State Legislatures articles from July 2002

State Legislatures archives from July 2002

Letters.(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2002... CUT FRAUD AND WASTE TO LOWER MEDICAID COSTS Editor: In response to the article on Medicaid in the June magazine, there is no question that these are challenging times, and states are struggling to meet ballooning health care costs. In...

Trends in Land Use Law from A to Z. (Books).
July 1, 2002... Trends in Land Use Law from A to Z edited by Patricia E. Salkin, American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law, Chicago, Ill., 2001. 477 pages, $110. To order call (800) 285-2221. This book is a compilation of chapters...

America goes online. (Statestats).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... More than half the nation--143 million Americans--are now online. Two million new users log on every month. There are now 35 states with more than 50 percent of their population using the Internet, where there were only six the year before. ...

Veterans get diplomas at last. (On First Reading).(high school diplomas)(World War II veterans)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... It was Massachusetts that made the first effort to honor and thank the men and women who left high school to serve in World War II. In a program developed to grant diplomas to veterans meeting eligibility requirements, Gardner High School...

Identity theft foiled again. (On First Reading).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Stealing someone's credit card number is the easiest way to commit identity fraud. Thieves can find receipts left on tables in restaurants or in shopping bags, thrown away in a trash can or dumpster, or left behind at the gas pump. ...

Institute report: minorities get poorer health care. (On First Reading).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Minorities receive poorer health care than white Americans and are less likely to get routine medical procedures--even when insurance, income and age are comparable, according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) March study, "Unequal Treatment:...

Nevada governor vetoes president. (On First Reading).(George W. Bush)(Kenny Guinn)(Yucca Mountian nuclear waste site)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Disagreement over a mountain in the Nevada desert, about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is shaping up to be a classic state-federal battle. Governor Kenny Guinn became the first governor to veto a presidential decision when he nixed the...

Our children's aching backs. (Stateline).(California legislation regarding weight of textbooks)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Citing concerns about children who have to lug heavy backpacks to, from and around school, a California Assembly committee recently voted to approve a bill that would set maximum weight standards for textbooks. Backpack-related injuries send...

Concern over college costs. (Stateline).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Public college tuition requires an ever-larger share of the annual income of most American families, according to a report, "Losing Ground," recently released by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. It found that public...

Newark or New Delhi? (Stateline).(call centers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... New Jerseyans with questions about their electronic welfare or food stamp cards can call a toll-free number and have their questions answered--by an operator in Bombay. Recipients who call Tennessee's toll-free help line are transferred to a...

Bullets to blame. (Stateline).(California emergency rooms)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Emergency rooms deal with the results of bullets every day. Gunshot victims who have little or no insurance leave the tab to the state. So California Senator Don Perata thinks a tax on bullets to help finance trauma care makes sense....

Cashing in on anthrax scare. (Stateline).(lawsuits)(at-home anthrax test kit)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Pennsylvania attorney general recently filed a civil lawsuit against an Ohio-based business to halt the on-line promotion and sale of its at-home anthrax test kit. If the suit is successful, Pennsylvanians who purchased the product can...

Ancient Alabama comes alive. (Stateline).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Alabama's Capitol stands atop the remains of a barrier island that hugged the coast about 85 million years ago, according to Auburn University's David King. During construction of a new west wing of the state archives building, crews unearthed...

Virtual learning in Hawaii. (Stateline).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... A recent survey by Education Week gave Hawaii high marks in a nationwide assessment of e-learning technologies. In 1996, Hawaii launched an effort to develop an online distance learning program driven by the geographically dispersed islands and...

Where are you, doc? (Stateline).(shortage of obstetricians and gynecologists)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... A chronic shortage of medical providers due in part to rising liability coverage is jeopardizing pregnant women's access to care in nine "hot states," according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The group...

Forests-the way they were. (Stateline).(forest conservation in Maryland)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Maryland's General Assembly has passed a law to protect one of the oldest and most pristine forests left in the Appalachian region. Two 2,000-acre stands of oaks, hemlocks, maple and beech in Savage River State Forest have been designated as...

Dogs' sixth sense. (Stateline).(service dogs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Dogs can be man's best friends, and if you have epilepsy that's very reassuring. Canines can be trained to respond to seizures (by retrieving medicine, carrying a phone to their owners and keeping them immobile). Some also seem to be able to...

Moo said the Buffalo. (Stateline).(bison in the US)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... So we thought bison had made a comeback, right? There are 300,000 of them roaming North America. But geneticists have recently shown that many are actually bison-cow hybrids and should not figure in perpetuation of the true American bison. This...

Ford drives Mississippi: amiable, powerful and always in control, speaker Tim Ford is in the classic tradition of a great legislative leader.
July 1, 2002... In concept, the notion of leadership is simple: Determine a course of action and go forward to accomplish the goal. But it's the implementation that makes some people true leaders and others fall short. Leadership is that intangible combination...

Bringing pride to the Texas house.
July 1, 2002... A close friend of republican George Bush, democrat Pete Laney considers himself a "members'" speaker. Most of his colleagues in the Texas house--where he mentors new people, encourages open dialogue and nurtures the image of the...

Ohio's Finan follows the rules: Ohio's most prominent senator may be criticized by some for being too partisan, but almost everyone agrees he sticks to his guns. And the exquisitely restored statehouse is a case in point.
July 1, 2002... As state revenues stagnated in Ohio during the last couple of years, the $1 billion rainy day fund became an inviting target. But would-be raiders were blocked for a good while by Ohio Senate President Richard H. Finan, whose square-jawed...

Term limit turmoil in Oregon. (Limiting Terms).
July 1, 2002... Oregon's 1992 term limit law was overturned by the state supreme court earlier this year. but advocates who disagree with the decision are busy gathering signatures to make sure voters have their say again in November. Representative Jeff...

The incredible shrinking legislature: redistricting is hard enough, but to try to combine it with downsizing is more than just tough. This year the rhode island legislature had to eliminate a quarter of its members. It wasn't easy, but it's done.
July 1, 2002... Legislators are switching political parties and moving to new districts. Critics are decrying the impact on female legislators and minority voters. One lawsuit has been filed, and more are expected. This is Rhode Island, where the voters...

Term limit tenacity pays off in Nebraska.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Legislature and the over have battled over term limits for the past decade in Nebraska. The voters won, and term limits will soon go into effect in the only state with just one chamber. Observers fear that the legislative branch will be...

The trouble with term limits: the public seems pretty well satisfied with term limits in California. They don't even seem to mind not knowing much about the legislature. But that doesn't mean everything's all right.
July 1, 2002... On the long, lonely stretch of Interstate 80 between the state capitol and John Burton's San Francisco home, the billboards stood tall. "Tell John Burton," they said, "that 38 years is enough." Term limit supporters placed those signs on...

Diversity in action; the first Hmong Senator; Mee Moua typifies the rich contributions foreign-born lawmakers are bringing to the legislative institution.
July 1, 2002... In her first decade of life, Mee Moua experienced a transformation about as profound as anybody could undergo. Born in Laos and raised for several years in a refugee camp in Thailand, she spent her early years steeped in the stories and...

Legislative melting pot: nearly a hundred state legislators are immigrants. They bring a special work ethic and empathy to lawmaking.
July 1, 2002... My mother was standing on the deck and holding my hand," says North Carolina Senator James Forrester. "And she said, 'Jim, this is your new country, your new home. You can succeed at anything here--if you try. And I want you to remember those...