Welcome to The WonkLine, a daily 9:30 a.m. roundup of the latest public policy news. This is what we’re reading. Tell us what you found in the comments section below. You can also follow The Wonk Room on Twitter.
Justice
People watching yesterday’s oral arguments in a sexy Tenth Amendment case probably won’t get too many hints into how the justices view the Affordable Care Act, but another decision shutting down state laws against vaccine makers is a good reminder that conservative tort refomers care about preserving the power of the federal government too.
An Arizona Senate panel passes a woefully unconstitutional bill to rewrite the 14th Amendment.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) calls the widespread Republican attempts to unconstitutionally nullify federal laws in state legislatures “anti-American.”
Climate Change
Weekly oil prices skyrocketed over $100 a barrel on global markets, according to the Department of Energy, driven by the popular revolts spreading across the Middle East.
“Republican Reps. Charlie Bass (NH) and Dave Reichert (WA) last week consistently voted against several Republican amendments to defund various environmental regulations,” the Hill reports.
The Montana State House passed a bill by climate denier Rep. Joe Read (R-MT) claiming EPA rules on climate pollution violate the Tenth Amendment.
LGBT Equality
The Minnesota House took the first steps Tuesday “toward striking down Missoula’s 2010 ordinance that bans discrimination against city residents based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.”
In Maryland, “a full Senate vote on The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act is expected by Friday, while introduction of similar legislation is expected in the House of Delegates by Feb. 25.”
The text of the proposed amendment in North Carolina, “which has not yet been filed in the House, would ban any recognition of any ‘domestic legal union’ other than a marriage between an opposite-sex couple. If approved by the legislature, the amendment would appear on the November 2012 ballot.”
National Security
“Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya kept his grip on the capital on Wednesday, but large areas of the east of the country remained out of his control amid indications that the fighting had reached the northwest of the country around Tripoli.”
“The unrest in Libya weighed heavily on financial markets again Wednesday as investors began to worry that the global economic recovery could be derailed by rising oil prices.”
“Tens of thousands of protesters waving red-and-white Bahraini flags flooded the central district of the capital Tuesday in the largest demonstration since a Shiite-led campaign against the government began eight days ago.”
Economy
“Home prices in a majority of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas posted fresh lows in December and pushed a widely watched index of real estate values close to a double-dip decline,” the LA Times reports.
Last year, “for the first time in 15 years, more bank branches closed than opened across the United States.”
Is the Dodd-Frank financial reform law being undercut by missed deadlines?
Education
In the face of protests, Republicans in the Indiana state senate passed a bill yesterday restricting collective bargaining rights for teachers.
Advocates push back against Republican plans to enact one of the largest cuts to Head Start in history.
Georgia Republicans propose new restrictions to the HOPE scholarship that would cut grants for 90 percent of recipients.
Health Care
“The Obama administration is deploying squadrons of in-house experts to help budget-strapped states figure out how to save money on Medicaid.”
“Did House Republicans keep their promise to defund the health care overhaul as part of their bill to cut more than $60 billion from the federal budget for the rest of the fiscal year?”
“New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and two Democratic governors spoke out against House Republicans’ family planning cuts Tuesday.”
Immigration
An Arizona jury sentenced Shawna Forde — an anti-immigrant border vigilante found guilty of killing a 9-year-old Latina and her father — to die.
In a 31-18 vote, the Indiana Senate approved a contentious Arizona copycat immigration law yesterday.
In Nebraska, state Sen. Charlie Janssen announced that he doesn’t see enough support in the Judiciary Committee to advance his Arizona copycat immigration law for debate by all 49 senators.
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