POLITICS & LEADERSHIP
New CT governor sworn in

GOVERNORS
Douglas has big edge in VT re-election bid
 

The week in session
Bird's eye view
Hot issues
In the Hopper
Once around the statehouse lightly
State recaps available this week 
 

Embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) has many ethical, financial and scientific faces. In part I of a two-part series, Capitol Journal examines the fiscal pros and cons of this controversial science. 

Embryonic Stem Cell Research (part I):  A Cash Crop?

Advocates for human embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) have long claimed it has the potential to cure everything from cancer to Alzheimer's disease. But ESCR has also been stymied by a collection of federal funding restrictions based on the ethical and political questions surrounding such scientific inquiry, leaving the field long on promise and short on results. All that could dramatically change this year as CALIFORNIA and NEW JERSEY lead a new state-level push to sidestep federal funding limitations on ESCR by dedicating significant amounts of public money toward this controversial research.     

Although 14 states are currently debating some form of stem cell policy, only New Jersey and California have legalized ESCR, which entails harvesting cells from human embryos left over from the in-vitro fertilization process in hopes of those cells being transformed into other kinds of cell tissue. This differs from adult and human blood (umbilical) cord stem cell study because, in theory, the embryos, which would normally be discarded, yield unique cells which can adapt to any kind of body tissue and thus be used to replace damaged cells. Many -- but far from all --  researchers believe this could lead to cures for any number of degenerative diseases and spinal cord injuries. 
    But many religious leaders, including Pope John Paul II, have spoken out against ESCR. They contend that embryos are a human life that should never be used as a scientific tool, no matter what the reason. Several have also voiced concern that ESCR will lead to human cloning. Others oppose ESCR on financial grounds, saying it is simply too expensive and has yet to yield any real medical breakthroughs. President George W. Bush tried to placate both sides in 2001 when he restricted new federal funding to only umbilical cord, placenta and adult stem cell study, and limited any publicly funded research on embryonic cells to only the 78 lines currently in existence. Although not a ban on ESCR, Bush's decision put a distinct crimp in its funding and left it to individual states to decide for themselves if they wanted to pursue the matter further.
    New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey (D) struck first, on May 12 of this year allocating $6.5 million from the 2005 state budget to fund the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. McGreevey authorized a total of $50 million over the next five years to spur the facility, which would be a joint venture between Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. McGreevey also promised to deliver at a future date another $3.5 million in private funds to augment the plan. He later upped the ante by including various other grants and investments from the two medical institutions, bringing the state's initial planned investment this year to $11.5 million, which lawmakers approved June 30. 
    California followed New Jersey's lead two weeks later by qualifying Proposition 71, a November ballot measure asking voters to endorse the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, a $3 billion plan that would, among other things, disperse an average of $295 million in grants over 10 years to fund ESCR at state universities and advanced medical research facilities. The money would come from the sale of general obligation bonds and be backed by the cash-strapped state's general fund. The act would also embed the right to conduct ESCR into the state constitution. 
    While advancing medical science is one goal, there is also a financial incentive for each state to use public funds to build state-of-the-art ESCR centers. In his announcement, McGreevey specifically noted that the state's biotech industry generates $1 billion annually, and that such research facilities "will augment the presence of our industry leaders, attract new companies to a critical sector of our state's economy and promote a forward-looking agenda to develop new medicines and therapies." 
    "The economics of this was clearly a part of our thinking," says McGreevey spokesperson Micah Rasmussen. "New Jersey has a strong economy in part because of its research and pharmaceutical industry. A stem cell research center is a natural fit." 
    Which means that, successful in finding cures or not, ESCR is big business. McGreevey also says he expects New Jersey's $11.5 million in seed money to attract more than $20 million in additional public and private funding over the next five years.
    Californians for Stem Cell Research and Cures, the group who gathered the signatures for the California initiative, also sees the growth of ESCR as a financial windfall for the state. The group sponsored a report by a Stanford University group that estimates the initiative will generate $70 million in new tax revenue in its first five years, a figure far in excess of the $56 million in debt service they project to be incurred from the sale of state bonds over that time.
    Such numbers have caught the eye of the state's money managers, including California Controller Steve Westly (D) and Treasurer Phil Angelides (D). Although both have been careful to praise ESCR's medical potential, each also cites the fiscal potential of having a cutting edge stem cell research program in the state. Angelides called the measure a "win-win for California, funding research into debilitating diseases while investing into the California economy to create thousands of new jobs." Westly said that if the measure does result in research that leads to cures for ailments like cancer, it could eventually result in a substantial reduction in the state's $118 billion annual health care costs and could also "help generate new state revenues from patents and royalties." 
    Not all the numbers are so rosy. The state Legislative Analysts' Office says the total cost of the principal and interest on the bonds over the 30-year payback period would total $6 billion. And while the analysis from Californians for Stem Cell Research and Cures shows anticipated tax revenues superceding interest on the bonds in the first five years, it also indicates future revenues would only cover 14% of bond debt interest after that, leaving the general fund to support the rest. 
    Some California medical professionals say those numbers are not acceptable. Dr. H. Rex Greene, an oncologist and medical director for the Dorothy E. Schneider Cancer Center in San Mateo, says ESCR is too unproven to risk adding billions more in bond debt so soon after the state was forced to sell $15 billion in bonds in order to restructure its enormous budget deficit. 
    "I am in favor of stem cell research, but anyone speaking in favor of this initiative must not have read it," says Greene, who is a spokesperson for a group of medical professionals called Doctors, Patients and Taxpayers for Fiscal Responsibility that is fighting Proposition 71. "This bond measure will add up to $6 billion in taxpayer indebtedness at a time when our healthcare infrastructure, among many other things, is in serious trouble."
    Greene says it will be decades before any real medicines from ESCR could be on the market, and that in the meantime it will be researchers who benefit the most. 
    "The people behind this proposal are presuming that [ESCR] is the highest priority of taxpayers to put all of this money into what is really a tiny sliver of the spectrum of stem cell research," Greene says. He also says it is telling that both Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and former First Lady Nancy Reagan, strong proponents of stem cell research, have not yet come out in support of Proposition 71. 
    Proposition 71's backers, however, are not deterred by such criticism. 
    "California is the only state that can feasiblely do something this big," says Fiona Hutton, spokesperson for Californians for Stem Cell Research and Cures. "No state is as poised to take on this issue as we are."
    That might be necessary, as Rasmussen has made it clear that "It is definitely part of [Gov. McGreevey's] thinking to draw the top scientists to New Jersey," Rasmussen says. 
    Those words are encouraging to Dr. Wise Young, Founding Director for the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University and one of the two men tabbed to run the state's planned ESCR center. Young notes that after McGreevey authorized the center's funding, research facilities at Harvard, Stanford and Berkeley all announced plans to begin or enhance their own stem cell programs.
    "The number of scientists in the world who actually have the knowledge and training in this field is very, very small," he says. "We are also not just competing with other facilities here in the United States. There is great competition for scientific minds from England, Australia and Asia. If we are going to keep this in New Jersey, and in the U.S. for that matter, we need to have this kind of facility."
    That kind of competitive urgency rankles Greene, who argues that states have far more pressing needs than funding ESCR with public money.
    "California has 7 million uninsured people, and yet these guys have the unmitigated gall to want to put $6 billion more in debt on the taxpayers," he says. "If that's how states are going to address this, then maybe the ultimate decision [on ESCR] should not be at the state level." 
 

-- By RICH EHISEN

Next Issue: ESCR's moral and scientific dilemma.

TOP OF PAGE

Budget & taxes

BLAGOJEVICH RUFFLING IL FEATHERS: ILLINOIS Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) met with legislators from his own party last week in an effort to ease tensions that have arisen over his strong-arm approach to passing the state's budget. Blagojevich has publicly criticized the caucus and individual lawmakers in recent weeks for supporting House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) in his ongoing budget standoff with the governor, referring to one representative in a radio interview as a "wallflower of Madigan." It's not the first time the governor has launched such attacks on lawmakers; last year he referred to the General Assembly as "drunken sailors" on a spending binge. Blagojevich has also been accused of authorizing the circulation of flyers a couple of weeks ago near the Chicago home of a black legislator that refer to her as one of "Madigan's monkeys." The governor responded to questions about that incident and his public comments in a rare three-hour session with more than 50 House Democrats. He thought the meeting went well, telling reporters afterward it was a "good meeting and a necessary meeting," but the governor's fellow Democrats weren't quite as enthusiastic. One representative commented, "After this meeting, the truth is he hardened hearts." The powwow failed to prevent the state from ending its fiscal year July 1 without a budget and both sides ended the week still haggling over an interim plan to keep basic government services operating while budget negotiations continue. (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, QUAD CITY TIMES, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER [SPRINGFIELD])

APPEALS COURT DENIES NV TAX CASE: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rehear a case regarding a ruling by the NEVADA Supreme Court that set aside the two-thirds legislative majority required to raise taxes. During a protracted battle over a proposed tax hike last year, Nevada lawmakers had sought and obtained the controversial ruling from the state's highest court, which stated that education funding was a higher priority than the constitution's two-thirds vote requirement. That decision prompted a group of legislators and businessmen to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court -- which was rejected in March -- and to seek an injunction in federal district court to prevent the Legislature from trying to use a simple majority to pass taxes in the future. But the federal court ruled the issue was moot because, following the Nevada Supreme Court's ruling, lawmakers had managed to pass the tax by the constitutionally-mandated two-thirds majority. The group appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court in April, but was rejected, and its request for a rehearing was denied two weeks ago. The group's attorney, John Eastman, said that "pretty much does it" for the case unless lawmakers try to pass a tax increase by simple majority next year. (NEVADA APPEAL [CARSON CITY], LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL) 

BUDGETS IN BRIEF: A Southern CALIFORNIA Indian tribe has filed a motion in federal court for a temporary restraining order to block the gambling compacts Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed with five other tribes two weeks ago. The Rincon Luiseno Band of Indians contends that the agreements, which will allow the five tribes to install as many slot machines as they wish, will divert business away from smaller casinos run by tribes that lack the resources to expand (SACRAMENTO BEE). * MICHIGAN Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) signed legislation last week to improve the collection of sales and use taxes on Internet and catalog purchases. The law will allow Michigan to enter the multi-state Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which is designed to encourage businesses to voluntarily collect out-of-state taxes by streamlining the tax codes of the participating states (ASSOCIATED PRESS, ANN ARBOR NEWS). * KENTUCKY Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) issued a spending plan last week to fund state services through Sept. 30 in the absence of a budget approved by the Legislature. A judge is reviewing the plan to determine whether it is constitutional (COURIER-JOURNAL [LOUISVILLE]). * Prompted by higher revenues from the state's improving economy, IOWA Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) has repealed 10% of the across-the-board budget cuts he ordered last October. The governor said that while uncertainty remains over how strong revenues will actually be, "we're taking a prudent approach here by restoring some, but not all of the money that was cut" (DES MOINES REGISTER). * WASHINGTON anti-tax activist Tim Eyman filed petitions with the Secretary of State's Office last Monday for his Initiative 892. The measure, which is expected to generate an intense battle this fall, would dramatically expand slot machine gambling in the state and use the additional revenue to lower property taxes (ASSOCIATED PRESS, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, SPOKESMAN-REVIEW [SPOKANE]). 
 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

TOP OF PAGE

NEW CT GOV SWORN IN: Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) was sworn in last Thursday as CONNECTICUT's 87th governor in what aides described as a "modest" ceremony. Although not entirely without pomp and circumstance -- the new governor received a 19-gun Howitzer salute after being administered the oath of office -- Rich Segreto, a spokesman for the state Capitol police, likened the tone of the event to that of a "second marriage." That analogy is particularly appropriate given how the "first marriage" ended: with John G. Rowland (R) resigning under the impending threat of impeachment. 
Two days before her inauguration, Rell said she would be hiring veteran ethics lawyer Rachel S. Rubin as special counsel to the governor's office. Rubin has served as an attorney for the State Ethics Commission for the last 13 years and recently testified as an expert witness during the impeachment hearings. Rubin's hiring was given special prominence by Rell; the statement announcing her selection was twice as long as those announcing the hiring of her chief of staff and press secretary. Rell said, "The new position of special counsel calls attention to the fact that ethics in government will be a major focus of my administration. My first and most important responsibility as governor will be to restore confidence, trust and integrity in our state government."

In related news, the Legislature's impeachment committee brought its inquiry to an anticlimactic end last week, releasing a report on its five-month investigation. The 38-page report does not offer any conclusions about whether Rowland had committed impeachable offenses, but committee members believe the report shows how serious the process was and that it might serve as a deterrent against official misconduct in the future. 

"I think the practical lesson of how easy it is to get caught ought to be an enduring lesson," said one committee member. 

Also last week, James Mintz, the chief investigator for the House impeachment committee, and Steven F. Reich, the panel's legal counsel, gave their first interviews about the inquiry. They described their difficulties dealing with federal authorities, who had been investigating the Rowland administration for 18 months before the House authorized its inquiry in January. "They gave us zip," Mintz said of the feds. But they praised the attorney general's office, which they said did share information with them. 

Reich related how his experience with the Clinton impeachment -- during which he defended the former president -- influenced his approach to the Rowland investigation. He said the Clinton impeachment was "dysfunctional largely because of how partisan it was. I was going to do everything I could not to repeat that." Speaker Moira K Lyons (D) helped considerably in that effort by creating a bipartisan impeachment committee, despite the fact that Democrats controlled both houses of the Legislature. 

Reich said he'd also opposed the unrestricted investigation of the Clinton administration by special prosecutor Kenneth Starr. "I was very sensitive that we were not a roving investigation into corruption in Connecticut," a view which he and Mintz clashed over at times, but which ultimately led to an investigation that focused only on transactions that could be directly linked to Rowland. 
On a lighter note, the two talked about the unorthodox interviews they had conducted at a University of Connecticut victory parade and a Chuck E. Cheese, and of the loyalty displayed by members of Rowland's security detail, who vanished as soon as word got out that they were going to be questioned. "From that moment on, those troopers were in the wind. We never spoke to them. They were never around. Those guys know how to duck an investigator." 

Finally, when Reich was asked whether or not he would have recommended that Rowland be impeached. He smiled and said the co-chairmen of the impeachment committee had asked him not to offer any conclusions. "I am going to honor what the chairmen asked," he said. (NEW HAVEN REGISTER, BOSTON GLOBE, HARTFORD COURANT) 

GA'S SIZZLING SUMMER PRIMARY: GEORGIA's legislative primary election scheduled for later this month is shaping up to be quite a show, thanks in part to new district maps handed down by a federal court in the spring. Hundreds of seats in the General Assembly are up for grabs this year and with many districts leaning heavily either Democratic or Republican, the winners of the July 20 contest are likely to go on to victory in November. Among the most closely-watched races is the one for a Senate seat in the northern suburbs of Atlanta that will determine whether the chamber's current boss, Senate Leader Bill Stephens (R), is going to keep his job. As a result of the new court-drawn map, Stephens has been placed in the same district as another Republican, Sen. Lauren "Bubba" McDonald, who happens to be a recent convert to the GOP. The prospect of a Democrat-turned-Republican ousting the Senate's leader is somewhat ironic, given that party-switchers helped the Republicans take control of the chamber in 2002. Other interesting races in the upcoming primary include one between a man seeking to become the first Asian and openly gay member of the Legislature and one of the most liberal Democrats in the House; a bitter fight between a prominent Democratic lawmaker generally considered to be the major roadblock to enacting malpractice damage caps and a well-funded doctor's wife; and a House contest that includes three candidates in their 20s. (MACON TELEGRAPH)

SINE DIE: If KANSAS' 2004 session is remembered at all, it will probably be recalled as a failure. Lawmakers were unable to resolve the session's key issue, school funding, despite the threat of cuts in many districts hanging over them. Some observers blame that failure on Senate President Dave Kerr (R) and House Speaker Doug Mays (R). The two men typically broker deals on major issues, but lost control over this one in their respective chambers: Mays to a bipartisan coalition and Kerr to an assortment of Republican cliques, the most vocal of which were conservatives opposed to any tax increase. The school finance issue, along with a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage that passed in the Senate but fell a few votes short in the House, will figure prominently in political campaigns this summer and fall with all 165 legislative seats up for election this year (KANSAS CITY STAR, LAWRENCE JOURNAL WORLD). 

POLITICS IN BRIEF: The WASHINGTON Grange, a farm-based fraternal organization, has submitted petitions for a November ballot initiative on the "top two" primary, which would allow voters to select candidates from any party and send the top two vote-getters for each office on to the general election. The Grange is proposing the top two as a replacement for the blanket primary system it sponsored 70 years ago, which was recently declared unconstitutional by a federal court. The group also intends the initiative as a "People's Choice" alternative to the primary system line item vetoed into law by Gov. Gary Locke (D). That system requires voters to select one party's primary ballot (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER). * A KANSAS-based group that seeks to maintain the separation of church and state plans to send volunteers to church services in the state this month to watch out for campaigning from the pulpit. Several prominent ministers have vowed to rally their congregations to oust lawmakers who recently voted against a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage (ASSOCIATED PRESS, KANSAS CITY STAR). * The Schwarzenegger (R) administration has completed a report recommending hundreds of ways to streamline CALIFORNIA government, but is withholding the report's release to avoid derailing ongoing budget talks. The administration's communication director, Rob Stutzman, said last Monday, "God knows we'll get out of here a lot quicker this week if we don't give legislators something to play with" (SACRAMENTO BEE). * The Ehrlich administration announced it will be evicting the MARYLAND press corps from its basement offices in the State House this month. While administration officials contend the eviction is necessary to renovate the building's plumbing system, some journalists think the move is the product of Ehrlich's uneasy relationship with the media, particularly the state's two largest newspapers, the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun. The State House offices will be unavailable to the press for three years (BALTIMORE SUN). * Activists are pushing to put a measure on OREGON's Nov. 2 ballot reinstating term limits. The state Supreme Court struck down the state's 1992 term-limits law in 2002 on procedural grounds (ASSOCIATED PRESS, STATESMAN JOURNAL [SALEM]). 
 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

TOP OF PAGE

Governors

DOUGLAS HAS BIG EDGE IN RE-ELECTION BID: Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R) didn't make a big deal out of his announcement last week that he would seek a second term. This came as no surprise to Douglas watchers, who have known for months that Douglas was intent on running again. But where he made the announcement -- not in the Capitol, but from a nondescript parking lot outside an electronic component manufacturing company in central Vermont -- was a bit out of the ordinary. Or, at least it would be for most governors. Douglas, on the other hand, has a well-earned reputation for getting out of the Statehouse for any number of Rotary Club breakfasts, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and school visits. Some might even say that the only thing more rare than an event attended by Douglas over the last year and a half is an event not attended by him. 

All of this is old news to Douglas' political opponents, who were not surprised at his choice of an announcement locale. The campaign for Democratic challenger Peter Clavelle has often been critical of Douglas' frequent jaunts outside of Montpelier, saying the governor's habit of crisscrossing the state over his 19 months in office has been little more than an extended re-election campaign. 
Douglas was nonplused by the criticism, saying he chose the company's parking lot because it represents how business has benefitted from policies his administration has enacted during his time in office. He also defends his propensity to travel as merely "doing the people's business." Observers say it all adds up to a distinct advantage for Douglas, particularly in areas where Clavelle's name recognition is already weak. Douglas is doing his best to keep it that way by limiting the number of debates he will have with Clavelle. He also has history on his side -- it has been more than 40 years since Vermont rejected an incumbent governor. (BURLINGTON FREE PRESS, RUTLAND HERALD)

MURKOWSKI WANTS BETTER PR: ALASKA Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) thinks his administration's public image is in need of an upgrade. Last week the governor replaced his communications director and will soon have a new press secretary as well.  Murkowski also ordered all 14 of his departments to hire communications specialists, although he left it to those individual agencies to decide how to go about fitting the positions into their budgets. Most either changed the title or added new duties to current employees to adhere to the mandate. The changes were spurred by a report last October that concluded Murkowski had poll numbers similar to CALIFORNIA Gov., Gray Davis (D), who had just been recalled by voters. The report also concluded that the administration "has not engaged Alaskans. The print and electronic media are silent on the good works. There is never a second story on anything good. Therefore [the administration] need(s) to go to the public directly." The new communications folks will be responsible for getting that news to the public, and to ensure Murkowski and other administration officials are briefed on questions reporters will presumably ask. (ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS)

JANKLOW CLAIMS NO SPECIAL TREATMENT IN NUMEROUS STOPS: A recent report from the SOUTH DAKOTA Highway Patrol shows that former Gov. Bill Janklow (R) was stopped 16 times for speeding by state troopers without being given a citation during his last term as governor. The report also indicated more than 150 inquiries about Janklow's vehicle by law enforcement agencies in that time. The checks came both in South Dakota and other states. Inquiries can be made for any reason. Most of the officers who stopped him said they did not cite Janklow either out of respect for the office, belief he had the authority to do what he was doing, or because they feared repercussions for giving him a ticket. Janklow denied any special treatment, saying "I have never in my life said to a law enforcement officer or suggested to them that I not get a ticket." Janklow was forced to resign from Congress in January after being convicted of second-degree manslaughter, speeding, running a stop sign and reckless driving in an accident that killed a motorcyclist. (RAPID CITY JOURNAL, ARGUS LEADER [SIOUX FALLS]) 

GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: The HAWAII Supreme Court ruled that former Gov. Ben Cayetano (D) met a constitutionally required time requirement in notifying lawmakers of his intention to veto 13 bills during the 2002 session. Sen. Colleen Hanabasu (D) had filed suit, claiming that Cayetano had given the Aloha State Legislature only nine days and a few hours' notice of his plans instead of the full 10 days required by law (HONOLULU STAR BULLETIN). * A man who served as campaign treasurer for MINNESOTA Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) has been charged with swindling Gopher State homeowners in a complicated home mortgage scam. Businessman Ron Esau served as Pawlenty's campaign treasurer during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign (MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE). * MISSISSIPPI Gov. Haley Barbour (R) called a special Legislative session last week to deal with the continuing fallout from the impending closure of the Magnolia State's Dept. of Human Services. Barbour also delayed until Sept. 15 plans to remove 65,000 people from the state's Medicaid plan (CLARION-LEDGER [JACKSON]). 
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

TOP OF PAGE

Pondering stem cell research

The controversy over stem cell research has touched almost every statehouse in the country (See SNCJ Spotlight). More than 30 bills that address some form of stem cell research are currently under consideration at the state level, and Congress is reviewing six more. The map below shows which states have stem cell bills pending in the Legislature.  Note: Of the states listed below, almost half are out of regular session for 2004. 

 TOP OF PAGE

Hot issues

BUSINESS: A WISCONSIN court rolls back the maximum fine for telemarketers who violate the Badger State's "do not call" list. The ruling reduces the fine limit from $10,000 down to $100 per violation (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL). * The CALIFORNIA Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee approves a bill that would allow investor-owned utilities to build and operate power plants. The measure would also guarantee those utilities could recover at least their initial construction costs from their customers. It faces a final committee vote before going before the full Senate (LOS ANGELES TIMES). * RHODE ISLAND Gov. Don Carcieri (R) signs legislation that allows Ocean State liquor stores to sell alcohol on Sunday. It is the first time in state history liquor sales will be allowed on Sunday (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL). * Back in CALIFORNIA, a Senate committee approves AB 2598, a bill that would ban the Golden State's 36,000 homeowners associations from foreclosing on residents for unpaid assessments that total less than $2,500. The bill stems from the case of an association that sold the $285,000 home of a retired couple for $70,000 over a $120 late payment on association dues. It goes to the full Senate (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS). * MISSOURI Gov. Bob Holden (D) signs HB 841, which requires that state agencies analyze how proposed rule changes will affect small businesses before those changes can be issued (JEFFERSON CITY NEWS TRIBUNE). 

CRIME & PUNISHMENT: The MAINE Supreme Judicial Court rules that evidence in a 10-year-old rape case is subject to DNA analysis. The ruling is expected to open the door to testing in similar cases (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD). * The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court rules that demanding certain convicts to register as sex offenders when they are released from custody is not a form of punishment. The decision overturns a 1983 ruling that such a registration requirement was cruel and unusual (CONTRA COSTA TIMES). * The DELAWARE House approves a bill that extends whistle-blower protection to private sector employees. The approval comes just one week after it had rejected similar legislation. The bill limits employee protection to cases of threats to public health, safety and the environment, or to substantial financial mismanagement. It heads to the Senate (NEWS JOURNAL [NEW CASTLE-WILMINGTON]). * LOUISIANA Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) signs HB 690, which makes it a crime to supply a convicted felon with a firearm (NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE). 

EDUCATION: The COLORADO Supreme Court upholds a lower court's ruling that says the Centennial State's new public school voucher system is unconstitutional. The plan required school districts to turn over a portion of locally raised funds to the private schools their former students transferred into (DENVER POST). * LOUISIANA Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) signs HB 1713, which erases more than a dozen "Jim Crow" laws dating back to the 1950s. These laws allowed the governor to order the closure of public schools in order to avoid integration and to have teachers fired for teaching at desegregated schools (NEW ORLEANS TIMES PICAYUNE). 

ENVIRONMENT: The CONNECTICUT attorney general officially asks cereal-maker Kellog's to stop selling boxes of Rice Krispies that feature battery-powered Spiderman novelty toys that have mercury in the battery. The cereal boxes in question come with a warning to consumers about the mercury contained in the toys. Constitution State law, however, prohibits selling any product that contains mercury (NEW HAVEN REGISTER). 

HEALTH: The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to decide whether Congress has the authority to prohibit medical marijuana in nine states where voters or the legislature have approved the drug's use for medical reasons. The case stems from a ruling by a CALIFORNIA court that said the federal Controlled Substances Act was "likely unconstitutional." The ruling would affect ALASKA, ARIZONA, COLORADO, HAWAII, MAINE, NEVADA, OREGON and WASHINGTON (SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE, NEW YORK TIMES.) * The DELAWARE House unanimously endorses a bill that prohibits anyone other than a doctor or a dentist from performing a tongue-splitting procedure. The bill also establishes criminal penalties for doctors or dentists who perform a tongue splitting on someone who is drunk, or a minor that does not have written permission from a parent (NEWS JOURNAL [NEW CASTLE-WILMINGTON]). * CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signs legislation that requires people who sell ultrasound images of unborn babies to warn their clients that the procedure is not approved or recommended by the federal Food and Drug Administration (STOCKTON RECORD). 

SOCIAL POLICY: A CALIFORNIA Senate panel endorses legislation that would ban smoking on state beaches. The bill would allow local governments to decide for themselves if they want to adopt the ban or not. It moves to another committee (SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE). * MISSOURI Gov. Bob Holden (D) signs a bill that requires the state Supreme Court to develop procedures for conducting a mandatory hearing within three days of a child being removed from a Show Me State foster home (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH). * ALASKA Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) signs legislation that establishes the "five wishes" approach to end-of-life care. The bill consolidates such provisions as advance health care directives, organ donation and do-not-resuscitate orders into one statute (JUNEAU EMPIRE). * RHODE ISLAND Gov. Don Carcieri (R) signs legislation that bars smoking in most public places. Certain private clubs and the state's two major gambling casinos are exempt (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL). 

POTPOURRI: Safety officials in TENNESSEE roll out new driving certificates for temporary and illegal immigrants. The Volunteer State becomes the first in the nation to issue such licenses, which are not valid for use as identification (TENNESSEAN [NASHVILLE]). * CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) cancels the Golden State DMV's $4 "convenience fee" for motorists who use a credit card to register their cars online. The action is the first step in a series of changes meant to rev up enthusiasm among drivers for using the Internet to conduct DMV business. The agency says that currently only about a million of the state's 31 million vehicles are registered online (SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE). 
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

TOP OF PAGE

Once around the statehouse lightly

LITTLE GUY LOOPHOLE. Until last week, one day of work as a janitor would increase your retirement pay by as much as $2,000 a month. How? As The Associated Press reports, teachers could use a loophole in the law to collect Social Security benefits if, before retiring, they spent their last day of work in a job covered by Social Security. Not every teacher in the country qualifies -- just those who never paid into Social Security but participated in a state pension fund instead. Congress closed the loophole in February, requiring teachers to work five full years in a job that pays into Social Security, with the new requirement taking affect last week. As a result, the state of TEXAS has seen 35% more teachers retire this year than last year. 

BIG GUY LOOPHOLE. If teachers around the country can reap the benefits of a good loophole by spending only one day at some other job, pity the poor yacht buyer from CALIFORNIA. As noted in the Los Angeles Times, folks who spend more than $400,000 on an adult toy -- such as a yacht or airplane -- have to spend three whole months waiting to collect on their loophole. That's how long the toy must spend outside of California for the buyer to avoid paying state sales tax of 8%. Yacht buyers are advised to moor their new boats in Mexico (where they also are advised to have the electronics improved by low-rate Mexican labor) for 90 days before bringing the craft home to its permanent location. Cost to the cash-strapped state? $55 million a year in lost sales taxes. Democrats want to close the loophole. Republicans, fearing loss of boating industry jobs, want to retain the loophole. Oh, stop snickering.

DEMOCRATS' (NEW) DILEMMA. A card-carrying Democrat never met a picket line he or she didn't like. Which poses something of a problem for Democrats planning to attend this summer's national convention in MASSACHUSETTS. Seems the Boston police union is picketing every venue in sight. According to the Boston Herald, Sen. John Kerry refused to cross just such a picket line last week to address the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In exchange, the union agreed not to picket the convention site itself, but it gave no such guarantee for the myriad of parties and events set to swirl around the convention. So, delegates will likely have to chose between attending parties or honoring the picket line.

WILD BLUE YONDER. The governor says he can't do his job without a plane. The Legislature says that it's unconscionable to use Homeland Security funds to by a jet that is partly used for the governor's travel. But ALASKA chief exec Frank Murkowski is sticking to his plan to spend $2 million to replace one of the state's prop planes with a jet -- a jet that spends about 40% of its air time ferrying the governor around the land of the midnight sun. Legislators are miffed, The Associated Press reports, and public criticism is mounting. Meanwhile, the federal government has yet to approve Murkowski's request. 

TRUE TO HIS WORD. Ray Sherman has a problem. The 41-year-old MINNESOTA resident likes to combine two of his favorite activities -- drinking and driving. According to The Associated Press, Sherman was arrested last week for drunk driving -- for the 23rd time in the past 20 years. When nabbed for the 22nd time back in 2002, Sherman refused rehab treatment and vowed to keep on tootin'. After his recent arrest, he promised "next time" to bash up a few squad cars that might pursue him. Unfortunately for Sherman, the most recent arrest took place near Minneapolis, where the county attorney is one Amy Klobuchar. Seems Klobuchar testified not long ago before the Legislature, urging much tougher sentences for repeat offenders. The case she cited in her testimony? You guessed it -- the saga of Ray Sherman. If Klobuchar has her way, Sherman won't get to make good on his latest promise for at least five years. 
 
 
 

-- By A.G. BLOCK

TOP OF PAGE

Executive Editor: A.G. Block
Associate Editors: Rich Ehisen, Korey Clark
Correspondents: Richard Cox (CA), Steve Karas (CA), 
Bruce McKeeman (CA), Kelli Harvell (FL), 
Linda Mendenhall (IL), Lauren King (MA) 
and Troy Cassel (PA)
Design: Richard Hansen, Heather Conway

Copyright 2004 State Net
ISSN: 1521-8449