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New Mexico House Approves National Popular Vote - 23rd Legislative Chamber to Support NPV
 New Mexico House Approves National Popular Vote - 23rd Legislative Chamber to Support NPV Thursday, February 26, 2009PERMALINK: http://progressivestates.org/node/22750
New Mexico House Approves National Popular Vote - 23rd Legislative Chamber to Support NPV Last Friday, the New Mexico House of Representatives approved the National Popular Vote bill by a vote of 42-27, becoming the 23rd legislative chamber in the country to support adopting a system where the candidate winning the most votes for President nationally would win the election. The vote in the House reflected polls in the state showing 76% support for moving to national popular vote.
Stimulus Resources Update We've added to the resources we detailed this past Monday, Implementing the Recovery Plan: A Resource Guide for State Legislators and Advocates Clean Energy: Green for All and Policy Link have created a User's Guide to 2009 Recovery Act Funds. It outlines what's in the law to help promote an inclusive green economy, the funding streams available, recommendations for equitable implementation by state and local leaders, and program-specific "hooks" to help advocates move policy in that direction. Green for All also has an Economic Recovery Package resources page
Broadband: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that beginning March 2, 2009, it will hold meetings with interested parties in connection with broadband grant programs described in the ARRA and the Broadband Data Services Improvement Act. Meetings will be held at NTIA headquarters and will continue until further notice. To schedule a meeting, contact Barbara Brown at (202) 482-4374 or bbrown@ntia.doc.gov.
Unemployment and Training: The Workforce Alliance has released a summary of legislative language a detailed analysis of training and workforce development provisions of the ARRA. They also have a summary of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities provisions within the ARRA.
State Efforts and Tracking: The Oklahoma Policy Institute has a new budget brief from Oklahoma Policy Institute that provides detailed analysis of the federal legislation, Oklahoma's share, and details and conditions on how the funds may be spent.
"Climate Rebates": Protecting Moderate-Income Taxpayers While Saving the Planet
Policies that restrict emissions that negatively effect our environment, such as cap-and-trade programs, are often implemented to spur energy efficiency and greater use of clean energy. To combat the negative impact of rising energy prices on low and moderate income households, associated with restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has designed a“climate rebate” plan. According to the CBPP, rebates are an effective way to assist households amidst higher energy costs because they allow consumers to maintain their purchasing power while also preserving the incentive to conserve energy and invest in energy-efficiency improvements.
Under its "climate rebate" plan, CBPP proposes a refundable tax credit program that would restore households’ lost purchasing power. The climate rebate would be given to households that do not make enough money to file tax returns as a monthly benefit. The plan could be funded with revenues raised by the auctioning of emissions allowances under a cap-and-trade system. Why "Climate Rebates" are Needed: A climate rebate program is needed because low-income consumers generally spend a larger portion of their money on basic necessities that heavily depend on fossil fuels compared to those who are more well off. Additionally, those in the lower-income brackets are the least able to purchase new, energy efficient products. Middle income consumers, however, are not immune to economic hardship and rebates can help those families purchase more energy-efficient homes and appliances to help our nation transition to less dependence on fossil fuels. Therefore, a well-designed rebate system could be comprehensive, benefiting low and moderate income families. Financing Consumer Relief: Fortunately, relief for working families can be financed directly through a cap-and-trade system. According to CBPP, "auctioning the emissions allowances under a cap-and-trade system would generate more than enough revenue to pay for the consumer relief proposed." A paper by the Center for American Progress, states that the "Congressional Budget Office estimates that the monetary value of emissions allowances auctioned under a cap-and-trade system would range between $50 billion and $300 billion each year (in 2007 dollars) by 2020." These revenues could be used to finance consumer relief and other climate-related priorities. In fact, it is predicted by CBPP that less than "60 percent of auction revenues would be needed to provide relief to a substantial majority of U.S. consumers" - leaving a significant percentage of revenue to fund other climate-related programs and research. Taking Action: In 2008, the Connecticut General Assembly’s Regulation Review Committee voted for a plan proposed by Governor Jodi Rell to provide rebates to consumers from the state's share of cap-and-trade auction proceeds. Similarly, President Obama is discussing the use of proceeds from federal sales of carbon emissions permits to extend the recently approved $400 per adult tax credit from his economic recovery plan. Both states and the federal government have an opportunity to use funds from emissions auctions as a mechanism to help combat climate change and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, in a manner that protects working families as we transition to a low-carbon economy.
Washington State Health Care Campaign Highlights Continuing State Action on Reform This week, the Washington State Senate's health committee approved a bill to achieve health-care-for-all by 2012. Sponsored by committee Chair Sen. Karen Keiser, SB 5945 as amended combines immediate steps to expand access to coverage and cut administrative costs with a planning process to refine proposals for comprehensive reform by 2012. This action came as the Seattle City Council and Seattle Post-Intelligencer endorsed national single-payer health care, emphasizing the continuing efforts in states to move forward health care reform.
The bill is the latest in a multi-year effort to reform health care. It directs the Partnership to seek reform consistent with the goals endorsed by a 2006 blue ribbon commission on health care reform. And, as we wrote earlier this month, findings from a 2009 Mathematica study of five leading reform options breathed new life into a 2008 proposal by Sen. Karen Keiser that would guarantee quality health care for all, while generating $1.6 billion in new economic activity and billions in savings across the system - $330 million in reduced state spending, a cut of $2.35 billion in employer costs, and a $1.03 billion cut in out-of-pocket spending by families. Sen. Keiser's 2008 plan was modeled after an on-going Wisconsin initiative, Healthy Wisconsin, championed by State Sen. Jon Erpenbach, and is similar to the New York Health Plan, a recent proposal from New York by Assemblymember Richard Gottfried.
E-verify: An Economic Burden to Businesses and State Budgets A new resource from our friends at the National Immigration Law Center emphasizes the costs to both businesses and local governments of trying to enforce immigration law in the workplace. As they note, the E-verify system - the electronic program that is currently voluntary for employers to use in comparing workers’ documents for employment eligibility against federal databases from the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration - imposes a range of costs:
Fortunately, E-verify provisions were stripped out of the recent stimulus bill. However, states like Nebraska, Indiana, and Rhode Island that are looking at adopting legislation to mandate E-verify for government contractors or all employers would do well to carefully consider all of the substantial costs of implementation in a year where budgets for essential services like health care and education are being slashed to the bone. Better yet, to address the underlying causes of the underground economy, legislators in those states should introduce wage enforcement legislation to hold unscrupulous employers accountable for meeting existing wage and hour laws, and ensure that they are paying their workers’ salaries, as well as state taxes in an accurate manner. Iowa , New Mexico , and North Carolina are among the states that are looking to raise the labor standards for all workers, immigrant and US born alike. Research RoundupUnions Are Good for the Economy in Every State: The Center for American Progress has created an interactive map highlighting the ways in each state that unions provide a wage premium—how much higher unionized workers’ wages are then their non-union counterparts on average—and how much more workers in each state would earn in total wages annually if unionization rates increase. If the number of union workers increased by just 5%, an estimated $25.5 billion more in wages and salaries would be introduced into the American economy each year. Election Day Registration (EDR): Best Practices - Demos has put together a "how-to guide" on EDR implementation and administration for election officials and policymakers in states and localities where it is being considered. It focuses on key areas such as poll worker recruiting and training, EDR administration, avoiding confusion and congestion, addressing special populations and looking ahead to the future. Wealth of the Baby Boom Cohorts After the Collapse of the Housing Bubble - This report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) shows that due to the collapse of the housing bubble, the vast majority of near retirees have accumulated little or no wealth. Most of these households will enter retirement with little wealth beyond Social Security. New Resource on Stopping Foreclosures: Foreclosure-Response.org is anew website offering resources intended to help states and localities respond to the foreclosure crisis. This site is maintained by the Center for Housing Policy, KnowledgePlex, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and the Urban Institute. Please email us leads on good research at research@progressivestates.org ResourcesNew Mexico House Approves National Popular Vote - 23rd Legislative Chamber to Support NPV National Popular Vote - 23 Legislative Chambers Have Now Passed Bill
"Climate Rebates": Protecting Moderate-Income Taxpayers While Saving the Planet Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - Extending "Climate Rebates" to Include Middle-Income Consumers Center for American Progress - Investing in a Green Economy: Using Cap-and-Trade Auction Revenue to Help American Families and Spur Clean Energy Innovation
Washington State Health Care Campaign Highlights Continuing State Action on Reform Unions for Single Payer Health Care - Endorsers of HR 676: Cities, counties, states E-verify: An Economic Burden to Businesses and State Budgets National Immigration Law Center -- Basic Pilot/E-verify 3 Steps Forward 1. CO Colorado partner-rights measure clears House, heads for Senate 2 Steps Back 1. ID: Court -- State can stop union political deductions MastheadThe Stateside Dispatch is written and edited by: Nathan Newman, Interim Executive Director Please shoot us an email at dispatch@progressivestates.org if you have feedback, tips, suggestions, criticisms, or nominations for any of our sidebar features.
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