Trends and Transitions

Tennessee is losing a legend. Senator John Wilder, who has served 44 years in the Senate-—36 of them as Senate speaker and lieutenant governor—announced he is retiring at the end of the year.  The 86-year-old Wilder’s reign was marked by bipartisanship, but he was a strong and single-minded leader when he needed to be. In 1987 and again in 1989, Wilder sidestepped attempts to overthrow him by crafting a coalition of loyal Democrats and Republicans that kept him in control, and banished several powerful Democrats from their  committee chairmanships.  But his bid for an 18^th term as Senate speaker in 2007 was thwarted by Republican Senator Ron Ramsey.

Former Georgia Representative Ron Sailor, who resigned from the House in March after pleading guilty to federal money laundering charges, is now under investigation by the state Ethics Commission. Federal investigators say Sailor is cooperating in the corruption investigation. But the Ethics Commission is looking into why a lobbyist for the payday loan industry gave Sailor $80,000 only 25 days before a vote on a controversial bill favoring the industry.  The lobbyist, former Denver Bronco Willie Green, says the money had nothing to do with the bill, but was a real estate investment loan and he expected Sailor to repay him $120,000 several weeks later. Green was not repaid.

This is simply not how democracy is supposed to work,” says Wisconsin Senator Scott Fitzgerald of the extraordinary veto power exercised by the state’s governors. The so-called partial veto authority granted constitutionally to Wisconsin governors has been dubbed “the Frankenstein veto” because a governor can cut words, cobble others together and completely change legislative intent.  Governor Jim Doyle has been particularly adept at it.  He moved $427 million the Legislature had approved for transportation to education in 2005 and changed a 2 percent limit on property tax increases to a 3.86 percent limit last year. So Senator Sheila Harsdorf has sponsored a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the governor from creating new sentences in enrolled legislation. Now the people must decide.

Delaware Republicans are having a tough time finding someone they like to run for governor. Representative Donna Stone, president of NCSL, turned down the opportunity, even though she would be a “great governor,” according to the state party chairman.  Two others have also said “no thanks”—a corporate CEO and a retired superior court judge. There are two candidates, but they both lost in the 2004 primary against the judge.

Former Florida Representative Frank Peterman, a pastor and Democratic lawmaker since 2000, has been named by Republican Governor Charlie Crist secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Peterman served on the House Juvenile Justice Committee, which gives him, according to Crist, “a unique perspective.” His seat is likely to be filled by Darryl Rouson, a Republican turned Democrat, who won the primary to replace Peterman in the district with some 66 percent registered Democrats.

The U.S. Supreme Court in March upheld Washington state’s top-two primary system, which had been adopted by the Legislature in March 2004, vetoed by Governor Gary Locke in April 2004, approved overwhelmingly by the voters in November 2004 and struck down by the U.S. District Court in July 2005. The Ninth Circuit upheld the district court ruling in August 2006, and the Supreme Court reversed it in March this year. The primary allows the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, to advance to the general election. The state parties both opposed the system and challenged it based on the argument that it violates their right to choose their own candidates.

The winning bidder, who preferred to remain anonymous, paid $19,800 for the candy-apple red 2006 Dodge Charger with 21,000 miles, flashy 22-inch rims and leather interior on eBay.  Until December, when it was carjacked at gunpoint in Oakland, the car was a state-leased auto driven by California Senate President Don Perata. It was recovered the day after the theft, sold at auction for $17,800 and then posted on eBay. Perata, who evidently liked to drive in style, is now behind the wheel of a Ford Crown Victoria, a car, he says, “like the cops drive.” 

Top Ten States With Tribal Casinos

There are 336 tribal casinos in 29 states.

68  Oklahoma

58   California

28   Washington

25   Arizona

19   Minnesota

18   Michigan

18   Wisconsin

17   New Mexico

10   Montana

10   Oregon

_{Source: National Indian Gaming Commission.}

Educating the Homeless
The wave of house foreclosures along with the drowning economy is increasing the number of homeless and highly mobile students. Some schools around the country are anticipating the number of homeless students to more than double this year. Children who move frequently or are homeless are prone to fall behind six months academically with every move, and more than a quarter of highly mobile children repeat a grade.

The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was reauthorized in 2002 along with the No Child Left Behind Act. It requires school districts to attempt to keep homeless students in the school they were last in and enroll homeless students immediately even if they don’t have proper documentation of birth or medical records. In addition, states and school districts are not allowed to segregate homeless students into separate schools or programs.

This February, a federal judge ordered the Hawaii Department of Education to changes its enrollment requirements, registration, and homeless student tracking process because the current policies violated the McKinney-Vento Act. Critics contend that guidance on McKinney-Vento compliance is hazy. This may explain why state legislators are introducing laws that are more stringent than the McKinney-Vento act.

So far this year, lawmakers in 18 states and the District of Columbia have introduced legislation addressing the challenges of educating homeless students. Allowing state agencies to provide information to schools, conducting studies on educating homeless children, expanding the definition of homelessness, giving homeless students flexibility in providing school enrollment documents, and creating interagency committees to improve the education of homeless students are a few legislative solutions being considered this session.

Legislators are aware that if a child is always playing catch up in the classroom or not in school at all, no school reform policy can be effective.