Red, blue, purple

A joint Brookings-American Enterprise Institute project, The Future of Red, Blue and Purple America sets forth 7 trends that "seem likely to be particularly important to decoding our political future." A paper on each trend will be presented at a conference on Feb. 28, 2008. The papers will be published online and a book will be published in fall 2008. The Brookings Governance Studies Program has published an executive summary of the project.

The seven trends:

• The rise of exurbia and the changing face of the suburbs
• Do birds of a feather flock together?
• Race, immigration and the next American people
• The decline of the white working class and other shifts in the American class structure
• The changing American family
• More secular, more evangelical...or both?
• The aging of the boomers and the rise of the millennials

The Future of Red, Blue and Purple America; Executive Summary (pdf, 15pp/308kB)

Wiki governance

The Berkman Blog of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School (HLS) has a post on "Wiki-Government: How open-source technology can make government decision-making more expert and more democratic," an article by Professor Beth Noveck of New York Law School that appears in the Winter 2008 issue of Democracy, A Journal of Ideas. Prof. Noveck believes that new technology that makes possible "communal pooling of knowledge," such as Wikipedia, can also enable "governance by a professional elite" to evolve into one of greater public participation. She writes:

Our institutions of governance are characterized by a longstanding culture of professionalism in which bureaucrats--not citizens--are the experts. Until recently, we have viewed this arrangement as legitimate because we have not practically been able to argue otherwise. Now we have a chance to do government differently. We have the know-how to create "civic software" that will help us form groups and communities who, working together, can be more effective at informing decision-making than individuals working alone.

Prof. Noveck concludes:

Technology will not, by itself, make complex regulatory problems any more tractable, or eliminate partisan disputes about values. What this next generation of civic software can do, however, is introduce better information by enabling the expert public to contribute targeted information. In doing so, it can make possible practices of governance that are, at once, more expert and more democratic.

Capitol biographies

One of the Library's most valued resources is its newspaper clippings file comprised of articles from the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star Bulletin, covering about 1000 subjects. Some files date back to the 1970s.

The Library has just completed a helpful ancillary resource, a biographies file on Hawaii legislators, governors, and members of Congress, with relevant articles copied from the clippings file. (There are some articles from the 1960s when the Library kept folders of articles on legislators.) Totalling approximately 450 individuals, the files range alphabetically from Senator Kazuhisa Abe (Senate 1953-1966, Senate President 1965-66) to Senator Patsy Young (House 1972-1974, Senate 1975-1988). Currently the officials with the longest span of articles appear to be Senator Daniel Inouye (House 1955-58, Senate 1959, U.S. House 1959-1963, U.S. Senate 1963- ) and Governor Benjamin Cayetano (House 1975-1978, Senate 1979-1986, Lt. Governor 1986-1994, Governor 1994-2002). Articles will continue to be added to a person's file even after he or she leaves office.

The files are conveniently located in a cabinet by the reference desk, and a binder with a list of all names is available.

D.C. beat, e-style

National politics press gets a new online news provider. Recruiting writers from such established press as The Washington Post and launched January 23, The Politico self-described emphasis is "on the 'backstories' -- those that illuminate the personalities, relationships, clashes, ideas and political strategies playing out in the shadows of official Washington."

We will focus on three arenas. The first is Congress and the constant flow of agendas, personalities and power struggles that define daily life on Capitol Hill. The second is the 2008 presidential campaign, a race already churning and one likely to shape history in ways far beyond the typical election. The third is lobbying and advocacy, a part of the capital economy undergoing rapid growth and change.

With a slick, sophisticated look of an east coast news magazine, The Politico offers the expected modern, blog features of permanent links to articles and columns, reader comments interaction, and registered user access to email alerts and participation in chats and forums.

Running on the broadband

A post-election survey by Pew/Internet reports "the number of Americans using the Internet as the source of most of their political news doubled since the last mid-term election." Examining the rate of primary use of news sources (TV, newspapers, radio, Internet, magazines), the survey finds only the Internet steadily increased in popularity . The remaining sources lost in popularity: TV and newspapers the bigger losers reporting political source popularity dropping from 82% to 69% and 57% to 34% respectively, with radio rising from 12% to a high of 19% then dropping to 17%. Magazines lost a 11% popularity among voters to a low of 2%.

The survey also reported:

• 31% of Americans used the internet during the 2006 campaign to get political news and information and discuss the races through email.
• Relatively young broadband users say the internet is a more important political news source than newspapers.
• A new online political elite is emerging as 23% of campaign internet users became online political activists.
• A majority of Internet users now get political material from blogs, comedy sites, government websites, candidate sites, or alternative news sites.
• More than half of campaign Internet users cite the Internet's breadth of information and perspectives as a major reason for their online activity.

Election 2006 Online
(January 2007, pdf, 33pp/308kB)

What next? (sounds pretty good)

According to a Pew Research Center report, the coming American generation, Generation Next, is the most comfortable with the tools of technology, more tolerant of different lifestyles (including same-sex couples and marriage), politically more liberal, more global in world view, and less cynical of government and political leaders than previous generations.

The report is drawn from polling data from Sept. 6-Oct. 2, 2006 and includes "extensive generational analysis of Pew Research Center surveys dating back to 1987."

For purposes of this report, Generation Next is made up of 18-25 year-olds (born between 1981 and 1988). Generation X was born between 1966 and 1980 and ranges in age from 26-40. The Baby Boom generation, born between 1946 and 1964, ranges in age from 41-60. Finally, those over age 60 (born before 1946) are called the Seniors...

The report is divided into four main sections: (1) Outlook and World View, (2) Technology and Lifestyle, (3) Politics and Policy, and (4) Values and Social Issues.

How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics:
A PORTRAIT OF "GENERATION NEXT"
(January 9, 2007, pdf, 45pp/160kB)

Summary (available in html)

So far, so so

According to a new Pew Research Center survey, most Americans are "moderately upbeat about their family's financial prospects in the coming year." The survey found a majority expecting a degree of improvement in 2007.

Among the group that says they don't earn enough now, most expect to earn enough in the future to lead the life they want. Just 18% of all employed respondents in the survey say both that they don't make enough now and that they don't expect ever to make enough to have the life they want.

The least optimistic group is 65 and older, mostly retired and mostly feeling "their financial situation will stay-the-course or get worse."

Though moderately optimistic, the majority of survey respondents write the biggest problems they face are financial concerns, and forty percent feel their family's income is falling behind the cost of living. An alarming "four-in-ten (38%) adults and 32% of all workers say they have no retirement plan other than Social Security."

Most Americans Moderately Upbeat About Family Finances in 2007
(January 2007, pdf, 21pp/200kB)

Spoiling election day

As reported Wednesday in The Washington Post (WP), electionline.org published their preview of the 2006 elections warning of widespread potential voting problems. Since the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) took effect to

assist in the administration of Federal elections and to otherwise provide assistance with the administration of certain Federal election laws and programs, to establish minimum election administration standards for States and units of local government with responsibility for the administration of Federal elections...

electionline.org finds that confusion, controversy, and machine and human error predict problems around the country, and will "combine with numerous high-stakes races to create the possibility of confusion on or after Election Day."

The report singles out the failures of voting machines and statewide voter databases, disputed rules for registration drives, challenged voter ID laws, and voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPATs) as contributing to a year in which the election process has changed "more than in any year since the disputed 2000 Presidential election."

The Nov.7 election promises to bring more of what voters have come to expect since the 2000 election - a divided body politic, an election system in flux and the possibility - if not certainty - of problems at polls nationwide.

The preview includes: a listing of states to watch; a chart of voting machines used by states; state VVPATs requirements; voter-verification requirements; status of state voter registration databases; and state absentee voting and provisional voting practices.

Election Preview 2006: What's Changed, What Hasn't, and Why
(October 2006, pdf, 75pp/3.1MB)

Public reality checks

Public Agenda is a nonpartisan, research organization, an "explorer of public opinion" through surveys, pollings, education and civic engagement, whose mission is to:

• Help citizens understand complex problems
• Involve those who are normally excluded from policy debates
• Promote productive public and leadership dialogue
• Create momentum for change by building common ground, managing differences and creating new partnerships

Public Agenda 2006 reports include their "Reality Check" series, publications examining public opinion on important issues. The most recent reports focus on education, professional and public attitudes toward the learning experience and standards and procedures.

The Insiders: How Principals and Superintendents See Public Education Today (2006, pdf, 29pp/372kB) - "Superintendents are substantially less likely than classroom teachers to believe that too many students get passed through the system without learning."

Is Support for Standards and Testing Fading? (2006, pdf, 31pp/283kB) - "...five years into the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act and over a dozen years into the so-called standards movement in American education, the public now sees these reforms as 'necessary, but not sufficient.'"

A Fresh Look at Public Attitudes About Libraries in the 21st Century (2006, pdf, 84pp/1.06MB) - "Americans prize public library service and see libraries as potential solutions to many communities' most pressing problems..."

States and the global economy

The opening general session for the NCSL Annual Meeting involved a panel discussion of the challenges of a quickly expanding global economy facing state level government. Panelists Frederick Smith (CEO, FedEx), James Sasser (former ambassador to China), and Congressman John Tanner (TN) explored states' roles in the emerging global economy and the benefit from planning a more active participation.

While each panelist agreed to the importance of states facilitating international commerce for the long-range betterment of their communities, all strongly expressed the need for an educated population (especially in math and the sciences) for success in the global arena. Ambassador Sasser also emphasized the need to address the issue of the increasingly large class of disenfranchised and undereducated Americans.

Pertinent to this issue of education, the sciences and opportunity, the National Academies Press (NAP) has published a book examining the "recruitment, retention, and promotion for women scientists and engineers in academia." Looking at "successful strategies" in recruitment of female undergraduates and graduate students; methods to reduce the attrition in undergraduate years; ways to improve retention rates during the important transition points (undergraduate to graduate, graduate to postdoc, postdoc to faculty positions), and to increase the tenured and administrative opportunities, this guide:

offers numerous solutions that may be of use to other universities and colleges and will be an essential resource for anyone interested in improving the position of women students, faculty, deans, provosts, and presidents in science and engineering.

To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in U.S. Science and Engineering
(available as an Open Book from NAP)

Marketplace on the Capitol steps

eBay, the hugely successful Internet marketplace with "193 million registered users from around the world," is now putting out a call for political action. From their eBay Government Relations web site, eBay Main Street, they declare:

eBay's Government Relations team is working to make sure your voice is heard in Congress and state capitals...
Join eBay's Main Street Program. By signing up to receive updates on the legislative issues that affect you as a member of the eBay Community, you'll be able to take quick action to protect your business.

Organizing members into a grassroots network of activists, eBay monitors such issues as distant state sales tax, state autioneering license requirements, Net neutrality, and current regional regulation of health insurance. eBay also owns PayPal and Skype, respective internet players in the online banking and telecommunications arenas.

eBay Government Relations provides state profiles ("300,000 registered users in the state of Hawaii"); generated letters of position to elected officials; a newsletter, The Mainstreet Crier; and a meeting program:

The Main Street Meeting Program educates sellers about both national and state specific threats to eCommerce. Our program will include a detailed presentation explaining these threats, a question and answer session and a complimentary working lunch or breakfast. Our team will then escort you to your state capitol to speak directly with state legislators about these crucial issues.

eBay's activist approach is not just national. eBay is also known as The World's Online Marketplace®, and "currently employ[s] more than 20 Government Relation (GR) Specialists around the world to monitor and engage in the political, legislative, and regulatory activities of governments," cooperatively working with their "Army of Entrepreneurs".

Requests by the Hawaii State Legislature, 2006

This publication sets forth all of the requests made by the Hawaii State Legislature during the Regular Session of 2006 to agencies and officials of the federal, state and county governments and of quasi-public and private agencies. These requests are contained in acts enacted by the Legislature or bills passed which have yet to be approved by the Governor. These acts or bills include specific requests for submission of information back to the Legislature excluding annual and other reports requested on an indefinite basis. These requests are also contained in resolutions adopted by the Senate or House of Representatives or by the whole legislature. Dates by which reports and other responses are expected are indicated when specifically set by the Legislature. The names of the agencies involved in the conduct of a study or the execution of a request are underscored.

For the reader's convenience these legislative requests are also grouped together by agencies, as well as by subject matter.

Requests By The Hawaii State Legislature To Agencies And Officials Of Federal, State And County Governments And Quasi-Public And Private Agencies
(June 2006, pdf, 158 pages/607 kB)

State fiscal challenges

The Rockefeller Institute of Government has recently published three reports by Donald Boyd on current financial challenges and issues facing state and local governments. The public policy research center of the State University of New York, the Institute "conducts research on the role of state and local governments in American federalism and on the management and finances of states and localities." One of the Institute's programs, The Rockefeller Fiscal Studies (RFS), "produces reports on important developments in state finances - from tax collections to spending on education, health, and welfare programs." The RFS publishes State Revenue Report and State Fiscal Briefs and News.

The Donald Boyd series is based on his article, State Finances: Solid Recovery But Challenges Ahead, from the 2006 edition of The Book of the States, scheduled for a June 2006 release by the Council of State Governments.

Retiree Pensions and Health Benefits: State and Local Governments Face New Budget Challenges (04/04/2006, pdf, 510KB)

Whether and how governments respond is a decision for elected officials. Options include raising taxes; cutting other spending; using surplus funds or issuing bonds to begin prefunding existing liabilities; and scaling back benefits.

The 2001 Recession Continues to Affect State Budgets (04/25/2006, pdf, 613KB)

...beyond 2007 states will face challenges, including the need to fund or constrain rapid Medicaid growth, pressures to strengthen pension funding and begin financing newly disclosed liabilities for retiree health care, and the likely need to respond to large cuts in federal grants.

Impact of Proposed 2007 Federal Budget Actions on States (05/25/2006, pdf, 85KB)

The outlook is for federal budget actions to have a limited impact on state budgets in the near term. However, over the longer term, states should anticipate significant pressure from constrained federal spending as Washington grapples with the ballooning deficit.

Relating To Bills Passed, 2006 Hawaii

The Legislative Reference Bureau has published its annual report providing information on bills passed by the Hawaii State Legislature. The publication contains:

• a preliminary index of bills passed in 2006 listed under broad and general subject matter.
• laws affected by bills passed
• status of bills passed
• total program appropriations for fiscal years 2006-07 and 2007-08

Supplemental Information Relating To Bills Passed, 2006
(available in pdf, 272 KB, from the Bureau)

Work and families

The Boston College Sloan Work and Family Research Network's stated mission is

to promote informed decision making about work and family issues and to facilitate dialogue that encourages community building among three stakeholders groups (and their constituents) - academics/researchers; employers and the workplace; and state public policy makers.

Founded in 1997, the Network serves as "a virtual commons" with three main concourses: Research/Teaching; Workplace Practice; and State Policy. Offering downloads by topic (e.g., afterschool care; Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); changing definitions of families; and flexible work schedules), and by issue (Policy Leadership Series), the Network is a one stop shopping for work-family resources. The Work-Family Bills and Statutes Database, created primarily for state policy makers, provides easy overview access to relevant proposed state bills and passed laws. Bills and statutes may be downloaded as topic clusters in pdf, browsed by state, and searched by keyword.

Highlighted by the Network is the National Partnership for Women and Families' annual overview of paid family and medical leave initiatives introduced in state legislatures:
Where Families Matter: State Progress Towards Valuing America's Families, February 2006.
(available in pdf, 224KB, from the National Partnership)

Workplace Flexibility 2010, a Network partner, is located at Georgetown University Law Center. Also funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Workplace Flexibility 2010 "is designed to support the development of a comprehensive national policy on workplace flexibility." The initiative provides pdf documents discussing laws impacting workplace flexibility, and offers online materials distributed at their May 1, 2006 congressional briefing, Meeting the Needs of Today's Families: The Role of Workplace Flexibility .

Pew Center on the States

Self-described, the Pew Center on the States "helps The Pew Charitable Trusts and its partners examine effective policy approaches to critical issues facing states." The Center's strategy is to gather information, guide innovation, and advance policy solutions. They propose their research and analysis to be original, and include cross-state assessments; their publications to "raise the national profile of issues affecting multiple states;" and their communication to be "effective dissemination and outreach to state decision-makers, media, influential stakeholders and the public."

The Center's first report was a Special on Medicaid, Bridging the Gap Between Care And Cost (pdf, 292KB), first published in the January issue of Governing Magazine and the Council of State Governments (CSG) State News.

The Center's research explores such major state issues as: early and K-12 education; government performance; election reform; public safety and corrections; and campaign finance reform. While working through The Pew Charitable Trusts partners, the Center also gathers links to their research and reports on their web site.

Pushing pays off

As reported in Reuters Thursday, The Center For Public Integrity published their investigation and research into the pharmaceutical industry spending of $44 million lobbying U.S. state officials during 2003 and 2004. "The industry also funneled more than $8 million to the campaigns of candidates for various state offices over the same period, according to a Center analysis of state campaign money..."

At the time, many state governments were seeking to reduce spending on prescription drugs, one of their fastest-growing expenses. States are among the pharmaceutical industry's biggest customers; through Medicaid and other aid programs they purchase about 16 percent of all prescription drugs sold in the country, and also finance drug coverage for state employees, retirees and prison inmates.

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization investigating and reporting on national and international public policy issues. For more than a year, the Center tracked the pharmaceutical industry's political influence and its impact on the American public. Their research is presented on their web site which "includes charts showing where and how much lobbying money was spent, allowing readers to quickly find information about their own states."

Pushing Prescriptions, How the drug industry sells its agenda at your expense
(a series of web reports by the The Center For Public Integrity)

States' voting systems not ready for November

The deadline reported by the Federal Election Commission for states to comply with three specific requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was January 1, 2006:

• Each state and jurisdiction was required to comply with the voting systems requirements in Section 301 (voting systems standards providing vote verification and correction opportunities).


• States needed to implement a computerized statewide voter registration database.


• All punchcard and lever machines were to be replaced in states accepting Section 102 payments who qualified for a waiver of the original deadline (January 1, 2004).

According to a recently released report by the electionline.org, described in their press release (pdf) as providing information on the election changes in each of the 50 states over the past five years, "The lack of progress in nearly half of the states throws into doubt whether HAVA’s goals can be achieved in time for the November 2006 vote."

The report expressed concerns about the reliability of electronic voting machines and the paper audit trail requirements; the questionable legality of required identification of all voters; the capabilties, functions and designs of statewide voter registration databases or lack thereof; and provisional ballots and determinations of eligibility and different state-to-state counting rules. The press release quoted Doug Chapin, director of the non-partisan group:

In a number of states, the lack of HAVA compliance is the result of inaction on the part of elected officials. Other states have tried to take action, but have had their efforts hindered by other barriers.

Election Reform: What's Changed, What Hasn't and Why 2000-2006
(available in pdf, 4.8MB, from electionline.org)

Wait up...

24/7, no longer weekly or even daily, the constant ticker-tape of RSS feeds and news aggregators both enrich and stress our faculties to weigh the right amount of contextual information. Seemingly trusting the subconscious 90 percent, we query, evaluate and decide. The ellipsis is perhaps the punctuation for the 21st Century. We know there's always more, but this will do in the meantime...

So, end-of-year ruminations to lend a logic to the serendipity of our searches, and from a library's point of view, a great opportunity to ponder the lists.

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and their, What Was–and Wasn't on the Public's Mind…, is a good lead-off to a linked look backwards: the Schiavo backlash; the death of Rosa Parks; medicare, social security and pensions; the natural and the man-made high gas prices. Catch your breath and consider the public opinions framing this year's news.

Happy New Year.

California sunshine energy

Associated Press (AP) reported Tuesday on the California Solar Initiative proposal "to install panels to produce 3,000 megawatts of solar energy on 1 million homes, businesses and public buildings over 11 years."

After his "Million Solar Roofs" initiative died in legislature over union labor costs, Gov. Schwarzenegger bypassed the Legislature asking the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to sponsor the initiative. After a 30-day public comment period, CPUC is expected to vote on it next month. The initiative would increase rebates offered to homes, businesses, farms, schools and other public buildings that install rooftop solar panels from the current $400 million to $3.2 billion using an additional surcharge over 11 years starting in 2006.

Revised Joint Staff Proposal To Implement A California Solar Initiative
(available in pdf, 200KB, from the California Public Utilities Commission)

Congress moves to limit local eminent domain

On 6/23/05 the Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. City of New London, Connecticut (PDF), acknowledged the right of governments to seize a person's property and sell it to another party for development in the name of public interest. Since then, state and local reaction has been swift and pronounced, as reported in FR here and here. Today The New York Times reported :

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Thursday to discourage the seizure of private property (H.R.4128, PDF) for private development by denying federal economic development money to local governments for two years if they take such a step.

A similar bill (S.1704, PDF) moves through the Senate.

Colorado's TABOR

In a follow-up to Colorado's drama filled campaign (as posted here) over the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), AP reports today:

Colorado voters agreed Tuesday to give up $3.7 billion in taxpayer refunds over the next five years to help the state bounce back from a recession, ignoring fiscal conservatives who argued that the government doesn't need more money to spend.

The money would have been refunded to taxpayers under the state's spending restriction constitutional amendment, "considered the nation's strictest cap on government spending." However, the drama continues with an opposition group threatening legal action regarding reported voting problems.

In a related tax vote, Denver voters approved "an annual $25 million property tax increase to fund a program that will link raises and incentives for Denver public school teachers to student achievement."

Sunshine in Hawai`i

Doug White's editorial blog on all things political in Hawaii, Poinography!, takes issue with the Oct 31 Star-Bulletin (SB) editorial requesting the Hawaii Legislature's exemption from the Sunshine Law be removed. Doug considers SB's opinion of caucus room meetings extreme:

I don’t think the editors fully comprehend how much more cumbersome the legislative process would be without the exemption...The allegation in the (SB) editorial that most votes in the House and Senate chamber are 'for show' is a bit much.

Doug White wonders if open government would be more fully served were media commtted to wider coverage which would require them "to hire more staff than it does to have thin coverage, run wire service stories, keep the sponsors and corporate masters happy, and wait for press releases."

Geronimo!

Denver mayor jumps out of plane over the state's falling economic fortunes...Mayor John Hickenlooper was actually wearing a parachute at the time, but a point was to be made. AP reports on Colorado's upcoming vote on relaxing the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), the constitutional amendment which limits tax and spending increases by linking them to inflation and population. Since Colorado's economy hit a recession in 2001, lawmakers deeply carved into the state's health and education spending for much of the mandated $1.1 billion in cuts over three years. This prompted proposals easing the tax caps. Polls report a pretty even split among voters, with the 'undecided' becoming the drop zone for the fierce and sometimes theatrical campaigners.

Deciding on a right to die

On October 5, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Gonzales v. Oregon, involving the conflict with Oregon's Death with Dignity Act and the U.S. attorney general's interpretation of the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA), forbidding the dispensing of lethal dose of drugs to terminally ill patients. With a history that includes two Oregon voter approved referendums and several reversals of federal interpretations of "legitimate medical purpose" under CSA, Gonzales v. Oregon arises out of the current controversies surrounding end-of-life decision-making.

The PEW Forum on Religion & Public Life publishes a legal backgrounder (September 2005) and a transcript of a forum they held in May, 2005, discussing the social implications of the right to die:

Supreme Court Considers Challenge to Oregon's Death with Dignity Act: Gonzales v. Oregon and the Right to Die (a legal backgrounder)
(available in PDF, 208KB, from PEW)

Right to Die? Legal, Ethical and Public Policy Implications (event transcript )
(available in HTML from PEW)

NCSL legislative seminar in Chicago

I will be attending the NCSL 2005 professional development seminar for Legislative Research Librarians (LRL) in Chicago this week. The LRL will be joined by Research and Committee Staff Section (RACSS) and Legal Services Staff Section (LSSS). "This is the only national training event designed exclusively for legislative staff who work in these areas of expertise." Seminar topics include the legislative work environment, evaluating legislative resources, research skills, and legal issues in campaigning. My blog posts and the iClips will resume Monday on my return.

Not sure about youth

Within the past decade, California juvenile arrests and incarcerations, teen pregnancies, and youths living below poverty level have all seen a decrease in number, while high school graduation rates have increased. There have also been five major initiatives that have affected probation departments in California during this same time. However, RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment (ISE), in research requested by the Chief Probation Officers of California for a "review of the potential effect of this 'sea change' on youth," could not attribute these positive trends to the initiatives. The initiatives are:

• Title IV-A-EA. Funding associated with the Emergency Assistance (EA) program of Title IV-A of the Social Security Act allowed probation departments to add services aimed at reducing juvenile crime, such as case management services, gang intervention programs, and parenting skills training. 1996.
• Juvenile Crime Enforcement and Accountability Challenge Grant Program...as a major effort to determine what approaches were effective in reducing juvenile crime. 1996.
• Repeat Offender Prevention Program (ROPP). 1994.
• Comprehensive Youth Services Act (CYSA)...to fund juvenile probation services. 1997.
• Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA)...to provide a stable funding source to counties for programs that have been proven effective in curbing crime among at-risk youths and young offenders. 2000.

RAND does say that although there are no "firm conclusions regarding the effect of initiatives on outcomes, we note the temporal proximity between initiatives and outcomes that might suggest how the initiatives affected youths and their families."

Accomplishments in Juvenile Probation in California Over the Last Decade
(available in PDF, 0.3 MB, from RAND)

Juvenile Probation Initiatives in California and Their Effects - research brief
(available in PDF, 0.1 MB, from RAND)

Politics pull over BJS official

The head of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Lawrence A. Greenfeld, lost his position to an ongoing tension between the mostly non-partisan Bureau and White House Justice officials. According to an August 24 New York Times (NYT) story:

The flashpoint in the tensions between Mr. Greenfeld and his political supervisors came four months ago, when statisticians at the agency were preparing to announce the results of a major study on traffic stops and racial profiling, which found disparities in how racial groups were treated once they were stopped by the police.

Apparently political officers within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) ordered references to the disparities deleted from the news release. Mr. Greenfeld refused; the news release was consequently not issued; and Mr Greenfeld, threatened with dismissal and loss of some retirement benefits, was eventually demoted.

"I serve at the pleasure of the president and can be replaced at any time," Mr. Greenfeld said. "There's always a natural and healthy tension between the people who make the policy and the people who do the statistics. That's there every day of the week, because some days you're going to have good news, and some days you're going to have bad news."

Statisticians within the Bureau report that "in this administration, those tensions have been even greater, and the struggles have been harder."

Contacts between Police and the Public: Findings from the 2002 National Survey
(available in PDF, 866K, from BJS)

NCSL Annual 2005

This week, NSCL holds its 2005 annual in Seattle, Strong States Strong Nation. Bill Gates, heading a list of world renowned scientists, academics and business leaders, is the opening speaker on Aug 17. The weeklong conference will cover the current and varied issues confronting state government. The methamphetamine crisis; achieving access to prescription drugs; the impending crisis for higher education; technology for legislators; changing demographics; and alternatives to traditional public education are a sampling of the conference session topics.

Two Library staff are attending: Karen Mau, Head Librarian, and Carole Tanaka, Research Librarian.

States argue Air Force flying solo

The Air Force's plan to restructure the Air National Guard involves shifting personnel, "equipment and aircraft among at least 54 sites where Air Guard units now are stationed. Roughly two dozen sites would expand, while about 30 would be closed or downsized. In many cases, units would continue to exist but no planes would be assigned to them," according to a Aug 12 AP story. Two dozen states have raised concerns that such shifting of personnel and aircraft leaves their communities vulnerable to attack and unable to adequately deal with other emergencies. A nine member panel will meet to recommend or not the base closures to President Bush. Pennsylvania and Illinois have filed in federal court "arguing that the Pentagon doesn't have the authority to move units without each governor's consent." The commission has recently received an opinion by the Justice Department backing the Pentagon's authority.

The New York Times (NYT) reporting on the reaction to the Justice Department's decision, writes that the states have the "support from the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, who oversees the Army National Guard and the Air Guard." The article continues:

"We have a solid legal case that we will continue to fight because the law and common sense is on our side," Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, a Democrat, said in a statement. "What the Pentagon is proposing flies in the face of reason."

Adrian R. King Jr., deputy chief of staff to Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview: "The D.O.J. opinion is like any other opinion. At the end of the day, the state believes the only opinion that matters is that of a judge in a court of law."

Americans' views on life issues

Another report released by Pew Research Center and based on two surveys conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds "about as many Americans rate the rights of detained terrorist suspects as a very important issue for the Supreme Court as say that about abortion." The study also provides a more detailed breakdown of the views of American society toward the controversial issues of the death penalty, and gay rights and gay marriage. Data suggest moderate views are held by most Americans on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, and that most Americans are less committed and more ambivalent on social issues than conservatives or liberals.

For example, the report found that while most surveyed felt that abortions should have some regulation, as in the case of women under the age of 18, 65% of Americans do not feel the Roe v. Wade decision should be overturned. Similarly, while only 36% of Americans favor allowing gay marriage, 53% favor allowing gay legal unions with many of the rights and privileges of marriage. Other social issues covered in the surveys include stem cell research, death penalty for murderers, physician-assisted suicide, and birth control and abstinence taught in schools.

Abortion And Rights Of Terror Suspects Top Court Issues
(available in PDF, 132K, from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)

TEL - grass-roots movement to control spending?

A staff writer for The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) reports on a possible grass-roots movement to control state spending, the tax and expenditure limitation (TEL). California voters will vote this fall (see analysis of Proposition 76 by California's Legislative Analyst's Office, LAO), and Ohio is considering a similar measure. "Both Maine and Oregon are preparing initiatives for 2006. Conservative groups are poised to follow suit in 20 other states," the CSM article continues.

NCSL has posted, State Tax and Expenditure Limits--2005, a review page of TEL in the nation, with content on traditional limits, other tax and expenditure limitations, formulas for fiscal restraint, studies on TELs impact and effectiveness, and status of 2005 TEL actions. Included are charts of states under a tax or expenditure limitation. The report concludes:

The most restrictive TELs will ensure that voters will have a direct say over fiscal issues in a state, and legislators will have reduced fiscal policy-making authority. In addition, interest groups whose funding priorities are exposed to fiscal restrictions may seek to carve out protections for those priorities...the dual effort to deliver state government services and restrain state government growth will remain a delicate balance for the foreseeable future.

Calif reasserts domestic partner protections

The California Supreme Court decided today, Monday, that private country clubs must provide same-sex partners the same benefits as married couples. The Mercury News posted on their website a story reporting the decision:

The decision came in one of a series of gay rights cases that are serving as a prelude to the historic legal showdown over whether California's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, a matter that could be heard by the Supreme Court by the end of this year. The justices ruled that a San Diego country club violated California civil rights laws by refusing a spousal discount to a lesbian couple that it extends to married members.

The couple sued the country club, arguing discrimination and violation of California's domestic partnership provisions. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer supported the couple. The Court's decision was unanimous. According to The Mercury News, "The decision could now give registered domestic partners stronger protections with a host of businesses, from mortgage lenders to health clubs."