Trump Plans Executive Order to Review Obama’s National Monument Designation
Bears Ears National Monument, Utah.
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Body armor for firefighters; Florida budget talks deadlocked; and Delaware’s librarians are on edge.
PUBLIC LANDS | President Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday ordering a review of national monument designations. The review will include Utah’s controversial Bears Ears National Monument, which then-president Obama designated near the end of his term under what’s known as the Antiquities Act. According to the Tribune, the executive order Trump is expected to sign will direct the Secretary of the Interior to “examine all national monument designations in the past 21 years to discern whether their size and scope are within the law's intent.” [The Salt Lake Tribune]
PUBLIC SAFETY | A fire department that serves Pierce County, Washington is among the latest to order body armor for their firefighters—a move meant to provide extra protection during dangerous situations like mass shootings. “We’re not trying to jump on a trend or play police officer,” East Pierce Fire Chief Bud Backer said. “This is more about firefighter safety and being able to provide that service in a timely manner.” [Tacoma News Tribune]
STATE BUDGETS | State budget negotiations between the Florida House and Senate were deadlocked Monday morning, after the House on Sunday proposed a “continuation budget” for the upcoming fiscal year. The continuation budget would keep current spending levels flat, with no cuts or new initiatives. State Senate President Joe Negron, a Republican, blasted the House proposal. "That's not an offer. That's the equivalent of packing your suitcase and moving out," Negron said. "It's a reflexive and lazy response to our responsibility for budgeting." [Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau via Miami Herald]
Since proposed state funding for Nebraska’s public colleges and universities is flat, academic leaders are looking at a combination of budget cuts and tuition hikes to make ends meet. The proposed cuts from the Nebraska legislature’s Appropriations Committee could have been worse. Still, the University of Nebraska has to cut $50 million. [Omaha World-Herald]
Local librarians in Delaware are hoping that the “shared sacrifice” as called for by Gov. John Carney’s proposed budget will spare them. "We really don’t know what is coming until we have those numbers for sure, and we won’t know for sure until July 1," according to Kelly Kline, the library director in Selbyville, located in Sussex County. “That’s when the library budgets go into effect, too, so it’s kind of tough. I am a little nervous about making this budget and then seeing what comes out, but that’s where we stand." [Delmarva Now]
CITY HALLS | Pittsburgh City Councilor Darlene Harris, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto’s re-election bid and is a frequent critic of bike lanes in the city, was caught on camera in a verbal altercation with a bicyclist. “She comes flying up behind me and lays on her horn,” the bicyclist said. “This is a one-lane road, and just a guard rail right next to it. … Coming up behind a cyclist and blaring on the horn is not safe.” [Pittsburgh City Paper]
Miniature pigs: pets or public menace? Topeka resident Christina Wolf was told keeping her 110-pound miniature pig, Hamlet, at her home was a code violation. So she’s calling for a comprehensive review of all city codes concerning animals. [The Topeka Capital-Journal]
The historic clock at Minneapolis City Hall is being returned to service after a two year restoration effort. With a diameter of 24 feet and 4 inches, it’s the world’s largest four-facing clock—larger than Big Ben in London. [Star Tribune]
NEXT STORY: The ‘Fundamental Shift in Federalism’ Under Trump