Struggling states need more help from the feds
 
Tucked away in an inner passage of the 1,990-page health care bill passed by the House is a $23.5 billion holiday season gift to states to help them meet the growing costs of Medicaid, which provides medical coverage for the poor. This little-noticed provision is in reality a hidden federal stimulus, much welcome to states, as they confront the looming budget gaps of 2010 and beyond.
 
State governments are less happy with other provisions of the bill, but they will take what they can get from Washington as revenues fall in tandem with rising joblessness. Even though the Great Recession is winding down, state revenues typically lag behind, along with unemployment, as they do in any economic recovery. The budget situation confronting states is "dire," says Corina Eckl, fiscal program director of the National Council of State Legislatures. Her survey of states found that 21 of them are "pessimistic" and most of the rest "concerned" about their fiscal prospects. Only NORTH DAKOTA, with the nation's lowest unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, has an optimistic budget outlook. At the other end of the fiscal spectrum, CALIFORNIA has been informed by Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor that it faces a deficit of $21 billion less than four months after legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) cobbled together a makeshift budget deal. The CALIFORNIA unemployment rate in October was 12.2 percent. Soon after Taylor's announcement, Schwarzenegger predicted another round of budget cuts. 
 
Although the structural problems of CALIFORNIA state government pre-date the Great Recession, many states that were financially stable before the economy turned sour have also been overwhelmed by steep declines in revenues. In FLORIDA, for example, where the unemployment rate is 11 percent, revenues have dropped to 2001 levels. In worst-off MICHIGAN, where the jobless rate was 15.3 percent in October, revenues in 2009 are little more than what they were in 1988. 
 
These dry statistics summarize thousands of stories of human misery even more poignantly reflected in the recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture which found that nearly 50 million Americans — including almost one child in four — struggled last year to get enough to eat. Perhaps the recession's human dimension explains why a bipartisan consensus may quietly be emerging on the need to help the states and in doing so ease the burden on the poorest Americans. Republicans were virtually united in opposing the health care bill (US HB 3962), grandly named the Affordable Health Care for America Act, when it narrowly passed the House. But only one Republican spoke up against the provision that would give states the extra $23.5 billion in Medicaid funds. Because of the lack of GOP opposition, state government lobbyists are hopeful this provision will survive in whatever health care bill emerges from the Senate — and in the House-Senate conference committee that irons out the final legislation for the president's signature. 
 
Even with federal help, the struggle of the states to balance their budgets in 2010 will be difficult. Thirty-nine states already have cut spending, 22 have raised taxes, and 18 have tapped rainy-day funds or other reserves. "All the low-hanging fruit has been plucked," said House Majority Leader Denise Merrill (R) of CONNECTICUT at a conference of state legislative leaders earlier this month. This plucking comes at a cost, for tax increases decrease purchasing power and government layoffs add to unemployment. State taxes were raised a record $27.3 billion in 2009. Both these increases and the state budget cuts counteract the pump-priming thrust of the $787 billion stimulus plan proposed by President Barack Obama and enacted by Congress earlier this year as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Without this bill, many states would have been unable to balance their budgets. 
 
But what the federal government gives, it can also take away. The health care bill, as it passed the House, would require the states, beginning in 2015, to pay 9 percent of the cost of new Medicaid enrollees, adding billions of dollars to state costs. "This bill...makes Medicaid the foundation of our health-care system, and they're under-funding the foundation," said Joy Johnson Wilson, NCSL Washington lobbyist in a conference call with state lawmakers. Viewed in this light, the gift of $23.5 billion seems more like a bribe to win support from state legislators for the House bill. It's a tactic that might work, for the current plight of the states is so desperate that legislators may be willing to endure long-term costs that will occur when many of them are no longer in office in order to obtain short-term relief. 
 
The $23.5 billion, Section 1749 of the House health care bill, comes in the form of a six-month extension of the relief provided to states on Medicaid costs by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That bill boosted, on average, the federal share of Medicaid costs from 57 percent to 66 percent, with the hardest-hit states receiving more than the others. Without the extension voted by the House, this formula would revert to the old one next year, undoubtedly triggering another round of fiscal crises and budget cuts. Section 1749 would extend the added federal share of Medicaid until June 2011. While this is welcome, a better solution would be to phase out the added federal assistance. As Raymond Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association and an economist, told the Washington Post, the federal aid ends too abruptly. "It's sort of like a cliff," he said. "...The cliff is just moved back." 
 
It's easy to be cynical about the performance of government in the current economic situation, and many Americans are. Although President Obama still commands the support of a majority of Americans, his economic program is viewed with increasing skepticism by independents who voted overwhelmingly for him in 2008. Americans are also skeptical of Congress and they are perhaps most skeptical of all about what's taking place in state houses and state legislatures. In PENNSYLVANIA, a poll found that only 29 percent of respondents thought that Gov. Ed Rendell (D) was doing a good or excellent job — and that just 18 percent rated the legislature's performance as good or excellent. In CALIFORNIA, a survey gave Schwarzenegger a 33 percent approval rating and the Legislature an approval rating of only 11 percent. Legislators have been vicariously tarnished in recent years by high-profile scandals involving the governors of ILLINOIS, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, and SOUTH CAROLINA. But they are also in disrepute because in hard times the public demands more of those it sends to office. Fair or not, the perception is widespread that politicians in general and state leaders in particular haven't delivered the goods. 
 
In fact, states can claim a number of success stories. MASSACHUSETTS continues to tinker with — and improve — a landmark health care bill that comes closer to universal coverage than any of the plans now being debated in Congress. The Senate version of the federal health bill usefully copies the MASSACHUSETTS plan in its employer requirements, charging a flat fee for workers who purchase government-subsidized insurance, which is preferable to the onerous House requirement of mandated coverage for all but the smallest businesses. RHODE ISLAND is using electronic pharmacy prescription data to track swine flu, an innovation with broad implications in an industry deficient in tracking and record keeping. In CALIFORNIA, in defiance of their low approval ratings, legislators and the governor have reached an historic agreement to increase the state's water supply and preserve an endangered ecosystem known as the Delta. All this suggests that it's way too early to give up on the states. 
 
Nonetheless, one of the lessons of the Great Recession is that states aren't going to make it on their own. It's clear that many states would have failed to balance their budgets in 2009 without the federal stimulus, and that they won't be able to do it next year without more of the same. The word "stimulus" has become politically unpalatable, but whatever it is called, states need additional help if they are to avoid plunging off that fiscal cliff.

Some states that ban corporate campaign donations allow union contributions
 
Twenty-two states prohibit corporations from contributing directly to candidates in state elections. Eight of those states allow unions to make such political donations, however. In TENNESSEE, unions can give up to $2,500 to candidates for statewide office and $1,000 to legislative candidates. In CONNECTICUT, unions can contribute up to $3,500 to gubernatorial candidates, $1,000 to Senate candidates and $250 to House candidates. And in IOWA, unions can make unlimited campaign donations.

CALIFORNIA'S BUDGET CRISIS CONTINUES: Four months ago, CALIFORNIA lawmakers managed to cobble together a budget plugging the state's gaping $26 billion budget hole. But the Golden State's fiscal troubles are far from over. 
 
According to a report released last week by the state's chief budget analyst, another nearly $21 billion budget gap is already looming. Part of that projected deficit — $6.3 billion — is for the current fiscal year. Another $14.4 billion shortfall is expected next fiscal year. 
 
The massive deficits will come despite an improving state economy, the report said. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office is actually forecasting stable tax collections instead of the steep declines it has projected in each of the last two years. 
 
"Economic recovery will not take away the very severe budget problems for this year, next year and the year after," said Steve Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. 
 
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was sounding the alarm even before the report was released. 
 
"I think that there will be across-the-board cuts again," he said at a news conference. 
 
Those cuts will be even harder to come by than they were this year, however. Having already slashed billions from education, health care and social services in July, Democrats said they were through with cuts. And powerful interest groups are already gearing up to oppose them. 
 
"There is no more to cut from our schools," said California Teachers Assn. President David Sanchez said. "There is no more meat on this bone.... The next step is amputation." 
 
Republicans, meanwhile, were vowing to block the alternative option: new taxes. That leaves lawmakers in a precarious position. 
 
"I can't think of any good solutions," said Assemblywoman Noreen Evans (D), who chairs the lower chamber's budget committee. 
 
The state's ongoing fiscal crisis predates the current recession. The state has spent roughly $10 billion more than it has collected in tax revenue for years. And political divisions and the state's supermajority requirement for passing a budget have stymied efforts to address the structural deficit. 
 
The situation has become so desperate that the governor's finance director, Mike Genest, reportedly combed through the U.S. Constitution back in February looking for a way for CALIFORNIA to legally declare bankruptcy or revert to territorial status. He ultimately determined neither option was realistic. (LOS ANGELES TIMES, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE) 
 
BUDGETS IN BRIEF: WEST VIRGINIA lawmakers convened their fourth special session of the year last week. The main agenda item for the session is legislation authorizing cities to close critically underfunded police and fire pension plans to new employees (CHARLESTON GAZETTE). • Cigarette sales in FLORIDA have plunged since the state's new $1-per-pack tax increase took effect July 1. Sales that regularly topped 100 million packs per month statewide dropped to 73 million packs the month the tax became law and have only increased to around 78 million packs since then (ORLANDO SUN-SENTINEL). • A tax amnesty program launched in MAINE on Sept. 1 has brought in $8.5 million. The program, which ends Nov. 30, was projected to yield $9 million (BANGOR DAILY NEWS). • The TENNESSEE Department of Correction has outlined a plan calling for the release of as many as 4,000 nonviolent felons, including those convicted of drug dealing and robbery. Correction Commissioner George Little said the early releases are necessary to implement the budget cuts called for by Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) (TENNESSEAN [NASHVILLE]). • To save his state money, MISSISSIPPI Gov. Haley Barbour (R) has proposed merging the historically black universities Mississippi Valley State and Alcorn State into Jackson State and Mississippi University for Women into Mississippi State (CLARION-LEDGER [JACKSON]).

HIGH COURT RULING COULD IMPACT 2010 ELECTIONS: A case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court could have significant implications for next year's gubernatorial elections and other state races. The case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, centered around the banning of the conservative group's 2008 film criticizing then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, could end up removing restrictions on corporate political donations. (See "Courts may usher in new era of pay-to-play" in Oct. 12 issue of SNCJ.) 
 
Twenty-two states currently ban corporations from contributing directly to candidates in state elections. Seventeen of those states will hold gubernatorial races next year. And 14 of those contests are considered competitive. 
 
"The Supreme Court decision has the potential to open the floodgates," said Paul Ryan, of the non-profit Campaign Legal Center, which supports corporate campaign restrictions. 
 
In VIRGINIA, one of six states with no such limits, business interests contributed over $4 million to Republican Bob McDonnell's successful gubernatorial campaign, nearly 10 times what businesses gave his Democratic opponent, Creigh Deeds. 
 
McDonnell's biggest donor, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, gave him $972,877 because it considered him a candidate with a "strong economic platform," who was willing to challenge the influence of trial lawyers and "take a look at offshore oil and gas exploration," according to Bill Miller, the Chamber's senior vice president of political affairs. 
 
Miller said that although he doesn't expect a "rush of new players" in state elections if the Supreme Court does away with limits on corporate political spending, Chamber of Commerce officials "have been, will continue to be and probably will be larger players in this arena" if the high court does so. 
 
The buzz in the states seems to be that the court will do just that in time to impact next year's races. The WISCONSIN Legislature, for instance, passed a law authorizing taxpayer funding of judicial races ahead of its elections next spring but failed to limit what corporations and unions can spend on political advertising because, according to Jay Heck, director of the WISCONSIN chapter of Common Cause, "everyone is waiting with some dread about what will happen in the Supreme Court." (USA TODAY) 
 
LAME DUCK FREE-FOR-ALL COULD BE COMING TO NJ: NEW JERSEY lawmakers are returning to Trenton this week for a lame duck session before Gov.-elect Chris Christie (R) assumes office in January. It will be the last chance for the Democrats who currently control Garden State government to pass laws all by themselves. 
 
Sessions in the Garden State held between Election Day and when the newly elected take office are generally known for their intensity of special interest activity and high number of enactments, including controversial measures unlikely to see a vote without the support of lawmakers who never have to face voters again. 
 
"This is when State Street becomes shake-down street." said New Jersey Sierra Club director Jeff Tittel. 
 
This session, Democrats could take up such hot-button issues as gay marriage and medical marijuana. But with the prospect of having to share power with Christie looming, legislative leaders were urging lawmakers to exercise caution. 
 
"We need to be fair," said Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D). "That helps moving forward." 
 
Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D) said the session should be "measured," and Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Lou Greenwald (D) said legislators would not repeat the "wild and chaotic" spending sprees of past years. 
 
But Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D) said those feelings are not unanimous. 
 
"There are also some people who think that we should move our agendas and commitments forward and let the future be damned," he said. 
 
One big wild card is outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine (D). Since losing to Christie, he's said little other than that lawmakers shouldn't pass bills that would increase spending. 
 
"Probably for him there's a bit of "it's hard to take a defeat,'" said Senate President Richard Codey (D). "But he may want to do things so he can look back and say something was 'part of my legacy.'" (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK]) 
 
POLITICS IN BRIEF: U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TEXAS) said she will remain in the Senate through next year's GOP gubernatorial primary while campaigning to replace incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R). Three months ago, she said she would give up her seat by November, but last week said the issues in Washington were too important for her to leave now (DALLAS MORNING NEWS). • The Democratically-controlled OHIO House passed a bill last week making sweeping changes to how elections are run in the state, including increasing the number of early voting locations. But the bill, which was passed along party lines, faces an uncertain future in the Republican-led Senate (COLUMBIA DISPATCH).

SANFORD TO FACE ETHICS CHARGES: After a lengthy investigation into SOUTH CAROLINA Gov. Mark Sanford's (R) travel and campaign spending, a state ethics panel last Wednesday charged him with various undisclosed ethics violations. The panel did not release the specific charges, nor did they indicate if they were criminal in nature. However, Sanford's lawyer, Butch Bowers, said the charges were "minor, technical matters" that did not include criminal violations. The panel is expected to release those findings this week. 
 
Attorney General Henry McMaster requested an investigation into Sanford's travel spending earlier this summer after the governor revealed a long-time affair with an Argentinean woman. Reports surfaced soon after that the governor had taken expensive commercial flights despite state low-cost travel rules and used state planes for personal and political purposes. 
 
Sanford continued to send information to the ethics panel even after they reached conclusion. A day after they said they would move forward with charges, he added previously unrecorded flights he took on planes owned by friends and campaign donors to his ethics filings. Another Sanford lawyer insisted the governor's new filings were not an indication he had violated any criminal statutes. That decision, however, is ultimately up to McMaster. Sanford will also now face a hearing early next year before three of the State Ethics Commission's nine members. (ASSOCIATED PRESS, THE STATE [COLUMBIA]) 
 
SCHWARZENEGGER HONES IN ON BULLET TRAIN: CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) quietly ordered officials in his administration not to pursue $1.1 billion in federal rail stimulus funds, ordering them instead to pursue funding only for a proposed bullet train between San Francisco and San Diego. The rail stimulus funding would have gone toward 29 projects to improve the safety, speed and capacity of heavily traveled commuter corridors through Southern CALIFORNIA, including computer-guided braking systems designed to prevent collisions and allow conventional trains to safely travel at 110 mph. Schwarzenegger administration officials said giving up on the commuter rail funding could increase the state's chances of receiving $4.7 billion in federal support for the bullet train project, noting that CALIFORNIA is competing for that money with more than 40 applicants from 23 other states. Critics, however, questioned whether the governor is placing too high a priority on the high-speed train project at the expense of the second-busiest rail corridor in the nation. But Anaheim mayor Curt Pringle lauded the move, saying the state "is in the lead position to receive high-speed rail funding. We should not be competing with ourselves." Schwarzenegger has long been a proponent of the plan, which would give the Golden State the nation's first 200-mph train line and create up to 130,000 jobs. (LOS ANGELES TIMES) 
 
PATERSON CRITICAL OF NY TERROR TRIAL: NEW YORK Gov. David Paterson (D) has come down firmly against the Obama administration's decision to try five men linked to the 9/11 terrorists attacks in a New York City civilian court. "This is not a decision I would have made," Paterson said, adding that "We're still having trouble getting over it. We still have been unable to rebuild that site, and having those terrorists tried so close to the attack is going to be an encumbrance on all New Yorkers." Paterson is one of only a handful of Democrats to publicly oppose the plan. His stance underscores an ongoing rift in his relationship with the White House, which has urged him to not seek re-election in 2010 in light of his abysmal approval ratings. (NEW YORK TIMES) 
 
CARCIERI MAY BACK DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS: After meeting privately last week with gay rights advocates, RHODE ISLAND Gov. Don Carcieri (R) surprisingly said he would consider backing a domestic partnership system similar to one approved by voters in WASHINGTON state. The Evergreen State's "Everything but Marriage" law offers gay couples the right to use sick leave to care for a domestic partner and rights related to adoption, child custody, and child support. The announcement marks a significant change for the socially conservative Carcieri, who has steadfastly rejected most gay rights legislation, including a recent veto of a measure that would have allowed same-sex couples to plan the funerals of their late partners as married couples. House majority leader Gordon Fox (D), who is gay, was clearly taken aback by Carcieri's new stance, saying, "I don't know what to think." Fox said he and Carcieri have agreed to discuss the issue further, though no plans had yet been made. (BOSTON GLOBE) 
 
GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: Saying the "obvious danger of it is absurd," FLORIDA Gov. Charlie Crist (R) urged the Sunshine State Legislature to ban drivers from sending or receiving text messages while behind the wheel. Lawmakers have already pre-filed 13 bills to bar texting while driving (ORLANDO SUN SENTINEL). • MICHIGAN Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) announced plans last week to merge the state Departments of Management and Budget Information Technology. It is the second major consolidation of Wolverine State government agencies in recent months. The governor ultimately plans to reduce the number of state agencies from the 20 it began the year with down to 15 (DETROIT FREE PRESS). • WISCONSIN Gov. Jim Doyle (D) signed a trade agreement with Israel to collaborate on research and technology development. The agreement will allow Badger State scientists, engineers and researchers to work together with their Israeli counterparts in several technical fields, including water technology, advanced agriculture and biotechnology (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL [MADISON]). • HAWAII Gov. Linda Lingle (R) said she plans to eliminate 27 Furlough Fridays in Aloha State public schools. Lingle said she would cover the expense by taking $50 million from the state's so-called rainy day fund and switching teacher training days to class time. Lingle had previously resisted calls to tap into the fund, but said she changed her mind in order to get the state refocused on its economic problems. "Keeping the bigger picture in mind was more important at this point to move us forward as a state," she said. "I was looking for a compromise" (HONOLULU STAR BULLETIN).

BUSINESS: Internet phone service provider Vonage Holdings Corp. agrees to pay 32 states $3 million to settle an investigation into some of the company's business practices, including complaints that it did not tell customers they needed to have a high-speed Internet connection to use the service. States will share the settlement, which is in addition to refunds the company is providing to customers in those states (INDIANAPOLIS STAR).  
 
CRIME & PUNISHMENT: The PENNSYLVANIA House Judiciary Committee approves HB 745, which would reinstate the protection of homosexuals, women and the disabled under the Keystone State's hate crimes law. Lawmakers added the protections in 2002, but a state court ruled in 2007 that the process used to gain their passage was unconstitutional. The bill is now with the House Appropriations Committee (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER). • NEW YORK Gov. David Paterson (D) signs AB 40008, legislation that makes driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs a felony if a child is in the car. The violation had previously been only a misdemeanor. The measure also requires anyone convicted of DWI to have an ignition interlock device installed on their vehicle. Interlocks require the driver to blow into a breathalyzer before being able to start the car (ALBANY TIMES UNION). • OHIO corrections officials announce the Buckeye State will become the first to use a single drug to execute condemned prisoners. The new protocol replaces the state's previous three-drug cocktail, which will still be used in the 35 other states that execute prisoners via lethal injection (COLUMBUS DISPATCH).  
 
EDUCATION: The MASSACHUSETTS Senate approves SB 2205, a bill that would, among other things, allow the state to intervene in schools that have been underperforming for at least three consecutive years. It would also remove a state rule that currently caps the total charter school population at 4 percent. The bill moves to the House, which won't consider it until next session (BOSTON GLOBE). • ILLINOIS Gov. Pat Quinn (D) signs SB 932, legislation that requires school bus drivers to inspect their vehicles at the end of each trip to make sure children are not left on board. The bill also requires bus owners to install two-way radios on all buses so drivers can communicate with safety officials in the event of an emergency (CHICAGO TRIBUNE). • The OHIO Senate Education Committee approves HB 19, a bill that would require Buckeye State schools to teach students about teen dating violence. The bill will now be heard by the full Senate (COLUMBUS DISPATCH). • CALIFORNIA officials announce new rules that require Golden State nurses, dentists and other health workers who enter state-run drug rehabilitation programs to submit to a minimum of 104 drug tests in their first year. Those workers will also be removed from practice for a single positive test, and any restrictions on their operating license will be posted on a public Web site. The rules will go into effect next year (LOS ANGELES TIMES).  
 
ENVIRONMENT: The CALIFORNIA Energy Commission adopts regulations that require televisions sold in the Golden State to consume 33 percent less energy than current sets, starting with the 2011 model year, and 50 percent less starting with 2013 models. The rules apply to sets up to 58 inches in size. Energy officials say the new rules will save the state $1 billion in annual energy costs and drastically reduce CO2 emissions (ASSOCIATED PRESS).  
 
HEALTH & SCIENCE: The COLORADO attorney general issues an opinion that medical marijuana is personal property that can be taxed, rather than prescription drugs, which are tax exempt. CALIFORNIA is the only other state to currently tax medical marijuana sales (ASSOCIATED PRESS). • University of CALIFORNIA officials approve raising undergraduate fees by 32 percent. The hike pencils out to approximately $2,500 in additional costs per year, excluding housing, board and books (SACRAMENTO BEE).  
 
SOCIAL POLICY: The NEW YORK Supreme Court rejects a request to bar Empire State government agencies from offering health and other benefits to same-sex couples legally married in other states. The court's ruling does not require the state to recognize same-sex marriage, saying only that the state constitution does not specifically bar government organizations from providing same-sex couples with the same benefits offered to heterosexual couples. The ruling also urged lawmakers to determine whether the state will legally recognize same-sex marriage. A bill to legalize gay nuptials (SB 4401) is currently pending in the Legislature (ASSOCIATED PRESS). • WISCONSIN Gov. Jim Doyle (D) signs SB 280, which holds the owners and officers of child care centers that financially defraud the state personally liable for returning those funds, even if the company goes out of business. Doyle also signs two similar measures: SB 299, which broadens the information child welfare officials must make public when child abuse or neglect results in death or serious injury or when a child placed in out-of-home care commits suicide or is sexually abused, and SB 347, which aligns state child welfare standards with federal standards (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL).  
 
POTPOURRI: A federal court rules that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The ruling awarded the half dozen plaintiffs a total of $720,000 in damages. It could also allow another 100,000 LOUISIANA residents to seek similar claims against the Corps. The court rejected the government's argument that it is immune from liability because the channel is part of New Orleans' flood control system. It is expected to appeal the decision (THE ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE]).

THE NEUROTIC AND EXOTIC: When SOUTH CAROLINA lawmakers come back into session next January, they will tackle a plethora of pressing issues, including health care, education and, of course, budget shortfalls. But Rep. Herb Kirsh has a pet peeve he believes merits action as well. Pets are, in fact, Kirsh's peeve. Not dogs or cats or parakeets, mind you, but more exotic creatures like poisonous snakes and other dangerous reptiles. As The State in Columbia reports, Kirsh pre-filed a measure last week that would require owners of such pets to house the critters in bite-proof, locked enclosures and, should the animal escape, call law enforcement immediately. Kirsh was inspired by a recent news report that showed a man with a python slithering up his leg. "I felt like that shouldn't be happening," he said. There was no reaction from the owner of said leg. 
 
ANOTHER WEIGHTY ISSUE: Politicians by design are expected to take on society's weighty issues. Of late, however, the weight of some politicos has become an issue unto itself. As the Associated Press reports, Michelle Simson, a member of Canada's Parliament, recently tweaked a colleague in a rival party by sending a Twitter message saying "Dean Del Mastro should grow up, [not out]." Unfortunately for her, the poke got back to Del Mastro before the meeting they were both attending was even over. Outraged, he demanded an apology in front of the entire House of Commons, lamenting that he had fought a weight problem all his life. Simson obliged with a mea culpa. The incident came just weeks after NEW JERSEY Gov. Jon Corzine ran ads mocking the girth of his challenger, Chris Christie, in the Garden State governor's race. Christie, however, grabbed the last laugh by winning the election.  
 
FINALLY FALLING FLAT: Gosh almighty, the Great Recession has come to Harrisburg. For the first time in over a dozen years, PENNSYLVANIA lawmakers will not receive their annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) pay hike. As the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, lawmakers in 1995 tied their pay increases to the Consumer Price Index, a standard gauge of retail prices over the preceding 12 months. The idea was to pretty much ensure annual pay hikes without actually having to publicly vote on it, lest the natives get restless. Case in point: an attempt to vote themselves a 16 percent raise a few years back was met with such outcry that it had to be scrapped. So, with inflation actually dropping .14 percent, will lawmakers be taking a pay cut? Uh, no. According to the law, legislative pay can only go up or stay the same.  
 
A CHICKEN-PLAYING TURKEY: The Garden State's most fearless daredevil is heading to retirement. As the Associated Press reports, NEW JERSEY wildlife officials last week finally corralled a wild turkey that had taken up residence near a toll booth on the Jersey Turnpike. Officials believe the bird, which has been lingering near the booth since spring, often running in and out of traffic and forcing drivers to take evasive action, somehow took a wrong turn out of Staten Island and got disoriented. Along the way, "Tammy the Turnpike Turkey" became something of a celebrity, with spectators risking life and limb to take a picture of her. In spite of the havoc she created, turnpike spokesperson Joe Orlando says they will miss her. "She didn't want to leave, she was a regular, and to be honest with you, she probably had better attendance than a lot of the employees," he said.