The Thicket at State Legislatures

State Unemployment Rates Rising

by Meagan Dorsch

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 524,000 jobs were lost across the United States during the month of December. From Jan. 1 to Jan. 17, the Labor Department estimates that another 589,000 jobs have been lost.

17 states have unemployment numbers above the national average of 7.2 percent. For the first time since the recession began, two states,plus Puerto Rico, have unemployment numbers in the double digits.

In this edition of The Buzz, Jeanne Mejeur, an employment expert with NCSL, talks about actions states are taking to make sure they can pay unemployment benefits and how many states are now borrowing money from the federal government in order to pay claims. 

Listen to our podcast (6:12), read our press release, or find more information on unemployment insurance at NCSL's website. 

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Sergeant at Arms Makes Friends on Facebook

by Pam Greenberg

For those wondering whether government and public officials should use social networking tools like Facebook, here's a great argument in favor.

U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer on Tuesday was part of an online chat session with more than 5,000 members of the "Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom" Facebook group.  The online group formed after thousands who held purple tickets for the inaugural ceremonies were stuck in a tunnel under the National Mall, missing the ceremony.

Gainer's post began with an apology:

For far too many of you Inauguration day did not turn out as planned. On behalf of the entire 2009 Inaugural Team, I apologize to each one of you who did not get onto the Capitol grounds, to those stuck in the tunnel, to those who had negative interactions with police officers, and those who experienced all three terrible situations. In addition, I regret the inability of the myriad of officials involved in the planning or the execution to respond to the chaos which unfolded.

Gainer followed with an unassuming explanation of events and acknowledgement of his own unfamiliarity with Facebook:

We are here to listen (read) ; we want to understand more about your experience. But, I have another confession; I am brand new to face book; I joined last night. Although I typed many a homicide investigation during my days in Chicago, I remain a slow, hunt and peck typist. I love spell check on my computer and black berry and regret I have not found that same support on face book. So give me some slack in that area.    

I cannot answer all your questions; all the facts are not available yet; the investigation and review continues. In addition, many more were involved in the planning and execution and they are not here with me.

But all the leaders of this operation are committed public servants who deeply regret our collective or systemic failures. We will get to the bottom of those weaknesses or failures and also tell about things that worked.    

As of the moment, the Gainer's post has generated 262 comments from 127 people.  According to Politico, Gainer and his staff intend to continue to monitor group members' posts and respond to questions.

 

Illinois Rep. Honored for Raising Awareness of Radon

by Meagan Dorsch

In case you didn't have it marked on your calendar, January is national Radon Action Month. One state legislator, Illinois Rep. Dan Reitz, will be honored this week for his contribution to reducing the risk of radon, raising awareness of radon testing and spurring broader public action to reduce the risk of lung cancer.

Rep. Reitz has sponsored numerous radon-related legislation, including the Radon Awareness Act which unanimously passed the Illinois House and Senate. This act requires that the seller give the buyer a pamphlet on radon testing and allows the buyer the right to have the property inspected for radon. In April 2008, Reitz became the chief sponsor of HB 4789 which creates a radon task force to make recommendations concerning the adoption of rules for building codes. He will be honored this Wednesday, Jan. 28 at the 2009 National Radon Award Ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Partners in this effort include the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD), the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (AARST), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the U.S. EPA and many others.  

We also discuss the dangers of radon gas in this edition of The Buzz at State Legislatures Magazine. Doug Farquhar, director of NCSL environmental health program, tell us why we should test our home, office or school for radon gas and how dangerous exposure can be.

Listen to our podcast (6:25) and find out how to keep your family safe. 

Follow NCSL on Twitter!

Committees Control Bill Introductions in Idaho

by Karl Kurtz

We welcome Boise State University Professor Gary Moncrief, one of the leading political scientists who studies state legislatures (and a good friend), to the blogosphere.  He is an occasional contributor to the Idaho Statesman's blog, Idaho Politics.  Here are portions of his interesting post today, "Idaho has unique process of bill introduction." It's about the power of legislative committees and has some comparative state information:

...The author/sponsor of a piece of legislation has to take his proposed bill (its called an "RS" at this point-stands for "routing slip") to a committee for a cursory review.  This is not a full-blown committee hearing with testimony from lobbyists and agency people.  Instead, the committee usually hears only from the sponsor about the purpose of the proposal and then votes on whether to print it as a bill or not.  Once the committee agrees to have the bill printed, it is introduced and enters the stream of the legislative process.

But the committee does not have to print the bill, and about 30% of all the RS's are never printed and introduced.  This is a highly unusual system; only Connecticut has anything remotely like this (according to my friends at the National Conference of State Legislatures).   In all other states, all the sponsor has to do is give the proposed bill to the Clerk of the House or Senate and the bill is automatically introduced.  But in Idaho, committees can eliminate proposed legislation before it is ever introduced....

[This] means committees in Idaho are given extraordinary power.  The advantage is that the committees are able to get rid of some proposals that probably weren't going to pass anyway.  In a legislature that averages almost 700 bill introductions but only about 80 days in session a year, that's probably a good thing; it keeps the legislature from wasting time on legislation that is dead-on-arrival.  The downside of this system is that some issues just don't get heard.

Speaker DiMasi to Step Down in Massachusetts

by Karl Kurtz

As soon as we say that that leadership list that we have been writing about today is "final" it changes.  From boston.com:

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi plans to resign from his powerful post tomorrow and depart the North End legislative seat he has held for three decades, saying yesterday that he is proud of his record and is departing with his "head high" despite ongoing ethics controversies swirling around him.

DiMasi - the third consecutive Massachusetts speaker to leave under a cloud - was reinstalled as speaker three weeks ago. But he has remained under public scrutiny, an Ethics Commission investigation, and a pair of grand juries looking at the influence-peddling allegations involving his close friends....

...DiMasi denied that the ethics allegations are playing a role in his departure, yet he did not clearly explain the timing. He said that with all the serious fiscal issues facing the state, he decided to step aside for a new speaker who would be fully engaged. He said he plans to return to his private law practice and, possibly, to a job in the healthcare industry....

The two most likely successors are House Ways and Means Chairman Robert A. DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat, and John H. Rogers, a Norwood Democrat. Both men have said in the last several days that they are confident they have the majority votes in the 160-member House. The infighting is getting particularly tough.

A Profile of Legislative Leaders

by Karl Kurtz and Katie Ziegler

The 2009 roster of legislative leaders--senate presidents, speakers, pro tems, and majority and minority leaders--is now complete for the 50 states (but not for the territories and commonwealths).  The list includes 336 names. 

The duties, responsibilities and powers of these leaders vary substantially from state to state.  The title of pro tem for example, whether attached to speaker or president, may in one chamber be honorific and given to the senior member, while in another it may be a powerful position. 

Nonetheless, this list provides a snapshot of the nation's legislative leadership.  146 (43 percent) of the names on the list have changed (new or different position) since January 2008, including 24 of the speakers (an unusually large number) and 14 of the senate leaders.

The list includes 50 women--15 percent of the total.  That's about on par with the number of women leaders in recent years but a smaller proportion than the 24 percent female membership among all state legislators.

Forty-three of the women leaders are Democrats and seven Republicans.  There are 10 women serving as presiding officers including two states--Maine and New Hampshire--where the presiding officers in both chambers are women.

We're on shakier ground in trying to count racial and ethnic minorities among legislative leaders, but here are our best estimates.  There are 16 African-Americans (five percent) on the list, including five top leaders.  [Feb. 9 update: The election of Bob Smitherman as president pro tem of the Alabama Senate brings the total of African-American leaders to 17.]  We count nine with Spanish surnames, although this probably undercounts hispanic leaders because, for example, a latina who assumed her husband's anglo name may not show up on this list.  There are five Asian-American leaders (with the same caveat as the Spanish-surnamed leaders). 

Once the roster of leaders in the territories and commonwealths is complete, the number of hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander leaders will increase.

We know that the youngest speaker on the list is Maine's Hannah Pingree (photo) at age 32, but we're not sure if she is the youngest leader.  We think that Nevada Senate Majority Leader William Raggio, born in 1926, is the oldest, followed closely by Washington Senate President Pro Tem and Wisconsin Senate President Pro Tem Fred Risser (the longest-serving legislator in the nation), both born in 1927.

If you can prove us wrong on any of these points, add a comment below or send us a message by clicking on "Contact us" in the above right column.

Senate President? Your Name Must be Williams

by Karl Kurtz

An oddity on the national list of state legislative leaders is that three of the senate presidents are named Williams--Connecticut President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D), Georgia Senate President Tommie Williams (R), and Kentucky Senate President David Williams (R).  In addition, two other legislative leaders have the same last name--Montana Senate Minority Leader Carol Williams (D) and Tennessee Speaker Kent Williams (R).

The Williamses (the third most frequent surname in the U.S.) outnumber the Smiths (the most frequent) 5-3 among legislative leaders this year.  There's only one Johnson (the second most frequent) on the leadership list.

A rose from The Thicket to Corina Eckl.

18 vs. 21: States Battling Lowering the Minimum Drinking Age

by Michelle Blackston

Since 1988, 21 has been the minimum legal drinking age for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. That's because Congress enacted the National Minimum Drinking Age Act just a few years prior.

Over the last few years, some state legislatures have considered legislation to lower the minimum legal drinking age. Remember our August Thicket posting on this issue? We said there would be more to come!

In 2007, New Hampshire considered a bill to lower the drinking age to 18. In 2008, the Minnesota Legislature debated a bill that would have allowed those over 18 to consume alcohol in bars and restaurants. Kentucky, South Carolina and Wisconsin considered legislation that would have allowed military personnel over the age of 18 to drink alcohol. Vermont established a special committee to study the issue.

In this edition of The Buzz at State Legislatures Magazine, we sit down with Matthew Gever, a policy associate with the National Conference of State Legislatures. Matt explains why this issue has become a heated debate in some states and why it's gaining a lot of traction. He also talks about the consequences states could face by lowering the drinking age and what dangers could face younger drinkers. 

Listen to our podcast (7:30) and weigh in on the issue. Do you think states should lower the minimum drinking age? 

Auto Theft: A Billion Dollar Industry

by Meagan Dorsch

If you don't think your car is at risk for being stolen, you might want to think again.

A car is taken every 28 seconds and the odds of having your car stolen is one in 210. In 2007 alone, one million cars vanished and only 12 percent of those cases were ever solved.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has released a new publication on Auto Theft Prevention. This publication is also the focus of our latest podcast! 

In this edition of The Buzz at State Legislatures Magazine, we sit down with NCSL's transportation policy expert, Anne Teigen. Anne fills us in on the high tech way that auto theft affects more than just the victim.

You can listen to our podcast (6:55) on auto theft prevention or learn more at NCSL.

Coalition Chooses New Mexico Senate Leader

by Karl Kurtz

Add one more to our list of legislative chambers with coalition leadership: incumbent New Mexico Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, a Democrat, was reelected by all of the minority party Republicans and a portion of the Democratic caucus, as described by Steve Terrell in The New Mexican:

Although most of his fellow Democrats wanted to replace Tim Jennings as the state Senate’s president pro-tem, the Southern New Mexico conservative held on to his post Monday with the help of Republicans and a handful of Democrats.

The outcome of the leadership struggle, in which the more progressive wing of Senate Democrats had backed Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, could make it harder for Gov. Bill Richardson to get his way in the Legislature, where the Senate has been a bottleneck for his initiatives in the past.

With virtually no discussion, all 15 Republicans in the Senate joined with eight Democrats in voting to retain Jennings, a Roswell rancher who has been a state senator for 30 years. Cisneros got 19 votes.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, who shares power with the pro tem in the Senate, was reelected by Democrats to lead their caucus.

This brings to five the number of states in which a bipartisan coalition has chosen the legislative leadership.