NCSL Capitol Ideas: November, 2003

Capitol Ideas

November 18, 2003

States Protect Copyrights, Provide Safe Havens, Pass Rural Relief Laws

Capitol Ideas is a bi-monthly publication intended to provide state capitol journalists with the latest trends and information about the nation's state legislatures.

Fighting Digital Pirates: The battle to protect digital copyrighted material continues in states today, years after the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act became law. Arkansas and Florida have joined the ranks this year of states that have broadened the federal act, which makes it illegal to circumvent technology that protects copyrighted material and to build tools get around these protections. Now nine states have so-called super-DMCA laws which make it illegal to posses the means to, for example, steal pay-per-view television. Find out more about these controversial laws by contacting the public affairs staff at press-room@ncsl.org.

Protecting Abandoned Babies: Safe haven laws make it legal for overwhelmed mothers to give up their babies in safe environments. Forty-five states now have some type of safe haven legislation, many of which offer the mother anonymity. Most of the laws designate hospitals, emergency medical centers, fire stations and police stations as safe locations. About half of the states will not prosecute parents who relinquish unharmed infants. For more information on safe haven laws, visit this NCSL Web page: www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/ailaws.htm.

Rural Relief: Distressed rural areas are receiving new attention from state, local and federal policymakers, according to an NCSL LegisBrief, "States Bring Rural Issues into Focus." As of July, at least 37 states had enacted more than 100 measures to improve rural economic and social conditions. These laws relate to water, telecommunications and electric infrastructure; health care; fire departments and business tax incentives. An NCSL database catalogs rural-related bills by status, topic and state. Visit it at www.ncsl.org/programs/econ/ruraldev.cfm. For a copy of the LegisBrief, send an email to press-room@ncsl.org.

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