State Legislatures Magazine: February 2001

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the February 2001 issue of NCSL's magazine, State Legislatures. To order copies or to subscribe, contact the marketing department at (303) 364-7700.

Stateline

A Library in the Land of Lincoln
Consistently voted one of the best presidents ever, Abraham Lincoln is past due for his very own presidential library. After years of lobbying by the Illinois congressional delegation, President Clinton approved $50 million in federal funds for the Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library. The remainder of the money will come from state, local and private contributions. The Illinois General Assembly provided ongoing financial support to the Historic Preservation Agency to preserve the Lincoln collection until a library could be built. The collection includes one of the originals of the Gettysburg Address. Groundbreaking is scheduled for Feb. 12-Lincoln's 192nd birthday.

No Couch Potatoes in Prison
Utah state prison inmates who are too lazy to work in prison jobs or take classes will lose the little privileges of prison: TVs, commissary shopping and out-of-cell time. The plan, according to The Salt Lake Tribune, is being touted by the Utah Department of Corrections as a chance to teach all inmates the essential values of accountability and responsibility. For years, privileges have flowed freely to inmates who stayed out of trouble with other prisoners and staff. But according to Scott Carver, director of institutional operations for corrections, that boils down to getting something for nothing. "We can't force them to do [work]," Carver said, "but this is a strong incentive."

Keeping History Alive
The weather can be tough in Nebraska. And then there are the vandals. Many of the state's more than 400 state historical markers are now history-faded, pockmarked, rotted. "Generally speaking, it's like a lot of things, the state established the historical marker program, but there's never enough money to do the maintenance on these things," Jim Potter, who oversees the program, told the Omaha World-Herald. Now, financial help is on the way, more is being sought, and volunteers are pitching in. The Nebraska State Historical Society recently received a donation of $75,000 to create an endowment fund to maintain current markers and install new ones. Potter said it is neither difficult nor expensive to repaint a marker-it may cost a mere $350 and can be done by a local body shop. "They have a lot of experience in putting paint on metal objects," he said. The program, begun 38 years ago, marks sites of significant events, people and places.

A Payback to Schools
Some Pennsylvania residents, encouraged by newspaper editorials that a one-time-only state tax rebate was an election year ploy, are giving their rebate checks to schools. Philadelphia schools have received hundreds of the 2.5 million checks mailed by the state Department of Revenue. "Our governor announced the surplus, saying they had met all the needs of the state," the Reverend William Stone told the Associated Press. "I knew that wasn't right. They hadn't met all their needs." The governor came up with the $339 million tax rebate as a means to offset local property taxes. "We think it's great," Tim Reeves, a spokesman for Governor Tom Ridge, said. "That's exactly the point in giving people their own money-to do with it what they want." One donor referred to the deficit that the city school district faced and said: "The check should be for $80 million from Governor Tom Ridge and the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the children of the school district of Philadelphia. The fact that it is not is an absolute scandal."

The Ups and Downs of Video Making
Ohio recently joined California as the only states to specifically ban secretly taking pictures (using hidden cameras) up a woman's skirt or down her shirt, called "upskirting" and "downblousing." The Internet has made the practice more common, with Web sites posting images, buying pictures from high-tech Peeping Toms and telling users where to buy hidden cameras. "These Web sites basically promote the practice and encourage people to go out and try to do this to as many women as possible," said Representative Ed Jerse, who sponsored the legislation in Ohio. "Kind of like a Mission Impossible challenge," he said. Similar legislation is pending in New York.

Some Are More Equal Than Others
For women, the best states in which to earn a living, enjoy full health and well-being, participate in the political process or have their reproductive rights safeguarded are Vermont and Connecticut, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research. The institute recently surveyed all 50 states and the District of Columbia to measure social and political indicators as they apply to females. But "women have not achieved equality with men in any state..." the report said. Next on top of the list are Washington state, Hawaii, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Alaska. The bottom state was Mississippi.

New Life for Casket Dealers
A federal judge opened Mississippi to independent casket dealers who promise cheaper prices, striking down a state law that had allowed sales only by licensed funeral home directors. Mississippi is the third southern state recently to lose a court fight over laws restricting casket sales. The state had argued that the law addressed health concerns because human remains need a quick burial, but was challenged by a company that had been selling caskets to two Mississippi dealers. The dealers could do business with living customers making future plans, but the law banned them from selling directly to families of the deceased. The company charged funeral homes with marking up casket prices by as much as 300 percent. Steve Holland, a funeral director and state lawmaker, said many funeral homes have reasonable prices and would not be hurt by the added competition.

Pitting One Non-native Against Another
A tiny Brazilian fly whose even tinier larvae eat the heads off stinging fire ants will be unleashed across the South this spring, according to the Associated Press. The invading ants from South America are a vicious menace to homeowners, farmers and wildlife, damaging air conditioners, electrical equipment and farms. The ants can blind and even kill livestock and wildlife, and their sting is occasionally fatal to humans. The U.S. Agriculture Department, in charge of the fly release, assures us that the gnat-like fly is of no danger to anybody or anything other than fire ants. The flies don't kill enough of the ants to destroy colonies, but they do cause enough panic to keep the ants in check. The ants, which have an innate fear of the flies, stop foraging and flee when they spot them, giving native ants a chance to gentrify the neighborhood.

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