State Legislatures articles from May 2001

State Legislatures archives from May 2001

LETTERS AND BOOKS.
May 1, 2001... Electronic Stalking Law In Kansas Also Editor: Kansas should be included on the chart in your February 2001 issue showing states that have enacted harassment and stalking laws that include electronic communications. The 2000...

CORRECTIONS.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2001... The editors regret that New Jersey Assemblyman Leonard Lance was misidentified as a senator in "DiFrancesco: Three-in-One," in the April 2001 issue. And that Hawaii Representative Marilyn Lee's name was misspelled in "Legislative Trivia...

Regulating wetlands protection.(Review)
May 1, 2001... Regulating Wetlands Protection: Environmental Federalism and the States by Ronald K. Gaddie and James L. Regens, State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y 12246, 1999. 155 pages, $16.95, paperback. The one...

USA 2000: More People, More Diversity.(2000 census statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... State legislatures are now poring over the volumes of data from the 2000 census in advance of the once-in-a-decade task of redistricting. The numbers reveal a U.S. population of more than 281 million people. The addition of 32 million new...

Nevada Prepares for the Worst--Bioterrorism Attacks.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Many folks think of a bioterrorist attack as a theme for paperback thrillers or science fiction novels, but Nevada is using grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prepare for the real thing. And the 34 million...

Massachusetts Provides HIV Services Through Medicaid.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... It took two years of effort, but Massachusetts will now be able to help HIV-positive people buy the drugs they need to delay the onset of full-blown AIDS. The Bay State is only the second state, after Maine ("On First Reading," June 2000),...

Legislature Puts Government Back in the Schools.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Connecticut General Assembly has put civics back in the schools. A new law enacted last year requires schools to provide at least a one-half credit course on civics and American government for high school graduation. The schools will be...

Information Is Power in Effort to Prevent Violence.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Nearly 3,500 women are murdered in the United States each year, a third by a spouse, ex, or boyfriend. The National Violence Against Women Survey suggests that approximately 2.1 million women are physically assaulted or raped yearly, with...

THERE OUGHT NOT TO BE A LAW ON THAT.(bill proposed to eliminate unenforceable laws)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Spring cleaning has come to Boston as lawmakers there consider eliminating old, unenforceable laws that the courts have declared unconstitutional. Senator Cynthia Creem, chairwoman of the Joint Criminal Justice Committee, is proposing a bill...

TRIMMING THE FAT IN MAINE.(legislators' interest in exercise and health)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Cutting the fat has a whole new meaning in Maine where lawmakers are talking about their bodies, not the budget. Representative Glenys Lovett is inviting legislators to join her in a "Healthy State House Challenge" by publicly stepping on the...

NO FREE RIDE HERE.(bill proposes to have inmates pay for room and board)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Inmates able to pay for their room and board could face hefty charges if an Oregon bill passes. The Senate Judiciary Committee is looking at a way to tap into inmates' assets. Senator Peter Courtney said the bill is not intended to take money...

PEACE OF MIND IN MARYLAND.(tracking of offenders)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Maryland is about to go statewide with a program that alerts crime victims to the status of offenders as they move through the criminal justice system. Victim Identification and Notification Everyday (VINE) keeps crime victims informed through...

CONVINCING COMMUTERS TO CARPOOL.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... If you could trim more than an hour every day off your commute would you do it? The Virginia Department of Transportation hopes so. It has created a Web site that allows commuters to calculate, down to the minute, how much time they would save...

IN TEXAS, IT'S ESPANOL.(learning spanish encouraged)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... In order to emphasize the growing importance of being bilingual in Texas, Senator David Sibley recently conducted the Senate Business and Commerce Committee organizational meeting in Spanish. As business relations increase between Texas and...

NO GUN, NO CRIME.(gun control lowers criminal activities by past petty criminals)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... A California law banning criminals with a history of petty violence from owning handguns has curbed their tendencies to commit further crimes, claims a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The law prohibits people...

A LIFE OR DEATH MISTAKE.(reporting of medical mistakes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Alarmed at the number of medical mistakes that occur across the country every day, legislators are considering how to protect patients. Last year, Florida created a commission to develop ways to improve reporting standards and data collection....

USER FRIENDLY GOVERNMENT.(California unveils new web site)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... California recently debuted its new one-stop Web site that allows people to make an appointment with the Department of Motor Vehicles, buy a fishing license, renew a nursing certificate or even watch elephant seals at play at Ano Nuevo State...

MONKEY BUSINESS NOT WHAT YOU THINK.(proposed amendment to prohibit monkeys as pets)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Zoo officials and animal rescue activists are trying to make it harder to buy and sell pet monkeys. For between $1,800 to $25,000, you can buy a cute, diapered infant monkey through the Internet or newspaper ads. But owners are finding out that...

In Search of a Simple Sales Tax.
May 1, 2001... The complexity of 46 very different sales tax systems and the loss of tax revenue to Internet and catalog sales around the country have led the cry for simplification and uniformity. Representative John Hines is a rancher from northeastern...

In a Land of Plenty--Uninsured Without Health Care.
May 1, 2001... The debates continue, the reforms come and go, but the uninsured stay uninsured. America's troubled health care system is nothing new. We have a long history of analyzing, worrying about and commenting on the health care crisis in America,...

Shaking Things Up in Olympia.(earthquake in Washington)
May 1, 2001... Shake, rattle and roll holds an entirely new meaning for Washington lawmakers since February's Nisqually earthquake. The 15,400-ton sandstone dome atop the Capitol in Olympia, Wash.--as well as the legislators who sit beneath it--should be...

Out of School and Out of Trouble.(after-school programs)
May 1, 2001... When left alone, kids can get into all kinds of trouble. So developing and funding after-school programs has become a priority in many communities. It is 3 in the afternoon and 9-year-old Maggie Barnes steps into a cozy room filled with...

Courts Unplug the Wine Debate.(interstate trade in alcohol)
May 1, 2001... Interstate trade in alcohol is soaked in controversy. Now the courts are getting involved. Law professor Alex Tanford and his friends enjoy fine wines. After reading the list of the top 100 wine values of the year in a magazine, they...