Mental map of the states

U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a report today analyzing substance use and mental health patterns occurring in each state. The report reveals "that there are wide variations among the states in problems like illicit drug use and underage drinking, but that no state was immune from these problems."

State Estimates of Substance Use is based on the 2005-2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and provides state-level estimates for 23 measures of substance use and mental health problems, including underage drinking, use of illicit drugs, serious psychological distress, major depression, and tobacco use. These estimates are based on combined data collected from 136,110 respondents surveyed in 2005 and 2006 (the most recent data available). The report also reveals statistically significant changes that have occurred within each state between 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.

SAMHSA provides not only HTML and PDF editions of the report but table access to individual state reports and data. The HTML version contains additional tables not found in printed or PDF versions.

State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2005-2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. OAS Series #H-33, DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 08-4311, Rockville, MD, 2008.

HTML edition
PDF (64pp/590kB)

Limits on hate crime laws

In mid-February, a 15-year-old boy in Oxnard, CA, was shot in the head by a 14-year-old classmate who now faces murder charges. As reported by the LA Times, several students said the victim had come out as gay. According to authorities, "If the suspect targeted [the victim] because of his sexual orientation, the case could rise to the level of a hate crime."

A recent paper by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) summarizes the constitutional issues for states and Congress when enacting hate crime laws. CRS cites several U.S. Supreme Court cases that provide the parameters for such legislation.

After these landmark cases, the real questions for states involve identifying permissible ways to curtail hate crimes without infringing on any constitutionally protected rights. On the federal level...the question remains as to what extent Congress can broaden the classes of individuals subject to hate crime legislation.

The paper discusses the applicability of the commerce clause, the Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th), and the 1st and 6th Amendments.

Constitutional Limits on Hate Crime Legislation, RS22812 (pdf, 6pp/76kB, from Open CRS), Feb. 20, 2008

See earlier FR post, Dealing with "symbols of fear and violence," 10.25.07. §706-662, Hawaii Revised Statutes, therein was amended by HB2, which became Act 1, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, 2nd Special Session.

ERISA's impact on insurance reform

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is the federal law that governs private-sector retirement and health plans. ERISA pre-empts all state laws relating to employee benefit plans, including health insurance, with exceptions under the commonly called "savings" and "deemer" clauses. (ERISA specifically exempted the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act, chapter 393, Hawaii Revised Statutes, in the form it was passed in 1974, a few months before ERISA itself was enacted.) As states are attempting to legislate health insurance reform to cover the uninsured, they have come up against ERISA's pre-emption provision.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) issued a study on the challenges presented by ERISA to such state laws, especially "fair share" laws that require employers who provide little or no health coverage to pay into a state fund. The report concludes, in part:

Given the current pre-emption structure, as states continue to pass incremental regulations and benefit mandates on insured plans, it seems clear that more employers will be forced to consider self-insuring their health benefit plans, simply as a response to the significantly growing regulatory costs. And, as the cost of insured coverage rises, smaller employers may consider dropping coverage entirely.

As the administration of President George W. Bush comes to an end, and the fiscal demands on a deficit-plagued federal government continue to increase, it seems clear that political prospects are slim that the next president and the next Congress will enact a publicly funded universal-care health care system covering all Americans. But the alternative--greater state regulation of employment-based health care, which remains the bedrock of the current system--could ultimately prove to be self-defeating if employers decide to get out of the game.

ERISA Pre-emption: Implications for Health Reform and Coverage (pdf, 16pp/740kB)

State finances and recession

The Rockefeller Institute of Government issued, on Jan. 30, a report on recessions and state finances, providing 50-state comparisons of past recessions and their effects, using the 2001 recession as a key reference point. It notes that, in the short term, a recession does not affect states' expenditures as much as tax revenues which are hit by "the ravages of a recession," and makes a cautionary observation:

...the initial response to a recession in the year of a negative revenue surprise typically includes administrative actions or a combination of administrative and legislative actions. These commonly involve across-the-board cuts, reserve-fund drawdowns, and borrowing from other parts of the budget. These actions often have no impact on longer-term structural problems, or can even make the subsequent year's problem worse. States reserve the big guns of large tax increases and spending cuts for the executive budget process, and that process can take several years to play out....

What Will Happen to State Government Finances in a Recession? (pdf, 27pp/1MB)

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In a news release Jan. 24, the National Governors Association (NGA) announced its adoption of an economic stimulus policy for Congress. In a brief information paper, the governors propose countercyclical funding to be made up of Medicaid assistance and a flexible block grant. A longer background paper provides Congress and the Administration with information on the fiscal condition of the states, the potential state role in economic stimulus, and specific policy options. Maintaining that any stimulus package should be "timely, temporary and targeted," the paper proposes six categories for Congress to consider in a formulating such a package:

• General revenue sharing
• Targeted state-federal programs for high-risk populations
• Job creation
• Mortgage default assistance
• Existing regulations (moratoriums to assist states in holding down expenditures)
• Individual income tax and business tax reductions

Economic Stimulus Information Paper (pdf, 4pp/84kB)
Economic Stimulus: A State Perspective (pdf, 11pp/88kB)

Recent GAO reports

From the Government Accountability Office (GAO):

LONG-TERM FISCAL OUTLOOK: Action Is Needed to Avoid the Possibility of a Serious Economic Disruption in the Future, GAO-08-411T (pdf, 21pp/376kB), January 29, 2008

In testimony by the Comptroller General, 3 key points:

• The federal budget is on an imprudent and unsustainable path
• Rapidly rising health care costs are our nation's number one fiscal challenge
• The window of opportunity for action is shrinking as the first baby boomers retire and begin tapping into Social Security and Medicare

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: Growing Fiscal Challenges Will Emerge during the Next 10 Years, GAO-08-317 (pdf, 78pp/716kB), January 22, 2008

As is true for the federal sector, the growth in health-related expenditures is the primary driver of the fiscal challenges facing the state and local government sector. In particular, two types of state and local expenditures will likely rise quickly. The first is Medicaid expenditures, and the second is expenditures by these governments for health insurance for state and local employees and retirees.

ELDERLY VOTERS: Some Improvements in Voting Accessibility from 2000 to 2004 Elections, but Gaps in Policy and Implementation Remain, GAO-08-442T (pdf, 30pp/792kB), January 31, 2008

This report covers voting accessibility by seniors and the disabled, specifically getting to polling places and being able to cast votes once they arrive. Besides impediments to wheelchair users, the forms of ballots, type size of voting instructions, and lack of ballots with audio-tape or braille ballots may affect access. GAO noted an increase in states' providing alternative voting methods such as early voting, absentee voting without medical certification, curbside voting, allowing voters to go to more accessible polling places, and taking ballots to a voter's residence. Some election officials reported that early and absentee voting added to the "cost and complexity" of elections.


BILINGUAL VOTING ASSISTANCE: Selected Jurisdictions' Strategies for Identifying Needs and Providing Assistance, GAO-08-182 (pdf, 86pp/2.8MB), January 18, 2008

This study was mandated by the "Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006," P.L. 109-246 (pdf, 5pp.), section 9, regarding the implementation of section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 203 is codified at 42 USC 1973b(f). GAO gathered information from 14 of the 296 jurisdictions required to provide bilingual voting assistance. It found that evaluating the effectiveness of these programs is difficult, therefore the extent to which they are helpful to language minority voters is unknown.

Elder abuse

The Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau's new study examines states' adult protective services law, gathers data on elder and adult abusive incidence in other states, analyzes possible changes to Hawaii's laws to conform to those of other states, and estimates the predicted effects of those changes on the caseload of Hawaii's Dept. of Adult Protective Services.

A new LRB study in response to HCR 188, HD2 (Hawaii Regular Session, 2007):

A Survey of Adult Protective Services and Elder Abuse in Hawaii and Nationwide.
(2007, pdf, 65pp/1MB)

End-of-life care

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on end-of-life care in four states: Arizona, Florida, Oregon, and Wisconsin. GAO relied on studies from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to identify six key components of end-of-life care:

• Care management to coordinate service delivery
• Services to assist individuals in noninstitutional settings
• Pain and symptom management
• Family and caregiver support
• Communication among individuals, families, and program staff
• Assistance with advance care planning

GAO interviewed providers of the following programs in the four states that incorporate these key components: Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS), Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP), and palliative care programs.

End-of-Life Care: Key Components Provided by Programs in Four States, GAO-08-66 (pdf, 27pp/364kB), December 14, 2007 (released Jan. 14, 2008)

Respite care

The Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) reviews how respite care programs and states define "respite care." The Bureau researched other states' respite care programs, particularly those that offer respite care options to caregivers who are caring for older adults or adults with chronic illnesses. Finally, the Bureau looked at how five states assess their respite care programs.

A new study in response to House Concurrent Resolution 187, House Draft 1 (Hawaii Regular Session, 2007):

Gimme A Break: Respite Care Services In Other States
(2007, pdf, 70pp/1MB)

Feds blow it

The federal government failed dismally in The American Lung Association's annual report card on federal and state tobacco control legislation and policies to tighten regulation of tobacco and discourage smoking. Reuters reports that the study also found states falling far short.

"While many states have failed to make meaningful progress at protecting their most vulnerable citizens, the tobacco companies are spending billions of dollars annually marketing their deadly products," the report reads.

The report tracked progress on tobacco regulation and reported on gains, losses and issues stalled throughout 2007. According to The American Lung Association website:

The Lung Association's report card grades each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on their tobacco control policies in smokefree air, cigarette tax, tobacco prevention spending, and youth access to tobacco products. The report grades federal tobacco control efforts on cigarette tax, giving the FDA authority over manufactured tobacco products, cessation and ratification of the international tobacco control treaty.

Hawaii faired much better than the federal government and many states, receiving A's and B's in the Association's four areas of analysis:

1. Tobacco Prevention & Control Spending (A)
2. Smokefree Air (A)
3. Cigarette Tax (B)
4. Youth Access (B)

For 2007, The American Lung Association

recognizes Hawaii for increasing its cigarette tax by $0.20 to $1.80 per pack, and for funding its tobacco control program above the minimum level recommended by CDC for the first time.

The American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2007
(2007, HTML)

Press Release (HTML)

State Summary for Hawaii
(HTML)

Smart grid

On Dec. 19, President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, H.R.6, which became P.L. 110-140 (not currently available online). According to a NY Times article, it is "Legislation that will slowly but fundamentally change the cars Americans drive, the fuel they burn, the way they light their homes and the price they pay for food...."

On Dec. 20, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on Smart Grid, provided for in Title XIII of the act.

The term Smart Grid refers to a distribution system that allows for flow of information from a customer's meter in two directions: both inside the house to thermostats and appliances and other devices, and back to the utility....The goal is to use advanced, information-based technologies to increase power grid efficiency, reliability, and flexibility, and reduce the rate at which additional electric utility infrastructure needs to be built.

Section 1307 therein provides for state consideration of Smart Grid. As summarized by CRS:

The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621 (d)) is amended to require each state to consider requiring electric utilities demonstrate that prior to investing in non-advanced grid technologies, Smart Grid technology is determined not to be appropriate. States must also consider regulatory standards that allow utilities to recover Smart Grid investments through rates.

Smart Grid Provisions in H.R. 6, 110th Congress, CRS Report RL34288 (pdf, 11pp/248kB, from Open CRS), December 20, 2007

Video of Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking in favor of the bill, Dec. 6, 2007 (10:03), from YouTube:

Guide to Hawaii government

The 13th edition of Guide to Government in Hawaii has just been published. The Guide is a companion volume to the Directory of State, County and Federal Officials. Both are publications of the Library. The Guide describes state and county departments and their organization and agencies of the federal government having offices in Hawaii. Organizational charts of the state government, state departments, and the counties are also included.

Guide to Government in Hawaii (pdf, 255pp/2.2MB)
(available for complete download or by agency)

State greenhouse gases

This week the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on state greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The report uses three variables, or emissions drivers, to calculate GHG emissions: population, per capita income, and GHG emissions intensity. Of the three, CRS considers GHG intensity the most relevant to climate change policy. GHG intensity is a measure of GHG emissions from state sources divided by the gross state product (GSP). Hawaii ranks 46th in GHG emissions and drivers. The report also covers CO2 emissions intensity, which account for 85% of GHG emissions in the U.S. In a ranking of CO2 emissions intensity and its drivers, Hawaii ranks 34th.

State Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Comparison and Analysis, CRS Report RL34272 (pdf, 34pp/200kB, from Open CRS), December 5, 2007

State business climates

In October the Tax Foundation published a report comparing states' tax systems in attracting new businesses and generating economic growth. The report says state lawmakers "are often tempted to lure business with lucrative tax incentives and subsidies instead of broad-based tax reform." If a state resorts to the former, "it is most likely covering for a woeful business tax climate. This can be a dangerous proposition." Instead, the authors advocate improving a state's business tax climate for the long term and propose that lawmakers remember two rules:

1. Taxes matter to business. Most importantly, taxes diminish profits. That cost is passed along to consumers, workers, or shareholders. Thus a state with lower tax costs will be more attractive to business investment, and more likely to experience economic growth.

2. States do not enact tax changes in a vacuum. Every tax law will in some way change a state's competitive position. Ultimately it will affect the state's national standing as a place to live and to do business.

The report's index is based on five component indexes: corporate tax, individual income tax, sales tax, unemployment tax, and property tax. Hawaii ranks 22nd overall.

The mission of the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan educational organization founded in 1937, is "to educate taxpayers about sound tax policy and the size of the tax burden borne by Americans at all levels of government."

2008 State Business Tax Climate Index (pdf, 64pp/2MB)

Dealing with "symbols of fear and violence"

From the Jena Six case in Louisiana to the recent (Oct. 22) sending of a noose to a black principal in Brooklyn, as reported by the New York Times, there has been a growing number of incidents involving nooses. The latter AP story, found on the ABC News website, notes that "the frightening symbol of segregation-era lynchings has been turning up around the country."

Earlier this month, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on state laws against what are basically hate crimes. According to the report, virtually every state has criminal statutes covering burning crosses, exhibitions of nooses, and similar displays, or those that cover coercion, terroristic threats, harassment, or the deprivation of civil rights that can be applied to misconduct like cross burning. CRS provides an extensive analysis of First Amendment protection of speech and expressive conduct relating to these statutes.

CRS also notes that most states have enhanced sentencing laws for hate crimes. In Hawaii, §706-662, Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides for extended terms of imprisonment. Subsection (6) therein specifically covers hate crime offenders. On October 1, 2007, in State v. Maugaotega (html) (pdf, 39pp.), the Hawaii Supreme Court declared §706-662 unconstitutional because it authorizes a court, rather than a jury, to make the finding that an extended term is necessary.

Burning Crosses, Hangman's Nooses, and the Like: State Statutes That Proscribe the Use of Symbols of Fear and Violence with the Intent to Threaten, CRS Report RL34200 (pdf, 20pp/144kB, from Open CRS), October 5, 2007

States and nation fail women's health

The National Woman's Law Center (NWLC) and Oregon Health & Science University Center for Women's Health (OHSU) jointly released a nation and state-by-state report card on the "current state of women's health status and health policies."

First, for the bulk of indicators of the status of women's health, the nation as a whole and the individual states are falling further behind in their quest to reach national goals for women's health.

The Report Card examines status and policy indicators in four categories:

1. Women's Access to Health Care Services
2. Addressing Wellness and Prevention
3. Key Health Conditions, Diseases and Causes of Death for Women
4. Living in a Healthy Community

Hawaii, though ranked 7 in comparison to other states, received an overall grade of Unsatisfactory. Lowest Hawaii marks were in Addressing Wellness and Prevention, failing with a low 37th place in "Screenings". Only the top three states (Vermont, Minnesota, Massachusetts, respectively) received other than Unsatisfactory with a score of Satisfactory Minus.

In its summary, the report states:

• The nation still receives an overall grade of unsatisfactory.
• No state received an overall grade of satisfactory.

Making the Grade on Women's Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card
(October 2007, HTML interactive)

Hawaii's Report Card (HTML)
National Report (HTML)
Key Findings (HTML)

Climate change impacts public sector budgets

University of Maryland's Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER) released their report examining direct and indirect costs of climate change to America as a nation and to the many communities within.

The direct costs of not taking on the challenges posed by climate change are often neglected - and typically not calculated. The indirect effects are considered even less frequently, yet can be substantial ... All sectors of the economy will be affected.

Climate change impacts placing "immense strains on public sector budgets" and the uneven distribution of impacts across the country are two of several key lessons presented and supported in this study.

Recent estimates indicate that a sea-level rise of nearly 20 inches (50 cm) by 2100 would cause $23-170 billion in damages to coastal property throughout the US. In Hawaii, sea level rise will require upgrades to the drinking and wastewater infrastructures -- at a cost that exceeds $1 .9 billion over the next 20 years...

The biggest threats to [Hawaii's] already burdened infrastructure will be sea level rise and tropical storms.

CIER, established in 2006 as a multidisciplinary environmental research and collaboration group, works to develop "strategies and tools to guide policy and investment decisions, particularly to help mitigate climate impacts."

The US Economic Impacts of Climate Change and the Costs of Inaction
(October 2007, pdf, 51pp/5.2MB)

Executive Summary (pdf, 12pp/1.7MB)

Regional Highlight: Hawaii and US Affiliated Islands (pdf, 2pp/136KB)

ABCadabdra

The Washington Post (WP) reported today on the new study of state achievement tests published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. According to WP, the study:

offers evidence that the No Child Left Behind law's core mission -- to push all students to score well in reading and math -- is undermined by wide variations in how states define a passing score.

The study's aim was to investigate three research questions related to the NCLB policy calling for all students' proficiency in reading and mathematics by 2014, and expecting each state to define that "proficiency."

1. How consistent are various states' expectations for proficiency in reading and mathematics?
2. Is there evidence that states' expectations for proficiency have changed since NCLB's enactment?
3. How closely are proficiency standards calibrated across grades?

The researchers found that "improvements in passing rates on state tests can largely be explained by declines in the difficulty of those tests."

According to the study, "State tests vary greatly in their difficulty." Thus a student could pass in, say, Michigan where the proficiency passing score is among the lowest in the country, and test lower than five-sixths of the same-grade students in the rest of the country.

What [parents and teachers] don't know is that "proficient" doesn't mean much. This is the proficiency illusion.

The Proficiency Illusion
(October 2007, 238pp/pdf, 2.1MB)

In a Nutshell, a summary
(1p/73KB)

Health care dollars - state by state

Health Affairs published today their study on state health care spending, presenting "updated per capita health spending estimates by state of residence for 1991-1998 and new estimates for 1999-2004." Examining the "huge variations in personal health spending among states," (New York Times, September 18, 2007), the authors feel "can yield new perspectives on recent state health spending trends and provide context for policy discussions,"

Finally, these data can shed light on differences in state health care delivery and consumption and on the demographic and economic factors that contribute to health care spending patterns.

Health Affairs is a peer reviewed journal of health policy thought and research:

Every article Health Affairs has ever published is available online at www.healthaffairs.org. The 25-year archive is fully searchable. All back content is free access after three years. Selected content is free access at time of posting...

Health Spending By State Of Residence, 1991-2004
(available in HTML and pdf, 13pp/140KB)

Internet taking state cigarette taxes

A discussion paper from the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) examines the rise of cigarette sales on the Internet and the concominant loss of cigarette tax revenues by states. According to the paper, since 2002, 36 states have raised cigarette taxes to counter budget deficits. Although technically subject to state taxes, Internet sales are vitually tax free because tax collection is ineffective. The authors cite New York State's attempt to ban Internet cigarette merchants as its estimated loss of revenue from the Internet, "800 numbers," and Indian reservation sales is $500 to $600 million annually.

The SIEPR study finds:

...the increased sensitivity from cigarette smuggling over the Internet has lessened the revenue generating potential of recent cigarette tax increases substantially. Given the continuing growth of the Internet and of Internet cigarette merchants, the results imply serious problems for state revenue authorities.

Playing with Fire: Cigarettes, Taxes and Competition from the Internet, SIEPR Discussion Paper No. 07-02 (pdf, 43pp/404kB), September 2007

State e-waste laws

Twelve states (AR, CA, CT, ME, MD, MA, MN, NH, OR, RI, TX, and WA) have enacted laws on managing electronic waste. A recent report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyzes these laws - discussing the issues leading to state action, their common elements, and an overview of each law.

CRS considers the following issues as spurring state legislation: the volume and bulky nature of e-waste, hazardous components of e-waste, cost of recycling electronics, and the inability of stakeholders to agree on a national system. The common provisions of the laws noted by CRS are: definition of "covered electronic devices" (CEDs); funding mechanism (consumer or producer pays); collection and recycling criteria (banning landfill disposal, restricting e-waste exports, setting recycling standards, and prohibiting prison labor); and product restrictions (labeling and registration requirements, restrictions on using certain materials, and restrictions on retailers).

Managing Electronic Waste: An Analysis of State E-Waste Legislation, CRS Report RL34147 (pdf, 24pp/156kB, from Open CRS), August 29, 2007

Caregiving costs

A study issued June 25 by the AARP Public Policy Institute estimates the value of unpaid caregiving by family and friends at $350 billion nationally and $1.25 billion in Hawaii. Both the Honolulu Advertiser and the Star Bulletin reported on the study.

While $350 billion is attributed to actual caregiving, the report also cites other costs:

• Out-of-pocket costs (groceries, medicines, other cash support)
• Lost wages and retirement income (adverse effects on job security, career paths, employment benefits, and Social Security and pensions)
• Lost productivity (losses to businesses include absenteeism, workday interruptions, unpaid leave, reductions in hours from full-time to part-time)
• Health effects and associated costs (caregivers putting their own health at risk is a growing public health concern)

Valuing the Invaluable: The Economic Value of Family Caregiving (Issue Brief, pdf, 12pp/528kB)

Valuing the Invaluable: A New Look at State Estimates of the Economic Value of Family Caregiving (Data Digest, pdf, 8pp/576kB)

Good-bye, trash

Yesterday both Honolulu dailies, the Advertiser and the Star Bulletin, published articles on the city's plans to send its trash to the mainland beginning in early 2008. The Advertiser cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (pdf) upholding "flow control" ordinances that would support Honolulu's plans. (Today the Advertiser reported briefly on Oahu's limited landfill options.)

For a national overview, last week the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on interstate shipment of solid waste (the data being generally from 2005). According to CRS, the largest waste importer is Pennsylvania, receiving over 7.9 million tons, most of it from New York and New Jersey; NY and NJ are the largest exporters. For Oahu's waste, the Advertiser reported that three companies are considering shipping trash to Washington or Oregon. In the CRS report, Oregon imported over 1.7 million tons and Washington over 147,000 tons of waste, both as of 2005.

Interstate Shipment of Municipal Solid Waste: 2007 Update, CRS Report RL34043 (pdf, 30pp/260kB, from Open CRS), June 13, 2007

Boomers become pre-seniors

In reporting on a study from the Brookings Institution on the demographics of the impending "senior tsunami," the New York Times focused on one of the study's findings, the effect of the aging population on the nation's suburbs. It quoted the author, William H. Frey: "Suburbs, which previously were considered youthful and family-friendly parts of America, will, as more seniors age in place, become a fast-graying part of our national landscape."

Other findings:

• Aging boomers make pre-seniors (ages 55-64) this decade's fastest-growing age group
• Pre-seniors are increasing rapidly everywhere, esp. in economically dynamic Sun Belt areas such as Las Vegas, Austin, Atlanta, and Dallas
• Seniors (ages 65+) are growing fastest in the Intermountain West and South Atlantic states
• In states where senior populations will grow fastest, "aging in place" rather than migration will drive this growth

A capsule conclusion:

Today's seniors and pre-seniors are upending traditional notions of how and where Americans spend their later years. The rise of boomer populations in suburban and Sun Belt locations will create new demand for senior-oriented housing and amenities. As older populations age in place, however--especially in the suburbs of slower-growing metropolitan areas--public policies must respond to the new stresses they will exert on health, transportation, and social-support systems.

Mapping the Growth of Older America (pdf, 28pp/1MB)

Legal Services Corporation

Since 1975, the private, non-profit, and federally funded Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has provided civil legal services to the poor. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently published a report on LSC's background and funding. LSC's primary responsibility is to oversee federal funds granted to local legal services providers, called LSC grantees. LSC grantees supplement LSC monies with other government and private funding, from such programs as the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), private foundations, and national, state, and local bar associations. In FY2007 Congress appropriated $348.6 million to LSC. In FY2006, Hawaii received approximately $1.46 million from LSC, 22% of a total $6.6 million in funds to serve low-income clients.

According to the report, under federal law LSC grantees may not engage in certain actions, such as those related to redistricting, abortion, assisted suicide, drug-related eviction proceedings, or reforming a federal or state welfare system.

In 2006, CRS reports, LSC funded 138 local programs with 3,600 attorneys, down from 320 local programs with 4,500 attorneys in 1994.


Legal Services Corporation: Background and Funding, CRS Report RL34016 (pdf, 14pp/112kB, from Open CRS), May 23, 2007

State flowers at risk

An AP article May 19 reported on the publication of The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming (pdf, 40pp/1.54MB) from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). According to the report, global warming threatens 18 state flowers and 17 state trees.

Shifts in average temperatures, precipitation patterns, and other changes due to global warming will mean that many native and iconic plants may no longer find suitable climate conditions in major portions of their historic range. In fact, many states across the country may lose their official State Trees and State Flowers. Imagine Kansas without the sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and Ohio without the Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra)!

"Maybe in 100 years the Texas bluebonnet will be the Kansas state flower," a horticulturist commented in the article. NWF has provided a map showing the vulnerable states. Fortunately for Hawaii, the yellow hibiscus is not threatened.

Yellow hibiscus (pua ma'o hau hele; Hibiscus brackenridgei); photo courtesy of State of Hawaii, DBEDT

One country, one card, one hearing

The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposal for states to enhance driver's licenses and identification cards to minimum standards. DHS publishes the proposed rule and a questions and answers page on their website.

The Bee writes [my emphasis]:

On Tuesday, both sides will have their say when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security holds the nation's only public hearing on the 2005 Real ID Act [P.L. 109-13] on the campus of the University of California, Davis.

State officials from throughout the nation are scheduled to attend the four-hour town hall meeting, which begins at 10 a.m in Freeborn Hall.

Considered by many to be a de facto national identity card, Real ID further alarms with the threat of pervasive ID theft and the all too real, staggering costs to states to implement such a system.

It's uncertain where the money will come from. The Real ID Act allows states to use some of their homeland security funding, but critics say this would increase vulnerability elsewhere.

On February 28, U.S. Sens. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and John Sununu, R-N.H. introduced legislation (S. 717) that would repeal the Real ID Act's requirement for nationally standardized driver's license data and systems.

To repeal title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005, to restore section 7212 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which provides States additional regulatory flexibility and funding authorization to more rapidly produce tamper- and counterfeit-resistant driver's licenses, and to protect privacy and civil liberties by providing interested stakeholders on a negotiated rulemaking with guidance to achieve improved 21st century licenses to improve national security.

Global storm

Charged with finding the top ten actions federal policymakers could take to insure that America can successfully compete, prosper and be secure in the new world technology of the 21st century, the National Academies found the necessary technological and scientific building blocks seriously eroding.

"A comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S. competitiveness and pre-eminence in these areas [the marketplace, science and technology] so that the nation will consistently gain from the opportunities offered by rapid globalization," says a new report published by the National Academies Press (NAP).

Some of their recommendations include:

• Increase America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 mathematics and science education.
• Sustain and strengthen the nation's commitment to long-term basic research.
• Develop, recruit, and retain top students, scientists, and engineers from both the United States and abroad.
• Ensure that the United States is the premier place in the world for innovation.

As reported in earlier FR posts, states have already begun the conversation focusing on the need for an educated and world aware citizenry .

Rising Above The Gathering Storm:
Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future
(2007, 590 pages, Open Book, NAP)

Juvenile justice in Congress

Anticipating that Congress will consider the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has prepared a report on the subject.

Originally enacted in 1974, P.L. 93-415, JJDPA was last reauthorized in 2002 by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, P.L. 107-273 (pdf), Division C, Title II, Subtitle B. As CRS reports, juvenile justice is primarily the domain of the states. JJDPA created the federal agencies and grant programs to assist states' juvenile justice systems, and established core mandates for states to receive grant funding.

CRS sees the following as potential issues in JJDPA's reauthorization:

• Rehabilitation versus accountability
• Expanding or modifying the core mandates
• Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grant
• Overlap in grant programs
• Coordination of federal efforts

Juvenile Justice: Legislative History and Current Legislative Issues, CRS Report RL33947 (pdf, 37pp/204kB, from Open CRS), April 2, 2007

Unfunded mandates

One of the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) of 1995, P.L. 104-4 (pdf, 25pp/144kB), requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to inform Congress about the costs of mandates in proposed legislation. CBO has issued a report on its 2006 UMRA actions.

Under UMRA, a mandate is any provision in legislation, statute, or regulation that would impose an enforceable duty on state, local, or tribal governments or the private sector, or that would reduce or eliminate the amount of funding authorized to cover the costs of existing mandates

Of the 321 public laws enacted in 2006, 30 contained one or more intergovernmental mandates, and 39 contained one or more private-sector mandates. Two public laws contained intergovermental mandates whose costs exceeded the statutory threshold of $64 million.

In addition to identifying mandates passed in 2006, the report gives overviews of mandate statements prepared by CBO in 2006 and mandates with above-threshold costs enacted since 1996.

A Review of CBO's Activities in 2006 Under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (pdf, 72pp/592kB), April 2007

Education state cards

The Alliance for Excellent Education recently published their updated state cards. According to the Alliance web site, the state card

provides a statistical snapshot of high schools for the United States and includes data on funding, teachers' salaries, graduation rates, college readiness, and academic achievement.

Washington Post (WP) reported Thursday on the Maryland State Card, which "could be a crucial tool in Maryland legislators' discussions about educational funding priorities."

Using the national standardized test scores of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and compiling data on teachers' salaries and data collection abilities, the Alliance state cards reported on three overall findings for the U.S. (pdf) and for each of the fifty states and D.C.:

1. High school dropouts cost the United States billions in lost wages. High costs, 50-state breakdown (pdf)
2. The United States' economy could see billions in wealth accumulation by raising the high school graduation rate. Hidden benefits, 50-state breakdown (pdf)
3. The United States could save billions in health care costs by raising high school graduation rates. Health care costs, 50-state breakdown (pdf)
   

Besides these three findings, the Hawaii State Card includes:

Hawaii's economy would see millions if the minority graduation rate was raised to the level of their white classmates.

Hawaii Directory of Officials

Distribution of the print edition of the Library's volume, Directory of State, County and Federal Officials in Hawaii, 2007, will begin later next week. However, the digital edition is currently available for download. The publication contains department and agency listings with phone and fax numbers, and mail and e-mail addresses. A supplement to Guide to Government in Hawaii, the Directory is published annually.

Directory of State, County and Federal Officials in Hawaii, 2007
(available in pdf as complete volume and by section, from Hawaii LRB)

A risky education

Washington Post (WP) reported today on last week's published U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Center for American Progress joint school-improvement platform. The WP story writes:

Among the document's most controversial proposals is a call for states and school systems to "fairly and efficiently remove ineffective teachers."

The platform also urged the development of statewide data systems to help track student achievement and teacher effectiveness. It also called on schools to expand student learning time -- which encompasses classroom time, tutoring and after-school and experiential programs -- and called for states to adopt a common definition of graduation rates.

The Center states much of their recommendations was built on the data as reported in the interactive state-by-state map, Education Report Card.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce offered details of their grading methodology (Hawaii's grades follow each category):

1. Academic Achievement (F)
2. Academic Achievement of Low-Income and Minority Students (C)
3. Return on Investment (F)
4. Truth in Advertising About Student Proficiency (B)
5. Rigor of Standards (D)
6. Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (F)
7. 21st Century Teaching Force (B)
8. Flexibility in Management and Policy (B)
9. Data Quality (A)

In the WP article, Tom Donohue, chamber president, says:

Without real leadership in education reform, our economic future and prosperity are at risk.

Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness
(February 2007, pdf, 88pp/1.2MB)

Overview (html)
Major Findings (html)

Ready or not yet?

Half the states are definitely not, and most others need improvement. Oklahoma scored the highest in a report on American health emergencies readiness and disaster preparedness, achieving 10 of the 10 possible indicators. Virginia had 8. The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released a 2006 report card on America's disaster readiness as it had in 2005, noted in the FR post in January '06, which had rated Hawaii as one of 16 states to receive only 5 out of the ten indicators. This year's report found Hawaii to achieve 7 out of the ten indicators for preparedness.

The report mentions several key findings:

• Forty states face a shortage of nurses.
• Rates for vaccinating seniors for the seasonal flu decreased in 13 states.
• Eleven states and D.C. lack sufficient capabilities to test for biological threats.
• Four states do not test year-round for the flu, which is necessary to monitor for a pandemic outbreak.
• Six states cut their public health budgets from fiscal year (FY) 2005 to 2006.

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2006
(2006, pdf, 84pp/1MB)

Summary and individual state reports available in HTML.

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)

Hawaii Admin Rules Table of Statutory Sections Implemented

The 2006 edition of the Hawaii Administrative Rules Table of Statutory Sections Implemented has recently been published by the Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) and includes all of the rules of Hawaii state government agencies filed with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in the Hawaii Administrative Rules format prior to May 1, 2006. All prior versions of the Table are superseded. This publication also contains a partial directory of the State's administrative rules listing all of the chapters organized under each of the titles of the Hawaii Administrative Rules.

Caveat: This table contains no references to rules that have not been converted to the Hawaii Administrative Rules format, or that are exempt from the Hawaii Administrative Procedure Act , Chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes (pdf).

Hawaii Administrative Rules 2006 Table Of Statutory Sections Implemented And Directory 2006 Supplement To 2001 Cumulative Edition
(2006, pdf, 144pp/335kB)

See also:
Hawaii Administrative Rules Directory, 2001 Cumulative Edition.
(2001, pdf, 527pp/1.3MB)

LRB Note, 02-11, Administrative Agency Rules (2002, pdf, 4pp/24kB)

Online access to Hawaii Administrative Rules

Rating the examiners

Reported in the New York Times (NYT), the consumer advocacy organization founded by Ralph Nader, Public Citizen, publishes online a report evaluating state medical boards web sites.

The report, based on a survey conducted by Public Citizen's Health Research Group, graded state medical board Web sites for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In 14 states where the licenses of medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy are overseen by different boards, Public Citizen evaluated each board separately, resulting in a total of 65 boards. Outside experts in the field of physician discipline helped devise a weighting scale for the different elements.

Public Citizen found that since Massachusetts in 1996 became the first state to require information regarding their medical board and its actions against physician misconduct be available on the Internet, almost all states "now provide some form of information online." Quality of content and the degree of usability were used to rank the boards web sites. Public Citizen also found most sites "seriously deficient in providing this important information for patients."

The findings are published in a searchable database. The database can generate individual profiles of state boards or comparison reports of all states by ranking factors (e.g., rank and score, types of physician-identifying information, disciplinary actions taken by hospitals, etc.).

The Hawaii Board of Medical Examiners offers information through the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' (DCCA) Professional and Vocational Licensing Search. Out of the 65 boards evaluated, Hawaii ranked a low 45, with a score of 38.7 out of 100, providing no information on hospital disciplinary actions, malpractice information, federal disciplinary actions, or conviction information.

2006 Report on Doctor Disciplinary Information on State Web Sites
- a Survey and Ranking of State Medical and Osteopathic Board Web Sites.
(Oct. 17, 2006, online database, provided by Public Citizen)

Report card on higher ed

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in San Jose, CA, "promotes public policies that enhance Americans' opportunities to pursue and achieve high-quality education and training beyond high school." On Sept. 7, the Center released Measuring Up 2006, the fourth in its series of biennial report cards for higher education in the nation and each state. A web page gives national snapshots of the six criteria used in the report cards:

Preparation for college: How well are young people in high school being prepared to enroll and succeed in college-level work?

Participation: Do young people and working-age adults have access to education and training beyond high school?

Affordability: How difficult is it to pay for college in each state when family income, the cost of attending college, and student financial assistance are taken into account?

Completion: Do students persist in and complete certificate and degree programs?

Benefits: How do workforce-trained and college-educated residents contribute to the economic and civic well-being of each state?

Learning: How do college-educated residents perform on a variety of measures of knowledge and skills?

Measuring Up 2006, the National Report Card on Higher Education (pdf, 1.6MB, 32p.)

Report card for Hawaii (pdf, 200KB, 16p.)

Related FR post: A model of college-level learning for the states

Mental health care in the states

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), "is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families." In March, NAMI published a state-by-state report on mental health care, grading each state. Scoring in the 50-state evaluation was based on 39 criteria. NAMI gave the U.S. a national grade of D. Hawaii got an overall grade of C.

In related Hawaii news, the Honolulu Advertiser yesterday reported that U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang recommended (pdf, 868KB, 26p., from AMHD) lifting federal oversight of the state's community mental health plan on Nov. 30, as previously agreed to between state health (AMHD) officials and the Justice Department.

Grading the States, A Report on America's Health Care System for Serious Mental Illness (pdf, 1.3MB, 236p.), from NAMI

Related FR post: Closing the mental health gap

Web site - CSG's Healthy States

A partnership of The Council of State Governments (CSG), the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) and the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL), Healthy States is an initiative which provides tools to effect successful strategies promoting wellness in society.

In public health, the goal is to prevent disease or injury in a whole population--a city, state or country, for example. That's different from the goal of health care, which is to care for individuals...This Web site is focused on the major public health issues facing states today.

Tackling such conditions as diabetes, cancer, obesity, infectious diseases, disabilities and birth defects, and more, Healthy States provides online publications, webcasts, conferences, and events for legislators, staff, and other policymakers

regarding population-based interventions to promote health and to prevent disease, injury, disability, and premature death, appropriate for use by communities and health care systems.

The next live webcast (Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2006 2:00 - 3:00 pm EDT) is, School Wellness Policies: Nutrition and Physical Activity, addressing the "growing epidemic of childhood obesity." Free to policymakers and staff (requires initial registration), this webcast is to examine "innovative policies and programs to improve childhood nutrition and physical activity."

Publications offered include, Healthy States e-Weekly and Healthy States Quarterly, both newsletters with national and state reports, links, and "information on emerging and priority public health issues, new and existing research in public health, and other news of interest to state policymakers."

A recently released online document is their, State Official's Guide to Wellness, (Spring 2006, pdf, 79 pages/2.1MB),

a snapshot of the current state of health in America...Most useful to state policymakers is information on how states have begun to use wellness initiatives to promote healthy behaviors.

CSG's Healthy States has as advisers the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers (ASTHO) and the American Public Health Association (APHA), and is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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)

States and the Child Care and Development Fund

The National Association of State Child Care Administrators (NASCCA), an affiliate of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), and Child Trends, with the Bank Street College of Education, released a study in April evaluating states' use of funding from the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) to invest in child care quality.

The flexibility inherent in the CCDF block grant structure allows the implementation of quality initiatives that fit the diverse geographic, demographic, and cultural landscapes of each state.

The study finds most states focusing "on a relatively small set of objectives that research suggests can contribute to child care quality:"

• promoting healthy and safe environments;
• professional development, including providing training and formal education for individual providers and programs;
• initiatives that aim to increase emotionally supportive and responsive caregiving and those that support early learning.

However, the study's authors felt states needed to improve their evaluation and data collection methods, shifting from documenting the targeted population to more evaluating the effects.

Investing in Quality: A Survey of State Child Care and Development Fund Initiatives (April 2006, pdf, 54 pages/4mB)

See also,
PL 104-193 - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (authorizing the CCDF)

Associated Press (AP) reported Thursday on cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc.'s support of Arizona's Non-Smoker Protection Committee and Ohio's Smoke Less Ohio, two advocacy groups which support exempting certain establishments ("venues like bars, bowling alleys, bingo halls etc.") from the growing state and city legislation banning smoking in public places. AP also reported Reynolds is working on defeating California's Proposition 86 (pdf) and Missouri's SJR 38 (pdf) which propose raising cigarette taxes in those states. According to the story, Reynolds is planning to spend $40 million in the four states. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says Reynolds' effort "puts profits before life and health."

In Hawaii this past 2006 session, the Legislature passed SB 3262, signed by Governor Lingle as Act 295 (pdf) July 10 and taking effect November 16, 2006, which prohibits smoking in most enclosed or partially enclosed places open to the public, including bars, workplaces and airports, with only few exceptions (e.g., tobacco stores, private residences, designated smoking hotel and motel rooms, etc).

A related Honolulu Advertiser Friday news story reporting that tobacco use among teens in Hawaii is declining, writes,

"Over the last 10 years the rates of illegal tobacco sales in Hawai'i have dropped from 44.5 percent to 5.9 percent," said Health Director Chiyome Fukino..."Our comprehensive tobacco prevention strategy has played a major role in getting Hawai'i to maintain one of the lowest rates in the nation for seven consecutive years...The reality is smoking kills. Even if you don't put a cigarette to your lips."

See also, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids :

• Current State Cigarette Tax Rates (July 2006, pdf, 1 page/180kB)
• Fact Sheets: State Tobacco Taxes
• Smoke-Free Laws Do Not Harm Business At Restaurants And Bars (April 2005, pdf, 4 pages/240kB)
  
• Fact Sheets: Secondhand Smoke
  

artwork from CAMEL ad campaign for Kauai Kolada cigarettes; source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

States financially stable

The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) and the National Governors Association (NGA) report in their annual survey that states' financial conditions remain stable, much like 2005, with states remaining wary of impending healthcare, education, and pension systems costs, to name a few concerns.

...revenue growth remains strong enough to support spending demands while reserve balances are being restored to levels adequate to begin addressing another fiscal downturn.

The survey (from data collected during spring 2006 from 49 of 50 states and representing the original budget recommendations submitted to state legislatures) also found: only four states were forced to reduce their enacted budgets; Medicare was the dominating expenditure impacting budgets; only four states reported negative growth; and states continued to support self-sufficiency social services programs for families.

The Fiscal Survey of States (June 2006, pdf, 55 pages/608 kB; available from NASBO)

States boost renewable energy

In a press release yesterday, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change announced their publication of Race to the Top: The Expanding Role of State Renewable Energy Policy (pdf, 756 KB, 48p.) by Barry Rabe of the University of Michigan:

States are using increasingly aggressive and ambitious Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in order to spur economic development and create a reliable and diversified supply of electricity, as well as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conventional pollutants. As of mid 2006, 22 states and the District of Columbia have implemented an RPS; well over half of the American public now lives in a state in which an RPS is in operation.

The report presents case studies of five states: Texas, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Nevada. The author found "an unusually high degree of bipartisan support and rapid expansion of RPSs at the state level. Economic development and job creation also emerge as drivers in virtually every state."

See also:

Greenhouse & Statehouse: The Evolving State Government Role in Climate Change by Barry Rabe, (pdf, 288KB, 53p., from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change), November 2002

The Impact of State Clean Energy Fund Support for Utility-Scale Renewable Energy Projects by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), (pdf, 360KB, 9p., from the Berkeley Lab), May 2006

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) web page on Renewable Energy

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)

A closed door (for now) on open standards

Seems Massachusetts' Peter Quinn got the wrong side of a slammed door for his troubles to open state IT wide open - "open standards, open documents, open-source software." Governing magazine's May 2006 issue reports on the tribulations and resignation of Mass. CIO, Peter Quinn. FR reported last year of the excitement in public, state and IT circles to Massachusetts' embrace of open standards. However, that turned out to be more the thrown gauntlet.

Government's responsibility is to keep its information open and unimpeded, not only today but also tomorrow.

Not quite the last words in the ensuing battle to be open, but no longer issuing as state policy. Governing reports of the efforts, soon after Mr. Quinn's public support of open standards, by lobbyists supportive of Microsoft and by legislators concerned with Mr. Quinn's management vision and tactics, as well as of a press attack on his ethics. His decisions denounced by a Senate audit committee, his vision accused as being "unworkable," and questioned by the press of improper use of travel expenses (later retracted), Mr. Quinn resigned.

Microsoft products are used on 90 percent of the desktops in Massachusetts government, all based on proprietary software code.

"They're not the 900-pound gorilla, they're the 1,800-pound gorilla in this marketplace," says John Weathersby, executive director of the Open Source Software Institute, a nonprofit organization that promotes adoption of open technology in government. "They own the desktop space. They're going to fight against it tooth and nail, and I expect nothing less."

Read the Governing article:
Open Sorcerer A crusade for open standards in technology cost one top official his job in Massachusetts. But the issue isn't going away.

also, the online special face-off between Peter Quinn and Microsoft's Alan Yates:
Open Standards: a Face-off

Report card on NCLB, year 4

As stated on their website, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) "is a national, independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools." In March CEP released their fourth annual analysis of the state by state implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). (The U.S. Department of Education also has an all states evaluation, How NCLB is making a difference in your state, available on the Ed.gov website.)

According to the CEP's news release, the NCLB has affected the "everyday lives of students and educators; [with] greatest impact in urban districts." Their survey of 50 state education officials, 299 school districts, and 38 geographically diverse case studies and 42 individual schools found that 71 percent " reported having reduced instructional time in at least one other subject to make more time for reading and mathematics, the topics tested for NCLB purposes. "

"The effects of NCLB are complex, and this policy has both strengths and weaknesses," said Jack Jennings, president and CEO of the independent, nonpartisan CEP. "If anyone is looking for a simple judgment on NCLB, such as 'good' or 'bad,' they will not find it in this report."

From the Capital to the Classroom: Year 4 of the No Child Left Behind Act
(available in pdf, 1.5MB, from CEP)

Summary, available in pdf, 428KB.
News release, available in pdf, 32KB.

2006 Hawaii Session reports

The Bureau Systems Office has published the Bills Passed, 2006 Regular Session and Resolutions Adopted, 2006 Regular Session. Reports contain brief descriptions of all bills and resolutions passed by the Hawaii State Legislature during the Regular Session of 2006. Included are such data as the bill number, title, introducer, description, committee reports, current status, and sections of the Hawaii Revised Statutes affected by the bill; or resolution number, title, introducer, and identification of committee reports on the resolution. These publications reflect data recorded up to and including May 4, 2006, which is the date that the Legislature adjourned sine die.

Bills Passed, 2006 Regular Session
(available in pdf, 475KB)

Resolutions Adopted, 2006 Regular Session
(available in pdf, 172KB)

StateMaster.com: new 50-state database

A new statistical database, StateMaster.com, was launched recently. From its April 11 press release: "Unlike anything before it on the web, StateMaster is a one-stop site for all information related to US states."

StateMaster.com currently claims over 2600 state stats in 17 broad categories, alphabetically from Background to Trade, which are further broken down into such detail as, for example: Education, Assessments, % of Students Above Basic Grade 4 Math, where Hawaii ranks #44 with 73%. (Source: National Center for Education Statistics.) But, no surprise, Hawaii ranks #1 in Energy, Gas Price Average, Regular, at $3.28. (Source: Daily Fuel Gauge Report, AAA, 4/27/06.) Hawaii also ranks a dubious #1 in Economy, Total tax burden (per capita), at $3,050.03. (Source: US Census Bureau, 2004. Hawaii ranks #2 in 2005.) The definition and source for stats are conveniently accessible at the top of each table.

Rhode Island - 1st statewide wireless

Rhode Island aims to become the nation's first wireless state, offering border-to-border broadband connectivity, Reuters reported April 28. The Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs) is the private-public partnership that will operate the $20 million project. A hybrid of WiMAX and Wi-Fi technologies, the network will eventually place 120 base antennas in the 1,045 square-mile state. RI-WINs, launched in 2004 by the Business Innovation Factory, expects to be fully operational by 2007, the article reports. Fees would be $20 per month or a usage fee. Rhode Island has a population of 1.08 million.

According to the RI-WINs web site, project partners include the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC), the Ocean State Higher Education Economic Development and Administrative Network (OSHEAN), Brown University, and IBM, which became project manager for the pilot test in November 2005.

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.

Right to real privacy

FR first reported on the federal Real ID Act, P.L. 109-13 (pdf), with a post on the state of Virginia's creation of a task force to review the Act and its potential impact on Virginia, "including but not limited to the potential increased cost." As Associated Press (AP) reports in a Tuesday story, the Real ID Act "requires states by 2008 to verify documents such as birth certificates, Social Security cards and passports when people apply for driver's licenses," employing a common machine-readable technology and state databases with linked state driver information and photos. However, now it seems, according to AP, states are viewing the issue more as a "fight over privacy rights versus homeland security."

New Hampshire's House overwhelmingly passed HB 1582 which prohibits the state from participating in a national identification card system or amending the procedures for applying for a driver's license or identification card. The strongly worded bill is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union as well as conservative privacy advocates. The Senate is expected to return a vote in early May.

AP reports many state governors and most state legislatures are opposed to the Real ID and wait "to see regulations for implementing it from the federal Department of Homeland Security before acting."

The general court finds that the public policy established by Congress in the Real ID Act of 2005, Public Law 109-13, is contrary and repugnant to Articles 1 through 10 of the New Hampshire constitution as well as Amendments 4 though 10 of the Constitution for the United States of America.

House Bill 1582, 2006, State of New Hampshire

A common concern

As reported by Associated Press (AP), a recently released study by The Commonwealth Fund found that 41% of working-age Americans with moderate to middle incomes lacked health insurance. The study, conducted September 2005 through January 2006, states that as health care spending is climbing (more than 7 percent per year) so is the number of uninsured Americans. The Commonwealth notes:

This combination of eroding health insurance coverage and rapidly rising health care costs raises concerns about the ability of U.S. families to obtain timely medical care, protect their finances from catastrophic health care costs, and save for retirement.

According to their web site, The Commonwealth Fund is "a private foundation working to improve health coverage and quality...by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy." Some of the currently available publications as free pdf downloads examine issues as: health insurance; health care quality; medicare; underserved populations; and keys to successfully adopting electronic health records. Their State Health Policy Overview area alone offers over ninety publications, including such titles as:

• How States Are Working with Physicians to Improve the Quality of Children's Health Care (pdf, 2.6MB)
• Federal Aid to State High-Risk Pools (pdf, 113KB)
• State Approaches to Promoting Young Children's Healthy Mental Development (pdf, 815KB).

Topical and worthy of review is their online newsletter, States in Action: A Quarterly Look at Innovations in Health Policy, published in HTML and providing updates, snapshots and focused profiles of state level actions.

In the summary to the health insurance gap study, Commonwealth echoes their foundation's main concern and focus:

It is clear from the findings of this survey and from prior research that the health care - and ultimately the health and productivity - of the U.S. population is being damaged as the nation's insurance problem continues to grow. Real solutions that build on group forms of coverage already in place...will help to fill insurance gaps with meaningful, affordable coverage that helps link families and providers.

Gaps In Health Insurance: An All-American Problem
(available in pdf, 195KB, from The Commonwealth Fund)

A multimedia presentation summary, by lead author Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., senior program officer and director of the Fund's Program on the Future of Health Insurance is also available.

Hawaii State Capitol Hotspot

Hawaii has joined the growing number of states providing free Wi-Fi Internet connectivity at their State Capitols. Wednesday, April 12, the Hawaii State Legislature launched its broadband Wi-Fi, HISTATELEG, available throughout the Capitol. Citizens using their own laptops and PDAs are now able to access the Internet from House and Senate conference rooms, the Capitol Auditorium, the central corridors outside conference rooms and offices, the Public Access Room, and from the chamber level hallway.

Tobacco money and the states

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) yesterday released its fifth and final report on payments to 46 states pursuant to the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA, pdf, 272KB, 88p., from the Office of the Attorney General, State of California), between the states and four of the nation's largest tobacco companies, and the states' allocations of those funds to various programs. The reports were required by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, (PL 107-171, §10908, pdf, 1MB, 408p., from GPO). Hawaii reported receiving $38, 357,999 in FY 2005 and expects to receive $42,154,625 in FY 2006.

TOBACCO SETTLEMENT: States' Allocations of Fiscal Year 2005 and Expected Fiscal Year 2006 Payments, GAO-06-502
     Full report (pdf, 1.6MB, 73p.)
     Highlights (pdf, 88KB, 1p.)
     Abstract (html)

See related FR post, A smoker's promise?

Massachusetts: First universal health insurance

Widely reported in the press, Massachusetts would become the first state in the nation to require all its residents to have health insurance. Yesterday its legislature approved HB4850, "An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care," which awaits signing by Gov. Mitt Romney. If approved, the law would cover the approximately 550,000 who are unininsured in the state by July 1, 2007.

The Massachusetts General Court (legislature) has provided helpful aids to the bill on its web site under "Health Care Conference Report." Presentation (pdf, 88KB, 20p.) gives highlights of the bill. The Conference Committee Report (pdf, 60KB, 11p.) provides a summary of the bill and FAQ. The Section-by-Section Summary (pdf, 36KB, 11p.) is a convenient guide to the extensive bill.

Hawaii Directory of Officials

The LRB Library published today the online edition of the Directory of State, County and Federal Officials in Hawaii, 2006. The publication contains department and agency listings with phone and fax numbers, and mail and e-mail addresses. A supplement to the Guide to Government in Hawaii, the Directory is published annually.

Directory of State, County and Federal Officials in Hawaii, 2006
(available in pdf as complete volume and by section, from Hawaii LRB)

Separate but tougher

The Mercury News published an AP story on a study released March 16 by the National Academies' National Research Council. As noted in the report's 27-page summary (pdf, 620KB), Congress requested the EPA "to arrange for an independent study of the practices and procedures by which states develop separate emission standards." The study not only found early successes resulting from California's tougher than the federal Clean Air Act standards in vehicle emissions, but recommended California,

continue its pioneering role in setting mobile-source emissions standards...[and] continue to be a proving ground for new emissions-control technologies that benefit California and the rest of the nation.

The news article noted a number of states have recently adopted California's mobile emission regulations (as allowed under amendment to section 177 of the Clean Air Act): Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. (See FR, Coast states drive to regulate vehicle emissions.)

Though the auto industry claimed the tougher standards result in significant costs for consumers, the study concluded, "that the California program has been beneficial overall for air quality by improving mobile-source emissions control." On possible issues arising as more states move to follow California, the summary suggested:

EPA could alleviate such disputes either by providing formal but nonbinding guidance or by being given the power to grant or, in limited circumstances, deny a waiver allowing states to adopt California standards.

State and Federal Standards for Mobile Source Emissions
(available as an Open Book from National Academies Press)

Charter schools on par

RAND Education released a 10 page occasional paper last month examining charter schools in California, the state with more charter schools than any other state. The paper discusses the effects of charter schools on traditional public education, evaluates the sometimes contentious issues surrounding the schools, and analyzes student performance and test scores over time. The RAND summary states:

• charter school students are keeping pace with comparable students in traditional public schools.
• minority students are performing no better in charter than in traditional classrooms.
• competition from charters...[do not] improve the performance of traditional public schools.
• charter schools have achieved comparable test score results with fewer public resources.
• school level operations varied considerably between charter and traditional schools...[with] little effect on student achievement.

Though the analysis focused on California, the researchers found that within the state, charter school performance varies by charter type, suggesting performance will vary "as charter laws vary from state to state," and that it is important to study the differing environments, laws and designs to better understand charter schools and their role in school improvement.

It is important to examine under what local circumstances, governing laws, and instructional and educational designs charter schools are most likely to have positive effects on students who choose to attend these schools and on those who do not.

Making Sense of Charter Schools, Evidence from California
(available in pdf, 165KB, from RAND)

Pre-k and the states

Pre-K Now is a public education and advocacy organization originally created as a funding strategy of the Pew Charitable Trusts and a project of the Institute for Educational Leadership. They describe their mission and goal:

Our mission is to collaborate with advocates and policymakers to lead a movement for high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three- and four-year-olds. The goal of Pre-K Now is to advance high-quality pre-kindergarten programs for all children.

Pre-K Now publishes a resource center on its web site offering state profiles and their efforts in pre-k; availability, political, quality and climate mappings of progress; and recommended resources, both digital and traditional.

Two Pre-K Now publications of interest are also available as downloads:

Funding the Future: States' Approaches to Pre-K Finance - the press release describes as examining "the range of financial approaches states employ, how effective they have been in raising funds for high-quality programs, how sustainable those sources of funding are, and how they can be increased to improve the quality of and expand access to pre-k." 20p., pdf, 424 KB.

Pre-K and Politics 2005 - an analysis of the past year in the pre-kindergarten movement, reporting the bold approaches of commitment to pre-k programs while also examining the "states that have fallen behind the pack on pre-k." According to the press release, the annual identifies "ten essential conditions that comprise a political barometer and are associated with states that are serious about expanding pre-k to all children." 20p., pdf, 544 KB.

See related FR post, Challenges to universal pre-K.

States v. Federal, student performance evaluations

The Education Trust released a report Thursday evaluating student achievement patterns in a state-by-state comparison with the federal benchmark. Their analysis according to the press release:

raises questions about the rigor of state tests and standards, putting a spotlight on the huge disparities in student performance on state tests and on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

In the comparison, it was found that states' standards were generally lower than the national. Hawaii reported 56% of grade 4 students were proficient and advanced in reading. The NAEP tests determined only 23% were. In reading proficiency scores for grade 8, Hawaii reported 38%, while the national reported it to be 18%. Many states had more extreme gaps between their test scores and the national, especially for middle and high school student scores. The Trust suggested:

While important, overall trends do not tell the whole story. To ensure that all students meet grade-level standards, schools must increase achievement for all students while accelerating gains for poor and minority children who are often the furthest behind. Many states are meeting this goal in the elementary grades, but the results in middle and high school are disturbing.

Primary Progress, Secondary Challenge: A State-by-State Look at Student Achievement Patterns
(available in pdf, 472KB, from The Education Trust)

See related FR posts:

• A product of negotiation
• Basic is not proficient
• Crisis at the core
• States' graduation rates

No Child, "a product of negotiation, not law"

Reuters published an article today on Harvard University Civil Rights Project's newly released 60 page examination of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the subsequent policy shifts in states' accountability. The report charges that "political compromises forged between some states and the federal government have allowed schools in some predominantly white districts to dodge penalties faced by regions with larger ethnic minority populations." The report's executive summary states:

This report documents the changes states have made to their accountability plans and examines how these policy shifts affect the meaning of accountability and who benefits (and loses) from the changes. We reviewed decision letters sent to all 50 states that outlined the changes approved by ED through December 2005. The intent of this report is to provide policymakers with information they can use to develop a systemic approach to correcting the flaws in NCLB by documenting the requirements that are difficult for states to implement and identifying areas where the law may not be working as intended. The report provides an easy to understand synopsis of the changes allowed by ED and state-by-state summaries of the amendments each state adopted.

The news article quotes Gail Sunderman, lead author of the study, as saying, "There's a very uneven effect. There are no clear uniform standards that are governing No Child Left Behind. If one state gets one thing, another state can do something else."

The Unraveling of No Child Left Behind: How Negotiated Changes Transform the Law, by Gail L. Sunderman
(available in pdf, 504KB, from The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University)

School stats

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) published recently its data report from the "Common Core of Data (CCD) non-fiscal 2003-04 state, local education agency, and school surveys." The CCD annually compiles data on all public schools, public school districts and state education agencies in the United States. The report provides descriptive, easy to compare information in table format, including demographics of student bodies and staff; revenues and current expenditures; charter school number; and percentage of students served.

With data from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Defense (DoD) dependents schools (overseas and domestic), Puerto Rico, and the other jurisdictions of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the NCES report:

presents data about the students enrolled in public education, including the number of students by grade and the number receiving special education, migrant, or English language learner services. Some tables disaggregate the student data by racial/ethnic group or community characteristics such as rural - urban. The numbers and types of teachers, other education staff, schools, and local education agencies are also reported.

Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff, Schools, and School Districts: School Year 2003-04, NCES 2006307
(only available on the Web, in pdf, 464KB, from NCES)

Data security - federal and state laws

In a 6-page report issued Feb. 3, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) presents a brief discussion of federal and state data security laws. The report traces public awareness of security breaches of electronic personal data to the California Security Breach Notification Act, which became effective in 2003 (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.82). The report covers federal data security standards, federal data breach notification standards, and state data breach notification laws. As of December 2005, 35 states had introduced legislation and 22 had enacted data security laws.

Data Security: Federal and State Laws, CRS Report RS22374
(pdf, 48KB, from Open CRS)

Recent CRS reports referred to in the above report, all from Open CRS:

Personal Data Security Breaches: Context and Incident Summaries, RL33199 (pdf, 136KB, 21p.), Dec. 16, 2005

Internet Privacy: Overview and Pending Legislation, RL31408 (pdf 116KB, 25p.), updated Oct. 19, 2005

Information Brokers: Federal and State Laws, RS22087 (pdf, 36KB, 5p.), updated May 17, 2005

Data Brokers: Background and Industry Overview, RS22137 ((pdf, 36KB, 5p.), May 5, 2005

Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information, RS20185 (pdf, 40KB, 6p.), updated April 18, 2005

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)

CA saves billions in workers' comp

According to a new study, the Sacramento Bee reported Feb. 4, California's major reform of its workers' compensation system has resulted in savings of $8.1 billion since 2003. In the early 2000s California's work comp premiums were the nation's highest. Then, the article states:

Because of soaring insurance rates, the Legislature approved a series of cost-cutting measures that included new medical-fee schedules, uniform guidelines on treatment and benefit payments, new HMO-style physician networks and a new formula to calculate permanent disability benefits.

Now workers' comp insurance rates are at their lowest level since 1996.

The study was released by California's Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC). DWC's Feb. 2 press release announcing the study also reported that 2006 insurance rates have decreased by 46 percent.

A Study of the Effects of Legislative Reforms on California Workers' Compensation Insurance Rates
     Available in pdf, full report (zip file, 4.34MB) and in sections

Executive summary (pdf, 324KB, 10p.)

Both from the California Division of Workers' Compensation

Failure in preparedness, more than a grade

The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) report card on our Nation's preparedness affirmed that the United States is not prepared to respond effectively to a natural disaster or act of terrorism. The report is the organization's third annual study of U.S. preparedness for major health emergencies. Evaluating 12 different aspects of health emergency preparedness, the study ranked both the federal and the states performances. The federal government received an overall D+, and over half the states

garnered a score of 5 or less out of 10 possible points for key indicators of health emergency preparedness, such as capabilities to test for chemical and biological threats and hospital surge capacity to care for patients in a mass emergency.

Hawaii was one of 16 states to receive only 5 out of the ten indicators.

"We need to stop shrugging our shoulders and start rolling up our sleeves," Lowell Weicker, Jr., TFAH Board President is quoted as saying. TFAH formulated a Let's Get Real agenda for accelerated preparedness which includes:

• Leadership - "There needs to be a single, accountable official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responsible for bioterrorism and public health preparedness."


• Accountability - currently there are "no defined, standardized performance measures for bioterrorism preparedness from CDC or regular reports of progress and vulnerabilities to the American people and Congress."


• Working with the Public - "The government should provide more consistent education and transparency to the public, so there will be greater understanding of roles and responsibilities during a difficult situation."


• Improving Basic Response Capabilities - "Information technology systems, emergency communications systems, and laboratory and other equipment all need to be modernized to meet current technology."

The Public Health Foundation (PHF) in response to the study called on Congress " to make new investments to eliminate the chaos and confusion that contributed to our woefully inadequate response to disasters like Hurricane Katrina."

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2005
(available in pdf, 1.8MB)

Executive Summary (available in pdf, 200KB)

See related FR posts, here and here

Death with dignity

As reported in national news (see, New York Times (NYT)), the U.S. Supreme Court decided Tuesday that the Controlled Substances Act (see previous FR post, here) does not give the right for the federal government to "punish Oregon doctors who complied with requests under the state's law. The law allows mentally competent, terminally ill patients to ask their doctors for lethal drugs." The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released survey results last week reporting that an overwhelming majority of Americans (84% approval) favor the right to die (terminally ill patients making the decision to be kept alive or not through medical treatment), with many discussing and personally planning end-of-life treatment. However, Pew Center further qualifies the findings on assisted suicide, reporting:

But Americans make a distinction between allowing a terminally ill person to die and taking action to end someone's life. The public is deeply divided over legalizing physician-assisted suicide; 46% approve of laws permitting doctors to help patients to end their lives, while about as many are opposed (45%).

The survey also reports on public views on such issues as the politics, support, and morality for end-of-life treatments; abortion and the death penalty; and mercy killings.

Strong Public Support for Right to Die
(available in pdf, 136KB, from The Pew Center; news release available in html)

California's $3 billion rebate

Associated Press (AP) reported Thursday on the California Public Utility Commission's (CPUC) approval of Gov. Schwarzenegger's California Solar Incentive Program, encouraging homeowners to install solar panels for renewable energy. Reported in FR here, the original project was proposed by the governor but died in the state legislature over labor issues. According to AP:

The PUC voted 3-1 to provide $2.9 billion in rebates for solar panels between 2007 and 2016. Last month, the five-member commission approved $300 million in rebates for 2006.

Interim Order Adopting Policies And Funding For The California Solar Initiative
(available in pdf, 156KB, from CPUC)

Hawaii emergency health services, not so good

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) released its first ever report card of the nation's emergency health services. The national overall grade was C-, the ACEP finding many states' emergency systems are operating "under extreme stress." Hawaii ranked 34th overall among states with its shortage of hospital space and trained professionals (see related FR post, here):

• Number of registered nurses per 1,000 people (41st)
• Number of hospital-staffed beds per 1,000 people (37th)
• Trauma centers per 1 million people (45th)
• Annual payments per fee-for-service enrollee in Medicare (51st)

Hawaii also "finished next to last in the nation in alcohol-related fatalities as a percentage of all traffic fatalities (50th)."

The report continues:

The state received its poorest mark of D- for its Medical Liability Environment. State legislators have done very little to enact reforms that would curb rising medical liability insurance premium rates, which are causing some good doctors to leave the state and others to reduce their availability to emergency patients.

Complete National Report
(available in pdf, 5.5MB, from ACEP)

Hawaii Report Card Detail
(available in pdf, 148KB)

Hawaii LRB Study : Bioprospecting: Issues And Policy

The Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) has published Report 1, 2006 requested by the 2005 Hawaii Legislature. This report was undertaken in response to House Concurrent Resolution No. 146, H.D. 1. The Bureau has been requested to "conduct a study on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from research, indigenous knowledge, intellectual property, or application of biological resources that are public natural resources held in trust by the State for the benefit of the people."

Bioprospecting: Issues And Policy Considerations
(available in pdf, 17MB, from LRB)

Fact Sheet (available in html)

Hawaii LRB Study : On-Call Crisis In Trauma Care

The Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) has published Report 2 of 2006, a request by the 2005 Hawaii Legislature. This report was prepared in response to House Concurrent Resolution No. 229, S.D. 1, adopted during the Regular Session of 2005, that requested the Legislative Reference Bureau to identify and analyze any appropriate government response to the increasing unavailability of physician specialists for emergency call at trauma centers. "Having more than one cause, the shortage of on-call physician specialists at trauma centers clearly requires more than one solution," the report finds.

On-Call Crisis In Trauma Care: Government Responses
(available in pdf, 516KB, from LRB)

Summary (available in html)

States assisting veterans

There are approximately 700,000 unemployed veterans, and the U.S. Department of Labor (Labor) expects that number to increase as service members leave active duty. In 2002 Congress passed the Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) (PL 107-288, pdf, 76KB, 16p., from GPO) to improve employment and training for veterans and encourage employers to hire them. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was mandated to review the implementation of JVA and released its report Dec. 30.

JVA amended two Labor programs that are exclusive to veterans and administered by the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS): the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) and the Local Veterans' Employment Representative program (LVER). (For its review, GAO surveyed state VETS directors and state workforce administrators.) JVA not only changed the way services are provided through DVOP and LVER but gave states more flexibility to tailor services to their area veterans; that greater flexibility, however, calls for greater accountability. GAO recommends that Labor improve its oversight and monitoring functions, assist with integrating staff into one-stop service centers, and better enforce federal contractor requirements.

VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SERVICE: Labor Actions Needed to Improve Accountability and Help States Implement Reforms to Veterans' Employment Services, GAO-06-176
      Full report (pdf, 1.6MB, 62p.)
      Highlights (pdf, 208KB, 1p.)
      Abstract (html)

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)

Ten trends - Part 2

The Council of State Governments (CSG) has issued Trends in America, Navigating Turbulence to Success (PDF, 1.67MB, 49p.), the second in its Trends in America series. (The first was covered in FR here.) Navigating reports on state responses to the 10 "change drivers" described in the first book. Some examples: for an aging society, to contain health care costs and provide caregiving options; in the information revolution, to provide more services online for increasingly computer-literate citizens; in resource management, to encourage energy conservation and deal with e-waste (discarded electronic products).

Rep. Marcus Oshiro is one of the Voices of Leadership (p. 41) in the report, for a statement on the change driver of Growth Dynamics. Rep. Oshiro describes Hawaii's Legacy Land Act of 2005 (HB1308, CD1, which became Act 156, SLH 2005) that earmarks 10 percent of conveyance taxes for a special land conservation fund.

To states: invest in education and get rich

"Every additional dollar that the state invests in getting a cohort of 18-year-olds in and through college, it will gain an additional net return on that investment of $3 - an amount that, over the lifetime of a cohort of 18-year-olds, will translate to a windfall of $3 billion to the state in additional net tax revenue." UC Berkeley Survey Research Center (SRC) further believes these gains are large enough "to substantially improve the economic viability of the state (Ca)."

The SRC study which documents the financial benefits to California from increased higher education support also reports the opposite is true, namely, that if state officials do not act to increase the number of students getting through four-year universities, "any short term savings will soon turn into long-term costs."

...we expect that high school graduation rates and college going rates will increase, and demands on state support for education will climb commensurately. California will have to invest in community colleges and universities in the short run, but both the state and its residents will benefit handsomely from this additional support in the long run.

According to the press release in UC Berkeley News, "The report is an independent assessment of the costs and benefits of investing in education reviewed by more than a dozen academics and policy analysts."

Return on Investment: Education Choices and Demographic Change in California's Future
(available in PDF, 2.2 MB, available from UC Berkeley Survey Research Center)

A smoker's promise?

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids issues regular assessments of states' promise to use tobacco settlement funds - "expected to total $246 billion over 25 years" - to confront the public health problem caused by tobacco use in the U.S. According to Campaign's web site Wednesday, states "are still failing to keep this promise even as they collect record amounts of tobacco-generated revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes and despite an improvement in the overall financial condition of most states."

Campaign ranked Hawaii in the second level of states which "committed substantial funding for tobacco prevention programs." (The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommended Hawaii spend $10.78 million on tobacco use prevention. Hawaii's actual spending was $5.80 million.) Only four states ranked in the first tier, funding prevention programs meeting CDC's minimum recommendation.

An Associated Press story reports that only Colorado has passed legislation forcing the state to spend tobacco tax or settlement money on prevention programs. The article further writes:

The industry spends $15.4 billion marketing tobacco products, nearly 28 times the amount of state spending on tobacco prevention, the report said. Industry representatives declined to confirm or deny that number.

A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement Seven Years Later
   Full report, pdf, 1.1MB
   Executive Summary & Key Finding, pdf, 132KB
   State Rankings, pdf, 80KB

See the Campaign's Special Reports page for more related material.

Pennsylvania repeals pay raises

FR reported here earlier on Pennsylvania legislators seeking to repeal a pay raise they had voted on for themselves, cabinet members, and judges, which generated great voter anger. A related post told of Pennsylvania voters rejecting a Supreme Court justice in the Nov. 8 elections, an apparent pay-raise backlash. Yesterday the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the state House voted, 197-1, to repeal the salary package. In a follow-up story today, the paper reports that the Senate, by a unanimous 50-0 vote, also voted to repeal the pay raise, and a few hours later Gov. Ed Rendell signed the measure.

Govt open document standards

Christian Science Monitor (CSM) commented today Monday on Massachusetts' policy to adopt open document standard by 2007. Though the policy is opposed by proprietary software companies such as Microsoft, CSM writes:

An open-documents world can ensure that hundreds of years in the future people will still know the code to read mankind's records. And it will spur price and quality competition. Just look at the telecom industry, whose intense rivalries have brought price cuts and innovative services.

Massachusetts' open-document system would "require vendors to sign on to a technological standard whereby documents could be transferred and read using any open-document software," thus allowing electronic records to be readable into the future since they were not dependent on any one company's proprietary product. "Among products already compliant with the open-document system are OpenOffice, Sun Microsystems' StarOffice, and IBM's Workplace," CSM reports.

Massachusetts Enterprise Open Standards Policy
Policy #: ITD-APP-01, Effective Date: January 13, 2004
(available in PDF, 20KB, from Mass.gov)

See also,
CIO Peter Quinn's Testimony to (MA) Senate Committee on Open Document Format, October 31, 2005

Pennsylvania legislators to repeal pay raises

At 2 a.m. July 7, without public hearings, the Pennsylvania Legislature voted for pay raises for legislators, cabinet members and the judiciary. Since then, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today, there has been a massive public outcry against the raises. Yesterday the House and Senate passed bills repealing the 16 to 34 percent pay raises but with a key difference. The Senate version would repeal legislators' raises even if judges get their raises via a lawsuit. The House version would restore all raises if judges get their raises. (The Pennsylvania constitution prohibits reducing compensation for judges.) The Senate President calls the House's nonseverability clause "a poison pill" subverting the entire legislation. The Legislature is not scheduled to meet again until Nov. 14.

"This is the start toward correcting a major wrong that was done to the people of Pennsylavnia," said Barry Kaufman of Common Cause which had filed a federal lawsuit against the raises.

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."

State work environments ranked

An AP story yesterday reported on a study by the University of Massachussetts Amherst's Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) that ranked states on a "work environment index" for job opportunities, job quality, and workplace fairness. Based on 2004 data, states were compared on such factors as average pay, employee benefits, percentage of low-income workers, and ability to unionize. The top five states were Delaware, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Vermont, and Iowa. Massachusetts and Hawaii tied at 18-19. The study's authors said their findings were based on states' treatment of workers rather than their business climates.

Decent Work in America
    Full report (PDF, 2.2MB, 15p.)
    Summary (HTML)
    Both from PERI

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.

Real ID and reality

Govtech.net alerted readers today to Virginia Governor Warner's news release announcing the creation of the Task Force on the Real ID Act. The Real ID Act of 2005 prohibits Federal agencies from accepting State issued driver's licenses or identification cards unless such documents are determined by the Secretary to meet minimum security requirements. Minimum requirements include: verification of identity and lawful residency; the incorporation of specified data; a common machine-readable technology; and certain anti-fraud security features. The Act became law, P.L. 109-13 (HTML or PDF), on 5/11/2005. Warner's news release states, "Cost estimates to implement the program nationally range from $700 million to $1 billion. Congress has proposed approximately $100 million in funding to be distributed among the states."

Some of the task force responsibilities include reviewing the Real ID Act and its potential impact on Virginia, including but not limited to the potential increased cost; identifying a timeline for implementation; and recommending strategies to minimize impact of underfunded federal mandates.

A model of college-level learning for the states

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education this month published its Measuring Up,

a model for evaluating and comparing college-level learning on a state-by-state basis, including assessing educational capital. As well as releasing the results for five participating states, the National Forum also explores the implications of its project findings in terms of performance gaps by race/ethnicity and educating future teachers.

The National Center is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization promoting "public policies that enhance Americans' opportunities to pursue and achieve high-quality education and training beyond high school...(and) prepares action-oriented analyses of pressing policy issues facing the states and the nation regarding opportunity and achievement in higher education."

Measuring Up on College-Level Learning - October 13, 2005
(available in PDF, 311KB, from The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education)

Aging boomers - impact on states

Stateline.org today reports on the challenges facing state policymakers arising from an unprecedented demographic shift. From 2011, every state will see its 65+ population increasing faster than its total population. States will have to consider the impact of the growing number of elderly in such areas as: long-term care, state worker shortage, pensions, transportation, protective services, and generational conflicts.

The article notes how two states have dealt with their large senior populations. Florida established a Cabinet-level Department of Elder Affairs in 1992. Pennsylvania has the nation's only lottery which benefits its elder programs exclusively. Retirees' revenues have contributed significantly to their economies.

Electronic voting in California

Govtech.net reports that California's Secretary of State Bruce McPherson has imposed "stringent new conditions on voting systems being considered for use in California elections, outlining ten critical requirements for any vendor applying for certification of voting equipment" in California. The Secretary also announced the creation of the Office of Voting System Technology Assessment in the Secretary of State's Office, described as "a permanent, professional and fully staffed voting system technology and testing unit and a one-stop-shop for voting system certification."

Secretary McPherson Announces Statewide Electronic Voting System Requirements and New Office of Voting System Technology
(available in PDF, 64KB, California Secretary of State news release)

All Kids health in Illinois

In an Associated Press story Oct 6, Gov. Rod Blagojevich is reported "proposing to make Illinois the first state to offer health insurance coverage for all children, including 250,000 who now lack any such benefits." To pay for the program, the governor plans to revamp state health programs to cut expenses. It is believed that 125,000 more children would become eligible for Illinois' current care program for children, KidCare, and another 125,000 who already qualify would enroll from the program's publicity.

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)

Helping states define graduation rates

One third of students who enter high school do not graduate, thus facing limited job prospects. The No Child Left Behind Act requires that states use graduation rates to measure how well students are educated. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today issued a report on how the Dept. of Education can help states better define graduation rates and evaluate intervention strategies to raise graduation rates.

Twelve states use the cohort definition that tracks students from when they enter high school to when they leave. Because this is a more precise definition than others, a majority of states plan to use this by school year 2007-08.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT: Education Could Do More to Help States Better Define Graduation Rates and Improve Knowledge about Intervention Strategies
      Full report (PDF, 5.3MB, 67p., from GAO)
      Highlights (PDF, 372KB, 1p., from GAO)
      Abstract (HTML)

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.

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)

The devastation caused by Katrina has raised states' awareness not only of the urgency of disaster preparedness but also the importance of mutual aid. The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is an organization that facilitates emergency assistance among states in times of disaster. EMAC was ratified by Congress in 1996, by Pub. Law 104-321 (PDF, 123K, 7p., from GPO). When Gov. Schwarzenegger signed legislation, reported Sept. 13, for California to join EMAC, that left Hawaii the only state not in the pact. However, according to a Honolulu Advertiser article (Sept. 13), Hawaii is likely to join EMAC during the next legislative session. EMAC is administered by the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), the association of state emergency management directors. EMAC's website provides Model EMAC Legislation.

States review disaster plans

Stateline.org yesterday, Sept. 8, reported that a growing number of states are going through their disaster plans to avoid another New Orleans catastrophe. Key strategies include evacuation plans and keeping communication lines open.

The article includes comments from Larry Kanda, a Hawaii Civil Defense mitigation planner. "The big problem with an island jurisdiction like us," Kanda said, "is that we can't evacuate to another state when a hurricane comes through." Katrina has underscored to state emergency managers that Hawaii needs 124,000 additional spaces in short-term shelters. Kanda said the state is working to retrofit public buildings to serve in emergencies.

Other states covered in the article are Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, California, Oregon, and Arizona.

States reopen their diasaster playbooks
(available from Stateline.org)

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)

Ten trends

In Trends in America: Charting the Course Ahead (June 2005), the Council of State Governments (CSG) has identified 10 major long-term trends shaping our society, their implications for state governments, and policy options for state leaders to pursue. The 10 "change drivers" are: the aging of America, immigrants, the rise of suburbia, a technology- and service-based economy, globalization, the information revolution, privacy vs. security, resource management, polarized politics, and the larger role of the federal government. CSG's focus is on what they will mean for state officials over the next five years.

Trends in America: Charting the Course Ahead
(available in PDF, 1.7M, 40p., from CSG)

Alabama's children

The New York Times (NYT) ran a story Saturday on Alabama's "sweeping transformations of the handling of neglected and abused children." Forced by a legal settlement in 1991 under court supervision, Alabama's child welfare system once considered one of the worst in the country, sending too many children to "foster-care oblivion while ignoring others in danger" has made enough progress to be considered a national model. Other states as well as cities and the federal government have adopted elements of Alabama child welfare practices. The system has become more pro-family, focusing on keeping children safely with their parents, and providing the needed resources to accomplish that. The paper states:

Typical caseloads for social workers have been trimmed to 18 from 50, allowing far more intensive monitoring of families and help. Where reports of neglect or abuse sometimes lay unchecked for months, investigators are now usually on the scene within a day when danger is imminent, and within five days more than 90 percent of the time, officials report.

Child-welfare spending that totaled $71 million in 1990, including $47 million in federal money, rose to $285 million in 2004, $179 million of it from the federal government. Some of that came from Medicaid money the state had not previously tapped.

According to NYT, Hawaii's 2003 rate of children requiring foster care placement (between 7 and 8.5 per thousand population) was twice the national average.

Related resources:
Recent Changes in Alabama Welfare and Work, Child Care, and Child Welfare Systems
(available in PDF, 112K, by The Urban Institute)
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
National Coalition for Child Protection Reform

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."