State Legislatures Magazine: January 2002

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the January 2002 issue of NCSL's magazine, State Legislatures. To order copies or to subscribe, contact the marketing department at (303) 364-7700.

Stateline

THE HOLIDAY THING
Wisconsin, the remaining state to not observe Veterans’ Day as an official paid holiday for state employees, will consider changing that this session. If enacted, Veterans’ Day would be elevated to that of New Year’s Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas as the sixth holiday observed every year in all 50 states. Memorial Day and Martin Luther King Day aren’t in that group because Louisiana skips Memorial Day and observes Martin Luther King Day every other year. Alabama, Mississippi and Texas observe Martin Luther King’s Day in conjunction with Robert E. Lee Day or Confederate Heroes Day. Virginia has a separate Lee-Stonewall Jackson Holiday. Columbus Day is celebrated in 27 states. Twenty-eight states combine Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays into Presidents’ Day; 12 celebrate Washington’s birthday as a distinct holiday; and eight observe Lincoln’s birthday separately.

TOO MUCH HIGH TIDE
The Gulf of Mexico will continue to rise by more than 3 feet during the next century, according to several scientists in their report, "Confronting Climate Change in the Gulf Coast Region." This will drown the remaining wetlands, lead to more extreme rainfall and dry periods, and increase the risk of hurricanes, affecting agriculture, forestry, shipping and tourism. The scientists recommend switching from oil to natural gas, using energy-saving appliances and lighting, limiting urban sprawl, adopting water conservation measures and selecting crops more likely to withstand warmer, drier weather. The report is available online at www .uscusa.org/environent/gulf.html

LET’S ALL GO DOWNTOWN
Downtown areas will be preferred sites for state office buildings across California under a new executive smart growth policy. The governor hopes that consolidating far-flung leases into downtown office locations will cut costs. People should also find it easier to locate offices, and traffic congestion and air pollution should be reduced. California owns 40 offices statewide, containing about 12 million square feet of space. The state also has 2,100 leases for 16 million square feet. The act is modeled on a similar order used by the federal government’s General Services Administration. Also, Maine passed legislation in 2000 that requires the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to develop site selection criteria for state office buildings to encourage their location downtown.

MARRIAGE 101
Maryland has become the fourth state to offer couples a break on marriage license fees if they take a marriage education course. "The purpose is to strengthen marriages and provide a nurturing environment for children," said bill sponsor Representative John Leopold. This law is part of a growing trend in the states to try to reduce divorce rates and protect children, who, studies have shown, usually do best in two-parent families. Florida, Minnesota and Oklahoma have similar laws.

THE TROUBLE WITH TEST SCORES
New research has found that test scores, particularly year-to-year score gains, are too erratic to be used fairly to hold schools accountable, according to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. Average school scores and short-term gains or losses typically fluctuate widely due to factors outside a school’s control, according to researchers Thomas Kane and Douglas Staiger. Proposed revisions to the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act call for major decisions about schools to be made solely on the basis of annual changes in test scores. And about half the states now use test scores to reward or punish schools.

HAPPY AND HEALTHY IN THE HEARTLAND
Even though Minnesota has one of the highest proportions of overweight and obese adults in the country, it was still voted the healthiest state in the nation by the UnitedHealth Foundation, based out of Minnesota. The report ranks each state based on the relative healthiness of its population. It uses decisions by policy leaders, the availability of health care and personal behavior of residents to compile the rankings. Minnesota also led the nation in support for public health care and had the lowest incidence of heart diseases and premature death. New Hampshire, Utah, Connecticut and Massachusetts followed Minnesota in the rankings.

GRANDFAMILIES GET HELP
New Jersey is now offering compensation to thousands of grandparents and other relatives who serve as guardians to children whose parents are gone or unfit to raise them. There are an estimated 85,000 children in the state who live with relatives other than their parents. Monthly stipends of $250 per child are available. The bill took over a decade to pass and had to overcome opposition from those uncomfortable with the price tag and dubious about compensating those who care for members of their own families. Child advocacy groups argued that those relatives save the child welfare system million of dollars in foster care.

NO NASTINESS NOW
Story County, Iowa, wants to make sure everyone who works for the county acts in a professional, civil and courteous way. The new anti-hostile work environment policy, passed last summer, states that employees are expected to treat each other and customers professionally. Behaviors that create a hostile work environment, such as rudeness, discourtesy, malicious gossip and shunning, are prohibited. By adopting the policy, Story County joins a growing number of workplaces around the country that view mandating courtesy as a way to improving both productivity and safety.

JUDGES’ TURN TO TEST
The testing fever continues. In South Carolina, judges who are up for recertification now must take a 200-question exam that retests their knowledge of criminal and civil court procedures. Three failing scores, and the judge would be removed from office. Magistrates are required to pass it within a year of being appointed to the bench and every eight years after that. Magistrates and municipal court judges who are also attorneys are exempt. The tests consist of multiple choice and true/false questions that come from the Magistrate Municipal Judge’s Bench Book.

A HISTORY LESSON LEARNED
More than three centuries after they were accused, tried and hanged as unrepentant witches in Salem, Mass., five women have been officially cleared by the state. The act, approved by the legislature, cleared the names of Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Wilmot Redd and Margaret Scott. The five were among 20 men and women put to death during the witchcraft hysteria of 1692. The state has tried to make amends before. In 1711, all the accused were exonerated and their relatives offered retribution. But not all the families came forward to accept the apology. And in 1957, a state resolution cleared the name of Ann Pudeator and "certain other persons" who were unlisted.

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