Capitol Comments

First Offshore Wind Farm Gets Green Light

By Mikel Chavers, CSG Associate Editor

After nine years of being put in a holding pattern by the federal government, regulators approved the first wind farm in the U.S. called Cape Wind, off the coast of Massachusetts, according to The New York Times. The offshore wind farm will use giant wind turbines placed in the water off the coast of Cape Cod. The turbines will use the stronger wind off the coast to generate electricity.

Offshore wind farms must wait to get the OK from the federal government because they are technically on federal property offshore and do not fall under state jurisdictions.

States Opt Out of First Phase of Federal Health Reform

By Mikel Chavers, CSG Associate Editor

Some states won’t have anything to do with the first wave of federal health care reform—here comes a new round of challenges to the new federal law.

Under the first phase of the new law, states must decide if they will form new high-risk insurance pools for people with pre-existing medical conditions who are unable to get private health insurance—most have been denied coverage because of expensive medical conditions. The pools would allow these folks to get health insurance coverage and would be subsidized by the federal government. So far, Georgia and Nebraska said they won’t operate the new high-risk pools, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Forbes magazine.

Race to the Top Finalists Announced

Fifteen states and Washington, D.C., are leading the pack in the Race to the Top.

Those 16 are finalists for phase 1 of the special education funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It’s part of a $4.35 billion effort by the U.S. Department of Education to reshape America’s educational system to better prepare students.

The finalists are Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.

Pondering the Role of the Lieutenant Governor

The office of lieutenant governor in Illinois may be on the ropes, but the person who holds the office in neighboring Indiana stays busy.

In fact, Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman has more duties than any other lieutenant governor nationwide, according to Julia Hurst, executive director of the National Lieutenant Governors Association, an affiliate of The Council of State Governments.

A controversial primary election, and subsequent withdrawal of the Democratic nominee, in Illinois has left the embattled position of lieutenant governor with somewhat of an endangered status. Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan introduced a constitutional amendment to dissolve the position.

Hurst said the trend, starting in the last decade, has been to expand the responsibilities of the lieutenant governor.

Learn more about this story at Fox Chicago News.

 

Cash-Strapped States Consider Cutting State Parks

By Mikel Chavers

Cash-strapped New York has a plan to save a little money: Shut down state parks. Sound like a new approach? It isn’t. Other states either are considering or have considered the same budget remedy.

New York plans to close 41 parks and 14 historic sites; the state currently operates 178 parks and 35 historic sites, according to the Times Union in Albany. N.Y.

“These actions were not recommended lightly, but they are necessary to address our state’s extraordinary fiscal difficulties,” Carol Ash, commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, told the newspaper.

The cuts will save an estimated $6.3 million in an effort to deal with statewide budget cuts.

Surplus During the Recession

Q: What does it take to have a surplus coming out of the Great Recession?

A: Oil.

Alaska is one state that has seen those benefits. The state has a $2.2 billion budget surplus thanks to higher oil prices; that will likely help the state bounce back from the recession quicker than most states.

Meanwhile, some states see losses in tax revenue at greater amounts than expected. Delaware, for one, expects only its personal income tax to return to its peak year of collections by 2014, according to a five-year forecast by the Delaware Economic and Advisory Council.

State of the States 2010: Schwarzenegger Focuses on Budget, Tax Reform

By Mikel Chavers

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may have used an interesting story about his household pets—a pig and a pony working together to break into the food container—to demonstrate teamwork, but he focused his state of the state address on budget and taxes.

Although there’s still more hardship to come “the worst is over for California’s economy,” Schwarzenegger said Jan. 6. “Our economy is well-positioned to take advantage of the future.”

With that, the defining word this year is priorities, he said. And his priorities include reforming the budget system and the tax system as well as creating jobs.

The state faces a $19.9 billion deficit, and $13.3 billion of it is for the upcoming budget year, Schwarzenegger said. What does that mean for the state? “We face additional cuts,” he said.
“What can we say at this point except the truth—that we have no choice?”

Attorneys General Threaten Lawsuit Over 'Cornhusker Kickback'

A provision in the health care reform bill approved by the U.S. Senate on Christmas Eve could lead to a lawsuit.

Thirteen state attorneys general said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid they will sue if the provision to exempt Nebraska from paying Medicaid expenses other states would have to pay, according to the CNS News Service.

The “Cornhusker Kickback,” as the provision is known, forces taxpayers in other states to pay for the increase in Nebraska’s Medicaid population, the attorneys general say.

Different versions of health care reform have passed both houses of Congress and now must go to conference committee for reconciliation, followed by a final vote.

Read more about health care reform in the states in the January/February issue of Capitol Ideas, The Council of State Governments new magazine.

States Tackle OPEB Obligations

By Mary Branham

California is facing massive budget problems by any measure. And among the major problems it faces is a $100 billion liability in its public retirement plans, said Jason Dickerson, principal fiscal and policy analyst, California Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Dickerson said local governments in California have taken action to reduce retiree benefits for current and future employees, as well as current retirees. That hasn’t gone over well, he said, and the state has no plans to take similar action.

The state has worked with the California Highway Patrol unions toward a plan in which officers will pay into the California Public Employee Retirement System—or CALPERS—trust fund in an effort to address some of the unfunded liability for that group. It won’t cover all of the annual required contribution, however, he said.

Alzheimer’s, Diabetes Driving Health Care Costs

By Mikel Chavers

When it comes to expensive chronic diseases driving health care costs, the issue gets very personal with Alabama Sen. Vivian Davis Figures. That’s because her mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and her mother-in-law died from Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease costs $148 billion in health care every year, said Stephen Geist, regional director for the California Southland Alzheimer’s Association. That means someone will be diagnosed with the disease every 70 seconds—and that’s going to be an increasing burden for states to bear.

Geist said states—particularly in the Northwest—will experience an estimated 81 percent to 127 percent increase in Alzheimer’s cases in the next 15 years. Yet only 11 states currently have a state Alzheimer’s plan, according to Geist.

California is working on one slowly but surely, he said. “The others are going to be taken by surprise.”