The PENNSYLVANIA Department of Corrections announces it will no longer place inmates with serious mental illnesses in solitary confinement. Those prisoners will now be placed in special treatment units instead. The agreement settles a lawsuit brought against the agency by advocates for the mentally ill (WASHINGTON POST).
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard became the latest GOP governor to propose expanding Medicaid as laid out under the Affordable Care Act. Daugaard pitched the expansion as part of his $4.8 billion 2016 budget proposal, noting it would provide health care to approximately 55,000 residents currently uncovered by insurance. But he noted the expansion would be dependent on not requiring any money from the state’s General Fund.
“This is not a done deal,” Daugaard told legislators. “I cannot tell you that everything will come together, but if it does I think we should seize the opportunity.”
Daugaard noted one other condition: successful completion of ongoing talks with The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide 100 percent of the funds for Medicaid-eligible American Indians through the Indian Health Service or tribes. If CMS agrees, the state would save more money than the cost of expanding Medicaid for other low-income residents. The deal would also need to be endorsed by Native American tribes and state lawmakers. (HUFFINGTON POST, ARGUS LEADER [SIOUX FALLS], RAPID CITY JOURNAL)
PENNSYLVANIA Gov. Tom Wolf (D) signs HB 1346, which among several things bars local governments from regulating drone aircraft (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
Defying his own party, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) called last week for the Hoosier State to adopt legislation against hate crimes. Indiana is one of only five states – the others are Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina and Wyoming – without a hate crimes statute on their books.
Holcomb made the announcement in the wake of a synagogue in Carmel, a suburb of Indianapolis, being vandalized with spray painted Nazi symbols and other anti-Semitic graffiti.
“No law can stop evil, but we should be clear that our state stands with the victims and their voices will not be silenced,” Holcomb said in a statement. “For that reason it is my intent that we get something done this next legislative session, so Indiana can be 1 of 46 states with hate crimes legislation — and not 1 of 5 states without it.”
Bills to implement a hate crimes statute have been introduced in the legislature for each of the last three years. But all have garnered fierce opposition from the GOP’s more conservative wing, who contend such laws create a special protected class and infringe upon free speech rights.
Although proponents welcomed the governor’s open support, state Democratic Party Chairman John Zody criticized him for not stepping into the fray sooner.
“This is a late-to-the-game reaction after @GovHolcomb sat on his hands last session,” Zody wrote in a tweet last week. “The administration should not be applauded for finally trying to do something it should have done already.”
House Speaker Brian Bosma (R) said Lawmakers are studying the issue, but he remains unconvinced a hate crimes law would have much impact, telling the Indianapolis star that “Indiana judges already have the ability to enhance sentences based on a criminal’s motivation when presented with evidence of bias, but perhaps more needs to be done to clarify and highlight this existing provision.” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, CHICAGO TRIBUNE)
In the 2016 presidential election, over two-thirds of Florida voters cast their ballots early or by mail rather than at their local polling place on Election Day. That fact has election officials in the state thinking about switching from traditional neighborhood polling places like churches and VFW halls to regional voting centers, where any voter in a particular county could cast a ballot.
“Vote centers would eliminate any confusion voters may have about where they are required to vote on Election Day, because they could vote anywhere,” said Hillsborough County elections chief Craig Latimer.
A recent statewide survey reportedly found that a majority of the state’s 67 county election supervisors support the idea of regional voting centers. But it would still have to be approved by the state’s Legislature. (MIAMI HERALD)
The ongoing war between California and President Trump heated up significantly last week, as the administration moved to challenge two of the Golden State’s cornerstone environmental laws.
The first came on Monday when Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt announced his agency would be rolling back Obama-era fuel efficiency rules requiring automakers to hit ambitious emissions and mileage standards by 2025. Pruitt’s statement seemed to indicate the EPA would further seek to overturn the state’s decades-old right to set its own pollution standards. A dozen states also adhere to California’s standards.
“Cooperative federalism doesn’t mean that one state can dictate standards for the rest of the country,” Pruitt said in a statement. “EPA will set a national standard for greenhouse gas emissions that allows auto manufacturers to make cars that people both want and can afford — while still expanding environmental and safety benefits of newer cars.”
Pruitt called such a standard “in everyone’s best interest.”
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) had another view, calling it a “cynical and meretricious abuse of power [that] will poison our air and jeopardize the health of all Americans.”
But there would be more. That same day the Trump administration took legal action to overturn a 2017 law that gives the state the power to buy any federal land in California the federal government tries to sell to a private party. The U.S. Department of Justice said the law is unconstitutional because it violates primacy laws that allow the Bureau of Land Management to select public land for sale if it meets certain criteria.
California officials from Brown to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) vowed to defend the state’s laws.
The two suits are the latest in a series between the two government entities. The Trump administration has also filed suit over the state’s immigration policies, while California has filed dozens of lawsuits against the administration across numerous issues. (CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, LOS ANGELES TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) declares that the Trump administration will now allow federal prosecutors to prosecute marijuana businesses in states where weed has been legalized for either medical or recreational use. The policy is a direct reversal from the Obama administration, which opted to not interfere in states which legalized some form of weed use as long as those states adhered to certain guidelines (ASSOCIATED PRESS). The Trump administration issues guidance that allows states to compel people to work or prepare for jobs in order to receive Medicaid. At least 10 states have applied for permission to require Medicaid recipients to work a minimum number of hours each week to be eligible for the joint state-federal health insurance program (WASHINGTON POST).
NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie (R) signs SB 2964, which prohibits residential substance use disorder treatment facilities and aftercare facilities from denying admission to individuals receiving medication assisted treatment for a substance use disorder (NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
Also in NEW JERSEY, Gov. Christie signs AB 2336, which prohibits health insurance carriers from requiring optometrists to become providers with vision care plans as a condition of becoming providers in the carriers' panel of providers (NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
California lost another old school GOP stalwart last week, as longtime Assemblymember and Senator Sam Aanestad died at 71 after a lengthy illness. An oral surgeon by trade, much of his time in office was focused on health care issues. This was on prominent display during a budget debate in 2008 that went deep into the night. As his former chief of staff Mark Reeder tells the Capitol Morning Report, Aanestad handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste to his fellow Senators to make sure they maintained good oral hygiene. We’re guessing to also make those late night up-close-and-personal conferences a little more bearable.
The DENVER City Council unanimously endorses new rules that, among several things, require so-called “slot homes” – town homes that face sideways, allowing developers to fit more units on the property – to have porches and windows that face the street (KDVR [DENVER]).
The SAN DIEGO City Council approves a proposal to eliminate permit fees for the construction of “companion units,” otherwise known as accessory dwelling units or granny flats (*** [SAN DIEGO]).
-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
MASSACHUSETTS’ Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court, has upheld a state law barring voters who haven’t registered at least 20 days before Election Day from casting ballots. The court ruled that the law “does not pose a significant interference” for those wishing to vote, as Chelsea Collaborative, a social services organization, and MassVOTE, an organization that registers voters, had argued in their challenge to the 25-year-old law. (BOSTON GLOBE)
ARKANSAS Senate President Pro Tempore-elect Jim Hendren (R) said he hopes to have his chamber live video streaming its sessions and committee meetings by the start of the next legislative session in January. When the state’s House began video streaming its meetings in 2010, the Senate declined to do so, with then-state Sen. Shane Broadway (D) saying at the time, “The Senate has always wanted it to be traditional, the same way it’s always been.” (ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE [LITTLE ROCK])
-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK
A federal judge issues a temporary restraining order that prevents ARKANSAS from enforcing a section of a 2015 law requiring abortion providers to contract with a second doctor who has hospital admitting privileges. The order issued by U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker expires on July 2, but could be renewed for two more weeks at her discretion (ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE [LITTLE ROCK]).
NEW JERSEY Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signs SB 427, which bars anyone under age 18 from marrying or entering into a civil union in the Garden State (NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
The Supreme Court of the United States declares unconstitutional a CALIFORNIA law that required anti-abortion health centers to inform women about publicly funded abortion and contraception services (USA TODAY).
OHIO Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) announces the creation of a free, online system will allow victims to anonymously check the status of their rape kits from the time they are collected at a medical facility and then sent to police, a lab for forensic testing or later stored or destroyed. Buckeye State lawmakers must still pass legislation that would make it mandatory for legal and medical authorities to track the evidence collection kits, and to give victims the right to access information on their kits (CLEVELAND.COM)
With tourism a huge part of most state budgets these days, everyone is looking for ways to convince folks to come for a visit. And of course to leave their cash behind when they go home. With the competition fierce for those tourist dollars, South Dakota has come up with a pretty good campaign video. The gist of the ad is simply that the Coyote State is better than Mars. Or, as the video voiceover says, “Mars. The air: not breathable. The surface: cold and barren...South Dakota. Progressive. Productive. And abundant in oxygen. Why die on Mars when you can live in South Dakota?” Good point, though I’ve been to South Dakota and to be fair it can be pretty cold and barren too. But yes, it’s surely better than Mars.
-- By RICH EHISEN
About half of Americans say not enough has been done to create gender equality in the country, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. But that study, which is based on an online survey of 4,573 adults conducted on Aug. 8-21 and Sept. 14-28, 2017, also showed that as with many other issues today, Democrats and Republicans differ on the subject.
About 70 percent of Democrats and those who lean Democratic said the country hasn’t done enough to ensure women have the same rights as men, while just 26 percent of Republicans and those who lean Republican said the same.
Juliana Horowitz, the study’s lead author, said the partisan divide on gender equality mirrors a similar split on racial equality.
“When we look at differences between Republicans and Democrats on gender equality, these are the same partisan gaps we’re seeing on things related to race,” she said. “The American public is extremely polarized along party lines.” (HILL, PEW RESEARCH CENTER)
Montana GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte may or may not unseat incumbent Gov. Steve Bullock, but if he does it will be without the support of Susan Carstensen. As the Missoulian reports, Carstensen has publicly endorsed Bullock, saying of Gianforte “I don’t believe that his success in business translates to success in public service.” And why should anyone care what she thinks? Maybe because for 13 years Carstensen was the chief financial officer, chief operating officer and senior vice president at the technology company Gianforte founded. Carstensen has openly supported Dems in the past, so her feelings are not exactly a surprise. More curious – and to both her and Gianforte’s credit – is that they managed to work together all that time in spite of their differences.
-- By Rich Ehisen
The Wall Street investment firm that has already agreed under settlements with U.S. government regulators to pay over $1.5 billion for its part in the subprime mortgage scandal that helped precipitate the Great Recession may soon be accused of pushing racially-discriminatory loans that led to the fiscal collapse of Detroit. According to a potential class action lawsuit filed by African American homeowners in that city, Morgan Stanley encouraged now-bankrupt lender New Century to push high-risk loans between 2004 and 2007 that “disproportionally impacted” black borrowers there.
The suit cites internal documents that suggest Morgan Stanley officials were aware the loans were problematic as early as October 2005, when a staffer at the firm emailed several superiors to express concerns that the loans were being made to individuals with limited credit histories and no proof of income.
“There is not a lot of common sense being used when approving these types of loans,” he wrote.
In an April 14, 2006 memo the head of the firm’s trading desk predicted growing problems from the loans.
“We should expect ...a good percentage of the borrowers going into extended delinquency/liquidation,” he said.
And in January of the following year, when that same Morgan Stanley official emailed New Century asking, “What is going on with these loans??????????” a New Century executive replied, “You mean besides borrowers who apparently don’t have the money to make their mortgage payments? (Sorry to be flip ...)”
Yet the investment firm kept on buying the loans until the subprime mortgage bubble burst.
The suit also cites an unidentified director of Morgan Stanley’s mortgage unit saying in a 2008 radio broadcast: “It felt wrong way back when. And I wish we had never done it.” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
The SAN ANTONIO City Council approves a proposal to require all employers except government entities to provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 34 hours worked. Employers with more than five workers will have to comply by Aug. 1, 2019; Employers with fewer than five employees have until Aug. 1, 2021. (BLOOMBERG BNA)
HAWAII Gov. David Ige (D) signs SB 3095, a bill that makes the Aloha State the first to ban pesticides containing the chemical chlorpyrifos. Overexposure to chlorpyrifos can cause paralysis and death (MAUI NEWS).
We’ve seen some great political ads over the years, but Minnesota Congressional candidate Dean Phillips has outdone them all. In a new video, Phillips uses the legend of Bigfoot to accuse his opponent – incumbent Erik Paulsen – of ignoring his constituents in favor of catering to Big Pharma. So much so that Bigfoot begins to wonder if Paulsen really exists. [If you don’t get the joke of Bigfoot doubting the existence of a human...well, there’s not much I can do for you.] To prove Paulsen does exist, Bigfoot camps out in the lobby of a large pharmaceutical company to wait for him to wander by. “I was prepared to stay there for weeks,” the big furball says. “It took seven minutes.” It’s a great line, but the grin that follows is laugh out loud hilarious. In a world where most attack ads are just plain mean, this one is a true keeper.
CALIFORNIA passes a measure setting ambitious clean energy goals, calling for relying solely on clean sources of energy like solar, wind and geothermal by 2045, and sends it to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown (D), who is expected to sign it. The proposal, which has been debated for nearly two years, passed 43-32 in the Assembly and 25-13 in the Senate. In addition to setting the 2045 no-carbon goal, the bill also shortens by four years the timeline to hit up a previous target for 50 percent renewable energy -- now required by 2027 -- and puts the state on track to meet a 60-percent threshold at the end of 2030. (DESERT SUN [PALM SPRINGS], SACRAMENTO BEE)
In the two decades from 1991 to 2010, over 100 new stadiums opened across the country. Most of them were financed at least in part with public money. The boom was fueled by demand from sports teams and their fans for a more elevated spectator experience, as well as expansions of the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Soccer (MLS).
But cities’ attraction for sports stadiums has faded. The toll the recession took on cities’ finances was a big part of that change. In at least one city, Stockton, California, debt from a publicly financed arena made the fiscal crisis worse, contributing to a bankruptcy filing in 2012. Evidence that stadiums aren’t the local economic engines they’ve been touted to be has also curbed enthusiasm for them. The general perception now seems to be that new sports stadiums just give wealthy team owners an opportunity to line their pockets with taxpayer dollars.
So when the Minnesota Vikings sought a publicly funded stadium in 2012, the state’s Legislature flatly rejected the idea, although the team eventually received a substantial amount of public funding. Four years later, voters in San Diego, California refused to cover the majority of the cost of a new $1.8 billion stadium for the Chargers, sending the team packing to Los Angeles.
Cities haven’t completely lost their zeal for ribbon-cutting ceremonies, however, as demonstrated by the incentives they’ve thrown at Amazon to land its second headquarters. But the honeymoon for publicly financed sports stadiums appears to be over. (GOVERNING)
If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If not, it never was. Or so said author Richard Bach, anyway. Now it appears Utah is ready to give his words some legal muscle. As NBC affiliate KHQ-TV reports, Gov. Gary Herbert recently signed legislation making the Beehive State the first to legally allow parents to let their kids go “free range,” i.e. wandering about free of adult supervision. The theory is that such freedom builds self-sufficiency in the young ‘uns, and it also keeps parents from being falsely accused of neglect when their kids are doing nothing worse than walking home alone from the park. Given the propensity of modern day “helicopter parents” to micromanage their kids’ every move, the law might not get many folks taking advantage of it.
The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court votes to bar state judges from belonging to non-profit youth organizations if those groups practice any form of discrimination (LOS ANGELES TIMES).
Clear leaders emerged in TEXAS' three special legislative elections last Tuesday, but none of the candidates appeared to have received the 50-percent voter support needed to win outright. So all three of the races — in House District 17, House District 123, and Senate District 26 — will likely go to runoffs (SAN MARCOS MERCURY)
The NEW YORK Senate approves SB 1850, which would create a public database of violent felons similar to the state's sex offender registry. The measure, which would require all individuals convicted of a violent felony to register with the state Department of Criminal Justice Services upon discharge, parole or release from any state or local facility, hospital or institution, moves to the Assembly (LEGISLATIVE GAZETTE [ALBANY]).