress. “

manager Adam Smith (D-Wash), Chairman House Armed Services Committeeconfirmed that lawmakers were discussing lifting the policy in the compromised version of the bill, but said no final decision had yet been made. Politico report.

Main context: Republicans have argued that the federal government’s mandate to govern the military, medical workers, and others goes too far. Regarding the military in particular, Republicans claim the policy has hurt recruitment and forced thousands of military personnel to be laid off, Tony writes.

white house prescription

Biden administration poised to lift monkeypox emergency declaration

The Biden administration plans to end the mpox public health emergency, the virus formerly known as monkeypox that caused a record outbreak earlier this year. Fenit Nirappil report.

“Given the small number of cases today, [the Department of Health and Human Services] We do not believe the state of emergency, which expires on January 31, 2023, will need to be renewed,” HHS Secretary said. Xavier Becerra said in a statement on Friday.

Health officials stressed that the move does not mean that the mpox threat has passed.Rather, the virus no longer required an emergency and the government called in August to free up additional funding, flexibility and resources to fight the disease. Ten The number of reports per day is reported, 450 yen per day Early August.

Zoom out: almost 30,000 Americans I have been infected with mpox since the beginning of the global epidemic in the spring. Cases were mostly concentrated in gay men who contracted the virus during sex, and ultimately did not spread to a wider area, as officials feared.

White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klein said:

Hospitalizations due to coronavirus are on the rise during the holiday season

Coronavirus hospitalizations reached their highest level in three months last week, further straining a health system already battling waves of patients ravaged by RSV and flu infections, The Post’s Fenit Nirappil When Jacqueline Dupree write.

Hospitalizations have stagnated in recent months, but started to rise in the days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, and daily new hospitalizations are now outstripping them. 9,000 After hovering between 5,000 When 7,000 for most of the fall. is more than 35,000 patients Nationwide, people are receiving treatment for coronavirus, according to the Post’s data tracker.

• generic drug industry lobby groups, Accessible Medicines Association, Fire President Dan Leonard On Friday.David Go Transitioned from Executive Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs to Interim Head of AAM. statisticsof John Wilkerson I am writing.
• Indiana: second judge on friday closed the country From a near-total ban on abortion after Jewish, Muslim and other non-Christian women filed lawsuits claiming the measure violated their religious freedom, Reuters report.
• Federal prosecutors arrested and charged Texas man When threaten to kill against physicians who treat sexually incompatible children. recently went upour colleague Leo Sands report.

Tuesday: The Post is hosting a discussion with Frances CollinsSpecial Advisor to the President, Former Director National Institutes of Healthand other public health experts on building trust in science after the coronavirus pandemic.

Wednesday: of House Veterans Committee A conference to review the implementation of legislation to extend disability benefits to military personnel exposed to toxic substances.of House Judiciary Committee Among other laws, it plans to mark up the Suicide Prevention Act with the Voluntary Firearms Delay Act.

Thursday: early 202 co-authors Lee Ann Caldwell sitting with actors Seth Rogen and filmmakers Lauren Miller Rogen To talk about their advocacy for long-term care and the prospect of a bipartisan bill on issues in the new Congress.

For the prolific covid scammers, cash came first. Then came the chase. (Yegane Torbaty and Ope Adetayo | Washington Post)

Billions of Covid Aid have been sent to hospitals that don’t need it (Melanie Evans, Liz Esley White, Tom McGinty | Wall Street Journal)

Eight friends died one by one from drugs (Lenny Bernstein and Jordan Marie Smith | Washington Post)

thank you for reading! see you tomorrow.