T r e nd s a nd T r a n s i t i o n s
N
ebraska is losing a legend. Senator Ernie Chambers,
70—irascible, obstinate but always passionate about the issues he cared about—is leaving after
36 years. An agnostic former barber who claims term
limits were aimed at getting rid of him, Chambers is
the dean of the 49-member Nebraska Senate. The only
African-American senator in a mostly rural, conservative state, Chambers was a master of procedure and the
filibuster. He never put his name on his locked Capitol
office door, wore only blue jeans, didn’t believe in negotiation, building coalitions or socializing. Yet he was
praised as one of the most effective legislators in the state
by both Republicans and Democrats. His colleagues voted
unanimously to name the judicial conference room in his
honor, and gave testimonials about why he deserved it.
But Chambers skipped that vote, and the praise, the flowers and the tears that accompanied it.
T
he California state Democratic Party has spent more
than $600,000 to recall Republican Senator Jeff
Denham, who was re-elected in 2006 by nearly 60 percent in his mostly Democratic, central California district. Denham says his vote against the state budget
last year angered Senate President Don Perata and
spawned the recall effort. Perata needed two Republicans to pass the budget, and Denham’s refusal to be
one of them pushed the bill more than seven weeks past
its deadline. Eventually, Senate Minority Leader Dick
Ackerman broke the deadlock.
T
erm limits are changing the face of the Colorado
General Assembly. Fifteen members, including
the top two leaders in the House, are leaving because
of term limits and another seven are not seeking
re-election. Democratic House Speaker Andrew
Romanoff and Majority Leader Alice Madden are credited with engineering the take-over of the Colorado House in
2004 after 30 years of Republican control and adding to their
majority in 2006.
D
elaware Senate Minority Leader Charles Copeland has
filed as a candidate for lieutenant governor. The only problem is, at this point there is no GOP candidate for governor. But
Copeland is hoping that his move will persuade Bill Lee, a retired
Superior Court judge, to jump into the gubernatorial race. Lee
originally rejected the idea because he wasn’t sure he could raise
enough money for the race. But with Copeland on the ticket, the
party believes the “draft Bill Lee for governor” movement will gain
momentum.
S
ome Michigan lawmakers are scrambling to repeal
at least part of the state’s new $500 million, 22 percent surcharge on the Michigan Business Tax, after an
outcry from the business community, which claims
some companies are paying 400 percent more than
in taxes than they previously paid. The House
and Senate Taxation committees are assigning members to listen to the complaints and
devise a course of action. There are bills in
each chamber to provide relief. With seven
consecutive years of job losses, Michigan’s
economy is badly foundering. “Right now
we’re hearing from groups paying more
and not hearing from classes of business
paying less,” says Gary Olson, Senate
Fiscal Agency director. “We got rid of the
Single Business Tax and changed the burden. We thought people knew that.” Seven
out of 10 businesses are projected to pay
the same or less under the new tax, and
out-of-state companies doing business in
Michigan will pay more.
K
ay Patterson, a 34-year veteran of the
South Carolina legislature known as a
firebrand, the voice of the “little people” and a
statesman, is retiring. Elected in 1975, the 77year-old Patterson was one of the “Famous 13”
African Americans sworn in that year, only
the second class of black legislators to win
office since Reconstruction. He served
as chairman of the Legislative Black
Caucus, was a member of the Appropriations Committee and was the first African
American on the board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina. In 1990, along with
some white Democrats, he endorsed the U.S.
Senate bid of Strom Thurmond, and eulogized
Thurmond at his funeral in 2002. “He’s clearly
been the conscience and the voice of the unelected,
the unsophisticated,” says Senator John Matthews.
P
eople and Politics erroneously reported on New
York in the April edition. Democrat Darrel
Aubertine, not Craig Johnson, won the seat of retiring
Republican Senator James Wright. The seat had been in
GOP hands for 128 years, and Aubertine beat Republican
Assemblyman Will Barclay, the heavy favorite, by some
2,500 votes. Republicans now control the Senate 32-30.
state legislatures June 2008
T r e nd s a nd T r a n s i t i o n s
Frankenstein (Veto) Wounded
W
isconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment
in April preventing the governor from using a partial
veto—commonly referred to as the Frankenstein veto—to
create a new sentence by combining parts of two or more
sentences of a bill approved by the Legislature.
Unlike most other states, Wisconsin governors have had
the authority to approve spending bills “in whole or in part.”
And a long succession of Wisconsin governors, supported
by some fascinating court decisions, have made creative use
of the partial veto through strikethroughs that created new language far removed
from what the Legislature originally passed.
Some Wisconsin governors struck individual letters in the wording of spending
bills to create or reveal new words. This “Vanna White” veto, suggestive of the game
show “Wheel of Fortune,” was eliminated by constitutional amendment several years
ago. Recent court decisions have further restricted the governor’s veto power. Many in the Badger State, however, still felt that the governor had too much power
to stitch together words from different sentences in approved legislation to create a
markedly different result. The legislature began a constitutional amendment procedure to limit this power in 2005 that culminated in voter approval in April.
R
Teacher Pay Worldwide
ecent studies highlight the important
role of good teachers in improving student achievement. A study by McKinsey
and Co. argues that good teacher salaries
are important in attracting the right people
to the profession. The United States, however, lags behind other countries in teacher
compensation as a percentage of per capita
GDP. Recent work by the Economic Policy
Institute also finds that teacher pay in the
United States has been losing ground compared to other professions.
Starting teacher Salaries as a Percentage of Per Capita GDP
South Korea 141%
Germany
141%
Netherlands 99%
Hong Kong 97%
England
95%
Australia
95%
Finland
95%
Singapore
95%
Belgium
92%
United States 91%
Source: McKinsey & Company, “How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top,”
September 2007.
Families Face Tough Times
S
tates are feeling the impact of hard economic times
as more people turn to food stamps to put meals on
the table. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that
some 28 million people will be using food stamps by
October—the highest level since the program’s inception more than 40 years ago.
Food stamp benefits have not kept pace with the rising price of food. They average $1 a person per meal
and the minimum monthly food stamp benefit has
remained at $10 for the past 30 years. Households with
more than $3,000 in assets—such as cash or savings—
might not qualify.
The Food Stamp Program is funded through the
farm bill, which is being renegotiated between the U.S.
House and Senate. The tentative agreement would raise
spending on nutrition programs by more than $10 billion over 10 years.
At press time, federal lawmakers had agreed to provide for a big increase in nutrition programs, especially
assistance for low-income families. It also will provide
more fresh fruits and vegetables to elementary schools.
The increase would be paid for by raising customs user
fees assessed at the border on imports from abroad.
During the negotiations, the White House raised concerns about spending in the farm bill and the offsets to
pay for it. Negotiators have been working to resolve
those concerns.
June 2008 state legislatures
T r e nd s a nd T r a n s i t i o n s
The Transparency Trend
tive orders are responsible for expenditure
information on state websites in Missouri and
South Carolina.
Costs for these online databases vary
widely, depending on many factors, including the scope and features required by the
law, required upgrades or costs of data conversion, compatibility issues, and ongoing
maintenance and administration of systems.
The federal government’s USASpending.gov
website reportedly cost less than $1 million.
A final fiscal note accompanying Texas’s
legislation estimated no fiscal impact, largely
because the state was already undergoing
an upgrade in computer systems that would
incorporate the changes required for the public website.
A
lmost a third of online Americans surveyed in a recent poll are searching the
Internet for information about how the government generates and spends taxpayer dollars, and most are disappointed, according to
a recent Association of Government Accountants study. The study also showed that
almost half of those surveyed are not satisfied with the information they receive about
their state’s financial management. They
want understandable and timely information,
and they want to be educated about state budget challenges.
Many state legislatures are beginning to
make this possible. This year, more than
half the states introduced spending transparency bills. Many of these bills are similar
to the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act, passed in 2006, which
requires access to all federal grants, contracts
and other federal assistance, through a free,
single, searchable website. State bills call for
searchable web databases of all expenditures,
or of state contracts over a certain amount, or
expenditures by specific agencies or school
districts.
Since 2007, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas,
Utah and Washington have passed legislation requiring free, searchable websites with
detailed and comprehensive information
about state contracts or expenditures. Execu10
States are trying to make the websites easy
for citizens to use and understand. Several
states have developed online games or simulations that allow citizens to manipulate and
see the impact of their own choices about
taxes and expenditures in specific areas. Others are providing graphics and educational
materials on the websites to help make the
information understandable.
Alaska Senator Bill Wielechowski, sponsor of transparency legislation called the
Alaska Open Government Act, believes that
an informed public will lead to better government decisions. “This bill will empower
Alaskans to become fiscal watchdogs and
add more accountability to government
spending,” he says.
SCHOOL FINANCE LITIGATION
Litigation often serves as a catalyst for school finance reform. States may restructure
their school finance systems either to avoid litigation or because court decisions have
required them to do so. Other states have won their court cases and have not been
required to restructure their school finance systems.
State lost court case, was required to reform school finance system
State lost court case, but was not required to reform
State reformed without a court mandate
State won court case, did not reform
State has faced no court cases, has not reformed
Source: Kenyon, Daphne A., The Property Tax—School Funding Dilemma, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2007.
state legislatures June 2008
T r e nd s a nd T r a n s i t i o n s
Drinking While Young
T
he argument goes like this: Our current drinking age forces
young people to drink in private, so binge drinking of serious alcohol is on the rise and can be deadly. Lower the drinking
age, and kids will choose to drink low-alcohol beer openly—and
safely.
Teenagers want to drink because it’s a “forbidden fruit.” If drinking alcohol were legal at 18, proponents of lowering the drinking
age argue, it wouldn’t be such a big deal, and those under 21 would
be less likely to drink. Lawmakers in Minnesota and Vermont have
considered this reasoning recently. And citizens in Missouri and
South Dakota may be looking at initiatives on the issue.
“We hold our young men and women up as adults when it comes
to paying taxes or entering into contracts. We expect them to take
up arms at home and abroad in defense of themselves and their
nation,” says lawyer N. Bob Pesall, author of the South Dakota
initiative. “We put their lives in harm’s way overseas, but at home
we do not trust them to enjoy a cold beer. This is simply wrong.”
But opponents don’t buy these arguments. Since Congress
passed the Uniform Drinking Age Act in 1984, traffic fatalities
involving drivers aged 18 to 20 have been cut by 13 percent,
according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“We welcome the attention to the drinking age,” says Mothers
Against Drunk Driving’s CEO Chuck Hurley. “The data are in fact
overwhelming.”
Groups such as why21.org cite research that indicates higher
graduation rates from high school and college for those who
drink minimally or don’t drink. Still others argue that recent brain
research proves that the still-developing teenage brain is more susceptible to damage from alcohol; short-term or moderate drinking
can impair learning and memory far more in young people than
in adults. The teenage brain is also poor at discerning risk, they
argue. And, drinking at earlier ages is associated with higher rates
of drinking later in life.
Kentucky, South Carolina and Wisconsin lawmakers are looking at lowering the drinking age only for military personnel. “If
you can take a shot on the battlefield,” says South Carolina Representative Fletcher Smith, “you ought to be able to take a shot of
beer legally.”
Either way, states risk losing up to 10 percent of their federal
highway funds if they pass a measure to lower the drinking age.
None has done so yet.
June 2008 state legislatures
Bones and
Budgets
A
n estimated 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones and joints through decreased bone
mass. Caucasian, Asian, elderly and petite post-menopausal
women are at the greatest risk; 80 percent of Americans with the
disease are women. The greatest risks associated with osteoporosis are bone fractures, especially at the hip, wrist and spine.
Bone fractures are costly to the patient, public insurance
programs and taxpayers. According to the National Institutes
of Health, osteoporosis accounts for approximately $14 billion
in direct costs for fractures annually. If caught early, however,
osteoporosis can be treated or even prevented.
At least 35 states have laws relating to osteoporosis; most
address prevention and public awareness. Nine states have
passed legislation to form task forces, advisory committees or
interagency councils to develop programs to educate the public and increase osteoporosis screening, referral and follow-up.
And at least 13 states have passed legislation that requires insurance plans to cover osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment.
States Fight Osteoporosis
Education and prevention campaigns
Insurance coverage mandates
Both
No legislation on osteoporosis
Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode
Island, Texas and West Virginia also have task forces or advisory committees.
Source: NCSL, 2008.
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