HIGHLIGHTS
- California Prop 4 to fund climate, wildlife, water projects
- Maine invests in science & tech research
- Education Sec Speculation
JUMP: EDUCATION | INFRASTRUCTURE | PUBLIC SERVICES | THE REST
First, the Good News
1) National: From the Network for Public Education: “In Kentucky, Nebraska and Colorado voters rejected the privatization of schools. Colorado voters rejected memorializing school choice, Nebraskans rejected vouchers and Kentucky rejected both charter schools and vouchers. For additional detail on all three, go here.”
2) California: “It used to be a notoriously violent prison. Now it’s home to a first-of-its-kind higher education program.” The Hechinger Report says. “Mariscal’s speech exemplified everything officials at Cal Poly Humboldt hoped to accomplish when they set out to create a satellite campus at one of the most notorious prisons in the country. They knew that earning a degree could help some men shorten their sentences and possibly land well-paying jobs once released. But they also hoped that the classes, and the camaraderie fostered there, would pay immediate dividends, lessening violence at the prison and improving students’ daily behaviors. Seeing Mariscal address his past while both sharing his feelings and mapping out a hopeful path forward just four weeks into the semester was validating, officials said.”
3) California: Voters have approved $10 billion for climate, wildfire, and water projects. “Proposition 4 will fund projects across the state to safeguard drinking water, combat wildfires, protect natural lands, and improve resilience against floods and extreme heat, but some of the money is also directed toward shorter-term items like job training. At least 40% of the funds will be spent to benefit communities considered most harmed by climate change and environmental fallout — prioritizing support for populations that might lack the resources to cope with those impacts. Alfredo Gonzalez, an environmentalist who headed the campaign backing the measure, described the financing as a strategic response to the state’s growing environmental threats. The bond measure will be a down payment aimed at water security, wildfire management, and resilience against intense heat waves, floods and even rising sea levels, he said.”
4) National: Voters in Colorado, Nebraska and Kentucky put the brakes on the school choice movement, “rejecting ballot measures that would have instituted or expanded state support for parents to send their kids to private schools or protected other school choice options. There are at least 75 private school choice programs available across 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to EdChoice, a group that supports such programs. And the movement had been gaining momentum. Public school systems and teachers unions largely oppose voucher programs that use tax dollars to support private school education, saying the programs take needed money from public schools. Many opponents also note that private schools may not have the same accreditation requirements and course curriculum as public schools.”
5) Maine: Voters approve investing in science and tech research. “This resounding approval reflects how deeply Maine people value the outdoors and recognize its importance to our way of life,” said Jenny Kordick, executive director of Maine Outdoor Brands. Now that it’s approved, the Maine Trails Program will be developed over several years to include some trails designated for non-motorized use, such as walking or biking, and some for ATV and other vehicle use. The investment will also help repair damage caused by climate change, flooding, severe storms or erosion. The bond question stemmed from L.D. 1156, a bipartisan bill brought forward in the Maine Legislature. Advocates hoped that the trail upgrade would expand and improve Maine’s outdoor recreation economy, and opponents argued the current trail system is sufficient and criticized spending with a lack of clear return on investment, according to a summary by the League of Women Voters of Maine.”
6) Oregon/California: The state’s environmental, immigrant, and democracy groups are preparing for another Trump presidency. “The panel of conservation and social justice leaders discussed what they’d learned from Republican President-elect Trump’s first term, how they were preparing to organize, educate and protect the public, democracy and vulnerable communities over the next few years and how they were preparing to challenge Trump and his administration legally if his orders violate state law. More than 220 people attended it virtually, according to Casey Kulla, state forest policy coordinator for Oregon Wild and the event moderator. If the next Trump presidency is anything like the first, Kulla and Steve Pedery, Oregon Wild’s executive director, anticipate a rush by private industries on federal lands for natural resources that will likely trigger lawsuits. ‘In the months that followed Trump’s inauguration we just saw the logging, mining, fossil fuel industries go nuts,’ Pedery said.” They are focusing on lawyering up and constitutional protections. California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced similar steps to prepare for a massive legal response.
7) National: Who will be Trump’s education secretary? Speculation swirls. “According to a report from Inside Higher Ed, experts predict that Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters and Louisiana State Superintendent Cade Brumley may be on Trump’s shortlist for his next education secretary. Walters has carved a national reputation in recent years. In the summer, his office mandated that all public schools teach the Bible in classrooms, an initiative that has been met with immense legal pushback. Brumley’s office has been part of a similar initiative in Louisiana to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public classrooms—a federal judge ruled last week that the mandate was unconstitutional and ordered state education officials to not take any steps to enforce the measures.”
Other names floated include Tiffany Justice, cofounder of Moms for Liberty; Christopher Rufo, a board member at New College of Florida and a Manhattan Institute for Policy Research senior fellow; former Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos; Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC); former Indiana governor and privatization zealot Mitch Daniels; and governors Ron DeSantis and Glenn Youngkin.
8) National: Trump has chosen Fox host Pete Hegseth, a defender of Veterans Affairs privatization, to be defense secretary. DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd says “Donald Trump should focus more on our military and less on Fox News. Pete Hegseth isn’t just unfit – he’s dangerous: hailing the January 6 insurrectionists as people who ‘love freedom,’ opposing women serving in combat roles, and even expressing support for war crimes. Trump’s pick to lead our Department of Defense wants to scam our veterans out of their benefits, privatize their health care, and allow predatory for-profit colleges to prey on them without consequence. It’s obvious why Trump picked him after promising to turn the military against American citizens: Hegseth will always put defending Trump ahead of defending America.” (…) Hegseth worked for a number of conservative groups, including Vets for Freedom and the conservative-backed Concerned Veterans for America, which pushed for privatization of many Department of Veterans Affairs functions.”
9) Arizona: Parents bought gift cards with ESA voucher money, 12News.com reports. “During an October meeting with education leaders, Horne said there are simply not enough workers to keep up with demand. Parents on ESA chatrooms have complained about waiting months to get expenses reimbursed. The wait times put lower-income families in a bind because they don’t have the financial means to go long stretches without getting reimbursed. An unintended consequence of the backlog is cases of alleged fraud. Horne said his office attempted to streamline reimbursements earlier this year by allowing automatic reimbursements for purchases $75 and less. Administrators discovered seven account holders who bought about $13,000 worth of Amazon gift cards.”
10) Colorado: Privatization is no answer to the bus driver shortage, says the National Education Association (NEA). “There is an ongoing bus driver shortage in Jefferson County. Like other Colorado school districts and many districts around the country, it turned to rideshare companies to fill in the gaps, particularly for students with disabilities and others who have the right to free school transportation under federal law. But educators say the problem with outsourcing bus drivers is that rideshare drivers are not career education staff but members of the gig economy who look at driving school children as just another job. Trevor Byrne, president of the Jefferson County Transportation Association, says that that the district should not outsource jobs but hire Jefferson County (Jeffco) drivers who are fully trained, accountable, committed, and connected to the community and the students they serve.”
11) Idaho: Pro-voucher forces were defeated in Kentucky, Nebraska and Colorado. “Yet, in Idaho, the American Federation of Children was successful in defeating anti-privatization Republicans in the May primary and anti-privatization Democrats in this week’s general election. Key to the AFC’s success is never using the word “voucher” in their messaging to voters or explicitly saying they want to tap taxpayer dollars to support private/religious-school tuition. (…) The AFC knows that it can’t tell voters the truth because, if they did, the voters would reject voucher-like efforts as they did in Nebraska, Kentucky, and Colorado, and nearly every time the issue is on the ballot. It’s easier to buy legislative seats with lies than to convince voters that diverting tax dollars for private/religious school tuition is a good thing.”
12) Tennessee: After this year’s impasse, the school voucher debate is returning as a bill for 2025 is filed. “With core elements similar to unsuccessful proposals in the House and Senate last year, the newly filed Education Freedom Act of 2025 would offer 20,000 vouchers worth about $7,000 each in taxpayer funds to students statewide to attend private schools, while guaranteeing state funding to make up any gaps school districts could see from enrollment drops, offering a one-time $2,000 bonus to every teacher in the state, and establishing a new state funding source for school building construction and maintenance. (…)
“Democrats ― who have stringently opposed and campaigned against vouchers, deeming the proposal “a scam” ― immediately rejected the new bill. House Minority Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, called the new bill the “same scam, different language.” House Democrats last session unanimously opposed Lee’s first plan. Although they have yet to take a formal vote on the newly filed legislation, it’s likely they will oppose it. Clemmons was sharply critical of the new bill, particularly the one-time teacher bonuses he said should be given to educators without strings attached, in addition to more significant pay raises. ‘It’s offensive that he’s trying to attach teacher bonuses and school construction funds that are badly needed to this scam,’ Clemmons said.”
13) Texas: Lawmakers have started filing bills for the 2025 legislative session. “So far, bills have been filed that will allow the state to do rapid DNA tests on people that crossed the border and have been detained and are believed to possibly be lying about their familial ties, and another that has to do with building a wall.” However, Gainey said the expected voucher bill has yet to be filed. ‘There was one yesterday that was filed, but it was filed by somebody who voted ‘no’ on vouchers last year,’ he said. ‘My guess is that’s probably not the bill people are waiting for and that they’ll be looking for something that gets filed in those early bill numbers because that’ll be what’s marked as priority legislation.’”
14) National: The Bond Buyer reports that the Biden administration has pledged to keep Infrastructure Act funds flowing in the final months. “The Biden administration marked Friday’s third anniversary of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by announcing $3.4 billion in fresh grants and pledging to keep the money flowing in the few remaining months left in the administration. ‘There’s only one administration at a time,’ Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Thursday at a press conference announcing the grants. ‘That’s true now, and it will also be true after January 20th. Our responsibility is to make good use of the funds that Congress has authorized for us and that we’re responsible for assigning and disbursing throughout the last three years.’ As the five-year, $1.2 trillion law enters its third year, it has invested nearly $570 billion in 66,000 projects across the country, according to the administration. Incoming President Donald Trump has signaled he would seek to undo some of the programs associated with the IIJA.” [Sub required]
15) National: The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports that “President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement Friday afternoon that his pick for Interior secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, would also coordinate a new council on energy policy is a sign the incoming administration will make energy production a core part of its domestic policy.
Few details of the new National Energy Council were available Friday, as activists and lawmakers processed the surprise 4 p.m. Eastern announcement. But the move likely reflects a focus by Trump and his next administration on energy production, including fossil fuels.”
The Sierra Club’s Executive Director Ben Jealous said in a statement, ““It was climate skeptic Doug Burgum who helped arrange the Mar-a-Lago meeting with wealthy oil and gas executives where Donald Trump offered to overturn dozens of environmental rules and regulations in exchange for $1 billion in campaign contributions. If that weren’t disqualifying enough, he’s long advocated for rolling back critical environmental safeguards in order to let polluters profit. Doug Burgum’s ties to the fossil fuel industry run deep and, if confirmed to this position, he will surely continue Donald Trump’s efforts to sell out our public lands to his polluter pals. Our lands are our nation’s greatest treasure, and the Interior Department is charged with their protection. The Sierra Club and its millions of members and supporters across the country will do everything in our power to stop Donald Trump and Doug Burgum’s fossil fuel agenda, and preserve our wild and special places.”
16) National: In the midst of a growing global climate crisis, Trump nominates an oil baron to be energy secretary. “‘Not surprising but still appalling that Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary is a Big Oil CEO,’ League of Conservation Voters senior vice president for government affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld wrote on X. Natural Resources Defense Council senior vice president for climate and energy Jackie Wong blasted Wright as ‘a champion of fossil fuels’ whose nomination was ‘a disastrous mistake.’ ‘The Energy Department should be doing all it can to develop and expand the energy sources of the 21st century, not trying to promote the dirty fuels of the last century,’ Wong said in a statement reported by The Associated Press. ‘Given the devastating impacts of climate-fueled disasters, DOE’s core mission of researching and promoting cleaner energy solutions is more important now than ever.’ Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity, lamented that ‘this is going to be the oiliest administration since George W. Bush.’”
17) National: Who will sit on key municipal market-shaping congressional committees? The Bond Buyer explains. “With all the House of Representative races now called, Republicans will retain a razor-thin majority, sealing their control of the Senate, House and White House, while jockeying has begun for appointments to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees that are important to the municipal bond market. (…) As Congress organizes itself into committees and prepares for the ‘Super Bowl of tax policy’ next year, past bills and comments like Thune’s on tax-exempt municipal bonds, PABs and advance refunding may indicate future positions of lawmakers. Current Ways and Means Chair Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., is expected to remain at the helm of the committee, which is where tax legislation originates. (…) Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass, who is considered a friend of public finance, is expected to remain as Ways and Means Ranking Member. (…) Republican leaders are expected to rely on the budget reconciliation process, which will allow them to pass revenue legislation with a simple majority, to raise the debt limit and address the expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” [Sub required]
18) California: How will a Trump administration affect California’s housing crisis? CalMatters takes a look. “President-elect Donald Trump’s housing policy for his second term is vague at best. But based on available information, many California housing experts are not optimistic about what it could mean for the state’s crisis.(…) ‘Trump’s extremist economic agenda is going to tank the housing market and housing construction,’ Sen. Scott Wiener, one of the Legislature’s loudest YIMBY voices, said in an interview Friday. That concern is based largely on actions taken during President-elect Donald Trump’s first presidency and his stated plans to deport massive numbers of immigrants and raise tariffs. Trump has offered few specific housing policy proposals. When CalMatters reached out to his campaign for more details, it didn’t get a response.”
19) California: The Los Angeles Unified School District has won the Far West category of The Bond Buyer‘s Deal of the Year awards. “About $14.9 billion of BABs were called in 2024 while $938.3 million is set to be called, according to October data from J.P. Morgan. Year-to-date, 39 issuers have priced deals to refund their outstanding BABs, the data says. Estimates earlier this year showed that up to $30 billion of outstanding BABs were candidates to be called back via an extraordinary redemption provision, which issuers began to use following a favorable court ruling that bond attorneys said cleared the way for such redemptions of sequestered bonds.” [Sub required]
20) New Jersey: So how did South Orange, Gloucester Township and Manalapan Township vote on water privatization on Nov. 5? Eric Kiefer of the Patch staff has a good rundown. “According to unofficial election results, the answer was “yes” in South Orange, where voters were asked if they wanted to sell the water system to New Jersey American Water (NJAW). Voters in Gloucester Township have apparently rejected a call to sell their sewer system, also to NJAW, and voters in Manalapan Township have apparently agreed to sell their water system to Veolia Water New Jersey. The three above towns aren’t the only ones in New Jersey to debate selling their water or sewer systems in the past few years, however. Other municipalities that have recently found themselves struggling with the same dilemma include Bound Brook, Long Hill Township, Mount Ephraim, Manville, Egg Harbor City, Somerville and Salem.”
21) Virginia: Charlottesville is considering privatizing its pool management. “The city has issued a request for proposals to find a company that would manage the Onesty Family Aquatic Center and the Booker T. Washington Park Pool. Currently, the city is seeking a firm to oversee the facilities for a two-year term, with the option to extend the contract for up to three additional years. The lifeguard shortage has been a significant challenge for the city, impacting the ability to fully staff and operate the pools during the summer months. Outsourcing management is seen as a potential solution to ensure the facilities remain open and accessible to the public.”
22) National: Vivek Ramaswamy has returned to push his plan for slashing the government, The New York Times reports. “With around 2.2 million civilian employees, not counting the military or the U.S. Postal Service, the kind of downsizing that Mr. Ramaswamy outlined during his presidential bid — as many as 1.65 million layoffs — would have repercussions for the economy and communities across the country. There is skepticism about what the Department of Government Efficiency can do, however, and how great its influence will actually be. In announcing its creation with Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy at its helm, the president-elect said the department is not actually a department — “it will provide advice and guidance from outside of government” — and it is not permanent. Its “work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026,” the nation’s 250th anniversary, Mr. Trump said.
“The ‘department,’ as sketched out might not even be legal. The Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 governs outside panels, mandating strict transparency rules, advanced notice of public hearings, the release of documents, even the appointment of people with differing views. Progressive groups used that law to stymie similar efforts in Mr. Trump’s first term, and they are gearing up again. ‘If there is a massive effort to dismantle a 2.2 million-strong civil service in this country, there will be a massive legal effort to stop it,’ said Skye Perryman, the chief executive of Democracy Forward, one such group.”
23) National: As Trump names Rep. Doug Collins, (R-GA) as his Veterans Affairs pick, firing and privatization come back into the spotlight, Government Executive says. Collins served as a chaplain in the Navy and later joined the Air Force Reserve. “Chenelly said AMVETS had feared Trump would tap someone “more extreme” on the issue of privatized care. Among the names considered by the transition team, according to briefings provided to veterans groups, were former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, who Trump instead selected to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Robert Wilkie, who previously led VA under Trump, Darin Selnick, a former Trump policy advisor on veterans issues and Jeff DiLullo, a vice president at Phillips North America. Collins does not appear to have much experience with veterans policy, Chenelly said, but he hopes to meet with him before Trump’s inauguration to present AMVETS’ ideas.”
24) National: A meteorological arms race is shaping up about privatizing the weather, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. “Keith says this stance didn’t sit well with some private companies. If customers could get sophisticated data from the government for free, maybe they wouldn’t want to pay for that kind of information anymore.
MA: So that is one source of tension in the industry. Another one, Keith says, has to do with the flow of weather data. Historically, NOAA and NASA paid for the big weather satellites that collect that information.
WONG: Well, these days, Keith says private companies are launching their own satellites and selling the data, and NOAA and the National Weather Service have become customers. In some cases, Keith says, the agencies are buying data from these private companies because it’s cheaper than operating those satellites themselves.
MA: The government’s new role as both a supplier and a customer of weather data has blurred the lines between public agencies and private-sector businesses.”
25) National: The Congressional Research Service has published a white paper on Military Installations Management. “Installation management involves overseeing a range of activities, such as installation master planning; facility planning and design; military construction (MILCON); facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization (FSRM); military housing; and the reutilization or disposal of real property. It may also include activities such as maintaining installation force protection, contracting for utility services, managing support contractors, performing condition assessments, or reviewing real estate agreements”
26) National: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shares soared after Trump’s Win. What comes next? Barron’s has a report. “The agreements provided a path for Fannie and Freddie to keep operating, but routed much of its capital back to the Treasury. The terms have been amended multiple times since 2008, including changes under the Trump administration to allow the companies to retain earnings. But resolving the senior preferred shares is one of the big remaining hurdles for the companies to operate outside of conservatorship, says BTIG’s Boltansky. If—and how—that happens is murky, as is the eventual outcome for investors. There’s no agreed-upon plan for removing the companies from conservatorship, nor a guarantee that the incoming administration will make it a priority. A Trump campaign spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment. Even if the companies exit conservatorship, common shares could be diluted if the Treasury converts their senior preferred to common, says KBW’s George. The near-term drivers of the stocks are much simpler. News or speculation about the administration’s plans for the FHFA and Treasury could move the shares. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae climbed earlier this week as markets weighed potential Treasury Secretary picks.” {Sub required}
27) California: Will Wellpath’s bankruptcy force an insourcing of prison health care? “Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Dr. Mouhanad Hammami said he doesn’t want to take over health care at the county jail but can if needed. Maybe the toughest gig in Santa Barbara County is health care in the county jail. Every few months or so, the county supervisors square off with Sheriff Bill Brown over just this — jail deaths, medical quality control issues, and whether the county’s getting its money’s worth from Wellpath, the private company that’s paid $17 million a year to take care of inmates in the county’s two jails and juvenile detention facility. The county supervisors, increasingly frustrated, recently put the jail contract — which expires at the end of next March — out to bid. And just this week, the parent company of Wellpath — which provides health care services for county jails in 34 of the state’s 58 counties — filed for bankruptcy in a Texas court. According to company press releases, Wellpath — the biggest private correctional health care provider in the nation — is looking to re-organize more efficiently, not go out of business. The company promises a seamless transition for however long it takes for its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to wend its way through the legal system.”
29) Colorado: Selling off the heirlooms to pay the rent? Axios reports that Colorado’s governor Polis wants to privatize the state’s last-resort insurer. “Why it matters: The insurer of last resort provides workers’ compensation coverage to more than 50,000 businesses in Colorado and privatization would raise the possibility of higher costs. The idea is a potential political landmine that will pit the Democratic governor against the state’s labor unions and other members of his party. State of play: Polis pitched privatization to state lawmakers Wednesday to generate $500 million and plug holes in the state’s budget, but he received a tepid response from concerned Democrats and Republicans on the powerful budget committee. Under this plan, the state would take $100 million a year from the tax-exempt insurer for five years to cover the state’s work in creating the entity, which dates to 1915. (..) The intrigue: The 2021 legislation valued the exchange at $305 million, but Polis said new market conditions warrant the $500 million he hoped to derive from the spin-off.Without the money, Polis’ budget proposal is not balanced.”
30) Missouri: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that St. Louis County will pause volunteering at its animal shelter. Advocates are worried. “Volunteers at St. Louis County’s animal shelter are speaking out against a plan to pause the shelter’s volunteer program early next year. They worry, without the thousands of hours they spend walking dogs, cleaning kennels and promoting adoptable pets every year, the animals will suffer. Over the past few weeks, they have sent at least a dozen emails to County Council members and the health department, which oversees the shelter. ‘I can’t think of any shelters in the area or beyond that operate without volunteers,’ said Meagan Estep, who has donated her time at the shelter for a little over a year. ‘It’s so confusing to me.’ But St. Louis County officials said they need some time to take stock of the staff and programs as they take back the shelter in Olivette from the nonprofit Animal Protective Association, which has been running it for two years.” [Sub required]
31) National: Multistate Associates, which covers state capitals, reports that Republicans have added to their strong hold over state governments. “Republicans broke up two key Democratic trifectas in Michigan and Minnesota. Most statewide races were won by the incumbent party, but there were a few party flips. Democrats broke up a key supermajority in North Carolina, while Republicans broke up the Democratic supermajority in Vermont. With an already substantial lead in state political power, Republicans successfully defended key legislative majorities and should add some legislative chambers back to their column after some setbacks during the 2022 election cycle. Republicans currently control 23 state trifectas (i.e., when a single political party controls both chambers of the legislature and the governor’s mansion) and while they’re not likely to add to that number, this dominant trifecta map should mostly hold as we enter the 2025 legislative session.”
32) National: What’s going on with Bitcoin mania? Are their risks to the public? Will government tax revenue be hit in the long term? What is the role of government in regulating non-official currencies? Bloomberg’s Big Take podcast had an accessible and clear discussion by Bloomberg’s Stacy Marie Ishmael and David Gura breaking down the issues. [Audio, about 15 minutes]