May 15, 2008
State & Policy News
 House passes farm bill by a veto-proof margin
Ignoring a veto threat from President Bush, who says he wants to sharply limit government subsidies to farmers at a time of near-record commodity prices and soaring global demand for grain, the House on Wednesday approved a five-year, $307 billion farm bill with a solid bipartisan majority. New York Times Read the article.
States to enforce molester law on tribal land
A little-noticed provision in a 2006 federal sex-offender law is rankling American Indian tribes in six states because it would give state law enforcers unprecedented authority to monitor child molesters living on tribal land. Stateline.org Read the article.
Senate nears mortgage deal
Senate lawmakers are close to a deal that would expand a government program to insure hundreds of billions of dollars in refinanced mortgages, top lawmakers said Thursday. Wall Street Journal Read the article.
Lethal injection methods weighed
A federal appeals court took up an issue Wednesday with broad implications for how executions will be carried out nationwide: whether Virginia's method of lethal injection induces an agonizing death. Washington Post Read the article.
Democrats want chemical in plastic investigated
Congress on Wednesday waded into an escalating scientific dispute over a controversial ingredient in plastic products that some think may harm the development of children's brains and interfere with human reproduction. Los Angeles Times Read the article.
Polar bear is made a protected species
The polar bear, whose summertime Arctic hunting grounds have been greatly reduced by a warming climate, will be placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced on Wednesday. New York Times Read the article.
Schwarzenegger has plan to close state budget gap
Many states have decided that “if you turn the lottery over to the private sector, they can run it more efficiently,” said Arturo Perez, a fiscal analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures, who added that he had not seen a plan quite like this one. New York Times Read the article.
Schwarzenegger's lottery bond proposal leaves many questions
Florida and Oregon have borrowed against their future lottery revenue but not to the extent Schwarzenegger is proposing, said Arturo Perez, an analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures. AP in San Diego Union Tribune Read the article.
Ga. law allows guns in restaurants, public transit
Janna Goodwin, a researcher at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said that in the aftermath of the slayings at Virginia Tech, most states either halted passage of gun laws or took up measures to improve gun safety. "This is the most significant one I have seen," she said. AP in Houston Chronicle Read the article.
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