Bridge collapse sends shockwaves through nation's capitals
 
The collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis two weeks ago is undoubtedly one of the main things on the minds of MINNESOTA Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and the state's lawmakers at the moment. But concern over the tragedy — and the larger issues it raises — is certainly not confined to St. Paul.
 
In the days following the disaster, news reports revealed that the I-35W bridge was not only flawed in its design and had been classified by government inspectors as "structurally deficient," but also that hundreds of other bridges across the U.S. were of similar design, that tens of thousands of bridges across the country — about a quarter of the total — are similarly-classified and that a third of the nation's major roads are considered to be in poor condition. Consequently, the I-35W bridge has become a symbol of America's failing infrastructure. 
 
State lawmakers have been aware of that problem for some time and they've been increasingly active in their efforts to deal with it in recent years. This session, for instance, ARKANSAS lawmakers set aside $80 million to repair the state's roads and highways; NEW MEXICO's Legislature allocated $200 million for local and tribal road projects; TEXAS lawmakers approved $700 million over the next two years for transportation projects; MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Deval Patrick (D) unveiled a plan last week to spend $12 billion over five years on, among other things, road and bridge construction projects; and CALIFORNIA voters authorized $20 billion in bonds to pay for road repairs and other transportation improvements. 
 
Still, with the cost of fixing roads and bridges around the country that are already badly in need of repair estimated at $461 billion and the tab for a national strategic plan to address congestion and other transportation issues pegged by the American Council of Civil Engineering at $1.7 trillion, the states' efforts will barely make a dent. "We still barely scratched the surface," said CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) communications director Adam Mendelsohn. "The governor is very concerned about the lack of attention that the federal government has given to infrastructure." 
 
Congress actually approved a $286-billion, six-year transportation funding bill in 2005. But critics are quick to point out its shortcomings, starting with the fact that it contained more than 6,000 earmarks, including the $223 million "Bridge to Nowhere" in rural ALASKA (which was ultimately stricken from the bill). U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NEW YORK) also pointed out that such earmarks generally favor new construction over maintenance. "The bottom line," he said, "is that routine but important things like maintenance always get shortchanged because it's nice for somebody to cut a ribbon for a new structure." 
 
Some members of Congress had actually pushed for a larger sum — $375 billion — that they proposed to fund by indexing the federal excise tax on gasoline, which has stood at 18.4 cents per gallon since Congress set it there in 1993. But President Bush opposed that proposal, calling it a tax hike. 
 
A tax hike, however, may bejust what Congress seeks now. "We have to, as a Congress, grasp this problem. And yes, I would even suggest, fund this problem with a tax," said U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-ALASKA), former House Transportation Committee chairman. "May the sky not fall on me." And Frank Moretti, of the national transportation research group TRIP, suggested that opposing higher gasoline taxes may now be politically untenable. The tragedy in Minneapolis "is going to create a fundamental shift," he said. People would rather pay higher taxes "than have to face the consequences of a crumbling infrastructure." 
 
There appears to be some shifting in the states as well. MINNESOTA's Gov. Pawlenty, who vetoed gas tax increases this year and in 2005, said that while he still doesn't "particularly like" the idea, he believes the extraordinary costs associated with the bridge collapse and the state's other transportation needs now make a gas tax increase necessary. 
 
But others seem less eager to embrace higher taxes as the answer to their state's infrastructure woes. OKLAHOMA Senate Floor Leader Owen Laughlin (R), for one, said, "We have plenty of money already to address fixing our roads and bridges. It's just a matter of priorities in how we want to spend it." Laughlin said he believes the MN bridge collapse will light a fire under lawmakers to act, but not by automatically raising taxes. He thinks it will instead put pressure on them to spend less on social programs and more on infrastructure repairs and new building. "The question we have to ask is do we want to fix our roads and bridges or do we want to spend more money on some new social program?" he said. 
 
A Democratic lawmaker from NEVADA who wished to remain anonymous, meanwhile, said she doubted that any tax increase would get past her state's Republican governor, Jim Gibbons. "We don't even fund what we need now, so I can't see anything getting through even with what happened in Minnesota," she said. 
 
(NEW YORK TIMES, GRAND FORKS HERALD, PIONEER PRESS [ST. PAUL], BOSTON GLOBE, STATE NET) 
 
State Net Capitol Journal Editor Rich Ehisen contributed to this story from the NCSL annual conference in Boston.

States come down on shady foreclosure consultants
 
Homeowners who find themselves facing foreclosure are often desperate to find any help to avoid losing their home. Often, financially-strapped homeowners will turn to a foreclosure consultant, a person or company that offers to serve as an intermediary between the property owner and the lender, usually with the promise that the homeowner can save the property. But while such consultants can be legitimate, many are not. Unscrupulous consultants often charge distressed homeowners exorbitant fees for services they never deliver, or trick homeowners into signing over the title to the residence. In 2007, CONNECTICUT and INDIANA became the latest of a dozen states to adopt measures to combat foreclosure scams, primarily by forcing consultants to detail in writing what services they will provide and at what charge. Another measure in NEVADA imposes large fines and even jail time on anyone who commits fraud when buying a foreclosure property.

STATE FISCAL HEALTH IN DECLINE: Last week, the National Conference of State Legislatures released its preliminary report on state financial health for the 2007 fiscal year. And while the prognosis wasn't exactly bad, it wasn't exactly good either. 
 
The aggregate year-end balance for the 45 states that provided data (CALIFORNIA, ILLINOIS, MICHIGAN, NORTH CAROLINA and WISCONSIN had not passed budgets at the time the report was written) was a solid $54.1 billion. But that figure represents a 7 percent decline from FY 2006. And it is expected to drop again next year, to $41 billion. 
 
Likewise, revenues for the 45 reporting states were up 4.3 percent over last year, and a full percentage point better than the 3.3 percent growth that had been predicted. And revenues for those states are expected to grow 2.6 percent in FY 2008. But expenditures, for education, Medicaid and infrastructure projects, among other things, are projected to increase by 5.4 percent next year. 
 
As NCSL President and TEXAS Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D) put it, "State budgets were strong through FY 2007. But we're now starting to see a downward trend. This is a cause for concern as we think about FY 2008 and beyond." Continuing her good news-bad news theme, Van de Putte added, "State legislators have been prudent with the unexpected revenues that came through these past few years. They have given programs and projects one-time funding infusions and have raised reserve levels. As a result, states are better positioned to address state budget challenges as revenue growth slows." (NCSL.ORG) 
 
VA TRANSPORTATION PLAN UNDER LEGAL FIRE: The landmark transportation legislation approved by VIRGINIA's Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and the Republican-controlled General Assembly four months ago is now being challenged in the state's courts. Two weeks ago, a pair of general district court judges — in Richmond and Henrico County — ruled that the fees for serious driving offenses included in the bill were unconstitutional because they only applied to VIRGINIA residents. And last week a group of anti-tax activists and prominent conservatives, including Del. Robert G. Marshall (R), asked a circuit court judge in Richmond to void the entire plan. The group's lawsuit alleges that on top of the driving fee issue, the plan, among other things, authorizes $3 billion in bonds without voter approval and was passed via omnibus legislation, which is prohibited under the state Constitution. (WASHINGTON POST)

COURT OKAYS VOTE-SWAP WEB SITES: In October of 2000, a CALIFORNIA man named William Cody launched a Web site that allowed voters in different states to trade votes. The site was intended to encourage supporters of Green Party candidate Ralph Nader who resided in states where Al Gore and George Bush were neck-and-neck, like OREGON, to swap their votes with Gore supporters in states where Gore had little chance of winning, such as TEXAS. But Cody shut down the site — www.voteswap2000.com — after just four days because CALIFORNIA's secretary of state at the time, Republican Bill Jones, threatened to prosecute him for vote buying. 
 
Last week, however, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that Jones had violated the First Amendment when he ordered Cody to shut down his site. "Although CALIFORNIA certainly has valid interests in preventing election fraud and corruption, and perhaps in avoiding the subversion of the Electoral College, these interests did not justify the complete disabling of the vote-swapping mechanisms," the court decreed. 
 
Brenda Wright, an attorney for the National Voting Rights Institute who argued the case, remarked that with the decision coming seven years after the 2000 vote and a year before the 2008 election, "I don't know if it's too late or just in time." (ASSOCIATED PRESS, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS) 
 
AT THE POLLS: The chairman of MISSISSIPPI's Senate Finance Committee, Tommy Robertson (R), was defeated in last Tuesday's Republican primary by political newcomer Michael Watson, an attorney from Pascagoula. Robertson had been criticized for blocking consideration of a bill this year that would have lowered the grocery tax and raised the cigarette tax. A cadre of other incumbents, however, survived their primary challenges, including House Speaker Billy McCoy (D), who, according to unofficial returns, garnered 74 percent of the vote in his District 3 race against Truman Lambert (ASSOCIATED PRESS, WMC-TV [MEMPHIS]). 
 
POLITICS IN BRIEF: SOUTH CAROLINA's Republican Party announced last week that it will hold its 2008 primary on Jan. 19 instead of Feb. 2, as previously scheduled. The state's GOP chairman Katon Dawson said the move was prompted by FLORIDA's decision to shift its primary from Feb. 5 to Jan. 29. Some observers say the Palmetto State's decision is likely to push the NEW HAMPSHIRE primary and IOWA caucuses at least to early January (NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST). • MINNESOTA Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said last week that if he calls lawmakers back to St. Paul for a special session, he wants the agenda to be limited to the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, although he conceded that he'd be willing to add a few other things "of a consensus nature." Both the governor and legislative leaders said the session would not be convened until after Labor Day (Sept. 3) (PIONEER PRESS [ST. PAUL]). • For the first time in more than a decade, there will be no statewide measures on COLORADO's November ballot this year. COLORADO Secretary of State Mike Coffman said there were no petitions submitted by last Monday's deadline (DENVER POST).

WESTERN GOVS HOT OVER FIRES: It has been a brutal fire season in the West, and the massive blazes have clearly got several Western governors hot under the collar. At the heart of their angst is a feeling that federal officials haven't done enough to prevent fires or to respond to them when they happen. But governors are also irked at another foe — cheatgrass, a nonnative weed-like grass they say is the primary fuel for fires that have so far this year burned more than 1 million acres in NEVADA alone. 
 
An invasive plant from the steppes of Russia, cheatgrass has taken up residence on millions of acres of Western grazing land. Along the way, it has pushed out more fire-resistant native species like bunch grasses and sagebrush. Its seeds mature quickly into a thick layer of grass that, when dry, is easily sparked into fire by lightning, a careless spark or even a car muffler. Cheatgrass also easily regenerates itself, making the problem an annual event.  
 
Last week, Republican governors Jon Huntsman of UTAH, Jim Gibbons of NEVADA and Butch Otter of IDAHO were joined by Democrat Gov. Dave Freudenthal of WYOMING in agreeing to work on a pilot project that will include planting different grasses in hopes of preventing cheatgrass from gaining an even greater foothold in their states. Their program will additionally include new cross-border pacts to share resources and gear when fires occur. Gibbons described the project as "declaring war on cheatgrass," noting that "It's more than just burning grass out there — it's an economy at risk, it's state resources that are at risk, it's the environment that's at risk." 
 
But the quartet faces a significant problem in their quest — the seeds they want to plant to replace the cheatgrass are in very short supply, perhaps no more than around 80,000 acres worth. The group has pledged to work together to round up additional seeds, possibly by organizing 500 volunteers to find and collect them from native seedbeds across the four states.  
 
The governors could also face opposition from environmental groups who are afraid the reseeding plans will concentrate on nonnative grasses like crested wheatgrass that are favored by the livestock industry instead of true native species such as bottlebrush squirreltail or sagebrush. Jon Marvel, director of Western Watersheds Project, a group that opposes cattle grazing on public lands, said overgrazing actually contributes to the spread of cheatgrass. "We mustn't confuse providing forage for cattle with restoring native sage-steppe vegetation," Marvel said. (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, IDAHO STATESMAN)  
 
PATRICK UNVEILS INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN: MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Deval Patrick (D) last week unveiled an ambitious five-year plan to spend $12 billion on a host of public works, including higher education facilities, roads, bridges, transportation and housing projects. Patrick did not specifically address how the state will come up with the money, but is expected to seek permission from Bay State lawmakers to float bonds to fund the projects. Patrick recently raised the amount the state can borrow annually from $1.25 billion to $1.5 billion and said he would allow it to rise to $2 billion by 2012. Patrick said the wide scope of the program was necessary to reverse "decades of neglect" of the state's infrastructure. (BOSTON GLOBE) 
 
GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: ALASKA Gov. Sarah Palin (R) extended by two months the application deadline for companies seeking to build a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope. The extension was granted after applicants complained that the time frame was not sufficient to gather all the necessary information for the application (FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER). • COLORADO Gov. Bill Ritter (D) has ordered his administration to review how government agencies are implementing the Centennial State's new immigration laws. The order came after a newspaper report claimed most of the new statutes are not being rigorously enforced due to bureaucratic miscues, legislative inaction and lack of funding (DENVER POST). • The attorney for Salt Lake City says that a new ordinance barring protests in front of private homes does not apply to the UTAH Governor's Mansion because it does not meet the statute's definition of a private residence (DESERET MORNING NEWS [SALT LAKE CITY]).

BUSINESS: A federal court strikes down a CALIFORNIA law that bars the selling of violent video games to minors. The court agreed with a video industry lawsuit that claimed the measure violated the First Amendment of the Constitution. Similar measures have also been tossed out in other states, including MICHIGAN and ILLINOIS. Golden State officials say they will appeal (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE). • NEW YORK Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D)) signs legislation dubbed the "Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights," which requires airports to provide passengers who are delayed on planes for three hours or more with water, snacks, and working bathrooms. The measure also creates the Office of Airline Consumer Advocate within the state Consumer Protection Board (NEWSDAY [NEW YORK]). • ILLINOIS Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) signs legislation that bars construction companies from inappropriately classifying workers as independent contractors instead of regular employees, a practice that keeps those workers from receiving benefits such as worker's compensation and unemployment (CHICAGO TRIBUNE). • Still in ILLINOIS, lawmakers approve legislation that would change a current law that prohibits out-of-state wineries from selling more than two cases of wine per year to individual ILLINOIS purchasers. The new bill, HB 429, would establish a uniform 12-case limit on all wineries, do away with a rule that requires the Prairie State to have a special agreement with states in order for the cases to be sold and permits small wineries to directly supply restaurants and liquor stores with wine without making them go through a middleman. The measure goes to Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) for review (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH).  
 
CRIME & PUNISHMENT: In an effort to battle identity theft, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Deval Patrick (D) signs legislation that requires Bay State businesses and government agencies to notify consumers if their personal information, such as social security and license numbers, have been lost or stolen. The new statute also allows consumers to freeze access to their credit reports and caps the fees to place, lift or remove the freeze at $5 (BOSTON GLOBE).  
 
EDUCATION: Citing years of fiscal scandal, NEW JERSEY Gov. Jon Corzine (D) signs legislation that dissolves the state-run Schools Construction Corporation, which was originally set up to kick-start an $8.6 billion court-ordered school building program. The measure will replace the corporation with a new state agency, the NEW JERSEY Schools Development Authority, with expanded powers to control costs and reserve land for schools (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK]). • CALIFORNIA education officials agree to ensure that all Golden State schools have someone available who is trained to assist diabetic children with their medical needs. The new policy, which settles a three-year-old lawsuit, also says schools can't bar children from performing blood-sugar testing or require children with diabetes to attend a particular school (USA TODAY).  
 
ENVIRONMENT: OREGON Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) signs legislation that requires the Beaver State to stop the growth of greenhouse gas emissions by 2010; reduce the emissions 10 percent below 1990 by 2020; and arrive at 75 percent below 1990 levels in 2050 (STATESMAN JOURNAL [SALEM]).  
 
HEALTH & SCIENCE: A MISSOURI judge tosses out a new Show Me State law that would have allowed midwives to deliver babies at home. The court ruled that because the midwifery provision was hidden in a bill that was supposed to be about health insurance, it violated state law restricting statues to a single subject. The bill's author said he will appeal the ruling (KANSAS CITY STAR).  
 
IMMIGRATION: NEW JERSEY Gov. Jon Corzine (D) forms a 27-member blue-ribbon advisory panel to study ways to better integrate foreign born residents into Garden State society. The panel is expected to make recommendations on education, citizenship status, civil rights, fair housing, health care, language proficiency and job training (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK]).

BUT CAN I COUNT ON YOUR VOTE? Protracted budget brouhahas rarely make politicians popular with the masses. Such is apparently the case in ILLINOIS, where the ongoing budget stalemate is threatening to shut down the government...and making Gov. Rod Blagojevich a very unpopular person. But while the gov has taken more than his share of bad press over the situation, the Springfield Journal-Register reports that the negative ink has not cost him his sense of humor. Blagojevich told a group of business leaders last week that while he was out jogging, he passed a man who said, "Hey governor, you —!" Blagojevich declined to finish the phrase, but he indicated the word rhymed with "luck." 
 
MAYBE THEY'LL GET OJ INSTEAD: Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has become about as popular as diaper rash since being indicted recently on federal charges of operating an illicit dogfighting operation (actually, is there any other kind?). But as the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports, not everyone wants to take a bite out of Vick these days. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights group, planned to honor Vick at their recent annual meeting in Atlanta. But the idea of honoring Vick, who has had several other celebrated run-ins with the law, at an event meant to pay tribute to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was too much for GEORGIA Sen. Tyrone Brooks. A long-time member of the group, Brooks convinced SCLC leaders to back off of the idea, saying the embattled QB hasn't done anything worthy of special recognition or attention. Well, except from federal prosecutors that is.  
 
A FAILED TEST: VERMONT Sen. William Doyle may have a second career in the works — demolition derby driver. Doyle recently decided to test-drive some new cars at a Montpelier Subaru dealer. As noted by the Rutland Herald, Doyle didn't have his driver's license with him, so he was required to stay on the lot, which has a 10 mph speed limit. All was well and good until he insisted on driving one of the smaller cars. Scrunched into the smaller space, Doyle says he got his feet tangled up in the brake and gas pedal, sending the car careening at an estimated 35-mph across the lot and over some bushes, taking out three other cars along the way. Nobody was hurt, although Doyle said his pride has been severely damaged.  
 
MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST PASS THE HAT: The National Conference of State Legislatures has been holding an annual meeting for decades. And while issues and venues change every year, one theme remains a constant — folks from the host city imploring attendees to go out into the community and spend, spend, spend. This year's soiree in Boston was no different, with House Speakeer Salvatore Dimasi particularly and repeatedly noting the wealth of great Italian restaurants in the city's North End — which he just happens to represent.  
 
AND A FINAL NOTE: Dimasi brings to mind another larger than life figure, former CALIFORNIA Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, who as mayor of San Francisco during an NCSL meeting there several years ago also heartily pushed for folks to leave their hearts and cash in the City by the Bay. But the always flamboyant Brown, the self-described "Ayatollah of the Assembly" during his three decades in the Golden State Legislature, added another, deeply personal message to his plea by also passionately urging lawmakers to do away with term limits. During is 15 years as Assembly Speaker, Brown was considered by most observers to be the state's most powerful politician, but as the Washington Post noted a few years ago, term limits — both in the Legislature and the mayor's office — did what none of Brown's opponents ever could: kick Brown out of political office.