Capitol Comments

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.

GOP Picks up Two Governor’s Seats

By Heather Perkins, CSG Membership Data Manager

Republicans won the two governor’s races on Tuesday’s ballot, both in states won by Democrat Barack Obama in last year’s presidential race.

Former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell defeated Democratic state Sen. Creigh Deeds by double digits—59 percent to 41 percent—to reclaim the Virginia governor’s office for Republicans.

In New Jersey, incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine lost the governor’s office to Republican Chris Christie 49 percent to 45 percent. Christie is a former U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. Christie’s running mate, Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno, will now become New Jersey’s first lieutenant governor.

The losses shrink the Democrats’ advantage in governor’s offices to 26 to 24.

It was a clean sweep for Republicans in Virginia, where the GOP won all three executive races on the ballot.

Toll Fellow Hilda Solis Tapped for Secretary of Labor

President-elect Barack Obama has nominated U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis of California, a 1998 Toll Fellow, to be his secretary of labor.

Solis, the daughter of immigrants, has dedicated her career to forwarding fair labor practices.  As a California state senator, Solis fought to increase the state minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.75 an hour in 1996.

“I am humbled and honored to be nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as Secretary of Labor,” said Solis. “I look forward to working with President-elect Obama to reinvest in work force training, build effective pipelines to provide at-risk youth and underserved communities with sustainable skills, and support high-growth industries by training the workers they need. This includes promoting green collar jobs.”

McClintock Designated Puerto Rico Secretary of State

Puerto Rico Gov.-elect Luis FortuAo has designated Senate President Kenneth Davison McClintock, 51, as the U.S. territory's Secretary of State, the only cabinet appointment that requires the advice and consent of both houses of Puerto Rico's Legislative Assembly.

McClintock, who also will fulfill the role of lieutenant governor as secretary of state, said he is "deeply honored by the designation and the trust that Governor-elect FortuAo places in me."

McClintock is no stranger to state government.

Innovations Awards Honor Cutting-Edge State Programs

In the states innovation takes on several forms.

In Georgia, innovation is a 24-hour a day, seven-day a week hotline offering residents a way to get the mental health services they need. The Georgia Crisis and Access Line offers help for the depressed, the suicidal and those worn down from fighting a mental illness.

In Delaware, innovation takes the form of a workplace wellness program, offering state employees incentives to participate in health screenings and events such as run/walk races. DelaWELL helps nearly 68,000 state employees take charge of their health.

Those are just two of eight national Innovations Awards to be awarded by The Council of State Governments this year. Full features on each program will appear in the November/December issue of State News magazine. Tune in to special podcasts from State News editors to hear from each program.

The Innovations Awards winners featured in State News and in podcasts are:

East

• DelaWELL

• Pennsylvania Program Evaluation Research System (PERS)

 

Midwest

• Michigan Video Testimony Project

• South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Program

 

South

• Virtual Alabama

• Georgia Crisis and Access Line

 

West

• Arizona Government University

• Washington Transportation Improvement Board Performance Dashboard

 

New Report Seeks to Transform Government

How can states deal with the rapidly changing environment in which they operate?

A new report from the IBM Center for The Business of Government offers some answers. The report, written by The Council of State Governments Senior Fellow Dr. Keon Chi before his untimely death, offers “Four Strategies to Transform State Governance.” They are:

DelaWELL Wins Innovations Award

Delaware’s DelaWELL program was one of two programs selected as CSG/ERC Innovations Awards winners. From left are Sen. Kenneth McClintock, committee chair; Jennifer Davis, director of the Office of Management and Budget in Delaware; state Rep. Debbie Hudson of Delaware; Kimberly R. Wells, deputy principal assistant, office of the director in the Delaware Office of Management; and John A. Pastor, director of international trade and development in Delaware.

Pennsylvania Program Wins Innovations Award

Pennsylvania’s Program Evaluation Research System (PERS) was one of two programs selected as CSG/ERC Innovations Awards winners. Innovations Awards Selection Committee Chair, Sen. Kenneth McClintock, left, stands with Gary Zajac, chief of Research and Evaluation for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Planning, Research, Statistics and Grants office.

State Officials Discuss Interbranch Cooperation

By Jack Penchoff

When Michael Festa moved from the legislature to a cabinet post in the administration of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, he said “I was surprised at the level of misundersta nding of the role of the legislature in the way our government works in the states.”

Festa, who serves as secretary of the executive office of Elder Affairs in the Bay State, was one of three panelists who spoke on the obstacles that prevent better cooperation between the branches of state government during The Council of State Governments’ recent Interbranch Summit of the States in Bismarck, N.D.

Appearing on the panel with Festa were state Sen. Kevin Coughlin of Ohio and state Sen. Dan Kelly of Kentucky.

Festa’s experience as the only state Cabinet officer with executive experience wasn’t the first time he was surprised at the misunderstandings that exist between the three branches of government.