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Marriage Equality Scores Historic Victories: Vermont and Iowa Become 3rd and 4th States to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage
 Marriage Equality Scores Historic Victories: Vermont and Iowa Become 3rd and 4th States to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage Thursday, April 09, 2009PERMALINK: http://www.progressivestates.org/node/22952
Marriage Equality Scores Historic Victories: Vermont and Iowa Become 3rd and 4th States to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage The number of states giving full state marriage rights to same-sex couples has doubled in under a week as first Iowa and then Vermont joined Massachusetts and Connecticut in achieving marriage equality. Additionally, the District of Columbia City Council recently voted to recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states.
Legislative Leadership Consolidates Marriage Equality: Notable in each state was the legislative leadership on behalf of marriage equality. In overriding their governor's veto, the Vermont legislative leadership was obvious in its determination. In Iowa,the House and Senate leadership made it clear that they will oppose any constitutional amendment that seeks to overturn the Iowa Supreme Court decision. In a joint release by Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal and House Speaker Pat Murphy, they praised the decision and said "the only lasting question about today’s events will be why it took us so long." Since Iowa requires legislative approval of constitutional amendments, such strong legislative leadership means that marriage equality in the state is likely to be protected in coming years in Iowa. A Generational Change Promises Long-Term Victory for Same-Sex Marriage Nationally: Another factor driving acceptance of same-sex marriage is generational. Americans 18-45 give legal marriage over twice the level of support than do those over 65. In Vermont, this reality was clearly articulated by a group of prominent business leaders who wrote to lawmakers urging them to override the governor's veto in order to boost the economic wellbeing of the state: "The generation that we are trying to attract is different from ours. They don't care about racial, ethnic, gender or sexual orientation differences. They like living among people from diverse backgrounds. They gravitate to places where those differences make life more exciting."  One of my daughters was in the workplace one day, and her particular workplace at that moment in time there were a whole bunch of conservative, older men. And those guys were talking about gay marriage. They were talking about discussions going on across the country. And my daughter Kate, after listening to it for about 20 minutes, said to them: ”˜You guys don’t understand. You’ve already lost. My generation doesn’t care.’ I think I learned something from my daughter that day, when she said that. [Watch the video here or by clicking on the image above.] Support for marriage equality has been growing among the whole population, but the fact is that a clear majority of Americans age 18-34 support same-sex marriage by a margin of 51-40 according to a December 2008 Newsweek poll (reflecting many other surveys), meaning that when it comes to full equality for GLBT Americans the question is not if, but when.
Addressing Health Inequality with the Economic Recovery Package The investment of billions of dollars of federal stimulus money in state and local economies presents an unprecedented opportunity to address many of "the systemic and avoidable social and economic problems that are the fundamental causes of health inequality," writes the Health Policy Institute at the Joint Center on Political and Economic Studies in The Potential of the Economic Stimulus Package to Address Health Inequality. Stimulus funding, like $2.1 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start Programs, $1.5 billion for health center improvements, and $8.4 billion for public transit, should be implemented with a clear intent of reducing racial and ethnic health disparities and achieving equitable resource distribution across communities. Disparity in Lifespans: The extent of racial and ethnic disparities in health care is well documented, and stark. The life expectancy for African-Americans is 73.3 years, five years shorter than it is for whites; 47 African-Americans per 100,000 people die from complications caused by diabetes, compared to just over 22 deaths among whites; and, people of color in the United States are less likely to receive routine medical care as well as quality health care services. While people of color are more likely to be uninsured than whites, lack of medical coverage is only one of many factors causing disparities. As the Prevention Institute and the Joint Center's Health Policy Institute at write, Community conditions—such as air, water, and soil quality; access to healthy food, safe affordable housing, and transit; and access to safe parks—shape health and safety outcomes. [And] Poverty, racism, and lack of educational and economic opportunities are among the fundamental determinants of poor health, lack of safety, and health inequities. The Opportunity of the Recovery Plan: As the Joint Center's Health Policy Insitute documents, the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in health care, education, transportation, the environment, and community programs across the country provide this unique opportunity to improve access to quality health care services for people of color and increase opportunities for healthy living and educational and professional advancement. Specific opportunities created by the stimulus package (in addition to those mentioned above), include:
Policies to Ensure Greater Health Equity: To ensure health and resource equity are key considerations for the use and tracking of stimulus funds, advocates, lawmakers, public agency heads, and others can:
The federal stimulus package does not fix state and local budget problems, but it provides immediate and necessary support for key public programs and initiatives and, in some cases, frees up state and local dollars to be invested in other beneficial ways.
New Mexico Enacts Wage Law Enforcement, Joins National Trend New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson recently signed a wage enforcement bill (H 489) to allow underpaid workers to collect their back wages plus twice that amount in damages. The bill was backed by community groups and labor unions as well as the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. New Mexico now becomes the eighth state that allows workers to collect treble damages against employers violating the minimum wage — a key deterrent to employers to ensure compliance with the minimum wage. Other states are moving forward on additional wage enforcement measures:
Progressive States Network has been promoting wage enforcement strategies as a fair and progressive model for dealing with the problems of the underground economy and the exploitation of all workers, including native and immigrant workers. Recently the GAO conducted a study finding that wage theft was not being properly investigated by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour division. Now, federal priorities under the new administration are moving towards increased wage enforcement, following the lead of states like New York and California. States can better address the underground economy by enforcing and strengthening wage and hour laws to protect all workers from unscrupulous employers who deliberately under pay or withhold wages. Here is a short rundown of model policies that states can implement to recover workers' wages and ensure better compliance with the existing minimum wage.
Report: Wave of Teacher Retirements Demands New Mentoring Program to Train Next Generation of Teachers
Increased retirement among experienced teachers over the next few years coupled with high attrition rates for beginner educators, places our education system in a precarious position. According to a report by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF), the "traditional teaching career is collapsing at both ends, older teachers are retiring and beginner teachers are being driven away by antiquated preparation practices, outdated school staffing policies, and inadequate career rewards." The consequences of high turnover is that schools, particularly high poverty schools, must divert focus and resources from efforts aimed at combating student achievement gaps to initiatives which address teaching quality gaps. Not only might one-third of of today's most experienced teachers potentially retire over the next four years, but within the next decade it is possible that more than half of today's teachers will leave the school system. This high level of retirement will not only leave school systems without veteran teachers with a wealth of experience, but also put large pressures on retirement systems. Mass replacement of experienced veteran teachers with inexperienced beginners, however, is not an ideal or effective solution, since beginning teachers have yet to hone their craft and the attrition rates for new teachers have been rising steadily for more than a decade. According to some estimates in certain school districts "half of new hires are replaced every five years." The NCTAF report urges policy makers to reorganize educational institutions to create learning teams to maintain experienced teachers and train new ones. Specifically, the report recommends:
The recommended learning teams are said to be cost effective, since they can help alleviate pressure on pension systems which will occur if a large number of teachers retire at the same time, allow schools to better leverage resources, and ensure new teachers have mentors during their first few, and typically most difficult years. Highlighted examples and study results on how learning teams help increase academic achievement included in the NCTAF report are:
Now, due to the economic downturn and individuals wanting to remain in the workforce longer, is opportune time cities and states to consider efforts to keep quality veteran teachers.
Stimulus Resources/UpdatesBroadly, the Brookings Institution in Metro Potential in ARRA: An Early Assessment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act finds that, although ARRA is limited in its support for creative metropolitan-area implementation, it delivers critical investments in what matters to metros and holds out significant opportunity for metropolitan empowerment and problem-solving. Transportation investments and the labor market: How many jobs could be generated and what type? - This Economic Policy Institute report highlights that for each $100 billion in new infrastructure spending,the economic yield will be $160 billion in additional economic output, 1.1 million new jobs, an increase in the relative wages of workers without college degrees and an increase of roughly 125,000 unionized jobs. A parallel study - Green investments and the labor market: How many jobs could be generated and what type? - finds similar job and wage gains from green investments that are part of the recovery plan. Health Care Resources: As Families USA brought to our attention, New York State recently passed A. 6740 to mirror the provision in the ARRA that allows a second COBRA election period for people laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 17, 2009, the date the ARRA was signed. Under A. 6740, people eligible for mini-COBRA will have the same opportunity, and the time between their layoff and when they elect COBRA will not count against them for pre-existing condition exclusions. Other states can use the New York law as a model to cover more residents under the Federal COBRA subsidy. Families USA hosted a conference call (recording available here) on March 20th on the new COBRA subsidies with panelists from CMS, the Department of Labor, the IRS, and the US Treasury. Restoring the Safety Net: In Questions and Answers about the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund, CLASP explains the opportunities for states to help low-income families using the new TANF Emergency Contingency Fund and is updated to reflect the Policy Announcement issued by HHS on April 3, 2009. Research RoundupA few new reports and resources on the economic crisis facing working families and potential solutions-
Broadband and telecommunications was the focus of a few key studies:
New tax reform reports detail new revenue options for states
Diversity and access to education is a focus in a couple of reports on education:
Who voted in the 2008 Election and voter's experiences and problems are covered in three reports:
Drum Major Institute's Congressional Middle Class Scorecard highlights a number of key issues relevant to state leaders, including how their Congressional representatives voted on Bush’s SCHIP veto and House passage of the Neighborhood Stabilization Act Report Takes A Closer Look at Increasing Child Poverty Rate - A new report from Child Trends finds that the poverty rate for children is at its highest point since 1998, resulting in a range of effects from low academic achievement to health and behavioral problems. The report offers policy proposals for reducing poverty rates for children and their families. Please email us leads on good research at research@progressivestates.org ResourcesMarriage Equality Scores Historic Victories: Vermont and Iowa Become 3rd and 4th States to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage Iowa Supreme Court Decision A Gay Marriage Surge: Public support grows, according to the new NEWSWEEK Poll Addressing Health Inequality with the Economic Recovery Package Health Policy Institute at the Joint Center on Political and Economic Studies - The Potential of the Economic Stimulus Package to Address Health Inequality New Mexico Enacts Wage Law Enforcement, Joins National Trend Progressive States Network- Promoting Wage Enforcement Laws as an Alternative to Anti-Immigrant Proposals Report: Wave of Teacher Retirements Demands New Mentoring Program to Train Next Generation of Teachers National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, Learning Teams: Creating What's Next State Action Alert - Support Women's Access to Reproductive Services, Preserve State Access LawsOn March 10th, the Obama Administration issued a notice and comment rulemaking to fully rescind the Bush Administration’s HHS midnight regulation that undermines patients’ access to basic health care services and information. The Bush rule would allow health care workers who object to abortion and contraception to deny women care and information and would pre-empt many state laws. The deadline for submitting comments in support of protecting patients’ rights is midnight tonight. Please send your comments to proposedrescission@hhs.gov. For sample comments and more information, please visit Planned Parenthood’s website. Resources: 3 Steps Forward1. NY: Legislation Moving to Free Towns to Tackle Blight 2. TN: New state panel aims to make getting legal aid easier 3. US: Bids pour in for state construction jobs, lowering costs to states 2 Steps BackMastheadThe 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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