Dissolving caucuses, new agencies, and striking staff

New York Senate Independent Democratic Conference set to dissolve + CFPB acting director issues new agency recommendations New York Senate Independent Democratic Conference set to dissolve The eight-member Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) in the New York State Senate agreed to dissolve and rejoin with the rest of the Democratic Party. Led by state Sen. Jeff Klein (D), this group of breakaway Democrats caucused with Republicans and helped the GOP maintain control of the state Senate since 2011, despite Democrats often having a numerical majority in the chamber. The reunification came as primary season begins to heat up in New York. Progressive primary challenges against the IDC have lined up in advance of the filing deadline. , Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) faces a primary challenge from former Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon. She claims that Cuomo enabled the IDC because he prefers dealing with a Republican-controlled Senate, especially on the state budget. According to the New York Times, at least some of the progressive primary challengers still plan to run against the IDC members in the state’s September 13 primaries. Cuomo brokered the reunification at a closed-door meeting on April 3, just days after he finished negotiating the state budget alongside Klein, Senate President John Flanagan (R), and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D). The agreement gives control of the reunited Democratic caucus to mainline Democratic leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and makes Klein her deputy. A previous reunification deal was announced in November 2017. It would have made Stewart-Cousins and Klein co-leaders of the chamber and was dependent on Democrats retaining two seats previously held by mainline members in April 24 special elections and on state Sen. Simcha Felder (D) ending his separate alliance with Republicans. With the IDC gone, Felder is the pivotal member who could swing control of the Senate to either Republicans or Democrats. He has caucused with Republicans since he was elected in 2012, but he has never been a member of the IDC. Following the reunification, Felder said that while he would continue caucusing with Republicans, he was open to joining the new Democratic caucus. He said, “I don’t feel obligated to remain with the Republicans, or obligated to join the Democrats. I’m loyal to God, my wife and my constituents, and New Yorkers.” He also said, “I think it’s fair to say that I would have to feel a compelling reason to leave [the Republican caucus]." Felder has previously said that he would ally with the party that would help advance his priorities, which include securing state support for yeshivas in his mostly Orthodox Jewish district in Brooklyn and putting armed guards in New York City schools. If Felder joins the reunified Democratic caucus and Democrats win both special elections on April 24, they could gain a state government trifecta in New York ahead of the 2018 elections. [Learn more]( [Forward This](mailto:?&cc=info@Ballotpedia.org&subject=Check out this info I found from Ballotpedia&body= [blank][Tweet This]( [blank][blank][Send to Facebook]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [blank] #FridayFact How many presidential vetoes have been issued? [674→]( [18,732→]( [1,198→]( [2,574→]( --------------------------------------------------------------- CFPB acting director issues new agency recommendations Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), issued new recommendations for the agency in the CFPB’s semiannual report on Monday with the goal of implementing what he described as "meaningful accountability for the bureau.” The report proposes to fund the CFPB through congressional appropriations, require Congressional approval for all major agency regulations, create an inspector general within the agency, and make the CFPB director accountable to the president. “The Bureau is far too powerful, with precious little oversight of its activities,” said Mulvaney. “The power wielded by the Director of the Bureau could all too easily be used to harm consumers, destroy businesses, or arbitrarily remake American financial markets.” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who originally proposed the creation of CFPB as a law professor in 2007, criticized Mulvaney’s leadership at the CFPB in a March 28 opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal and claimed that his actions aimed to cripple the agency. “Congress designed the CFPB to be a nimble watchdog for America’s consumers, accountable to Congress in the execution of its duties,” said Warren. “Mr. Mulvaney has undermined the bureau’s work on behalf of consumers and has repeatedly failed to comply with legal mandates.” The CFPB was authorized under the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 as an independent federal agency—a type of executive agency in which the top official has cause removal protections and, therefore, is insulated from political interference by the president or other elected officials. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the CFPB as an independent federal agency in January 2018. The agency is currently funded through the Federal Reserve rather than through congressional appropriations. [Learn more→]( --------------------------------------------------------------- States dealing with public school staff strikes Beginning with a nine-day teacher walkout in West Virginia from February 22 to March 6, teacher and public school staff strikes spread to other states across the country. Teachers in Oklahoma and Kentucky followed suit, and educators in Arizona were threatening to strike as of April 3. All four states were Republican state government trifectas in 2018. Public school employees demanded higher pay, improvements to pension systems, and increased education funding. Teachers and school staff in West Virginia walked out for higher pay and changes to the Public Employees' Retirement System. They continued to strike until the legislature signed a 5 percent pay raise into law. In Oklahoma, teachers protested for increased education funding, including higher pay, after legislative action did not meet their demands. Kentucky teachers rallied at the state capitol to express their displeasure with changes to the Teachers' Retirement System that lawmakers approved on March 30, 2018. [Ballotpedia is tracking these strikes →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- How can we help you stay informed? Would you like this email to be:  �      �      Ballotpedia depends on the support of our readers. The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Donations to the Lucy Burns Institute or Ballotpedia do not support any candidates or campaigns. [Please click here to support our work→]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Follow on Twitter]( [Friend on Facebook]( Copyright © 2018, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Ballotpedia 8383 Greenway Blvd Suite 600 Middleton, WI 53562 Decide which emails you want from Ballotpedia. [Unsubscribe]( or [update subscription preferences](.