NATaT Weekly Legislative Report

National Association of Towns and Townships - www.natat.org 

How Townships can access clean energy tax credits in the form of direct pay/transferability 

Draft 2024 NATaT Policy Platform - 2/23/2024

NATaT December 2024 Annual Meeting

Jerry B. Crabtree, Heidi Fought (Ohio ED), Past President Neil Sheradin (Michigan Ed), and NATaT President Dave Sanko (PA ED)

NATaT Weekly Legislative Report

December 3, 2024

Congressional Outlook

Regarding WRDA, the House is prepared to vote on the major water resources legislation on Monday evening under suspension of the rules. The Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (S.4367) authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin 21 navigation, flood management, ecosystem restoration, and other water-related infrastructure projects estimated to cost about $17 billion. Once passed with a two-thirds majority, the bill would get sent to the Senate for vote and final passage. Lawmakers are still working on finalizing a CR providing funding for the federal government at enacted FY 2024 funding levels, likely through some date in March 2025. The CR legislation will also very likely include a supplemental disaster aid appropriations package, which could be as high as the $115 billion requested by the Biden Administration last month.

Last week, both chambers released calendars for the first session of the 119^th Congress, in 2025. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) released the House 2025 calendar on Wednesday. The House will be in session for 34 weeks in 2025. House members will spend the first three weeks of January in Washington before taking a recess the week of January 27 for their first district work period of the year. They will also have their usual recesses during Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and the entire month of August off. October will see the House in session for four weeks, making it the month with the most days in Washington next year. This is a significant shift from the 2024 schedule, which kept lawmakers in their districts throughout October for campaigning ahead of the November 5 election. The Senate will work for 10 straight weeks in session at the beginning of 2025, with a break on February 17 for Presidents Day, leading to the Senate’s first recess the week of March 17. The announcement of the aggressive schedule, with plenty of five-day work weeks, comes on the heels of a closed-door GOP senators-only meeting where incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) shared his desire to pass a budget reconciliation package within the first 30 days of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. The upper chamber also aims to work quickly to confirm Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Overall, when the next year starts, Majority Leader Thune will attempt to pass two major reconciliation bills—the bills will aim to address key priorities of the Trump campaign, including border security, defense, and energy policies.

House Republicans secured 220 seats, while Democrats claimed 215, as the last House race in the nation was called last Tuesday, confirming that freshman Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) lost to former state Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Calif.) by 187 votes. Even with an already slim House majority, Republicans will see their majority shrink by two more seats once Trump is inaugurated: Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) will resign from the House to become Trump’s National Security Advisor on Jan. 20, and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) announced he would not return to the House in the 119^th Congress after resigning last month while still running to be President-elect Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, only to later withdraw his nomination. These House seats will be filled through special elections in Florida on April 1. A third vacancy is expected in late January following the likely Senate confirmation of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as U.S, Ambassador to the United Nations, triggering a 90-day countdown for a special election in New York sometime in late April. As a result, a single defection during the early months of the incoming Trump Administration could stall legislation if all House Democrats vote against it.

The House Republican Steering Committee will begin meeting this week to determine chairmanships for the 119^th Congress. The Committee will make all their selections by Thursday after hearing presentations throughout the week, followed by approval by the entire House GOP Conference—on Monday, the Committee voted to recommend Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) to be the next chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) to be the next chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Meanwhile, the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee will gather on Tuesday to discuss the selection of ranking members for exclusive committees, including the Budget Committee.

In addition to votes on NDAA and WRDA, the House will consider 20 bills under suspension of the rules, including the Disaster Contract Improvement Act (S. 310), directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish an advisory working group to encourage and foster collaborative efforts among individuals and entities engaged in disaster recovery relating to debris removal; the Weather Alert Response and Notification (WARN) Act (H.R. 2892), directing the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the effectiveness of local alerting systems in disseminating timely and relevant information during weather-related emergencies; the FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act (H.R. 2672), directing FEMA to provide financial assistance to a local government or electric cooperative as reimbursement for interest paid on a loan used for emergency or disaster recovery activities later paid for by FEMA assistance; the Disaster Management Costs Modernization Act (H.R. 7671), authorizing the President to allow recipients of certain disaster relief assistance to use excess management cost funds for (1) building capacity to prepare for, recover from, or mitigate the impacts of a major disaster or emergency; or (2) management costs associated with other major disasters, emergencies, disaster preparedness measures, or mitigation activities; and the Promoting Opportunities to Widen Electrical Resilience (POWER) Act of 2024 (H.R. 9541), authorizing electrical utilities receiving certain financial assistance under the Stafford Act for the restoration of power to also carry out cost-effective hazard mitigation activities. The House will also vote on the Liberty in Laundry Act (H.R. 7673), mandating stricter limits on the Department of Energy when issuing or enforcing energy efficiency standards for washing machines; and the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act of 2024 (H.R. 4199), which adds 63 permanent and three temporary judges to district courts throughout the federal judiciary.

The Senate will vote this week on Tiffany Rene Johnson to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia. Former Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) was sworn-in as a senator today, replacing Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), who was appointed in October 2023 to finish the last 14 months of the six-year term of the late Sen. Diane Feinstein and resigned on Sunday. Similarly, former Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) was sworn-in as a senator on Monday following Sunday’s resignation of former Sen. George Helmy (D-N.J.), who served in the upper chamber for the past three months following the departure of former Sen. Bob Menedez (D-N.J.) in August, who resigned after being found guilty of 16 corruption charges. Their departures create two additional vacancies in the House for the remaining two weeks of the current 118^th Congress as the lower chamber looks to close out its “lame duck” session. Senators Schiff and Kim will be sworn-in for their full six-year Senate terms on January 3, 2025.

Bills and Regulations of Interest to You

Week in Review

Thune plans sweeping bill on the border, defense and energy in Trump’s first 30 days

House GOP to choose chairs for influential committees: Who’s in the running

Congressional schedule for 2025 is set with Senate releasing its calendar

House calendar for 2025 eyes a busy spring

Final House race decided one month after Election Day

Andy Kim takes office as NJ’s new senator 3 weeks early

Governor Newsom appoints Adam Schiff to the U.S. Senate to complete remaining term ahead of full elected service