The Thicket at State Legislatures

The Fiscal Outlook for Higher Education

by Brenda Bautsch

2009 was a tough year for states in terms of funding higher education, and 2010 does not look any better.

The recession has made fiscal conditions worse in the states, and while the federal stimulus funds have helped, states know that those funds will end soon. According to Joni Finney, Vice President on the National Center of Public Policy on Higher Education and a professor at practice at the University of Pennsylvania, most states do not have a plan for funding higher education in the long term.

In this edition of the Buzz, we sit down with Professor Finney to talk about hope for the future. Finney says it is going to take leadership to make sure that states have a plan to fund higher education in the long term. She also says thinking outside of the box might help states find a solution in these unprecedented times.

Listen to this podcast and our other podcasts on college completion rates with David Longanecker and federal policies and programs with the Deputy Under Secretary of Education.

College Completion Rates: Room for Improvement

by Brenda Bautsch

When you compare higher education completion rates in the United States to the rest of the world, we fall behind. But that hasn't always been the case.

The National Conference of State Legislatures recently held the 6th annual Higher Education Institute in Denver, Colorado. Improving college completion was the focus of the two day meeting with legislators from across the country.

David Longanecker, president of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, attended the meeting and provided some great insight into what states can do to graduate more students from college.

In this edition of the Buzz, I sat down with Mr. Longanecker to get his perspective on how the United States can once again lead the world in the number of adults with college degrees. He says it's a goal we cannot accomplish by relying just on high school graduates—we must also focus on adult education. Longanecker also talks about performance-based funding and why he thinks this might help legislatures and states boost the number of students who finish college.

Listen to the podcast (4:41) and let us know if your state is making higher education a priority.

Vermont Garden

by Meagan Dorsch

My colleague, Bert Waisanen, an avid home gardener, recently discovered what we believe to be the first, and perhaps only, state capitol food garden in Montpelier, Vermont.

Bert discovered the Vermont State House Food Garden as he waited to testify on state taxes at the capitol. It appears the garden was the project for a local advocacy group, with a goal of making Montpelier a more sustainable place to live. The group also hopes to inspire residents to create their own vegetable gardens. You can read more about the project and how it got off the ground in this blog. While he was on-site, Bert's thumb turned green with envy as workers harvested dozens of pounds of fresh greens and vegetables.  

The Vermont program is volunteer based and about a half dozen workers are dedicated to the harvest. All of the food is immediately given to local food banks. The fourth harvest of the year (which Bert was on-site for) produced over 8 lbs of cabbage, 27 lbs of beets and over 3 lbs of beans. All of the food was given to the Bethany Soup Kitchen. It looks like workers planted more kale, collards, broccoli, lettuce, beets and spinach.

The volunteers told Bert their program is the first state capitol food growing program in the US, which began this year. It appears they are correct. I attempted to Google and find other statehouse gardens, but didn't come up with any. We do know the White House has a community garden and a blog to keep track of each harvest.

Each month, Bert turns our NCSL break room into a mini farmer's market to sell fresh jalapenos, peppers, lettuce and tomatoes (I loved the peppers). Harvest time is right around the corner, so let us know if there is another state capitol that is helping to feed the community, or if you are planting the idea for this spring.

California Reform in the Works?

In the wake of massive budget deficits in California, a number of groups are calling for government reforms as reported by the Los Angeles Times. The reforms range from changes in budgeting practices to a state constitutional convention. Others call for a change to the super-majority requirement for passing the budget or making the Legislature part time. There seems to be a growing sense that the government needs some real repairs.

Same-Sex Marriage. Where do states stand?

by Meagan Dorsch

This has been a big year for the topic of same-sex marriage in state legislatures across the country.

Six states have legalized same-sex marriages, but in at least one state, the law could be challenged.

In this edition of The Buzz, we sit down with NCSL's Christine Nelson to get an update on state legislative activity, learn what the next step could be for California and what smaller steps have been taken at the federal level.

We also discuss public opinion polls on same-sex marriage and what those numbers could mean to lawmakers.

Has this issued peaked in state legislatures? Listen to our podcast (8:43) to find out.

Extension for States on Adam Walsh Act

by NCSL Staff

A victory for states! This week, Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, signed a one year agreement to extend the deadline for states to comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

This extension is a win for all states and one that the National Conference of State Legislatures has fought hard for on Capitol Hill. It also represents an important first step toward making this tough federal law more workable at the state level.

The SORNA compliance deadline for states would have been the middle of this year. The penalty for noncompliance is a 10 percent reduction to federal Byrne/JAG law enforcement assistance grants. But with the Attorney General's signature, states now have until 2010 to come into compliance.

SORNA is a very prescriptive law that mandates information states must collect regarding sex offenders and defines different tiers of sex offenders to determine how long a person has to register as a sex offender. Many of its requirements pertain to juveniles adjudicated delinquent and will force states to completely overhaul how juvenile sex offenders are treated. It also will require periodic, including in-person, verification of registration information and requires internet-based information by added to a national registry among other related requirements.

Although this is a victory for states, many will still face challenges in implementing compliancewith Title 1 of SORNA in just one year. The cost is a major factor for states, especially during this tough economic climate. Many states are grappling with how to redefine their offender classes in order to comply with federal law, while others are working to address the juvenile provisions of the Act.

Twittergate? Really?

by Meagan Dorsch

A friend sent me this article from the Financial Times. It talks about members of the German parliament who leaked the winner of Germany's presidential reelection via Twitter, about 15 minutes before the winner was officially announced.

The reporter's have dubbed this incident as "Twittergate," but I personally think this is more along the lines of "Twitterchad."  

Aside from this, the article brings up the latest debate on how to use social media in government. Several communications professionals from various federal and state organizations (including NCSL) have been coming together over the last few monthsto begin developing protocol/guidelines and even best practices on use of things like Facebook and Twitter. 

I sit on a few of these committees and believe me, this is a beast of an issue to tackle. Great ideas are being developed on both the state and federal level, but I think we are a few months away from seeing anything in writing. Any suggestions you want me to bring to the table?

I'll be sure to keep you posted on the Thicket and through our tweets. Follow NCSL on Twitter at NCSLCOMM or on Facebook, just type in National Conference of State Legislatures. Shameless social media plug!

 

Death Penalty is Still an Issue for State Legislatures

by Meagan Dorsch

New Mexico has become the most recent state to abolish its death penalty. This brings the total number of states with the death penalty to 35. New Mexico is the second state to abolish capital punishment since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976; New Jersey did so in December, 2007.

A little more than a year ago, we sat down with NCSL's Sarah Hammond, to discuss the activity surrounding the death penalty at the federal level. While there was a narrowing of the death penalty in recent years at the federal level, the majority of activity this year was seen in the states. Eight states total introduced measures to abolish the death penalty during the 2009 legislative session.

Listen to our podcast (8:49) to learn some of the factors states might be considering when proposing legislation to abolish the death penalty, what happens if a states does change their law on capital punishment and why the federal government has said they have taken some of their leads on this issue from states.

Subtleties Matter

by Tim Storey

As reported here in the Thicket back in February, there is a movement afoot in many states to enact resolutions asserting state sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  And according to the "Tenth Amendment Center," resolutions have now been introduced in 33 state legislatures although a few of those states have completed regular sessions, so some of them are now stalled. 

My colleague Karl Kurtz, the Atlas upon whose shoulders The Thicket rests, has tracked these resolutions and wrote a very interesting post here recently about general memorializing of Congress by resolution.  Yesterday, Karl was invited to provide some background for a piece being put together by Bill Tucker, a reporter for CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight show, about the state sovereignty resolutions.  Karl did a nice job providing perspective, and the eventual piece included a lengthy soundbite from Karl.  See the whole story here: Lou Dobbs Tonight.

The story accurately portrays a movement by some of the nation's 7382 state legislators to send a message to Congress about federalism.  But what annoyed me was the misleading lead-in by the host.  Mr. Dobbs sets up the pre-produced video by saying,

"States in this country, 28 of them, asserting their constitutional right to soveriegnty.  More than half the country’s states are apparently fed up with Washington’s intervention and intrusion in what they consider to be states’ affairs.” 

He follows by saying that 28 states are considering sovereignty legislation, but his first two lines strongly imply that at least half of the states have passed, or endorsed, the sovereignty resolutions.  It may seem to some like a subtle distinction, but anyone who works in and around legislatures knows that filing a bill or resolution is far different than getting it passed.  It remains to be seen if the sovereignty efforts will catch fire and begin to pass, but it is not accurate to say that 28 states are "fed up with Washington."  What we do know is that at least one legislator in 28 states (apparently 33 states at this point) is fed up enough to drop a resolution in the proverbial hopper.  That's a far cry from getting a majority of their legislative peers to support the resolution. 

Voting Overseas

by Meagan Dorsch

It is difficult for Americans overseas to vote. Today, many military and overseas voters face an obstacle course of state and local regulations that often delay receipt and processing of both their registration forms and absentee ballots.

Back in 2006, only 26.5 percent of the nearly one million ballots requested by military and Americans living overseas were actually cast and counted. In a recent report by the Pew Center on the States, researchers found that one-third of all states do not provide enough time for military personnel stationed overseas to vote, and as many as half of all states need to improve their absentee voting process to ensure the votes of servicemen and women abroad will be counted.

In this edition of The Buzz, we discuss this very issue with Tom Intorcio, a policy specialist at NCSL. In this podcast (12:35), Tom discusses the steps legislatures are taking to ensure that every vote cast in an election will count, and why 2010 could be a big test for states.

Recently, absentee voting for military and overseas citizens has become a hot topic in legislatures across the country. In fact, back in March, the governor of Virginia signed legislation that authorizes elections officials to send blank absentee ballots by email to military and overseas voters and their families who are located outside the Commonwealth. However, the bill maintains the requirement that the voted ballot must be returned by mail. For more information on legislation to help military and overseas voters, please go here.