State Legislatures articles from March 2008

State Legislatures archives from March 2008

Energy efficiency.(THIS MONTH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Read about Delaware's Sustainable Energy Utility, which will invest in energy efficiency and sustainable energy instead of large-scale power generation. The plan, a first for the nation, is set to achieve a 30...

REAL ID.(THIS MONTH)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Keep updated on how states are (or aren't) implementing the REAL ID Act.

Water resources.(THIS MONTH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Find out what Michael Hayes, executive director of the National Drought Mitigation Center on the Lincoln campus of the University of Nebraska, believes needs to be done to minimize the negative consequences of droughts.

Telecommuting.(THIS MONTH)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Check out tables of state statutes, bills, and initiatives related to the world of telecommuting.

Bob Bullock.(THIS MONTH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In their new book, Bob Bullock: God Bless Texas, longtime newsmen Dave McNeely and Jim Henderson write about the animosity between Governor Ann Richards and Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock who were once political...

Child safety seats.(THIS MONTH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] See our online timeline from invention of the first child safety seat to the 30th anniversary of the first child passenger restraint law and a 50-state map showing which states have booster seat laws.

State legislators in Congress.(THIS MONTH)
March 1, 2008... Find out who in today's Congress once served in state legislatures. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Mortgage fraud.(STATESTATS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Mortgage fraud is on the rise. The increase in foreclosures has enabled criminals to exploit vulnerable homeowners seeking financial help and guidance, according to the FBI's recent "2006 Mortgage Fraud" report. A common form of fraud is...

Leticia Van de Putte.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Texas Senator Leticia Van de Putte was tapped for a plum assignment in January when congressional Democrats asked her to give the national Spanish-language response to President Bush's State of the Union address. Governor Kathleen Sebelius gave...

Brian Bosma.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Members of the Indiana House of Representatives can resume clergy-led prayer at the beginning of each session. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana initiated the suit, alleging that the prayers often invoked Jesus but ignored other...

Arizona Representative Jerry Weiers doesn't think lawmakers should be paid for a day s work if they miss a single vote that day.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Arizona Representative Jerry Weiers doesn't think lawmakers should be paid for a day s work if they miss a single vote that day. Weiers' bill would cost legislators about $175 a day for each missed vote. "We are elected to represent our...

Douglas Bruce, the citizen author of Colorado's legendary Tabor Amendment that severely limits revenue growth, is now making his mark in the state House of Representatives.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Douglas Bruce, the citizen author of Colorado's legendary Tabor Amendment that severely limits revenue growth, is now making his mark in the state House of Representatives. Appointed to fill a vacancy when Representative Bill Cadman was...

Hawaii Senator Fred Hemmings of the four-member GOP caucus has retained his post as minority leader.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Hawaii Senator Fred Hemmings of the four-member GOP caucus has retained his post as minority leader. Hemmings had been challenged by Senator Sam Slom and Senator Gordon Trimble.

Nancy Fisher has resigned after five years as chief of staff to Texas Speaker Tom Craddick.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Nancy Fisher has resigned after five years as chief of staff to Texas Speaker Tom Craddick. Fisher, who is leaving "to pursue other opportunities" said working for Craddick was an honor. "I appreciate the trust he placed in me and the...

Senator Teresa Fedor agreed to step down as leader of the Ohio Senate Democrats after one year in the position, following a move by her caucus to replace her with Senator Ray Miller.(People & Politics)
March 1, 2008... Senator Teresa Fedor agreed to step down as leader of the Ohio Senate Democrats after one year in the position, following a move by her caucus to replace her with Senator Ray Miller. Democrats hold 12 of the 33 Senate seats. The Democrats...

Connecticut Republican Rob Kane has won a special election to fill the seat of former Senator Louis DeLuca, who resigned in November.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Connecticut Republican Rob Kane has won a special election to fill the seat of former Senator Louis DeLuca, who resigned in November. DeLuca, the former minority leader, was facing expulsion over accusations that he asked a trash hauler with...

Pete Kott.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Former Alaska Speaker Pete Kott began his six-year sentence in federal prison in January, after a U.S. district judge denied his request for a delay in starting so he could be at his grandchild's birth in February. Kott was convicted in...

Two days after retiring from the New Jersey Senate, 32-year veteran Walter Kavanaugh died of complications from diabetes.(People & Politics)(Obituary)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Two days after retiring from the New Jersey Senate, 32-year veteran Walter Kavanaugh died of complications from diabetes. He was 74. Known as "the Irish Senator," Kavanaugh served on the board of the University of Notre Dame, his alma mater. A...

Maryland Speaker Michael Busch administered the oath of office to Maryland--s newest House member, Representative H. Wayne Norman, in January.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Maryland Speaker Michael Busch administered the oath of office to Maryland--s newest House member, Representative H. Wayne Norman, in January. Norman filled the seat of Barry Glassman, who left to fill a seat in the Senate.

Fighting for dogs.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Americans became privy to the horrors of animal fighting last April. Michael Vick, star quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, was discovered harboring a dog-fighting ring with three colleagues and charged by federal authorities with operating an...

California's Clean Air waiver rejected.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... For the first time since the Clean Air Act became law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Dec. 19, 2007, denied a waiver request from California. The state wanted to require a 30 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2016...

Energy Department scraps coal project.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The small Illinois town of Mattoon was selected this past December as the future site of the world's first near-zero-emissions coal-burning plant. But a month later the U.S. Department of Energy decided to back out of the project citing huge...

The noise over silence.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(public debates regarding moments of silence and school prayers)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Illinois is embroiled in a lawsuit over whether students and teachers must observe a brief period of silence at the opening of every school day. The state's previous law stated that students and teachers "may"...

Fighting diabetes.(STATELINE)(Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] High-tech balloons flying above air traffic elevations but beneath satellites will soon be used to combat the almost epidemic levels of diabetes among the Navajo people. The Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project...

Capital wannabes.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Minnesota will have several new capitals come May. In celebration of the state's sesquicentennial (marking 150 years of statehood), the governor has named Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, New Ulm, Winona and Thief River Falls state "capitals for a day."...

Manatee monitors.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The manatee is safe for now. The oft-loved chubby sea cow will keep its status as one of Florida's endangered species while the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reviews the state's entire process for classifying imperiled animals....

Buying for college.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Illinois has a new way to promote saving for college. Parents can use "Bright Start" credit cards that direct 1 percent from every purchase into a college savings account. The state-sponsored Bright Start College Savings Program allows families...

Walking is in.(STATELINE)(thirty biggest walkable urban places in the United States)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A Brookings Institution recently ranked the 30 biggest cities according to the number of "regional-serving walkable urban places" (places that have jobs, retail stores or cultural institutions that attract people who don't live there) relative...

Foreign hacker.(STATELINE)(security breach at the Pennsylvania state government's website )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Fortunately, no citizen data were "compromised" when a hacker from China successfully got into a Pennsylvania state government website earlier this year. Once there were indications of a security problem, the state...

No to sewage.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Florida is hoping to stop treated sewage from being dumped into the ocean off the south coast, even if it does meet federal guidelines. Some are concerned that the treated sewage is killing reefs and endangering the health of swimmers. Six...

Camel suit.(STATELINE)(case filed against R.J. Reynolds Industries Inc.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Attorneys generals in at least eight states--California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington--are suing R.J. Reynolds for violating the terms of the landmark 1998 settlement between 46 states and the...

Naughty cell phones.(STATELINE)(prohibition on use of wireless telephones in locker rooms)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] State lawmakers in Wisconsin are considering whether to make it illegal to use a cell phone in a locker room. The problem is that too many of the phones have cameras that some people (without a life) are misusing....

Quarters continue.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Washington, D.C., may not have a vote in Congress, but it will have its very own quarter. U.S. Congressman Jose Serrano of New York tucked language into a giant federal spending bill that will not only give D.C., but also Puerto Rico, Guam, the...

Losing to win.(STATELINE)(weight-loss contest of the Alabama Department of Public Health)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... They're getting close to the end. For the second year in a row, the Alabama Department of Public Health is sponsoring a weight-loss contest. Teams of four got weighed in early January and are trying to shed at least 10 pounds from each member...

Stopping steroids.(STATELINE)(drug testing for high school athletes)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... In light of the steroid scandals among professional baseball players, Missouri Senator Matt Bartle is sponsoring legislation that would require high schools to test their athletes randomly for steroids and other drugs. "We need to, as a state,...

The first fuel: the cheapest and cleanest energy is the energy you don't consume.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A limitless source of energy lies waiting to be discovered in homes, buildings and factories across the nation. It produces zero emissions, creates huge savings for consumers and industry, and is far less expensive...

It's time to telework: the advantages of working out of the office are getting lawmakers' attention.
March 1, 2008... Janie Bowen is in charge of 900 employees who have one job: collecting all the taxes in Virginia. The tax commissioner cares intensely about completing the task, but worries much less about whether her employees are working in the office or at...

Hot water: states need water like never before, which creates competition but also cooperation.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As the former mayor of Pooler, Ga., Earl C. "Buddy" Carter has seen firsthand one of the unexpected results of buoyant population growth. "We were just like every other community in Georgia," says Carter, who is...

Lessons on leadership: during her six years as governor of New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen learned a lot about what good leadership means.(TOOLS OF THE TRADE)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Everything about measuring performance and making state government more efficient and effective starts with leadership. Leadership is important. It makes a difference, whether you're the head of state, head of a...

The REAL ID rebellion: the regulations have finally arrived. What's next for states?
March 1, 2008... States first began requiring drivers to obtain licenses to operate motor vehicles in 1908. It's an understatement to say there will be no quiet celebration of the driver's license centennial anniversary. May 11, 2008, is the deadline for state...

Bob Bullock: experience counts: the man who ran Texas as lieutenant governor knew how to get what he wanted.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Almost nine years ago, the most storied Texas politician since Lyndon Johnson rode off to that big caucus in the sky and left behind a tangled legacy. As presiding officer of the Texas Senate for eight years, Bob...

Most precious cargo: child restrainst continue to save young lives, but gaps persist in many state laws.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you ask parents today how they got their baby home from the hospital, they'll tell you in an infant car seat. If you ask those parents how they got home from the hospital when they were born, they'll probably tell...

As they see it.(quotes from politicians)
March 1, 2008... "I understand that it is not just my hands that take the gavel today.... it is the hands of my relatives who toiled under the overseer's whip on the red clay of Georgia." --Colorado Senate President Peter Groff to the legislature as it...