POLITICS & LEADERSHIP
Lawmakers want to "purify" FL constitution

GOVERNORS
Major shakeup in CA
 

The week in session
Hot issues
Bird's eye view
Upcoming elections
In the hopper
In case you missed it
Once around
 
 
 

State coffers are looking good again after several years of extreme fiscal hardship. But with costs for big ticket items like Medicaid, K-12 education and public pensions still rising, nobody should be breathing easy just yet. 

Fiscal prognosis for states cautiously optimistic

Thanks to the general upturn in the economy and conservative budgeting by lawmakers, the financial health of most states is finally on the mend, with coffers beginning to fill across the country. But states still aren't completely out of danger, and some, in fact, are in need of fiscal life support. 

One indication of just how much better the states are doing is the dramatic reduction in the number needing to make midyear budget cuts. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, in FY 2003, 37 states made midyear cuts, totaling $12.6 billion. Last fiscal year, only five states did so, and the cuts totaled just $634 million, the association said. 

NEW YORK's recovery this fiscal year verges on the miraculous. At the start of the year, Empire State officials were projecting a budget deficit of $4.2 billion. But due to a significant increase in personal income and capital gains tax receipts, the state is now looking to end the year with a $1 billion surplus, a nearly $5 billion turnaround. 

That kind of revenue growth has led several states to boost spending. HAWAII, NEW JERSEY, New York and OKLAHOMA have increased funding for higher education after years of severe cutbacks, while other states have set aside money for new programs.  DELAWARE, for instance, is launching a pilot program for full-day kindergarten, and FLORIDA plans to spend $400 million on a new universal preschool program. 

A number of states are also now considering tax cuts. One of those states is New Jersey, which has seen double-digit revenue growth over the past year. Its newly-elected governor, Sen. John Corzine (D), campaigned on a promise to reduce the state's property taxes. INDIANA may cut its property taxes as well, although it might also raise its cigarette tax to offset the loss of revenue. Meanwhile, UTAH is looking at cutting its sales or income taxes, after taking in $90 million more in revenue than expected in the first few months of the current fiscal year.

Experts, however, caution that although state revenues are rising, demands on state budgets, especially education, Medicaid and public pension costs, are rising even faster. "The general picture is that revenue is coming in better than expected for quite a few states," said Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers. "The problem is that the states are like the guy who had been laid off and his income went way down, and now he's got a job again. But in the meantime, he put a lot of expenses on his credit card, his kids' tuition went up and he tapped into his retirement fund." 

CALIFORNIA offers a case in point. Officials there recently projected that the state would see a surplus of $5.2 billion at the end of this fiscal year, a figure that is up substantially from an earlier estimate of $1.3 billion. But the officials also say that entire sum will likely be consumed next fiscal year, and the Golden State will find itself back in the red unless Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and the Democrats who control the Legislature agree on a long-term solution for the state's chronic budget imbalance. 

Similarly, despite New York's stunning economic turnaround, the state's budget office is calling for continued fiscal restraint, in light of the skyrocketing costs of Medicaid, education and other state programs. 

Some states are facing other problems. MICHIGAN's economy continues to lag due to a slump in the auto industry. Revenues there are expected to grow by only 3.2 percent this year, nowhere near enough to make up for five years of cutbacks in almost every government service, said one official. 

Of course there is also LOUISIANA and MISSISSIPPI, two states that began the year in good shape. Louisiana's energy royalties were setting records and its sales tax collections were growing at a double-digit rate. Mississippi ended FY 2004 with a healthy surplus and began FY 2005 just as strong. Then came Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Louisiana has since drained its rainy-day fund and made $600 million in cuts, yet the state is still facing a gaping hole in its annual budget. Greg Albrecht, chief economist for the state's legislative fiscal office, said before the storms came, "we were sitting around saying, `Look at all the money we're going to have.' We were finally going to come back from the recession of 2001." The hurricanes "just pulled the rug out from underneath us," he said. 

Mississippi, meanwhile, had to take out a $500 million line of credit to cover its lost sales and income taxes and provide disaster assistance to hurricane victims. According to J.K. Stringer Jr., executive director of the Mississippi Department of Finance, revenues picked up in October due to heavy spending by federal aid workers, insurance companies and evacuees from Louisiana. But he noted -- with a touch of sarcasm -- that things are still very uncertain in the Magnolia State. "We got things under control here, other than three little unknowns: how much state revenue we're going to collect, how much this thing is going to cost us and how much money we're going to get from the feds," he said. "Other than that, we've got a firm handle on things." (NEW YORK TIMES) 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

TOP OF PAGE

Bird's eye view

State rainy day funds making a comeback

Most states have received good financial news this year - for the fist time in a long time revenues are better than projected, substantially so in many cases. (See SNCJ Spotlight in this issue) According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, this has allowed states to amass a collective cash reserve of about $20 billion. This means that after several years of fiscal hardship, borrowing and pillaging of reserves, states are finally able to once again build up their rainy day funds. But with intense pressure to keep up with the growing fiscal demand of K-12 education and Medicaid, few expect the horde of cash to last for long. The accompanying map shows where states are with their rainy day funds for fiscal year 2005, expressed as a percentage of general fund balances.
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

 
TOP OF PAGE

Budget & taxes

SCHOOL DISTRICTS LOSE NCLB LAWSUIT: School districts and teachers unions suffered a major setback in their effort to force the federal government to fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act when a federal judge summarily dismissed a lawsuit last Wednesday aimed at that objective. Districts in MICHIGAN, TEXAS and VERMONT, along with the National Education Association and NEA affiliates in 10 states, filed the suit in April, seeking to relieve schools of the burden of spending their own money to comply with the act and to prohibit the federal government from withholding funds to compel compliance. But U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled that if Congress intended to fully fund NCLB, it would have said so in the act. The feds, naturally, welcomed the decision, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings stating, "Judge Friedman's decision validates our partnership with states to close the achievement gap, hold schools accountable and to ensure all students are reading and doing math at grade-level by 2014." The plaintiffs, just as naturally, were disappointed. "Parents in communities where school districts are financially strained were promised that this law would close the achievement gaps. Instead, their tax dollars are being used to cover unpaid bills sent from Washington for costly regulations that do not help improve education," said Reg Weaver, president of the NEA. The union has pledged to appeal the ruling. (DETROIT FREE PRESS) 

BUDGETS IN BRIEF: Last Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a suit challenging NEW YORK's right to approve casinos on Indian Land. The decision was a major victory for Gov. George E. Pataki (R), who has sought to significantly expand Indian gaming to help the Empire State pay its bills. Gambling opponents, meanwhile, conceded that the ruling has effectively exhausted their legal options (NEWSDAY). * A power-packed tax task force in UTAH recommended last week that the Beehive State should shift to a 5 percent flat-rate income tax. The Tax Reform Task Force, which includes House and Senate leaders from both parties as well as Gov. Jon Huntsman's (R) chief of staff, also recommended that taxpayers be granted 50 percent tax credits for charitable gifts and home mortgage interest (DESERET MORNING NEWS [SALT LAKE CITY]). * COLORADO Gov. Bill Owens (R) formally presented his budget request, which calls for using much of the revenue that will be freed up by the suspension of the state's Taxpayers Bill of Rights law, to the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee last Monday. Owens acknowledged that he probably won't get the entire $296 million he is asking for, given other demands for the TABOR money (DENVER POST). * Backers of a move to enact TABOR tax and spending limits in KANSAS said last week that they don't think they have the two-thirds support in the House and Senate needed to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. They said they may instead push for statutory changes -- a sort of TABOR lite -- that would require only a simple majority in the Legislature. (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD) * MAINE has joined CALIFORNIA and PENNSYLVANIA in refusing federal money for abstinence-only sex education programs. Pine Tree State officials cited a potential conflict with a 2002 state law mandating the teaching of everything from self-restraint to contraception as the reason for their decision. California has never accepted the federal money since it was first offered as part of the 1996 welfare reform law, while Pennsylvania began turning it down in 2004 (STATELINE.ORG). * A coalition of municipalities and education advocates in CONNECTICUT has filed a lawsuit seeking to significantly increase education funding in the Constitution State. Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) and the state Board of  Education were among those named as defendants (NEW HAVEN REGISTER).  * The Internal Revenue Service is the Powerball lottery's biggest winner, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates the game. The IRS has claimed $2.85 billion since the first jackpot was awarded in 1988 (ASSOCIATED PRESS, BOSTON GLOBE).
 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

TOP OF PAGE

Politics & leadership

LAWMAKERS WANT TO "PURIFY" FL CONSTITUTION: FLORIDA legislators want to remove several amendments approved by ballot initiative over the last few years from the state's constitution. "The constitution is supposed to be there for setting timeless principles," said Rep. David Simmons (R), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the "scrubbing" effort's architects. Among the recently adopted measures Simmons and other lawmakers feel don't belong in the constitution are a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars, and a prohibition against caging pregnant pigs. Such issues should be handled by state statute, they say. To that end, lawmakers may ask voters next fall for permission to shift a handful of amendments now in the constitution to the state statute books. Supporters of the initiative process oppose that idea. "We'll acknowledge that what's gotten in the constitution is not perfect. But we will resist anything that takes this authority away from voters," said Paul Hull, vice president of advocacy and public policy for the American Cancer Society in Florida. Hull's group was one of those that helped place the constitutional smoking ban on the ballot in 2002, which was endorsed by 70 percent of the state's voters, and which supporters say was necessary to bypass a Legislature ruled by Republicans with close ties to the tobacco and restaurant industries. "We believe that with the smoking ban, democracy worked, and we feel it should continue to work," said Hull. Opponents of the constitutional changes also fear the process could become a political tool used for such purposes as eliminating the state's school class-size limits, which Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and other leading Republicans contend are too costly, or removing a measure that prohibits the state from providing taxpayer dollars to religious organizations. But observers say despite the GOP's sizeable majority in both chambers, the three-fifths vote required for any constitutional changes would make such controversial moves difficult. (SUN-SENTINEL [SOUTH FLORIDA])

NH LEGISLATURE SEEKS PAY RAISE: NEW HAMPSHIRE's Legislature, with 24 senators and 400 representatives, is the largest in the nation. "It's the most representative government in America," boasts its House speaker, Douglas Scamman (R). That may be true numerically speaking, but not in demographic terms. Nearly half the Legislature's current members are retirees; the average age is close to 60. And the state's working class is about as underrepresented as retirees are overrepresented. "There are huge chunks of our population and our community not represented here," says Sen. Peter Burling (D). The reason is fairly simple: the Legislature's pay is among the lowest in the nation. In accordance with a provision set into the state's constitution back in 1784, most lawmakers receive just $100 per year, while the speaker and Senate president get an additional $25 each. Despite the fact that the National Conference of State Legislatures considers the Granite State one of only a handful in the country where legislating amounts to a half-time job at pay low enough to require another source of income, repeated efforts to increase legislators wages have apparently been stymied by the Yankee notion that the job should be a public service, open only to those willing to make the necessary sacrifices. Lawmakers, however, will try once again next year, with a constitutional amendment to pay them up to $4,500 for session days. But with the support of 60 percent of the Legislature and two-thirds of the state's voters needed to approve such a proposal, they aren't too confident they'll see more pay -- or diversity -- any time soon. (ASSOCIATED PRESS, BOSTON GLOBE)

AT THE POLLS: The Democratic Farm Labor Party's majority in the MINNESOTA Senate increased by one last Tuesday, following a special election to replace two of the chamber's departing members. DFLer Terri Bonoff defeated Republican Judy Johnson to claim the District 43 seat vacated by first-term Republican David Gaither, who was appointed Gov. Tim Pawlenty's (R) chief of staff. The election gives the DFL a 36-30 majority in the 67-member Senate, which also includes one Independence Party member. The other race, in Senate District 19, gave Republican Amy Koch the seat vacated by four-term Republican Mark Ourada, who resigned to become a Washington lobbyist. (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE)

POLITICS IN BRIEF: Last Monday, VIRGINIA election officials certified Del. Robert F. McDonnell (R) as the winner of last month's attorney general race, with 323 votes more than Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D), out of nearly 2 million cast -- the closest statewide contest in Old Dominion State history. Sen. Deeds has requested a recount (WASHINGTON POST). * The groundwork for a legal challenge to NEBRASKA's constitutional term limits amendment was laid last week, when two termed-out senators filed for re-election. Term-limits laws have been overturned in several other states, but in most of those cases, the limits were built into state statutes and not state constitutions (LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR). * CALIFORNIA Secretary of State Bruce McPherson (R) said last week that his office is planning to conduct a hacker test on an electronic voting machine designed by Diebold Election Systems, whose machines have been criticized for being vulnerable to such attacks. McPherson said he might require such testing on all systems seeking certification for use in the Golden State (ASSOCIATED PRESS, MERCURY NEWS [SAN JOSE]). * Several black GEORGIA lawmakers have demanded that Rep. Sue Burmeister (R) resign her House leadership position over comments she made regarding the state's new voter ID law in a U.S. Department of Justice memo leaked two weeks ago. In the memo, Burmeister, the chief sponsor of the voter ID bill, stated that if black people in her district "are not paid to vote, they don't go to the polls," and if fewer black people vote as a result of the new law, it's only because it would end such voting fraud" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION). * Only seven of the 200 state utility regulators serving across the country in 2004 had extensive experience as consumer watchdogs, according to a new report by the non-partisan, non-profit Center for Public Integrity. The Center also found that 22 percent of the commissioners or their spouses had investments in energy or communications businesses (STATELINE.ORG).
 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

TOP OF PAGE

MAJOR SHAKEUP IN CA: The fallout has begun from CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) voter-terminated "year of reform" special election. Schwarzenegger surprised absolutely nobody in replacing former chief of staff Patricia Clarey, who managed the Nov. 8 special election disaster. He did, however, inspire shock and awe in both parties by naming Susan Kennedy, a long-time Democratic activist and former aide to recalled Gov. Gray Davis (D), as her replacement. The fact that Kennedy is also openly gay and an ardent supporter of abortion rights also left many  conservatives practically chewing through their lower lip. Phil Trounstine, the head of the San Jose State Survey and Policy Research Institute and the former communications director for Davis, suggested Schwarzenegger is hoping that Kennedy's hiring will help him to recapture the disaffected Democrats and independents that left him in droves over the last year. "The conservative wing of the GOP had an advocate in Arnold Schwarzenegger during the last ballot election -- and they got their head handed to them. So Schwarzenegger, apparently, is deciding to get back somewhere in the middle." But many GOP stalwarts said hiring such a devout Democrat would backfire with the governor's base. GOP strategist Dave Gilliard, who helped run the campaign to recall Davis, called Schwarzenegger "a man without a country," adding that, "Democrats will never accept him or embrace him, and now he's breaking with his base. I don't understand it." Even Democrats were taken aback by the selection. "Any move by the governor to embrace Democratic values is good news for the state," said Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. "However, it leaves many Democrats, as well as Republicans, wondering if he has any core values at all." Steve Frank, a longtime GOP activist and publisher of the California Political News and Views, an influential conservative blog, opined that the appointment signals Schwarzenegger has thrown in the towel on running for re-election next fall. "He can't run as a Republican, because his administration has hired some of the key people we recalled with Gray Davis in the first place," Frank said. "And even should he run, he has no base left ... who is supporting him. Because what does he stand for?" Frank implied that conservatives might now try to draft ultra-conservative state Sen. Tom McClintock (R) to seek the GOP nomination in the 2006 primary. McClintock also ran for governor in the 2003 recall election, finishing a distant third behind Schwarzenegger and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D). But while some conservatives fumed, other high-profile GOP bellwethers praised the move. Former Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte, a leading conservative voice throughout the Davis years, said: "If every member of Gov. Davis' staff were as talented as Susan Kennedy, there wouldn't be a Gov. Schwarzenegger in office today." Former governor Pete Wilson (R), a close Schwarzenegger advisor, also supported the choice while dismissing the "McClintock for governor" talk. "He's going to run, and he's going to be re-elected, and they would do better to devote their energies to that," Wilson said. Kennedy also blew off the negative feedback, saying she took the job because her political views matched well with Schwarzenegger's. "I'm tired of the partisanship. I'm tired of the intolerance that has resulted in gridlock," said Kennedy, who also acknowledged that some Democratic allies were against her decision to work for a Republican. "I felt it was time for me as a Democrat to put up or shut up...If the governor is willing to risk his political legacy by taking a chance on me, I'm willing to risk my political career to do what I believe is right." (ASSOCIATED PRESS, SACRAMENTO BEE, LOS ANGELES TIMES, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE)

MR. CODEY NOT GOING TO WASHINGTON: Acting NEW JERSEY Gov. Richard Codey (D) removed himself from consideration to replace Gov.-elect Jon Corzine (D) in the U.S. Senate. Codey has been under increasing pressure from Democratic Party leaders who wanted him to finish out Corzine's term and then run for a full term of his own in 2006. But Codey said moving to Washington would not be a good fit for his family, and that he had no desire to commute. Codey did not endorse anyone else for the position. (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK]) 

RICHARDSON BOOTS BASEBALL CLAIM: NEW MEXICO Gov. Bill Richardson (D) acknowledged last week that his claim of once having been drafted as a pitcher by the then-Kansas City Athletics in 1966 is not true. Richardson, a former college pitcher at Tufts University in MASSACHUSETTS as well as a former congressman and U.S. ambassador, is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate. The claim of being drafted has been part of his official biography for years, but a recent investigation by an Albuquerque newspaper found no official record of that ever happening. Richardson says the entire matter is a mistake caused by major league scouts telling him that he "could or would" be drafted while playing college baseball. He says now that, "After being notified of the situation and researching the matter...I came to the conclusion that I was not drafted by the A's." There was no immediate comment from the A's, who relocated to Oakland, CALIFORNIA in 1968. (WASHINGTON POST)

GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. John Lynch (D) sent a letter to Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean saying he will "take whatever steps are necessary" to defend his state's tradition of holding the nation's first presidential primary. Lynch was reacting to a fast-moving plan by the DNC to insert two to four caucuses between the IOWA caucus and the New Hampshire primary in 2008. Lynch said doing so would "front-load" the election process and force presidential candidates to mount national campaigns right from the start (BOSTON GLOBE). * The WASHINGTON Executive Ethics Board last week cleared former Gov. Gary Locke (D) of any ethics violations in connection to his solicitation of tens of thousands of dollars in corporate donations for the National Governors Association in 2003. Locke contended he raised the funds to help pay for the cost of holding the annual NGA conference in Seattle. The board called the complaint against Locke "obviously unfounded or frivolous" (OLYMPIAN). * In an ongoing effort to distance herself from the scandal-plagued administration of former Gov. John G. Rowland (R), CONNECTICUT Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) said last week that she will not take any money from political action committees for her re-election campaign. Rell has also promised not to take money from lobbyists, their spouses or state employees (BOSTON GLOBE). 
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

 TOP OF PAGE

BUSINESS: MICHIGAN Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) signs HB 4834, which limits payday loan borrowers to a maximum of $600 in a 31-day period and allows lenders to charge service fees between 11 percent and 15 percent, depending on the loan's size. The law goes into effect June 1, 2006 (DETROIT FREE PRESS). * Still in MICHIGAN, the Senate votes unanimously to prohibit the use and sale of machines that allow people to inhale alcohol. Known as Alcohol Without Liquid, or AWOL, the devices vaporize hard liquor, giving users a more rapid, intense buzz because the alcohol does not move through the protective effects of the digestive system. The measure returns to the House, which has already approved it once (LANSING STATE JOURNAL). * MICHIGAN bars and restaurants may not be able to use or sell AWOL devices, but they soon might be able to stay open later as the Senate unanimously passes another measure that would allow such establishments to stay open past 2:00 a.m. The proposal heads to Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) for review (DETROIT FREE PRESS). * Wine is also a hot topic in MICHIGAN, where a Senate committee endorses a measure that would allow Wolverine State residents to buy wine directly from out-of-state vintners. Lawmakers also approved a measure that would allow Michigan wineries to sell directly to in-state retailers and restaurants. Both bills move to the House (LANSING STATE JOURNAL). 

CRIME & PUNISHMENT: The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear a challenge to a 2002 IOWA law prohibiting convicted child molesters from living within 2,000 feet of a school or day-care center. Civil libertarian groups contested that the law was unconstitutionally restrictive (QUAD CITY TIMES [DAVENPORT]). * MAINE becomes the 34th state to join the National Sex Offender  Public Registry, the U.S. Dept. of Justice program then links each participating state's sex offender Web site (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD). * The WEST VIRGINIA Supreme Court unanimously rules that the double-bunking of prison inmates does not violate the Mountain State constitution. The court also rules that corrections officials have the legal right to ease prison overcrowding by housing state prisoners in regional and county jails (CHARLESTON GAZETTE). 

EDUCATION: LOUISIANA education officials announce they will permanently terminate 7,500 furloughed employees from the New Orleans public school system. The Pelican State Legislature last month approved a bill putting 102 of the 117 schools in that system under state control (NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE). * The WISCONSIN Senate approves a measure that would require school districts that offer sex education programs to "present abstinence from sexual activity as the preferred choice of behavior" for unmarried students. Current Badger State law lists over a dozen topics that districts may include in their sex education instruction but does not stress one as more important than others. It moves to the Assembly (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL [MADISON]). 

ENVIRONMENT: A NEW HAMPSHIRE House committee approves a measure that would add a surcharge on garbage taken to landfills and incinerators to pay for expanded state recycling efforts. The proposal will now go before the full House in January (BOSTON GLOBE). * HAWAII environmental officials agree to retrofit large capacity cesspools located at more than 60 public schools statewide. The agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is one of many designed to address mandated changes in the Aloha State's estimated 2,300 large-capacity cesspools, which were banned earlier this year by federal law (HONOLULU ADVERTISER). * OREGON Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) orders state environmental officials to draft new standards for automotive tailpipe emissions that match those recently enacted in CALIFORNIA. The new rules, which need to be approved by the Beaver State's Environmental Quality Commission, would apply to 2009 model year vehicles (OREGONIAN [PORTLAND]). 

HEALTH & SCIENCE: The WISCONSIN Assembly endorses a bill that would set the state's pain and suffering damage limits in malpractice lawsuits to $450,000 for adults and $550,000 for those under 18. The state Supreme Court earlier this year invalidated the previous cap of $350,000 on non-economic damages, saying it was unconstitutional because it did not provide equal protection for different age groups. It heads to Gov. Jim Doyle (D), who has said he will veto the measure (CAPITAL TIMES [MADISON]). 

SOCIAL POLICY: A federal appeals court rules that a 1999 MISSOURI law banning partial-birth abortions is unconstitutional. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based its decision on a 2000 Supreme Court ruling that struck down a similar NEBRASKA law that did not include a provision to allow such procedures to protect the health of the mother. Show Me State officials have not decided whether to appeal (KANSAS CITY STAR). * A MICHIGAN House committee approves a proposal to bar welfare recipients capable of working from receiving cash assistance after four years. The measure also would require adults receiving aid to complete a job training program or get a high-school equivalency degree. It now goes before the full House (LANSING STATE JOURNAL). * A federal judge rules that the official prayers opening the daily sessions of the INDIANA House must be nondenominational and may not "advance the beliefs that define the Christian religion." The court ruled that any advancing or disparaging of any faith or religion violated the constitutionally-required separation of church and state (COURIER-JOURNAL [LOUISVILLE]). 

POTPOURRI: A WISCONSIN joint legislative committee endorses AB 763, a measure that would bar people from taking concealed weapons into hospitals, day care centers and youth sporting events. Gov. Jim Doyle (D) has promised a veto because he says the bill still allows concealed weapons to be carried in other public venues, such as shopping malls and public libraries. Doyle already vetoed a previous version of the bill for much the same reason. The Senate overrode that veto, but a similar override fell one vote shy in the Assembly (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL).
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

TOP OF PAGE

 

UPCOMING ELECTIONS (11/29/2005 - 12/13/2005) 11/30/2004  Alabama  Special Election      House  47 12/04/2004  Louisiana  General Runoff      US House (3, 7)  TOP OF PAGE

Once around the statehouse lightly

NOW FOR SOMETHING OFF THE WALL: As noted elsewhere in this publication, Democrat Susan Kennedy will now head CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administrative staff. But not only is Kennedy a Democrat, she once served as cabinet secretary to none other than Gray Davis -- the governor recalled in 2003 and replaced by Schwarzenegger. Moreover, Kennedy is said to have carte blanche to hire additional staff. And if all this isn't enough, Kennedy once was executive director of the state Democratic Party. And guess who was then chairman of the party? If you answered "Phil Angelides," you win the prize. Angelides, the state treasurer, is currently the leading Democratic candidate to oppose Schwarzenegger in next year's gubernatorial fracas. Republicans are not pleased. Strangely enough, neither are Kennedy's former friends, especially after she admitted during a press conference that she voted for Schwarzenegger's failed ballot initiatives -- all bitterly opposed by Democrats.

AND OFF THE OTHER WALL: It's called "speed dating," and it's supposed to be an efficient way for singles-in-a-hurry to meet as many potential partners as possible in a short window of time. But as the Salt Lake Tribune reports, the practice has transformed into a fundraiser for UTAH Republicans. Apparently, members of the state House caucus will let lobbyists "date" them for a few minutes -- if the lobbyists donate to a legislator's campaign. Some folks have complained that buying even brief face time is a really bad idea. One Republican even called it "disgusting." Bad, disgusting or not, Republicans had raised $100,000 as of mid-September. No word on whether any permanent relationships have been formed.

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS. High school referees often are the objects of scorn, especially after making a controversial ruling in the heat of a playoff game. But in football-crazy OKLAHOMA, notes the Oklahoman, one such ruling has ended up in the state Supreme Court. Seems refs ejected the Shawnee High School quarterback in the closing seconds of a playoff game, which Shawnee won. Now, the state association that controls high-school sports has gone to court to prevent that quarterback from participating in the school's next playoff game. And is anyone trying to unduly influence that court decision? Not overtly, although one Shawnee alumnus -- who saw the game and has two daughters attending the school -- has weighed in, saying that refs "overreacted" in ejecting the quarterback. The alumnus: Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry. 

NEW BLOOD: His current residence is in CALIFORNIA, but as the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, his thoughts are with his home state of MONTANA. Not only that, but Forrest Mandeville may represent notions shared by many of his friends. Mandeville is a senior at a small San Diego college, but he has set his sights on running for the Big Sky Legislature in 2006. And he's not alone among his peers in paying attention to politics. Mandeville is part of the so-called "Generation Y," which, according to a Harvard University study, voted in greater numbers than originally thought during the 2004 presidential election. Moreover, political science is among the most popular majors at many universities. Meanwhile, Mandeville comes by his ambitions naturally; his father is mayor of Columbus, Montana.

WHAT'S IN A NAME: Plenty, if you live in OHIO and your last name is "Taft." According to the Associated Press, Fred Taft only landed a third term on the Pepper Pike City Council because he won a coin toss. Taft and Richard Bain were tied after all votes were counted, so the two flipped for the seat. The result is significant, say some observers, because Taft breezed to victory in his two previous elections. With Buckeye State Republicans, including Gov. Bob Taft, beset with problems, some blame Fred Taft's poor showing on his last name. Taft himself, a second cousin to the governor, doubts the notion. He also offered no other explanation.

ABUSE OF THE WEEK: comes from storm-torn LOUISIANA where the Thibodaux Daily Comet reports that a 30-year-old woman was arrested recently for abusing the 911 emergency phone system. Her crime: She dialed 911 after being served cold onion rings at a fast-food joint.
 

-- By A.G. BLOCK

TOP OF PAGE

Editor: Rich Ehisen
Associate Editor: Korey Clark
Contributing Editor: A.G. Block
Editorial Advisor: Lou Cannon
Correspondents: Richard Cox (CA), Steve Karas (CA), 
Bruce McKeeman (CA), Linda Mendenhall (IL), 
Lauren King (MA) and Ben Livingood (PA) 
Design: Richard Hansen, Heather Conway 

Copyright 2005 State Net
ISSN: 1521-8449