For the sixth straight year, Medicaid is the fastest growing part of states' budgets, according to a new NCSL report, State Budget Actions FY 2005 and FY 2006. For FY 2006, 23 states boosted Medicaid appropriations by 10 percent or more from FY 2005 levels, the report says. Five states, on the other hand, found ways to cut costs.

These increases are mainly the results of rising health care costs, which are affecting other programs as well. In Kansas, for example, inmate health care increased by $14.3 million. And Hawaii's 19.5 percent increase in higher education costs was driven in part by health care expenses. The report explains these trends further, and gives other quantitative analyses of states' budgets during the past two years. For a complimentary press copy, send an email to press-room@ncsl.org.

Widow Succession in Legislatures

At least 30 state legislators currently in office are widows who directly succeeded their late husbands, according to a recent NCSL survey of legislative communications staff, clerks and secretaries. These legislators chose to embrace public service at a time of great grief, says Leah Oliver, with the Women's Legislative Network of NCSL. Spousal succession used to be a common way women were elected to any office 50 years ago. In fact, 45 percent of the women who served in Congress before 1962 were widows filling their spouses' seats, Oliver says. And of the 203 women who have ever served in the U.S. House of Representatives, 36 succeeded their late husbands, according to a 2006 report by the Congressional Research Service. If you are interested in a profile, NCSL's public affairs staff can help you get in touch with a woman who succeeded her husband into legislative office. Send an email to press-room@ncsl.org. Or contact Leah Oliver or Nicole Moore in NCSL's Denver office at (303) 364-7700.

Bad (Federal) Budget News Is Flowing Downhill to States

U.S. Comptroller General David Walker gave a grim outlook for America's fiscal future at NCSL' s Spring Forum in April. In Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, the federal government has made grand promises without solid plans for how it can afford to keep them as the Baby Boomers reach retirement age, Walker said. He added that this isn't just a federal problem because "bad news flows downhill, to state and local governments, and eventually to American families."

You can read a summary of the session, listen to the full speech and view Walker's slides at www.ncsl.org/programs/press/2006/pr060412walker.htm. More audio files and summaries from Spring Forum are at www.ncsl.org/programs/press/2006/06forumnews.htm.

NCSL's latest Mandate Monitor shows that the bad news is already descending. Congress has shifted close to $75 billion in costs to states over the past three years, the study shows. That figure will grow to more than $100 billion if the President Bush’s FY 2007 budget were enacted. That's not including costs to comply with the REAL ID Act by May 2008. See the full Mandate Monitor at www.ncsl.org/print/standcomm/scbudg/MandateMonitor0406.pdf. For more information, contact Molly Ramsdell at NCSL's D.C. office, (202) 624-5400.

State Lobbying Law Trends

NCSL's Center for Ethics in Government counts 70 bills on lobbying introduced in 23 states this session. Find out more and check their statuses at this database of ethics legislation: www.ncsl.org/programs/ethics/database.htm. You can also listen to an audio story about lobbying reform trends on the Conference Report, NCSL's regular podcast at www.ncsl.org/programs/press/podcastCR.htm. For more information, contact Peggy Kerns in NCSL's Denver office at (303) 364-7700.