Saying that “Maine people value their privacy, online and off,” Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed one of the toughest data privacy measures in the nation last week.
Under SB 275, which Mills signed last Thursday, Pine Tree State Internet providers will be prohibited from using, selling, or distributing a customer’s personal information without the express consent of the customer. The law will also bar ISPs from refusing to serve a customer, penalizing them or offering a discount in order to pressure them into allowing the ISP to sell their data. The law will take effect on July 1.
“The internet is a powerful tool, and as it becomes increasingly intertwined with our lives, it is appropriate to take steps to protect the personal information and privacy of Maine people,” Mills said in a statement. “With this common-sense law, Maine people can access the internet with the knowledge and comfort that their personal information cannot be bought or sold by their ISPs without their express approval.”
The Maine law comes at a time when all eyes are focused on the battle in California over that state’s sweeping data privacy law (the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA), which is set to go into effect in January and which most observers believe will have significant impact well beyond the Golden State’s borders. Swarms of bills have been introduced this session seeking to amend the law before then, though to date efforts to make it more business-friendly are handily beating out efforts to give consumers more power over their data.
Industry observers note that the measure Mills signed is even tougher than the California law in one key area: It requires ISPs to obtain specific permission from consumers to be able to use or sell their data, while the CCPA allows Internet providers to use that data unless the consumer specifically opts out.
As with the CCPA, definitions are critical in how the law is applied. The Maine law’s definition of “customer personal information” includes web browsing history, application usage history, precise geolocation information, financial information, health information as well as anything pertaining to that person’s children. Other included elements are the customer’s device identifier, communications, and origin and destination IP addresses.
In addition to California, Maine joins Ohio, Nevada and Minnesota in enacting restrictions on Internet providers or tech companies selling or otherwise using personal consumer data. (NATIONAL LAW REVIEW, HILL [DC], MAINE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE)
For more on this topic, please join us on Tuesday, June 25th for the next episode in our 2019 SNCJ Hot Issues Webinar series - Data Privacy: California and Beyond. To register, please click here
LOUISIANA lawmakers gave final approval last week for a proposed constitutional amendment that would stipulate there is no right to an abortion in the state. The action, part of a wave of recent anti-abortion legislation, assures that the issue will be on the state’s ballot in next year’s presidential election. (ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE])
NEVADA Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) vetoed a bill (AB 186) passed by the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature that would have committed the state to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, pledging its six electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote in presidential elections if enough other states to constitute a majority of the Electoral College do the same. The governor said joining that agreement “could diminish the role of smaller states like Nevada in national electoral contests” and subvert the will of Nevada voters. (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL)
A U.S. district judge has ruled that a lawsuit alleging problems - including canceled absentee ballots, precinct closures and voting machine tampering - in GEORGIA’s gubernatorial race last year can move forward. Election officials in the state had filed a motion to dismiss the suit filed by allies of Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams after she lost to Republican Brian Kemp last year. (ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION)
A pair of bills introduced in the D.C. Council last week would allow residents to cast ballots by mail and allow incarcerated felons to vote. Only felons serving sentences in MAINE and VERMONT are currently permitted to vote. (WAMU [WASHINGTON, D.C.)
-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK
The U.S. Department of Energy is looking into whether 10,000 gallons of wastewater at a Cold War nuclear weapon production site in South Carolina can be reclassified from high-level waste to low-level waste and moved to low-level waste disposal sites in Texas and Utah. Since no disposal sites for high-level waste exist anywhere in the country, the waste at the Savannah River Site (SRS), held in about four-dozen aging storage tanks, would otherwise have to remain at that Aiken-area facility indefinitely.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) evidently likes the DOE’s plan.
“If the department’s study and analysis shows that this waste can be safely reclassified and transferred elsewhere, then the governor is in full support of any plan that would reduce risk in South Carolina,” McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes said in an email.
But Don Hancock of the Southwest Research and Information Center said some Texas and Utah residents wouldn’t appreciate the idea of shifting South Carolina’s problem to their states.
Geoff Fettus of the Natural Resources Defense Council, meanwhile, said, “The Trump administration is moving to fundamentally alter more than 50 years of national consensus on how the most toxic, radioactive and dangerous waste in the world is managed and ultimately disposed of.”
Fettus suggested another possible course of action by the DOE that some residents of South Carolina might not be too happy with: reclassifying the SRS waste as low-level and just leaving it there.
“I think this is just as much about what stays in the tanks, as to what comes out,” he said. (STATE [COLUMBIA])
In overtime after the scheduled adjournment of their regular session on May 31, ILLINOIS lawmakers passed legislation that among other things would allow a casino in Chicago, double the state’s motor fuel tax to 38 cents per gallon and increase the state’s $1.98-per-pack tax on cigarettes by $1. The measures are needed to help pay for a $45 billion, multiyear infrastructure plan proposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D). (CHICAGO TRIBUNE)
The LOUSIANA House approved a bill (HB 578) that would provide funding for 10 transportation projects across the state, including in Lafayette and New Orleans. The $690 million in spending would be the largest investment in the state’s roads and bridges since voters approved a transportation funding ballot measure in 1989. (ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE])
MAINE Gov. Janet Mills (D) proposed $239 million in bonds last week that would provide funding for broadband internet, renewable energy, road and bridge repairs and the state’s land conservation program, Land for Maine’s Future, among other things. The bonds would have to be approved by both lawmakers and voters. (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD)
CONNECTICUT’s Democrat-led General Assembly approved a $43 billion, two-year state budget bill last week that would close a projected $3.7 billion shortfall, while increasing spending by 1.7 percent in the first year and 3.4 percent in the second. Gov. Ned Lamont (D) is expected to sign it. (HARTFORD COURANT)
NEW JERSEY Gov. Phil Murphy (D) proposed completely overhauling the state’s corporate tax incentive program. He said the current program, which is set to expire on June 30, just enriches big companies, and he will not renew it. (NJ.COM)
--Compiled by KOREY CLARK
A bipartisan group of Oregon lawmakers has proposed a general exemption for agricultural businesses from the multibillion-dollar business tax and education spending law signed by Gov. Kate Brown (D) last month.
HB 3445 would exempt sales of “agricultural, floricultural, horticultural, viticultural, vegetable and fruit products, livestock and meats, poultry, eggs, fluid milk, bees and honey.”
Rep. Greg Smith (R), HB 3445’s primary sponsor, said it would extend the break in the tax and education spending bill (HB 3427) that he negotiated for agricultural cooperatives - which sell member’s products on the global market - to the rest of the industry.
“Now there’s the issue for ag folks primarily in the [Willamette Valley]” who aren’t co-op members, he said, adding that the tax law gave those cooperatives “an unfair advantage,” which his bill “tries to correct.”
Seven of the 38 Democrats that hold the majority in the House, four of the 18 Democrats that hold the majority in the Senate, 19 of the 22 Republicans in the House and all but one of the 11 Republicans in the Senate have signed on as sponsors of HB 3445.
Still, House Speaker Tina Kotek (D) didn’t seem optimistic about the bill’s chances.
“I don’t believe we’ll move forward on that bill,” she said, noting it would take a big bite out of the newly approved education funding. “I’m not surprised it’s out there. But we just created a new business tax.” (OREGONIAN [PORTLAND], LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
At least 28 states have considered legislation this session addressing reciprocity with other states in occupational licensing, according to LexisNexis State Net’s legislative tracking system. Such measures have been enacted in half of those states, including Arizona, where Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed into law AB 2569, opening up most of the state’s licensed professions, from accountants to veterinarians, to those licensed to practice them in other states.
If a hair stylist learns their craft and is licensed in Las Vegas and then moves across the state line to Arizona, does what they learned in Vegas stay in Vegas? Probably not. But their ability to work might. Or at least it used to.
Presumably, the importance of sanitization of combs and the best way to cut someone’s sideburns without cutting their face is pretty much the same on either side of the Colorado River.
And with the move by Arizona this year to open up most of its licensed professions – from accountants to veterinarians to hair stylists and beyond – to people with licenses garnered from other states, proponents of removing interstate licensing hurdles are hoping a new era of expertise portability may be coming.
The move to reduce barriers to occupational licensing has made allies of two groups that often oppose each other: libertarians, who have in recent years mounted a broad effort to reduce licensing burdens overall, and liberal advocates for the poor, immigrants and other disadvantaged groups they say are unfairly punished by expensive and difficult barriers to working.
Professional licensing requirements may seem like a small problem, but the numbers of people affected by them are larger than many realize.
About one out of every four people in the American workforce was in a job that required a license in 2016, according to information from the White House that year, when the Obama Administration sought to push states to make it easier for workers to get licenses. In addition to just pushing states, the White House gave more than $7 million in grants to organizations working to make it easier for licensed professionals to work across state lines.
The number affected could be higher – maybe closer to one in three, according to a study by University of Minnesota professor Morris Kleiner. Either way, the percentage is much larger than in the 1950s, when only about 5 percent of occupations required a license. And it varies from state to state. At the high end, about one in three professionals in Iowa – from acupuncturists to well contractors – require licensing.
And Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) pointed out in April when he signed his state’s new law granting near-automatic acceptance of many out-of-state licenses that 100,000 people are expected to move to Arizona this year. To make the point, Ducey showed up to his bill signing ceremony in a U-Haul truck.
“The people that are coming out here are just looking for an opportunity,” Ducey said. “If someone is licensed in another state, if their qualifications, training, certification and expertise meet Arizona’s standards for public health and safety, let’s grant them an Arizona license and let’s let them work.”
The legislation made the Grand Canyon State the first in the nation to so broadly accept other states’ occupational imprimaturs. And Ducey hinted at Arizona’s place at the forefront of what may become a national movement, as libertarian think tanks and advocates for the poor push the measure across the country.
“Arizona is going to lead the charge in a new era of economic freedom in America, where if you are willing and able and ready to work, you can,” Ducey said.
Arizona’s bill accepts out-of-state licenses if there are minimum education and work experience requirements associated with them and if the licenses have been held for at least a year and the licensees haven’t faced professional discipline or criminal charges. They still must pay Arizona’s licensing fee.
“This is hardly radical stuff,” Steven Greenhut, a senior fellow for the libertarian organization R Street, wrote in an editorial. “It’s silly to prevent one state’s resident from working in another state until that person goes through an entire training process that he or she already has completed somewhere else.”
Other states have started to look at the issue, and some have changed laws to make licensing easier. None, however, have yet gone as far as Arizona. Its new law applies to almost all regulated professions, save only for lawyers, security guards and private investigators. The law is particularly progressive because it doesn’t require other states to reciprocate for their licenses to be accepted.
Other state efforts have been more limited.
Utah has passed legislation on reciprocity for professional licenses but only for military spouses. Michigan passed a bill recognizing out-of-state firefighter certification.
They are so far exceptions. Several bills have been filed in other states but without success.
The idea of an occupational licensure reciprocity agreement for New England states was floated in Connecticut but didn’t get anywhere. A bill in Arkansas that failed this year would have required automatic licensing of teachers from contiguous states.
Maine lawmakers have been urged to make it easier to get state licenses, though so far, no major legislation has passed there. Jacob Posik, representing the libertarian interest group Maine Heritage Policy Center, told a House committee in Augusta that at least 160 occupations there are licensed. Maine and Idaho, for example, are the only states that require a license to be a log scaler, someone who grades lumber to determine its value.
And the Trump Administration has continued what the Obama Administration started by urging states to take up licensing reform. In Iowa last year, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta said states should look at all aspects of licensing, including reciprocating with others but also lessening the burden more broadly.
“Occupational licensing costs the economy 1.6 million jobs a year, about 1.3 percent of the total employment rate,” Acosta said then.
Efforts also abound to create nationally accepted credentials that avoid the need for a state to put requirements in place at all. For example, two years ago, 25 states joined the national Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, many states are also easing licensing restrictions for people with criminal records. Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Alabama, Delaware, Indiana and Kansas are among the states that have passed laws aimed at preventing convictions from keeping people from getting some licenses.
There is irony in that Arizona may lead a charge toward licensing reform. Just a few years ago, the New York Times cited the Grand Canyon State as an example of licensing requirements gone too far. The story highlighted a court case brought on behalf of three animal massage therapists who were told to stop giving animal massages because they didn’t have veterinary licenses. Those licenses would have required around $250,000 in schooling and taken four years to achieve. In 2017, the Institute for Justice, another libertarian group, negotiated a win for the three animal masseuses.
While the effort to re-examine occupational licensing generally enjoys bipartisan support, there have been arguments for keeping licensing requirements difficult, mostly citing safety.
In Arizona, Democratic state Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley, who opposed the Ducey-backed bill, acknowledged that in fields with shortages, such as teaching, medicine or nursing, compacts with other states or other efforts to reduce burdens might make sense.
“But we don’t have shortages across the board,” Hannley said about other professions, according to the Associated Press. “So why should we dumb down our standards when it’s really not necessary?”
That “dumbing down” – or acceptance of differing standards - is part of the what makes reciprocity difficult. Licensing requirements can vary wildly. For example, Michigan requires three years of school and training to get a security guard’s license. Some states require 10 days.
Some opponents worry laws could go too far, making it easier for unqualified professionals to endanger people.
Or animals. In New Jersey the attention on licensing has been in the other direction in recent years. Lawmakers there have been pressed to consider “Bijou’s Law,” named for a Shih Tzu that died at a PetSmart in 2012 while being groomed. The proposal would establish licensing for pet groomers.
In Arizona, Ducey and other supporters of easing requirements have said the new law doesn’t typically reduce oversight, it simply removes duplication of that oversight. The professionals in question have had to show competence in another state.
“And before those unelected boards feign outrage,” Ducey said in his State of the State Address, referring to licensing panels, “let’s remember - workers don't lose their skills simply because they move to Arizona.”
-- BY SNCJ Correspondent Dave Royse
Nursing homes in Illinois have been among the most understaffed in the nation, according to an investigation last year by Kaiser Health News and the Chicago Tribune. But that could change as a result of legislation passed by state lawmakers this month and expected to be signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D).
That legislation, a major budget bill, included a provision initially introduced as part of a stand-alone measure imposing fines on nursing homes that fail to meet minimum staffing levels already specified by Illinois law. Violators would also be required to provide public notice of their infringements on their websites and at all public entrances of their facilities. But lawmakers also provided up to $240 million in additional Medicaid funding to help nursing homes meet the required staffing rates.
The measures were pushed by AARP Illinois and SEIU Healthcare Illinois, a union that represents nursing home workers.
“We applaud and deeply appreciate our nursing home member leaders, stewards, and activists who fought so hard to make this day a reality,” the union stated in a press release.
“Nursing home workers deserve a safe and secure work environment where caregivers are not constantly overburdened, exhausted, and stressed trying to care for sometimes up to 30 or 40 residents, if not more, at a single time.
The Illinois Health Care Association, which represents over 500 of the state’s nursing homes, helped negotiate the wording of the staffing measures.
“We believe centers that understaff should absolutely be fined and cited for their failure to staff appropriately, and this bill moves to do that more aggressively,” Matt Hartman, the association’s executive director said in an email.
But Hartman noted the industry still faces “the fact that there is a nursing shortage which needs to be addressed.” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, SEIU HEALTHCARE ILLINOIS)
While most organizations and their leaders value efficiency, maximizing time and dollars is a categorical imperative for nonprofits. Not only do these organizations often operate with razor thin budgets and incredibly lean staffing, they also must spend a large amount of time and resources building lists of potential donors and partners aligned to the mission, vision and values of the organization.
This can be a daunting task. Networking takes time and cold calling lacks efficiency. So how can nonprofits find quality leads and then the information needed to qualify and close leads that drive business development in a cost-efficient way? The process begins with the right research tools and direction, which can help to save valuable time and free up staff to focus on other important endeavors.
Research Trends in Charitable Giving
Like consumer habits, the behaviors of the donating public can evolve over time. The tried-and-true tactics of a seasoned nonprofit development professional may need to be adjusted based on this evolution. Strategic research can help to inform these adjustments. Often, predicting the trends of the future starts with understanding those of the past.
In 2018, for instance, nonprofits in the United States struggled to understand how tax reform would impact charitable giving. This isn’t the first time shifts in tax law have had the potential to impact charitable giving. In the 1970s, experts predicted more than a 25 percent drop in charitable giving if proposed tax deduction reform were passed. Savvy nonprofit leaders could consider and evaluate how nonprofits responded to trends in the past as a way to form a plan for the future. Having a tool that can pull this sort of historical information from public archives can make this research quick and efficient.
Trend analysis can also point to organizational donors as well, leading to the next topic…
Understand Organizational Alignment
Organizational donors like corporations, foundations and charitable trusts are often aligned to specific goals or program areas. Understanding the strategic philanthropic focus of organizations is a vital tool in the identification of potential donors and can greatly inform how requests for funding should be positioned.
This type of research is especially efficient. It allows you to collect information that can help build a list of potential donors whose goals align with your nonprofit’s mission. At the same time, it can help to filter out the organizations that aren’t the best strategic partner. In a world where proposals and grant applications take a tremendous amount of time, identifying which funding sources not to pursue can be extremely valuable.
Research will certainly help build prospect lists, but don’t spend all (or even most!) of your prospecting time chasing grants. In fact…
Identify Individuals and Networking Opportunities
Nearly 80 percent of charitable donations come from individual donors, either directly or through bequests. While it would be nice to only have to target a few large-dollar organizational donors, the reality is that operational funding requires regular small- and medium-sized donations from individuals in and around the community.
Building this list of individual potential donors requires a balance between casting a wide net and preventing your development resources from being spread too thin. Research can inform prospecting to strike that balance.
Start by identifying executives and high-level managers within major employers and researching available evidence that hints at their personal history of volunteerism or charitable giving. Many executive biographies, for instance, will briefly mention philanthropic activities. Research tools like Nexis for Development Professionals can help you avoid scouring hundreds of individual company websites and LinkedIn profiles, pulling all of the relevant information into a single, searchable platform.
Like any organization, nonprofits need to be keenly aware of their reputation. Avoiding high-dollar donations from individuals with certain criminal histories or major conflicts of interest is an important safeguard against reputational risk. Thorough research can help you to qualify and screen potential donors, making it easier to identify and avoid partners that could do more harm than good.
Research doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming. With the right approach and tools, the best research can fit into daily operations and result in saved time and increased funding.
Take a look at other trends impacting nonprofits this year.
When Massachusetts state Sen. Joan Lovely needed a mascot for the diaper donation drive she and a few fellow lawmakers were putting on last week, she knew the perfect fit. As State House News Service reports, Lovely brought in Drake, one of her four pet ducks, to do the honors. Lovely settled on Drake because he occasionally wears a special duck diaper when he is waddling about in her home, and the drive is intended to raise awareness and support for a pair of bills she and Reps. William “Smitty” Pignatelli and Mindy Domb have introduced to create a fund to supply diapers to low-income families. And if you are anything like me, you’re first question would be, “they make diapers for ducks?”
-- By RICH EHISEN
Let the lemonade flow! As the Texas Tribune reports, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill last week that bars local governments from imposing harsh regulations on the kind of lemonade stands once imagined to be ubiquitous in this country. The law grew out of a wave of incidents where heinous local regulations and CCRs led local police to force young ‘uns to shut down their stands. Okay, it was just one incident, but we all know that’s all it takes these days for one side of the political aisle or another to lose its mind and hit the nail with a sledgehammer. And Abbott, who seems to love nothing more than the sound of his own voice, made sure to make a video of himself signing the bill into law. You know, for posterity.
Get ready for a shocker – no state is more fun than California! According to a new Wallet Hub survey, based on 26 different metrics the Golden State tops the other 49 when it comes to having fun, be it indoors or out. Some of those include weather, nightlife, and entertainment and recreation opportunities. California easily edged out Florida and New York, its closest competitors, with Colorado and Washington also earning high marks. This of course is hardly news to those of us fortunate enough to live here. Spoiler: no Texan alive loves their state more than this kid loves Cali, so I’m hardly unbiased. Deal with it. And which states are the least fun? It is all subjective, but if you reside in Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware, Mississippi or West Virginia...no fun for you!
After a nasty intra-party battle, California Republican Brian Dahle is now able to claim victory in the race against fellow Reep Kevin Kiley to fill a vacant Senate seat. But the sweet taste of victory after one of the most venomous races in recent memory isn’t the only benefit of the contest coming to an end. For one, the new gig comes with a few perks, like a bigger office. As the Capitol Morning Report notes, that’s a big one for staffers looking forward to spreading out a bit, or at least seeing the sun once in a while. As Dahle staffer Alicia Dimmitt put it: “There are windows. That’s a big improvement right there.”
The Palo Alto, CALIFORNIA City Council approves an ordinance that bans retail outlets from supplying customers with plastic straws, utensils, produce bags and other single-use items. The Council said it is also working on rules that would require food establishments to charge customers for single-use cups and to only offer reusable foodware for dining in those establishments (PALO ALTO ONLINE).
TEXAS Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signs SB 476, a bill that prohibits cities from passing ordinances that restrict restaurants from allowing pet owners to bring their dogs with them to outdoor eating areas, like patios and outdoor cafes. The measure goes into effect in September (EAST TEXAS MATTERS [TYLER]).
-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs SB 25, which codifies that women in the Prairie State have the “fundamental right” to have an abortion, and that a “fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights” (CNN).
The RHODE ISLAND Senate approves SB 331, which would bar housing discrimination against renters who receive government housing subsidies. It is now in the House (NEWPORT BUZZ).
MAINE Gov. Janet Mills (D) signs HB 922, a bill that allows nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other qualified medical professionals to perform abortion procedures involving oral medicine or in-clinic procedures. The measure goes into effect in September (NEW YORK TIMES).
In MAINE, Gov. Mills also signs HB 948, which allows doctors to assist terminally ill patients in ending their own lives. Maine becomes the eighth state to adopt a so-called “Death with Dignity” law (MAINE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
VERMONT Gov. Phil Scott (R) signs HB 57, a bill that forbids the government from interfering in a woman’s decision to have an abortion at any stage in her pregnancy (VERMONT DIGGER [MONTPELIER]).
TEXAS Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signs HB 541, a bill codifying that women are allowed to pump breast milk anywhere in public, including at work. The law takes effect in September (TEXAS TRIBUNE).
ALABAMA Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signs SB 236, which will create a commission to study the effects of medical marijuana and renew a current state law that allows cannabis oil to be used for treating seizure disorders in children (WHNT [HUNTSVILLE]).
FLORIDA Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signs HB 487, a bill that allows Sunshine State paramedics to carry firearms when responding to shootings, drug raids and other high-risk situations (CNN).
Also in FLORIDA, Gov. DeSantis signs HB 19, which allows for the importation of prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies. The Sunshine State would join VERMONT as the only states to have approved a foreign-import measure, though both still must obtain federal approval before those plans could go into effect (MIAMI HERALD).
The MAINE Senate also addresses drug prices, approving: SB 350, which would require manufacturers of drugs that increased 20 percent or more in price during a calendar year to disclose the reasons for that jump, and SB 392, which would require the state to set up a program to import prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies. Both measures move to the House (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD).
CONNECTICUT Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signs HB 7156, which authorizes the Constitution State to buy up to 2 megawatts of offshore wind power, equal to about 30 percent of the state’s energy load. The new law also requires the state to develop a commission to develop best management practices for minimizing impacts to wildlife, natural resources, ecosystems, and commercial fishing during the construction and operation of facilities. Bidders will be required to develop mitigation plans that reflect these practices (CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, WINDPOWER ENGINEERING).
The MAINE Senate gives final approval to SB 285, which would implement a system for the Pine Tree State to oversee student loan servicers, including requiring those servicers to be licensed by the state. It is now with Gov. Janet Mills (D) for consideration (ASSOCIATED PRESS).
NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs AB 2371, a bill that ends religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements in the Empire State. The law takes effect immediately (NEW YORK TIMES, NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
The RHODE ISLAND Senate approves SB 509, which would bar employers from asking job applicants about their salary history. It is now in the House (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL).
NEVADA Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) signs AB 466, a bill that creates a legal cannabis banking pilot program in the Silver State. The program, which will be run through the state treasurer’s office, begins this October and runs through June 30, 2023 (KTVN [RENO]).
VERMONT Gov. Phil Scott (R) signs SB 131, a bill that allows the state Commissioner of Financial Regulation to grant limited-duration innovation waivers for statutory and regulatory requirements that might otherwise inhibit new and innovative products or services (VERMONT GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
TEXAS Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signs HB 1325, a bill that allows farmers to legally grow industrial hemp and expands the kind of hemp products that can be purchased in the Lone Star State to include any hemp or hemp-derived products containing less than 0.3 percent of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis plants. The law goes into effect immediately (DALLAS MORNING NEWS).
OREGON Gov. Kate Brown signs SB 970, which bars Beaver State landlords from taking discriminatory action against those who either use medical cannabis or have been convicted of cannabis-related crimes. The law takes effect in January (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
LOUISIANA Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) signs HB 575, a bill that will set up statewide regulations for ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft (ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE]).
In an address to the wind power industry, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said the Bay State has a responsibility to get it right and to position the offshore wind industry for long-term success. Baker said the two things he hears the most about the state’s first-in-the-nation plan to draw from utility-scale offshore power is that the state is either moving too quickly or not quickly enough. “That makes me think we're probably in just about the right spot,” he said. (STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE [BOSTON])
NEW MEXICO Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) announced last week that her administration has filed suit seeking to stop the Trump administration’s policy of releasing asylum-seeking migrants without assistance in border communities. The suit accuses Trump of violating the federal government’s Safe Release policy, which is intended to help people seeking asylum get to their final destination while their claims are processed. (ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL)
TEXAS Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has signed a controversial measure that bars local governments from taking “adverse action” against any individuals or businesses based on membership, support or donations to religious groups. The measure was dubbed the “Save Chick-fil-A” bill because it came about after San Antonio officials in March approved a new concessions contract for the city’s airport only on the condition that the fast-food chain be excluded. The company has come under fire in recent years for donating money to religious organizations that oppose same-sex marriage. (CNN, TEXAS TRIBUNE)
Saying “she has more than earned her place among our nation’s most pivotal leaders,” MARYLAND Gov. Larry Hogan (R) sent U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin a letter urging him to move forward with plans to replace former U.S. President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with the abolitionist and Old Line State native Harriet Tubman. Mnuchin said during recent Congressional testimony that plans to replace Jackson with Tubman, a former slave who helped an estimated 300 other slaves escape to freedom in the North, would be delayed until 2028. “I hope your department will reconsider its decision and instead join our efforts to promptly memorialize Tubman’s life and many achievements,” Hogan wrote. (WASHINGTON POST)
ALABAMA Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed a bill last week that will require sex offenders whose victims are under age 13 to undergo chemical castration as a condition of parole. The new law requires the treatment to begin at least one month before a parolee is released. The parolee is required to pay for the treatment unless a court determines he cannot. (AL.COM)
FLORIDA Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a measure that allows for the testing of driverless cars on Sunshine State roads, provided the vehicles meet the appropriate insurance and safety requirements. (ABC NEWS)
COLORADO Gov. Jared Polis (D) issued Executive Order B 2019 006, which, among several things, orders state health officials to study the root causes of low immunization rates in various parts of the state, find new strategies to improve the rates and educate people on vaccines. (COLORADO GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, DENVER CHANNEL)
Calling it “a step forward,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he would sign off on an agreement reached between Democratic leaders in the Empire State Assembly and Senate meant to strengthen New York City’s rent laws and tenant protections.
The measures – which include abolishing rules that let building owners deregulate apartments, closing loopholes that allow them to raise rents and expanding some tenant protections statewide, and making the new rules permanent rather than something that needs to be renewed every few years – drew a furious response from landlords, who said it will do more to harm the city’s rental market than help.
Joseph Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 landlords among the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, said the new law would “single-handedly lead to the destruction of the city’s aging affordable housing stock over time” and discourage landlords from making investments in their buildings.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie (D) don’t see it that way. In a joint statement, they said the reforms “give New Yorkers the strongest tenant protections in history” and level the playing field they say has been tilted in favor of landlords for decades.
Cuomo fell somewhere in between, saying he would sign the measures but also chiding lawmakers for not doing more to help renters.
“My point all along has been I want the best tenant protections we’ve ever passed for the state of New York,” he said. “I believe this is the best tenant protections they will pass, and I will sign it.”
The measure is expected to be finalized and sent to Cuomo by this week. (NEW YORK TIMES, BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed legislation last week aimed at ending a long running battle with neighboring Kansas in which both states have spent hundreds of millions of public dollars to lure private companies back and forth across the border.
Under SB 182, the Show Me State would no longer offer tax incentives to companies that relocate across the border from Wyandotte, Miami and Johnson counties in Kansas. But there is a caveat – Kansas will have to enact similar legislation for the Missouri bill to take effect. And if recent history is a guide, that is anything but assured.
Over the last 10 years, Missouri has bestowed approximately $151 million in tax breaks to lure away Sunflower State companies. Not to be outdone, Kansas has spent $184 million to get companies to leave Missouri and come their way. Although Kansas has come away with a net gain of about 1,200 jobs, it is a tug-o-war that many observers say has no winner.
“We’re using [economic development incentives] to divide the pie, not increase the pie,” Bill Hall, president of the Hall Family Foundation and longtime Kansas City metro area civic leader, told the Kansas City Star in January.
Parson is not the only governor to make an effort to make it stop. Former Gov. Jay Nixon (D) signed similar legislation in 2015, but then-Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) had no interest in reciprocating. Brownback offered up his own plan a few years later, but that effort went nowhere.
History notwithstanding, Parson thinks the chances of working out a deal with current Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) are much better now.
“I’m very positive, very optimistic right now that we’re going to come to some sort of agreement between Missouri and Kansas on this,” Parson said upon signing the bill, noting he has had several conversations on the matter with Kelly.
Kelly seemed to agree, saying in a statement after Parson signed SB 182, “We need to work together, and not be at odds, when it comes to bringing businesses to the region.”
In spite of Parson’s optimism, there is a sticking point. In Kansas, the state Department of Commerce has the power to award tax credits. Kelly could conceivably issue an executive order directing the agency to adhere to an agreement she reaches with Parson, but that very thought already has some Kansas Republicans crying foul.
Sen. Julia Lynn (R), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said an executive order would be “a violation of a campaign promise for transparency” by Kelly. She said lawmakers should be given the chance to develop their own plan through the normal legislative process. (KANSAS CITY STAR, NEWS TRIBUNE [JEFFERSON CITY], MISSOURI GOVERNOR’S OFFICE)
Court documents filed in NORTH CAROLINA by Common Cause allege that computer drives belonging to recently deceased GOP strategist Thomas Hofeller show North Carolina Republicans lied to a federal court when they said state legislative districts that had been ruled unconstitutional could not be redrawn in time for a special election in late 2017 or early 2018, enabling those districts to remain in place for about another year. The filing came a week after revelations that a document on Hofeller’s drives indicated the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census may have been motivated by a desire to diminish the power of Hispanic voters and Democrats. (NEW YORK TIMES)
FLORIDA Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signed legislation that will make it more difficult to collect signatures to qualify constitutional amendments for the state ballot. Republicans say the measure was needed to prevent fraud, but critics say it will cement Republican domination of Florida state government, with the party having controlled the Legislature and governor’s office for two decades, as well as appointed every current Supreme Court justice. (TAMPA BAY TIMES)
Civil-rights advocates and lawyers have filed a federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in the ARKANSAS’ appellate court judge election system. Only one of the state’s 12 Court of Appeals judges and none of its seven Supreme Court justices are black. (ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT GAZETTE [LITTLE ROCK])
The NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Elections was scheduled to meet last week to certify one or more companies to provide the state with more secure voting machines before next year’s presidential election. But election officials in Mecklenburg, the state’s largest county, say there’s not enough time left to make the change. (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER)
With a pair of 4-3 rulings, the Wisconsin Supreme Court reinstated most of the laws GOP lawmakers approved in a lame-duck session in December reducing Democrats’ powers, while the justices weigh a challenge to those laws. The reestablished laws will, among other things, require Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) to obtain approval from a legislative committee before settling lawsuits and require the administration of Gov. Tony Evers (D) to take public comments for three weeks before publishing some government documents. Among the provisions the justices opted not to reinstate was one that would have limited early voting. The rulings came shortly before a lower court case dealing with the government documents issue was set to begin. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL).
Virginia held primary elections last week for all 140 of the state legislative seats that will be contested there in November. The state is one of just four holding legislative elections this year and the only one where Democrats have a chance of taking control of the legislature, with Virginia Republicans holding just two-seat majorities in both chambers. The state’s 2017 elections also foreshadowed the blue wave that swept through much of the country in the 2018 U.S. midterms.
Virginia Democrats have been helped by shifting demographics in the suburbs of Richmond and Northern Virginia that have left them in control of every statewide office, as well as both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats. The Democrats are also expected to benefit from a court-ordered redrawing of 25 House districts deemed to be racial gerrymanders. However, Republicans are hoping a racism scandal involving Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam will send some voters their way.
Last week’s primaries don’t appear to have given much indication of what might happen either in Virginia later this year or in congressional elections next year, with incumbents of both parties prevailing in most races.
But a couple of the Democratic contests suggest some of the party’s voters may be tired of establishment politicians. In the state’s 35th Senate District, pro-business Senate Minority Leader Richard Saslaw (D) narrowly fended off a challenge by Yasmine Taeb, a human rights lawyer, who was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America and called for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the legalization of prostitution.
Veteran Richmond-based political analyst Bob Holsworth said there seems to be growing frustration among the state’s Democratic voters with the kind of Democrat “that gave them success for a long time — that Democrat who was pro-business on economic issues and progressive on social issues.”
In the Democratic primary for the 16th Senate District, a solidly African American district that includes Petersburg and parts of Richmond, incumbent Sen. Roslyn Dance (D), an African American, was handily defeated by Joe Morrisey, a white, former Virginia lawmaker who resigned in 2014 after pleading guilty to charges stemming from an affair he reportedly had with a 17-year-old girl, whom he later married.
“Morrissey thumbed his nose at the establishment,” said Holsworth. “He localized the election.... He suggested that Dance was part of the reason that Petersburg was suffering.”
Republican voters, meanwhile, expressed their disapproval with the vote incumbent Del. Bob Thomas cast last year in favor of expanding Medicaid, awarding his seat to challenger Paul Milde III. (ASSOCIATED PRESS, NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST)