POLITICS & LEADERSHIP
OH initiatives could spur election-reform movement

GOVERNORS
OH ethics board asks for charges against Taft
 
 

The week in session
Across state lines
Hot issues
Upcoming elections
In the hopper
In case you missed it
Once around
 
 
 

OKLAHOMA's 2004 law requiring pseudoephedrine-based products to be placed behind pharmacy counters led to similar legislation being passed in more than 20 states this year. Now, OREGON has taken that law one significant step further. 

Legislation update: Fighting meth by cutting access to cold meds

Earlier this year, the State Net Capitol Journal reported that numerous states were considering bills designed to control how pharmacies sell allergy and cold medications containing ingredients also used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine, better known on the street as meth or crank (See Feb 7: Restricting cold medicine new weapon in states' war on meth). Since then, 25 states have passed laws that do just that, primarily by forcing retailers to move products like Sudafed behind pharmacy counters. 

This wave of anti-methamphetamine legislation is a direct result of a 2004 OKLAHOMA law that made pseudoephedrine -- a primary component in making both legal cold medications and illegal meth -- a Schedule 5 drug subject to state control. In an effort to stop meth-makers from buying or, in many cases, stealing hundreds of packages of legal cold pills they could later cook into meth in home labs, a few states have for years restricted the quantity of those drugs that a consumer can buy at one time. But under the Sooner State law, pharmacies were required not only to limit purchases but to also make pseudoephedrine-based products less accessible by moving them under lock and key or behind sales counters. The law also mandated that purchasers provide photo identification and sign a state logbook before they could receive those medications. 

That was a definite boon to law enforcement officials who say the easy access to large quantities of those products made it simple for crank makers to go store to store collecting the necessary ingredients to set up a meth lab. The ease of that system, they say, is partially to blame for a booming business in home meth-labs nationwide, which has in turn led to a dramatic increase in meth-related homicides and other crimes. It has also led to an increase in meth-addicted parents neglecting or abandoning their kids, placing a heavy burden on already over-taxed social services systems in virtually every state. The problem has become so big that a recent survey of law-enforcement agencies in 45 states by the National Association of Counties revealed that 58 percent consider meth to be their biggest drug problem. 

Some states have had it much worse than others. MISSOURI, for example, led all states with more than 8,000 meth-lab seizures between 2002 and 2004. The Show Me State reported more than 2,700 such busts in 2004 alone, with IOWA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA and TENNESSEE each reporting more than 1,000. In contrast, Oklahoma officials reported an immediate 25 percent drop in meth-production labs in the months after their law went into effect, a figure that has since become a 90 percent drop. Oklahoma had 659 meth lab busts in 2004. 

That success led a host of states to introduce and pass similar legislation this year. ALABAMA (HB 152), ARKANSAS (SB 109), DELAWARE (SB 110), FLORIDA (HB 1347), GEORGIA (HB 216), KENTUCKY (SB 63), LOUISIANA (SB 24), MAINE (SB 575 a), MICHIGAN (SB 189), Missouri (HB 441), MONTANA (SB 287), NEBRASKA (LB 117), SOUTH DAKOTA (SB 221), Tennessee (SB 2318), WASHINGTON (HB 2266), WEST VIRGINIA (SB 147) and WYOMING (HB 293) are some of those states. Others, such as COLORADO (HB 1110), ARIZONA (SB 1473), Indiana (SB 444) and HAWAII (SB 1100), adopted laws that do not require special placement of cold medications, but which do limit the number and amount of pseudoephedrine-based products that can be bought in one transaction. The Indiana measure signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), for example, bars retailers from selling more than two packages of any drug containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, while the Arizona measure endorsed by Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) sets the limit at no more than three packages or nine total grams in weight. 

Although these laws swept through half of the states, they did so at times in the face of strong opposition. Drug manufacturers and retailers across the country protested, saying that moving legal products like Nyquil and Claritin into locked cabinets or forcing them to be sold only through pharmacies rather than convenience and grocery stores constituted an unfair hardship for honest consumers who were only trying to cure the sniffles. Many also complained that 80 percent of all meth in the U.S. comes from outside of the country -- predominantly from  Mexico -- and not from local meth labs. 

Those protests ratcheted up in recent weeks with the OREGON Senate's approval of HB 2485, a measure that would take those restrictions a step further. Oregon was one of the first states to follow Oklahoma's lead in moving pseudoephedrine-based products behind sales counters, but HB 2485 would now require consumers to have a valid doctor's prescription in order to purchase most of those products. As of this writing, the measure awaits final approval from Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D), who enthusiastically supports the bill and is expected to sign it any day, giving the Beaver State the toughest pseudoephedrine restriction law in the country. 

That likelihood drew a harsh rebuke from some quarters, including the Wall Street Journal, which said that while the new law will likely have "some short-term benefit," it "will also exacerbate the drug problems of neighboring WASHINGTON and CALIFORNIA, not to mention open the U.S. market to more imported meth." 

Steve Pasierb of Partnership for a Drug Free America also weighed in against HB 2485, citing potential problems for the poor. 

"You're taking a mom with a sick kid at home and you're forcing her to go to the doctor -- to spend money to go the doctor with her co-pay," Pasierb said. 

The bill's supporters say they are sensitive to those concerns, but the benefits of reducing the number of meth-making labs is worth the inconvenience. Oregon Rep. Wayne Krieger (R) cited the availability of other old medications that contain phenylephrine, a pseudoephedrine alternative that cannot be converted into meth. 

"Is this bill going to be an inconvenience for some people? Yes a little one," says Krieger. "But 99 percent of people will find out that other products are just as good, and they will buy them." (NEWSWEEK, NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, STATE NET DATABASE)
 

-- By RICH EHISEN

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Across state lines

The partisan divide

This is a relatively calm year in regard to statewide legislative elections. Only five states -- MISSOURI, TEXAS, OKLAHOMA, NEW JERSEY and VIRGINIA -- have legislative elections on the docket for this year, and of those only Virginia and New Jersey will select a new governor. 

But while the biggest changes in the makeup of the nation's statehouses naturally come during statewide elections, that is certainly not the only time when membership changes in the chambers. Death, retirement, resignation, illness and appointment to other office all contribute to the constant trickle of lawmakers coming and going in and out of office. 

The accompanying map shows the current partisan breakdown for the nation's 50 governors and more than 7,000 state lawmakers as of August 12, 2005. (As indicated elsewhere in this issue, special elections in SOUTH CAROLINA and MISSISSIPPI will soon change the numbers in those states.) State Net tracks every election in every state of the nation, so to keep a running tab on where each state stands with its partisan makeup, visit our Web site at http://www.statenet.com/resources/, then click on the "Current Legislative Lineup" tab. Changes to the legislative bodies are updated as they occur. 
 

-- By RICH EHISEN

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Budget & taxes

TEXAS SPECIAL SESSION NO. 2 FOUNDERS: The TEXAS Legislature's second special session this summer on school finance reform and property tax relief appears destined to the same fate as the first: no resolution of either issue. Last week, the House and Senate, still at odds over how to accomplish a court-mandated overhaul of the state's education system, each decided to go their own way. The Senate passed a measure increasing funding for schools by $2.8 billion and cutting property taxes by 30 cents per $100 of valuation, while the House instead approved $291 million for new school textbooks. But the session actually derailed a few weeks ago, when the House failed to pass its own education overhaul and property tax proposals, prompting House Speaker Tom Craddick (R) to urge for adjournment of the session. It will officially end Aug. 19, unless lawmakers give up before then. But no matter what the Legislature does -- or doesn't do -- before then, schools will receive funding in the fall, thanks to Gov. Rick Perry's (R) decision to reinstate $33 billion in education funding he cut from the appropriations bill lawmakers approved in the first summer session. The governor had taken that action in the belief -- overly optimistic it now appears -- that it would prompt lawmakers to make the necessary changes to the school-finance system. (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, HOUSTON CHRONICLE) 

NC ALMOST SQUELCHES BUDGET: NORTH CAROLINA settled on a state budget last week when the House and Senate approved a $17.2 billion plan. But the process almost stalled when word came that Gov. Mike Easley (D) and the leaders of the Senate would not go along with the House version because it was contingent upon a separate bill slightly boosting the 2 percent -- or roughly $850 -- raise for state employees provided in the main budget. "He'd veto it," House Speaker Jim Black (D) said, referring to Easley. "He didn't like it." Senate leader Marc Basnight (D) didn't like it either, saying more money for state employees was not part of the budget deal that had been worked out. House members like Rep. Linda Coleman (D), who'd led the push for the raise hike, however, were stunned by the news. "I can't believe that we're having this much hoopla over $150 per state employee," she said. The budget bill eventually cleared the Senate on a 28-20 vote, with the $150 bonus plan still intact. It heads off to Easley, who has not indicated if he will sign it. (NEWS & OBSERVER [RALEIGH]) 

BUDGETS IN BRIEF: According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor, WASHINGTON paid $118 million in unemployment benefits to ineligible claimants last year, roughly 11 percent of the $1 billion it paid in total to unemployed workers. While that overpayment rate is somewhat higher than VERMONT's nation-leading 2.84 percent rate, it's also substantially lower than KANSAS' 32.82 percent rate, the highest in the country (ASSOCIATED PRESS, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER). * Also in WASHINGTON, Initiative 912, which seeks to overturn the 9.5 cents-per-gallon gas tax increase enacted by the Legislature last year, has qualified for a place on the November ballot (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER). * The anti-tax group led by OHIO Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R), Citizens for Tax Reform, announced last week that it will delay its proposed spending cap initiative until next year in order to devote more resources into opposing another ballot initiative concerning election rules on the fall ballot. Consequently, the spending restraint initiative campaign will coincide with Blackwell's 2006 race for governor (PLAIN DEALER [CLEVELAND]). * TENNESSEE Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) said last week he is opposed to the idea of convening a special session on TennCare, because he believes it would be used to push for a tax increase to aid the program. The governor's comment came in response to a letter from three legislators asking him to call a special session on TennCare or ethics reform (TENNESSEAN [NASHVILLE]). 
 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

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Politics & leadership

OHIO INITIATIVES COULD SPUR ELECTION-REFORM MOVEMENT: A group calling itself Reform OHIO Now filed petitions last week to place three election-reform measures on the state's November ballot. The most significant of the three would strip the Legislature of its control over redistricting and turn that task over to an independent panel. Another advocates for the only slightly less drastic action of giving the secretary of state's election oversight authority to an appointed election master. The third measure would lower some limits on campaign contributions. While the reform proposals were motivated in part by recent ethics scandals in the state and public criticism about Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell's (R) handling of the presidential election last fall, they also aim to tap into growing sentiment that the modern election process thwarts the will of the voters. "People are fed up," says Scarlett Bouder, one of the leaders of Reform Ohio Now. "They want change." No one may have done more to spread that populist view than CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), whose own November election reform agenda -- which also includes an initiative that would strip lawmakers of their control over redistricting -- has figured prominently in the media. (Due to a legal challenge, the Golden State's redistricting measure, Proposition 77, may not actually go to the voters until next year.) But Republicans in Ohio, who also control the governor's office and both houses of the Legislature, claim the Reform Ohio Now movement is nothing more than a back-door power grab by Democrats, pointing out that the group is backed by such Democratic bulwarks as the AFL-CIO and the Ohio Federation of Teachers. "Quite frankly, the Democrats have failed to run competitive candidates in this state for two decades now and suddenly they are seeking to manipulate the Constitution because they have been impotent as a political party," said Jason Mauk, political director of Ohio's Republican Party. But Richard Finan, a former Republican president of the state Senate and the founder of Ohio First, which will try to defeat Reform Ohio Now's redistricting initiative, predicted that if that measure becomes law, the state's congressional delegation will go from 12 Republicans and 6 Democrats to 6 Republicans and 12 Democrats, and "you'll see this idea spread to other states." (NEW YORK TIMES, TOLEDO BLADE) 

HIGH COURT RACES DO SPUR ELECTION-REFORM MOVEMENT: Currently, 22 states choose their supreme court justices through head-to-head elections. But that could soon change as a result of last year's high-court races, some of the most costly and nasty ever. In ILLINOIS, for example, two candidates for the Supreme Court raised $9.3 million between them, outspending more than the candidates in 18 U.S. Senate races. And a high-court race in WEST VIRGINIA -- the most expensive in Mountain State history --involved 4,000 television attack ads, one accusing the sitting justice, Warren McGraw, of allowing a child rapist to work in a high school. "No one in West Virginia was pleased with the kind of campaigning we saw in last year's Supreme Court race, no matter who their candidate was," said Tom Tinder, executive director of West Virginia's state bar association. Judicial elections may soon become a lot uglier in MINNESOTA too, after a federal appeals court struck down longstanding restrictions on such races there, which among other things, prohibited candidates from identifying their party affiliation or soliciting campaign contributions. "That is definitely the road that we're heading towards...a road in which you are going to see elections for judges being high-profile, lots of money being spent, and in a lot of ways dirtier than they've been in the past," said Guy-Uriel Charles, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Law School who focuses on election issues. Charles Geyh, a professor of law at INDIANA University, added, "Clearly, there's a trend toward more money and more acrimony in judicial races, and more judges taking sides on hot button issues." But a number of states are bucking that trend. Last year, for instance, NORTH CAROLINA held the first publicly-financed supreme court elections in the nation, and at least three other states -- Illinois, MONTANA and NEW MEXICO -- are considering following suit. ILLINOIS Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) has proposed banning campaign donations to judicial candidates from corporations and unions and imposing limits on contributions from individuals and political parties. West Virginia, meanwhile, is considering doing away with judicial elections altogether. The real issue at stake for reformers is the threat they believe politicization of judicial elections poses to the integrity of the court system. West Virginia's 2004 judicial slugfest suggests there's cause for their concern. The primary donor to the campaign there which unseated Supreme Court Justice McGraw was the chief executive of an energy company that had a major environmental case pending before the high court. And McGraw's record was considered to be unfavorable to mining interests. (STATELINE.ORG, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE) 

LOBBYING OF STATE LEGISLATURES NEARS $1 BILLION: Corporations, associations and other organizations spent about $953 million lobbying state lawmakers in 2004, according to a new report by the Center for Public Integrity. Unsurprisingly, legislators in the country's three biggest states, CALIFORNIA, TEXAS and NEW YORK, received the lion's share of that money, $212.7 million, $162.1 million and 144 million, respectively. What was news, however, was that nine states reported spending increases of more than 20 percent. Topping that list was MISSISSIPPI, which saw its lobbying expenditures rise by 36 percent to $13.6 million. According to Magnolia State House Speaker William J. McCoy (D), high-stakes issues like economic development and tort reform, along with Gov. Haley Barbour's (R) background in lobbying, caused the major surge in activity. "There was a feeling that you had to have a lobbyist if you wanted an ingrown toenail worked on," McCoy said. But while lobbyists spent more in the states last year, more states also imposed new standards on lobbying. NEW YORK, for example, passed legislation requiring businesses seeking contracts with the state to register as lobbyists. And in NEW JERSEY, lobbyists must now pay a registration fee and submit to stepped-up state auditing. (STATELINE.ORG) 

POLITICS IN BRIEF: Last Tuesday, CALIFORNIA's 3rd District Court of Appeal refused to overturn a lower court ruling striking Proposition 77 -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) plan to take redistricting out of the hands of the state's Democrat-controlled Legislature -- from the state's November special election ballot, on the grounds that the version of the initiative filed with the state differs from the one circulated on petitions used to qualify it for the ballot. Backers of the initiative say they will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court (SACRAMENTO BEE). * WEST VIRGINIA Gov. Joe Manchin III (D) has tentatively scheduled a special session for Sept. 7 to consider pay raises for state employees and a proposed cut in the sales tax on food. According to the governor's spokesman, table games might also be placed on the agenda, if lawmakers agree on a plan to regulate the state's "mini-casinos" more effectively (CHARLESTON GAZETTE).
 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

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ETHICS BOARD ASKS FOR CHARGES AGAINST TAFT: The OHIO Ethics Commission last week referred its investigation into Gov. Bob Taft's (R) failure to report several golf outings on his financial disclosure statements to prosecutors for possible criminal charges. The commission investigated the governor's failure to disclose up to 60 golf outings and other events on his annual ethics statements, an omission his attorney called "inadvertent." Taft has also been under increasing scrutiny for his association with Tom Noe, a rare-coin dealer and noted GOP fund raiser who managed the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation's $50 million investment in rare coins. Noe is under federal investigation for allegedly violating campaign finance laws by giving others money to contribute to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has also accused Noe of stealing $4 million from the coin funds. Although Taft has avoided ethics investigations, his integrity has been questioned in the past. Earlier in his tenure as governor, Mr. Taft offered seats in the governor's box at Ohio State University football games and invitations to receptions at the governor's mansions in exchange for secret contributions to the state Republican Party. (TOLEDO BLADE, CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER)

BREDESEN SAYS NO MORE HONORARY BADGES: TENNESSEE Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) ordered the Volunteer State Highway Patrol to stop issuing "honorary captain" ID and badges. The decision came after a newspaper investigation revealed that as many as 360 special captainship badges have been handed out to political insiders, campaign donors and celebrities since 2002. At least 19 current or former members of the Bredesen administration, several relatives of Dep. Gov. Dave Cooley (D), country music singer Ronnie Dunn and NASCAR driver Sterling Martin are among those who have received the badges, which look almost identical to those carried by state troopers. The list also includes at least two honorees with criminal records and another who has been indicted. The program has been active for 30 years without much fanfare, but two recent incidents in which honorary captains tried unsuccessfully to use their badges to get out of traffic tickets brought the issue under public scrutiny. Bredesen spokesperson Lydia Lenker said the governor has asked Highway Patrol Commissioner Fred Phillips to develop "ideas to continue honoring people without the appearance of special privilege." (TENNESSEAN [NASHVILLE])

MURKOWSKI JET SAGA CONTINUES: ALASKA Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) appears to have won his struggle with the Last Frontier Legislature over his desire to have the state purchase a multi-million dollar jet airplane for his travel needs. Administration officials announced plans to spend $2.4 million on a 1984 Westwind II currently owned by a NORTH CAROLINA billionaire, and another $97,600 to hire and train four state pilots to fly it. Murkowski first tried to use $2 million in Homeland Security funds to buy the jet in 2004, but federal officials rejected the idea. Undaunted, the governor then sought state money for the plane, but Last Frontier lawmakers also said no. Still undeterred, Murkowski said he planned to buy the aircraft anyway, which led to last week's purchase. The controversy, however, is not over. An aircraft seller who claims he offered to sell the state a similar jet for more than a million dollars less than the one it eventually bought says he will protest to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, which is the jet's actual purchaser. (ANCHORAGE DALY NEWS)

DOYLE CHANGES TUNE ON VETO POWER: When WISCONSIN Gov. Jim Doyle (D) was the state's attorney general, he was a staunch advocate for reducing the almost unlimited veto power enjoyed by Badger State governors. Doyle specifically objected to the line item veto, which allows governors to delete particular passages in legislation, saying that "I don't think you should be able to go in and take a word out here and a word out there and create a whole new sentence." That sentiment has apparently changed since Doyle took office. Last month, Doyle partially vetoed 752 words out of a passage in the state's budget, leaving a 20-word sentence that shifted $427 million from the state transportation fund into one for public schools. Doyle's thoughts on the seeming dichotomy? "Thank God I have the veto," he said, adding, "Let's just say I see the world differently from the position I'm in right now." Frustrated Republicans have asked current attorney general Peg Lautenschlager (R) to investigate the matter, to which Doyle responded, "The attorney general can look at anything she wants to look at. It isn't like she can undo the veto. The attorney general doesn't have any such power." (CAPITAL TIMES [MADISON])

BUSH INCENSED AT NCAA: FLORIDA Gov. Jeb Bush (R) reacted angrily to last week's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) decision to ban schools that use Native American mascots and nicknames from NCAA-sanctioned events. The decision impacts 18 universities across the nation, including the Florida State Seminoles, a perennial football powerhouse. Bush called the decision "offensive" and an "insult," to "the Seminole Indian tribe who support the traditions of the FSU." The university's board of trustees is considering legal action against the NCAA. If that comes to fruition, they will have another powerful ally on their side; attorney Barry Richard, the man who represented Jeb's older brother during the 2000 presidential recount, has agreed to represent the school should the matter end up in court. (MIAMI HERALD)

PARTISAN POLITICS IN TERROR AID? NEW JERSEY Gov. Richard Codey (D) came under fire last week after a newspaper investigation claimed the governor's office has steered millions of dollars in federal anti-terrorism grants into Democratic-controlled legislative districts over the last three years. The report showed that 93 percent of the $23 million in federal homeland security money handed out since 2002 has gone to districts controlled by Democrats, a figure consistent with the distribution breakdown so far in 2005. For 2003, those districts received $8.28 million in federal funds while GOP-run districts garnered only $384,188. The ratio went to $5.18 million/$740,000 in 2004 and $7.8 million/$523,454 in 2005. Codey spokesperson Sean Darcy denied that the funding decisions were the governor's doing, saying the attorney general's office is the final word on grant distribution. (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK])  

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

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UPCOMING STORIES - Intelligent design: what will states do?  - Bear of a problem: the fight to delist the grizzly  - The stadium game: Major leagues, major costs And many more... TOP OF PAGE

BUSINESS: A federal court strikes down a FLORIDA law that bars out-of-state wine shipments from going directly to consumers. The decision mirrors a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that deemed such bans to be unconstitutional (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES). * The TEXAS House and Senate endorse SB 5, a measure that would allow phone companies looking to get into the cable TV business to acquire a single state license rather than individual licenses from each community they wish to serve. Cable companies are still required to gather individual licenses. The bill now switches to Gov. Rick Perry's (R) channel for review. Perry has not indicated if he will sign it (HOUSTON CHRONICLE). * The ARIZONA Supreme Court voids a Grand Canyon State law that says injured employees can be denied workers' compensation benefits if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol when they are hurt. The court unanimously ruled that the 6-year-old law was unconstitutional (ARIZONA DAILY STAR). 

CRIME & PUNISHMENT: The OHIO Supreme Court rules that exemptions in the Buckeye State's public records laws allow police departments to refuse to release photos of their officers. Those exemptions prohibit the release of any information that would identify a person as a police officer (CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER). * FLORIDA corrections officials order thousands of sex offenders currently on probation to report to a nearby prison in the event of a weather-induced public evacuation. The order applies only to offenders ordered to stay away from children (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES). * NORTH DAKOTA officials announce that a state Web site which provides information on the Flickertail State's most dangerous sexual offenders will now automatically produce e-mail notices when one of those offenders moves or changes jobs (BISMARCK TRIBUNE). * In response to a series of high-profile errors, one of which sent an innocent man to jail for 18 years, VIRGINIA Gov. Mark Warner (D) appoints a 13-person panel of scientists to oversee the Old Dominion State's crime lab. Virginia becomes only the second state in the nation -- NEW YORK is the other -- to have a scientific review panel for its DNA lab. The panel will be asked to immediately review as many as 160 of the lab's previous cases (VIRGINIAN PILOT [NORFOLK]).

EDUCATION: A federal judicial panel upholds a lower court ruling that says requiring VIRGINIA students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the U.S. Constitution. The panel ruled that the words "under God" in the Pledge do not constitute a "religious exercise" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH). * The KANSAS Board of Education tentatively approves science standards that include greater criticism of evolution. Supporters say the plan does not endorse the teaching of "intelligent design," which claims that the natural world is best explained by the presence of an intelligent creator and not just evolution. A final vote is scheduled for October (NEW YORK TIMES). * Education officials in HAWAII announce plans to lessen by 20 percent the number of standards students must be proficient in on the Aloha State's education assessment exam. An independent study recently rated the exam among the most rigorous in the nation. The state redid the exam four years ago to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law (HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN). * ARKANSAS education officials adopt new regulations that ban junk food from being sold in elementary schools. The new rules also require each K-12 student to have a minimum of 150 minutes of physical activity each week (ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU [LITTLE ROCK]).

ENVIRONMENT: Spurred by a growing number of complaints about nuisance bears, NEW JERSEY wildlife officials vote unanimously to recommend that the Garden State hold a black bear hunt in December. The recommendation must still be approved by the state's commissioner of environmental protection, who blocked such a hunt last year (NEW YORK TIMES). * MICHIGAN petitions to join 14 other states in suing the federal government over new rules the plaintiffs say allow power plants using coal-burning generators to evade Clean Air Act requirements (DETROIT FREE PRESS). * WASHINGTON forest authorities vote to expand protection for the northern spotted owl, but did not specify what changes would be made to measures already in place to protect the bird. Meanwhile, CALIFORNIA officials have received permission to shoot barred owls, the spotted owl's "bigger and nastier" cousin, which they say is contributing greatly to the smaller owl's declining numbers (OLYMPIAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS). * Federal officials designate the ALASKA sea otter as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Federal authorities say the sea otter population has fallen from around 74,000 in the 1980s to less than 9,000 today, but cannot pinpoint a reason why (WASHINGTON POST). * ARIZONA energy regulators approve a plan that requires state utilities to get at least 15 percent of the total energy sold from renewable sources by 2025. Public utilities would also be required to have yearly public reviews to ensure they are meeting that goal (ARIZONA REPUBLIC [PHOENIX]). 

HEALTH & SAFETY: ILLINOIS Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) signs a measure that allows each of the Prairie State's 1,200 cities, towns and villages the authority to ban smoking in their bars and restaurants. Only 21 cities are currently allowed to do so. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2006 (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES).

SOCIAL POLICY: The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court postpones a decision on whether the Golden State's law banning same-sex marriage is constitutional. The court decided to hold off on making a ruling until the matter has been heard by a lower court, which could take up to a year (LOS ANGELES TIMES). * A federal appeals court upholds an ARIZONA law that denies public benefits to illegal immigrants. The court said the plaintiffs have no right to file suit (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES). * The Bush administration files a legal brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that seeks to have it uphold NEW HAMPSHIRE's parental notification abortion law. A lower court previously ruled that the Granite State law was unconstitutional because it does not take into account emergency abortions performed to save a minor female's health (BOSTON GLOBE). 

POTPOURRI: The TEXAS House and Senate endorse a measure that would bar state and local governments from using the power of eminent domain to seize private land solely for economic development. It moves to Gov. Rick Perry (R) for review (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS).
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

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UPCOMING ELECTIONS (08/11/2005 - 09/01/2005) 08/16/2005  South Carolina  Special Election     House  121 08/30/2005  Massachusetts  Primary Election     Senate  2nd Middlesex 08/30/2005  Mississippi  Special Election     House  028, 086, 096  TOP OF PAGE

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING DEPT: Getting noticed is tough, especially when you are one of a gazillion NEW YORK City radio stations. But as the Associated Press reports, WQHT came up with a gig noticed in all the wrong places. For nearly a year, the hip-hop and R&B station held promotional "smackfests" where young women whacked on each other for prizes -- including as much as $5,000 in cash. The station then broadcast the results on its Web site. Eventually, it drew the attention of Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer and the state Athletic Commission. They were concerned that slapfests could be construed as an unregulated combative sport -- a no-no in the Empire State. The station, owned by Emmis Communications of INDIANA, settled out of court for $240,000. By the way, if the call letters sound familiar, they should. This is the same station that had to fire a producer and suspend several employees last April because they aired a song that mocked victims of the Asian Tsunami.

SONG OF THE SOOTHE: The picnic promised to be a lively affair, especially when the invited guests included KENTUCKY's Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher and Democratic Atty. Gen. Greg Stumbo. The two are at odds because Stumbo's office is investigating the Fletcher administration, and their feud seeped into each official's opening remarks at the recent Fancy Farm picnic. But former state superintendent of public instruction John Stephenson managed to cool tempers, reports the Kentucky Post, by crooning "My Old Kentucky Home." Stephenson halted midway through the state hymn to ask Fletcher and Stumbo to join in -- and to take each other's pulse. He then finished the song. The two combatants apparently let it ride for the rest of the afternoon.

TWISTED TALE: It was a shocking, shocking revelation, the Times of Trenton notes, but the world has Republican John Murphy to thank for it. Seems the local NEW JERSEY official released a statement last week that identified Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine as, of all things, a "politician." And that, Murphy seemed to insist, is reason enough to turn him out of office in 2006. Apparently, Murphy, an elected freeholder from Morris County and former GOP gubernatorial candidate, does not consider himself a politician. After all, he couldn't possibly be so hypocritical as to cast aspersions on Corzine while plying the same trade. 

THE FLEET HAS SAILED: The "fleet" in question belongs to the state of CALIFORNIA and isn't made up of ships but cars. Lots and lots of cars, reports the Oakland Tribune, nearly half of which are, well, missing. The Schwarzenegger administration, trying to implement a new asset-management plan, says the state owns some 70,000 vehicles, but it can only find 40,000. As an example of the lack of attention paid to the fleet, an administration review pinpointed one state agency that last year spent $4 million on cars but had no record of where it bought them. All together, the Golden State forked over $33.6 million for cars in 2004. Golden, indeed -- for someone.

CHEERS: Police in Ann Arbor, MICHIGAN, can thank a team of high-school cheerleaders for helping solve a hit-and-run crime. Seems that a driver fled the scene after causing a chain-reaction accident but not before the coach of a cheerleading squad snagged his license number. The coach yelled the number to her team, which turned it into -- what else? -- a cheer. They cheerfully repeated their new cheer for police, reports the Associated Press, who tracked down the driver, who was not so cheerful about being the subject of so cheerful a cheer.

REBEL INVASION: If you travel down MASSACHUSETTS Route 10 to the spot where it intersects with Route 41, you might think the Confederacy won the Civil War. That's because the newly installed signs for both highways bear the outline of the state of ALABAMA. The Associated Press notes that local highway officials are flummoxed over the situation, with several theories in play. The most logical: The contractor consulted a federal manual for highway signs, which uses Alabama as an example. It then sent the example to a sign maker, who naturally produced exactly what the contractor requested -- complete with state outline. New signs have been ordered. 
 

-- By A.G. BLOCK

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

Copyright 2005 State Net
ISSN: 1521-8449