Welcome to the Tuesday, June 2, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Tracking those states that require face coverings
2. Alaska to vote on first citizen-initiated measure to establish top-four primaries
3. Group of states and cities sue Trump administration over rollback of Obama administration fuel efficiency standards 

Learn more

       
 

We’re tracking federal, state, and local government policy responses surrounding the demonstrations in response to the death of George Floyd. Stay tuned for our coverage coming later this week, including which cities issued curfews and any impact on election poll openings/closings.
 

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Tracking those states that require face coverings

As we covered in the Brew last week, all states have begun to lift restrictions put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But there are significant variations between the states. What's allowed in Maine is different from what's allowed in New York and different from what's allowed in Wyoming. It can be a whirlwind and difficult to keep up with.

In our daily newsletter, Documenting America's Path to Recovery, we're tracking the status of 27 industries and activities in all 50 states. Yesterday, we looked at which states require individuals to wear a face covering while out in public.

Here's the status of other industries from recent editions of Documenting America's Path to Recovery:

• Hotels: Allowed to open in 39 states as of May 29
• Casinos: Allowed to open in 10 states, closed in 29 (and 11 states with no casinos or casinos only on tribal lands), as of May 28.
• Bars: Allowed to open in 22 states as of May 27

The landscape of state reopenings changes every day, so if you notice any updates we should make, please reply to this email and let us know. We’re publishing an update about a different industry each day in our Documenting newsletter to track the changes across various industries. Subscribe to get the next update in your inbox this afternoon.

Alaska to vote on first citizen-initiated measure to establish top-four primaries

The first-ever citizen-initiated measure to establish top-four primaries, as well as the first to couple top-four primaries with ranked-choice voting, was certified for the Nov. 3 ballot in Alaska when the state legislature adjourned on May 20.

In Alaska's indirect initiative process, if enough valid signatures are collected, the Alaska State Legislature can approve the initiative or equivalent legislation, keeping the measure off the ballot. Otherwise, the initiative is certified to appear on the ballot for the first statewide election 120 days after the legislature's adjournment.

The initiative would replace partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices. In a top-four primary, all candidates are listed on the same primary ballot. The top four vote-getters, regardless of their partisan affiliations, then advance to the general election. The initiative would also establish ranked-choice voting for general elections, in which voters would rank the four candidates who advanced from the primaries. The initiative would also require persons and entities who make contributions that were initially derived from donations, contributions, dues, or gifts to disclose the true sources (as defined in law) of the contributions.

In addition to this one, two other election procedure measures are certified for 2020 ballots: 

• Colorado National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Referendum (2020) - This veto referendum lets voters decide whether Colorado should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). As part of the compact, Colorado would give the state’s nine electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote if states representing at least 270 Electoral College votes adopt the compact. The Colorado state Legislature approved Senate Bill 42 to add Colorado to the NPVIC, and Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed it in March 2019. Opponents of joining the compact collected more than the required 124,632 valid signatures required to place the veto referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot.

• Florida Amendment 3, Top-Two Open Primaries for State Offices Initiative (2020) - This citizen initiative would replace the state’s partisan closed primaries with a top-two open primary system for state legislators, the governor, and cabinet (attorney general, chief financial officer, and commissioner of agriculture). A 60% supermajority vote is required for approval.

It's also the final year to pass redistricting measures before the process gets underway in 2021. We’re tracking proposals in two states aiming to do so:

• Missouri Redistricting, Lobbying, and Campaign Finance Amendment (2020) - The legislature put this constitutional amendment on the ballot. It would amend Article III of the Missouri Constitution and change provisions of Missouri Amendment 1, which voters approved with 62% of the vote in 2018. The 2020 measure would eliminate the nonpartisan state demographer and use a bipartisan commission appointed by the governor for legislative redistricting. It would also alter the criteria used to draw district maps. The amendment would lower the threshold of lobbyists’ gifts from $5 to $0 and lower the campaign contribution limit for state senate campaigns from $2,500 to $2,400.

• Virginia Redistricting Commission Amendment (2020) - The General Assembly placed the amendment on the ballot. It would transfer the power to draw the state's congressional and legislative districts from the state legislature to a redistricting commission composed of state legislators and citizens.

There are also currently three potential statewide measures concerning ranked-choice voting that could still qualify for the 2020 ballot, and four potential measures proposing redistricting commissions. To stay up-to-date on these and other election policy news, subscribe to our Ballot Bulletin newsletter. In each edition, you'll find summaries of prominent events relating to electoral systems, redistricting, and voter provisions. And best of all, it’s completely free! Click here to subscribe today.

Group of states and cities sue Trump administration over rollback of Obama administration fuel efficiency standards

On May 27, a group of 23 states, four cities, and the District of Columbia filed suit against the Trump administration’s plan to change federal fuel economy standards adopted during the Obama administration. The suit was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Seventeen of the 23 states have a Democratic state government triplex, meaning that each state’s respective governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all Democratic. All six of the remaining states have Democratic attorneys general, and three of the six have Democratic governors (the remaining three are Republican). The mayors of all four cities and the District of Columbia are all Democratic.

Democratic triplexes

• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Maine
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
   

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Divided government

• Maryland (Republican governor)
• Massachusetts (Republican governor)
• Nevada (Democratic governor)
• Oregon (Democratic governor)
• Vermont (Republican governor)
• Washington (Democratic governor)
   

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Cities

• Denver
• Los Angeles
• New York
• San Francisco

The Obama administration rule, which came out in 2012, required that new cars manufactured between 2021 and 2026 must increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. The new final rule, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released April 30, requires that new cars increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions at a slower rate than the previous rule dictated.  

A final rule is a federal administrative regulation that advanced through the proposed rule and public comment stages of the rulemaking process and is published in the Federal Register with a scheduled effective date.

In a press release announcing the lawsuit, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the Trump administration rule violates the Clean Air Act and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and that new standards are too loose. Becerra said: “The rule takes aim at the corporate average fuel efficiency standards, requiring automakers to make only minimal improvements to fuel economy—on the order of 1.5 percent annually instead of the previously anticipated annual improvement of approximately 5 percent. The rule also guts the requirements to reduce vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions, allowing hundreds of millions of metric tons of avoidable carbon emissions into our atmosphere over the next decade.”

In a press release announcing the new fuel efficiency standards rule, the NHTSA said that the rule “reflects the realities of today’s markets, including substantially lower oil prices than in the original 2012 projection, significant increases in U.S. oil production, and growing consumer demand for larger vehicles.”  

The rule is scheduled to go into effect June 29.

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