State Legislatures articles from May 2006

State Legislatures archives from May 2006

Community health centers cut Medicaid costs.(STATESTATS)(Table)
May 1, 2006... Health centers currently provide health care for some 15 million people at 5,000 different locations. More than 40 percent of the patients who use these facilities are uninsured, and 36 percent are Medicaid recipients. Health centers are...

Goodbye Kiss.(People & Politics)(Bob Kiss)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Goodbye Kiss. Two Bob Kisses--one from Vermont and one from West Virginia-have resigned their respective legislatures. Representative Bob Kiss of Vermont left to become mayor of Burlington. He served six years in the House. Speaker Bob Kiss of...

Virginia Delegate Harry J. Parrish, chair of the House Finance Committee and the oldest member of the General Assembly, died in March.(People & Politics)(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Virginia Delegate Harry J. Parrish, chair of the House Finance Committee and the oldest member of the General Assembly, died in March. He was 84. Parrish spent more than half a century in public service, as a Manassas council member, mayor and...

The chair of the Georgia Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee put the brakes on a resolution honoring actress Jane Fonda for her philanthropic work after it passed the Senate unnoticed in March.(People & Politics)
May 1, 2006... The chair of the Georgia Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee put the brakes on a resolution honoring actress Jane Fonda for her philanthropic work after it passed the Senate unnoticed in March. It was her political stance on the...

Ethics allegations in Colorado have forced a Democratic state senator to resign her seat and the Republican House minority leader to step aside.(People & Politics)(Senator Deanna Hanna and House Minority Leader Joe Stengel )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Ethics allegations in Colorado have forced a Democratic state senator to resign her seat and the Republican House minority leader to step aside. Senator Deanna Hanna sparked an ethics scandal when she demanded "reparations" from a group who had...

California Assembly Republicans chose a 39-year-old conservative from San Diego to become their leader.(People & Politics)(George Plescia )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... California Assembly Republicans chose a 39-year-old conservative from San Diego to become their leader. George Plescia succeeds Assemblyman Kevin McCarthy as minority leader. McCarthy is stepping down to run for the congressional seat being...

Proof of innocence.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Table)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... PROOF OF INNOCENCE DNA tests have helped clear the names of 175 people in 31 states and the District of Columbia who had been wrongly convicted of crimes. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Number of ...

One bite and fido's out.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... All around the nation, reports of dangerous dog attacks are mounting. Approximately 12 people are killed by dogs each year, and about 5 million are bitten, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Policymakers are responding. Over the...

States with one-bite rules.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Nineteen states have laws to shield dog owners from liability for the first injury caused by their pet. But owners are liable for subsequent dog bites. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Federal fight against meth.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The feds have jumped into the fight against methamphetamine with the passage of the Federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, signed into law on March 9 as part of the USA Patriot Act. The law incorporates many of the provisions that...

Keeping kids safe online.(TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2006... No doubt you've visited Yahoo, Google and eBay, but have you been to MySpace? MySpace.com, ranked fifth among the most-visited English language Web sites, is a social networking site where 36 million users, mostly teens and young adults, write...

The cuddly catfish.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Iowa has a state bird, flower, tree and rock. But it doesn't have a state fish. George Marzeck, 82, has spent the last 38 years campaigning to have the legislature designate the channel catfish as the state fish. The...

Life's a beach.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The U.S. Supreme Court has reaffirmed the right to walk along 3,200 miles of Great Lakes shoreline in Michigan, even if you don't own the land leading up to the water. The court refused to take the case, letting stand a Michigan Supreme Court...

A good sign.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Maryland high schoolers will soon have a new choice for fulfilling their foreign language requirements--American Sign Language. The state board of education recently approved recommendations by a special task force to make sign language courses...

Bad for birds.(STATELINE)(spread of the West Nile virus)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Several once-common bird species in Kansas are dwindling in numbers, and experts blame the West Nile virus. It's the fourth year that numbers of certain species have been way down, the timing corresponding with the discovery of the West Nile...

Local incentive.(STATELINE)
May 1, 2006... Missouri lawmakers are looking to offer consumers a way to buy a vehicle without paying taxes if it's made in the state. It would be the first state to do so. Supporters hope to get more constituents to buy vehicles made in Missouri, spurring...

Humane hunting.(STATELINE)(law banning the use of a the atlatl, a prehistoric weapon used to kill deer)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Hunters should not be allowed to use a prehistoric weapon known as the atlatl to kill deer, advises the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Its report said the atlatl, a wooden piece that propels an arrow-like dart or...

Sha na no no.(STATELINE)(Pennsylvania law against musical groups who use the names of other bands to promote a concert)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Pennsylvania is considering a Truth in Musical Performance bill that would outlaw imposter bands staging a concert "through the use of a false, deceptive or misleading affiliation, connection or association" with a musical group. Unless someone...

City limits.(STATELINE)(law in Ohio requiring government employees to live within the city limits)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Ohio has recently banned local governments from requiring their employees to live within their boundaries. The legislation invalidates local laws governing residency. Similar provisions in union contracts would expire with the contracts....

Honest gift cards.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Illinois is looking to join a growing number of states that more closely control retail gift cards. Despite opposition from retailers, legislation outlawing expiration dates and fees on gift cards has been...

Potato peddling.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The poor potato (and its growers) has seen some hard times because of the popularity of those low-carb diets. Thank goodness Japan (with an obesity rate of less than 3 percent) has recently lifted its import ban on...

Funeral protest bans.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... At least 24 states are moving to restrict protests at funerals--a response to the Rev. Fred Phelps and his followers from the Topeka Westboro Baptist Church who protest at the funerals of soldiers around the country. The bills ban picketing and...

Transportation talk: when it comes to transportation, Secretary Norman Mineta is in the driver's seat.(Cover story)
May 1, 2006... Norman Mineta, the 14th secretary of transportation, is the longest serving secretary in the history of the department. He oversees an agency with some 60,000 employees and a budget of $61.6 billion. Secretary Mineta has delivered on President...

Gung Ho for green: renewable energy can be a boon for rural economic development, but there are obstacles to overcome.
May 1, 2006... Jim Magagna is a Wyoming sheep farmer--one used to the rigors of living off the land. In this topsy-turvy world of high-energy prices, however, he thinks it may be time to "go green" and get his power on the ranch from an alternative source,...

Prognosis for the uninsured: state lawmakers are still trying to do something about the millions of Americas without health care coverage, but the solution remains elusive.
May 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is the second in a series on the health care policy issues faced by state lawmakers. Next month the magazine looks at telemedicine. The number of Americans without health insurance is staggering: nearly 46...

Power to the patient: can high-deductible plans and health savings accounts lower premium costs and replace the traditional goal of comprehensive insurance?
May 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From the Xerox corporate boardroom and Main Street small business owners to President Bush's State of the Union address, the talk of health savings accounts has attracted headlines, high profile support and nagging...

Homeless not bankless: homeless people are getting help managing their money from nonprofit banks and credit unions.
May 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The smell of wet wool and the sound of rumbling coughs filled the bank lobby as customers lined up just after opening time on a chilly Seattle morning. They were not the usual bank clients. Most slept at homeless...

Oaths of citizenship to oath of office: immigrants are finding their way to the Statehouse--as students of democracy, as voters and as elected members.
May 1, 2006... A hundred years ago, millions of immigrants came to the United States seeking economic opportunity and political freedom. Governments, businesses, social clubs, labor unions and owners of settlement houses stepped in to create English and...

Spreading the word: speaking to a group of adults is a great occasion to promote democracy and help your constituents understand that it's often the arguing and fighting that makes the process work.(TOOLS OF THE TRADE)
May 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As a legislator, you receive many invitations to speak to civic and community groups and other gatherings. These occasions are ideal opportunities to raise awareness about our system of government and promote a...

As they see it.(quotations from several distinguished people about different topics)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... "If the media had to say bovine spongiform encephalopathy every time, this is not a story that would have hung around. Mad cow disease, well that sounds cool." --Alabama regional livestock extension agent Gerry Thompson to The Huntsville...