Recent reports have raised serious concerns about program failures,
secret deportation quotas and the high costs of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS)'s controversial 287(g) program, which trains and
authorizes state and local police departments to enforce federal
immigration law.
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This past week, the Dallas
Morning News revealed that a key figure who contributed to the
privatization of Texas' food stamp eligibility program is now
receiving taxpayer dollars to help fix the problems that the private
system created. regg Phillips, who was Deputy Commissioner at the Texas Health and Human
Services Commission (HHSC) and led the push for privatization a few
years ago, now heads AutoGov Inc., a company that has received $207,500
from the state government in the past four months to assist in
eliminating the errors in the provision and eligibility determination of
the state's food stamp program.
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Local communities are increasingly rejecting punitive anti-immigrant
law enforcement policies such as 287g from the previous administration.
They are walking away from agreements to have local police serve as
federal immigration authorities, rejecting both their budgetary costs
and the way they damage relationships and trust between police and the
communities they serve.
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In the 11th hour, in what was the last step before HB 2280 would have
been transmitted to the Governor for her approval, Republicans and
Democrats alike in the House of Representatives voted the bill down,
after it had previously been approved in the State Senate.
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In the final week of their legislative sessions, the Colorado and Indiana legislatures gave final approval to bills allowing residents to register to vote online. Colorado Senators passed HB 1160 and Indiana House Members passed HB 1346;
both bills allow residents with driver's licenses or state-issued ID
cards to register to vote online. The legislation has been sent to the
governor in both states. In Colorado the governor is expected to sign
the bill, while Indiana's governor has not indicated support or
opposition.
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In a positive step forward for federal respect of state regulatory powers, President Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider a previously denied waiver to allow California to set more stringent auto emissions and fuel efficiency standards than required by federal law. In a statement by the White House, President Obama said "the federal government must work with, not against, states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." The directive represents not only greater respect for state authority, but also a sharp break from the climate policies of President Obama's predecessor.
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Washington State minimum wage workers got a raise January 1st to $8.55
per hour -- now the highest minimum wage in the country. Like nine
other states, Washington automatically increases its minimum wage each
year at the rate of inflation to make sure families don't face a de facto pay
cut as rising costs eat into family budgets. Because the federal
minimum wage is not indexed to inflation in this way, we have seen a
decline in its value from $9.34 in inflation-adjusted dollars down to
just $6.55 per hour this past year. This trend highlights why state
efforts to index the minimum wage to keep up with inflation are so
critical.
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Soon after the November elections and the dispiriting setbacks for gay marriage equality in California, Arizona, and Florida, a group of religious leaders in Maine formed a coalition
to advocate for gay marriage rights and actively seek equal treatment
for gay and lesbian couples within Maine law. The group, Religious
Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine, includes 120 clergy from
across the state and 14 different faith traditions, including United
Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Unitarian Universalist,
Congregational, and the United Church of Christ.
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Direct democracy through popular intiatives and referenda began a
century ago as a grassroots, progressive reform aimed at circumventing
corrupt legislatures and increasing civic involvement. The long history of this reform
indicates that in the whole this experiment in direct popular
participation in the legislative process has been successful as an
avenue for passing populist policies that maintains the favor of
the public over time. However, throughout this history there have
also been attempts, sometimes successful, to manipulate the process and
the electorate into passing legislation that would not garner majority
support had voters possessed an accurate conception of its content and
effect.
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Last week, Connecticut's high court struck down the state's
civil union law and ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional
right to marry. Connecticut joins Massachusetts and California as the
only states that recognize gay marriage. As the New York Times reported,
the Connecticut ruling is notable because it found for the first time
that a state civil union law, while providing all the legal rights of
marriage to gay couples but limiting marriage to heterosexual couples,
violated the state's "constitutional guarantee of equal protection
under the law."
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After an Arizona federal district court, relying on a recent US Supreme Court decision, declared
a provision of that state’s clean elections law unconstitutional,
other states are having to decide how to move forward on clean
elections in their states.
Given that this was just one decision by a lower court, the California legislature approved AB 583 on August 30th, one day after the Arizona ruling. This legislation, sponsored by Rep. Loni Hancock,
creates a public financing pilot program for the Secretary of State
race in 2014. For the law to go into effect it must first be approved
by voters next year. On the other hand, New Jersey legislators
overreacted to the decision and Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. announced that he would not seek to renew clean elections legislation (AB 100) in the upcoming session.
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The benefits of a post-secondary degree are plentiful. For example, an employee with a four year college degree earns 60 percent more than a worker with only a high school diploma. Paying for college, however, has become a daunting task and strain for many American students and families. The cost of higher education across the country is rapidly increasing, at almost double the rate of inflation, outpacing increases in financial aid and many families ability to pay. The combination of these factors result in too many students being unable to earn or complete their degrees due to financial constraints.
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For
Arizona, it was a session marked by papering over a large fiscal
deficit, the approval of a ballot measure to ban gay marriage, and a
number of nasty initiatives that were thankfully vetoed by the
governor.
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With food and gas prices rising rapidly, low-wage workers can at least
welcome an increase in the federal minium wage to $6.55 per hour
scheduled to go into effect on July 24th. Even better, a number of
states will also be increasing their minimum wage rates even higher than the federal rate:
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Voter suppression is growing rapidly in America today. Over half of states now have voter ID requirements more stringent than that required for first time voters in federal elections. Several states are clamping down on voter registration drives or are considering proof of citizenship requirements.
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The Iowa Senate on Tuesday approved SF 2416,
a bill to sharply increase fines on employers violating Iowa state wage
laws, crack down on the practice of misclassifying employees as
"independent contractors" to evade those laws, and protect workers
reporting violations from retaliation.
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$287 billion -- that is how much the U.S. spent
on pharmaceuticals in 2007, representing a significant driver of health
care costs. While spending on hospital and physician care surpass
spending on prescriptions, drugs still account for 14% of all health care expenditures. Combine this with polls that show 70% of Americans believe the drug industry puts profits ahead of people, and it's no wonder that in 2008, at least 540 bills
and resolutions are being considered by states across the country to
reduce prescription drug prices, ensure the quality of medications
covered by public and private health plans, and reduce the undue
influence of pharmaceutical industry marketing - which itself tops out
at $30 billion each year.
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In the wake of a bitter 2004 Governor's election and state Supreme Court races that took in more money from third-party groups than any other high court campaign in the country, Washington State's House took the first step toward public financing by passing HB 1551. Introduced by Senator Joe McDermott, HB 1551 allows cities, counties, and other jurisdictions to provide local candidates with government financing. The bill only allows local taxes to be tapped for the public campaign accounts and the public funds cannot be used for campaigns for state offices or school boards.
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