Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Executive
Connie Juarez-Diroll, Chief Legislative Officer
Subject: State and Federal Legislative Update #1-Federal Funding Freeze
RECOMMENDATION:
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Accept an informational report on the 2025 State and Federal Legislative sessions.
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BACKGROUND:
On Monday, January 27th, acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Matthew Vaeth issued a sweeping memorandum calling for a temporary freeze on nearly all federal funding for grants and loans effective 5:00 p.m. on January 28th.
DISCUSSION:
Federal Update - Federal Funding Freeze
Before the 5:00 p.m. deadline on the 28th, a legal challenge to the memo was brought before a District Court in Washington, D.C., and a federal judge issued an administrative stay, pausing the freeze until February 3rd. The judge's stay came in response to a lawsuit filed by an organization that argued that the order was unconstitutional, owing to Congress' well-established power of the purse and the terms of the Impoundment Control Act, which requires the president to report any withholding of congressionally appropriated funds promptly and to abide by the outcome of the congressional impoundment review process.
On Wednesday, January 29th, OMB issued another memo rescinding the one released on the 27th. At the time, it was believed that the rescission of OMB's memo would end the funding freeze. However, about an hour later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X, clarifying that rescinding the memo does not, in fact, lift the funding freeze.
Following these actions, a coalition of 22 state attorneys general sought a restraining order in a District Court in Rhode Island. They argued that public statements and the X post indicate "the original sweeping spending freeze is still in effect, even if the OMB memo describing it has been pulled."
On Frida...
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