COMMITTEE NEWS
NCSL Spring Forum
The 2008 NCSL Spring Forum will be held in Washington, DC on April 24-26 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill. For more information go to the meeting website at: http://www.ncsl.org/forum/
Sudan Divestment and Accountability Act of 2007
NCSL urges the federal government to provide states with authoritative information about whether actions by companies are in line with this new law and United States foreign policy goals. Read the letter NCSL sent to Senator Dodd (D-CT) on the committee website at:
http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sclaborecon/SudanLetter011608.htm
IN THE NEWS
Family Medical Leave Act could be expanded to care for soldiers
By Bill Orben
Orlando Business Journal
January 4, 2008
A proposed change in the federal Family and Medical Leave Act to include additional unpaid time off to care for an injured soldier may open the door for employer and employee groups to push for changes in the original act.
The bill expanding the act was approved by the House and Senate last month, but was vetoed Dec. 28 by President George Bush for reasons unrelated to the act. Political observers say Bush vetoed the bill because other items were included in it. Congress and the administration will likely resolve their differences with possible expansion of the act when Congress reconvenes Jan. 15, they say.
http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2008/01/07/story5.html?jst=pn_pn_lk
Senate Bill to Give Military Families Access to Affordable Homes
Military families receive a basic allowance for housing that is not counted as income for tax purposes, but often is counted as income when determining eligibility for affordable housing. States News Service explains that BAH-as-income often disqualifies military families from housing financed by low income housing tax credits. To correct this, the U.S. Senate has passed legislation that would exclude BAH from service members' income for purposes of determining eligibility for LIHTC. The Senate bill would address situations such as that at the Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Neb., where almost 200 families have been turned down for homes in two LIHTC-financed properties. The legislation, the Military Access to Housing Act of 2007, would encourage developers to build more affordable housing near military bases. The legislation has been co-sponsored by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who said, "It is essential that our service members have the resources they need both on and off the battlefield. This bill will ensure that soldiers and their families alike receive the benefits that they deserve."
http://www.knowledgeplex.org/news/1196511.html
A New Look for Affordable Housing
The Chicago Tribune reports on a growing architectural trend that is changing the face of public housing, resulting in affordable homes-developed privately and by nonprofits-that are "well-designed, well-built, and attractive enough to win over wary neighbors." Helmut Jahn, known the world over for his glass skyscrapers, built a SRO project in Chicago that looks like a train: long and narrow with curved roof and a glass and steel exterior. Residents pay a monthly rental of $160. Although bold and beautiful architecture for affordable homes is still a small portion of the whole, it's a portion that's growing as HUD's budget continues to plummet. In 1978, HUD had a budget of $123 billion in today's dollars; the agency's budget last year was $36 billion. With the federal government no longer able to build big boxy public housing, more affordable housing is being constructed by nonprofits or by private developers as communities require inclusionary zoning with set-asides for a certain number of units affordable to low- and moderate-income families. Another development, Rainbow Apartments, built by Skid Row Housing Trust in Los Angeles, offers sharp angles and red window frames so bold that one resident said that the bright color "wakes up my soul." The Trust's executive director, Michael Alvidrez, believes, "Good design actually has therapeutic value," adding that nonprofit developers are "constitutionally wired for innovation."
http://www.knowledgeplex.org/news/1274571.html
The Debate Over How and How Long
By Edmund L. Andrews
New York Times
January 8, 2008
WASHINGTON — If President Bush becomes convinced the economy is indeed headed toward a recession, he is likely to respond much as he did on entering office in 2001 with the economy on the verge of a downturn: lower tax rates for people at all income levels and provide tax breaks for businesses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/business/08fiscal.html?_r=1&ex=1200459600&en=0d2961ba1efdc88a&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin
White House Opposes Mine Safety Bill
By Jesse J. Holland
Associated Press
January 15, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto a mine safety bill, saying the new regulations proposed by Democrats would interfere with legislation President Bush signed in 2006.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i94rNTxo_4lBGqXUX4d4uTi7c7RQD8U6K06G0
Democrats Pass Mine Safety Bill
By Jesse J. Holland
Associated Press
January 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defying White House veto threats, the Democratic-controlled House on Wednesday passed sweeping mine safety legislation aimed at preventing future underground disasters like the one that took nine lives last year at Crandall Canyon mine in Utah.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i94rNTxo_4lBGqXUX4d4uTi7c7RQD8U77LNG1
