CPA News April 2003
PROGRESS ON POLICY...
Celebrating Equal Pay Day with State Legislative Victories April 15 is Equal Pay Day, and so far in 2003, 51 equal pay bills have been introduced in 24 states. In three states-NM, UT & WY-equal pay reforms have already found success. On April 6, NM Gov. Richardson signed Rep. Rhonda King's bill to create an Equal Pay Task Force. UT Gov. Leavitt signed a measure on March 15, sponsored by Rep. Ty McCartney(Flemming Institute-02), requiring the state to study gender inequality in wages paid to state workers. And in the Equality State, WY Gov. Freudenthal announced on March 27 his initiative to establish a uniform and equitable pay scale for all state employees. To view CPA's Equal Pay policy summary, model legislation and related resources, click here.
Hate Crime Law Expansions Passed in Hawaii and New Mexico On April 8, NM Gov. Richardson signed a bill turning one of the nation's narrowest hate crime laws into one of the broadest, covering sexual orientation and gender identity, and requiring hate crime data collection and police training. In March, the Hawaii legislature passed a bill to expand the state's two-year old hate crime law to cover transgendered individuals. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Scott Saiki (Flemming Institute-99) and Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, awaits the governor's signature. To view CPA's Hate Crime Prevention policy summary, model legislation and related resources, click here.
Unemployment Insurance Benefits to Improve in Kansas, New Mexico and Virginia VA Gov. Mark Warner signed a bill on March 16 to expand eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits by allowing the use of an alternative base period. In Kansas, women who are forced to leave their jobs due to domestic violence will be assured access to unemployment benefits thanks to the efforts of Rep. Rocky Nichols, who sponsored this measure based on CPA model legislation. Kansas also passed a bill this session extending benefits by two weeks for workers who exhaust their unemployment insurance. And on March 20, New Mexico enacted a sweeping reform bill, sponsored by Rep. Mimi Stewart (Flemming Institute-96) and Sen. Ben Altamirano. The new law increases benefits by five percent, covers part-time workers and victims of domestic violence, and provides an alternative base year for eligibility calculations. To learn more about alternative base periods and other unemployment insurance reforms, click hereto access CPA's policy summaries, model legislation and related resources.
Immigrant Rights Strengthened in Maryland and New Mexico On March 16, NM Gov. Richardson signed a bill allowing immigrant residents to obtain driver's licenses if they furnish an IRS-issued individual tax-identification number instead of a Social Security number. The Maryland legislature recently sent to the governor's desk a bill allowing resident immigrant students to pay in-state college tuition if they have attended a high school in the state for at least three years and earned a diploma or its equivalent. To view CPA's Immigrant Rights policy summaries, model legislation and related resources, click here.
CPA LEGISLATOR OF THE MONTH...UTAH REP. TY McCARTNEY
Utah Rep. Ty McCartney surprised and delighted national women's rights advocates by enacting an equal pay measure in one of the most conservative legislatures in the country. Read more...
YOU SHOULD KNOW...
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CPA State Action Director Facilitates Strategy Session at the Women & Assets Summit - March 31-April 1, Washington, DC Jen Ray, CPA's Senior Director of the State Action Department, recently facilitated a strategy session at the Women & Assets Summit organized by Brandeis University's National Center on Women and Aging and the Asset Development Institute. The conference, which brought together hundreds of policy leaders working to promote the economic security of women, launched a national initiative to shape and move a broadly defined asset building policy agenda for women.
CPA Staff Members Meet with Women Legislators in Delaware - March 27, Dover, DE Bettye Jo Pakulis, CPA's Northeast Regional Director, Jennifer Woolley, Senior Manager of CPA's Women Leaders Network, and Maura Hutchens, Manager of CPA's Leadership Institutes, recently traveled to the state capitol in Dover to meet with women legislators and talk about the critical issues they are facing in Delaware. In partnership with the Delaware Commission for Women, the staff members presented information on CPA's programs and resources to the legislators and learned about the legislators' priorities and issues of concern.
CPA Southeast Director Leads Advocacy Training - March 25, Hendersonville, NC CPA's Southeast Director Diallo Brooks recently led a full-day advocacy workshop for 40 members of the Interfaith Assistance Ministries Faith link group. CPA was asked to provide this training to help the members strengthen their advocacy and coalition-building skills.
New Reproductive Rights Toolkit Created with Assistance from CPA CPA served as a National Advisory Committee member in the development of the newly-released Breaking Barriers: A Policy Action Kit Promoting the Reproductive Health of Women of Color and Low-Income Women. The NARAL Pro-Choice America publication highlights 18 different policy initiatives and includes step-by step strategy guides, model legislation, and resources. To obtain a copy of Breaking Barriers, contact proactive@ProChoiceAmerica.org, call 202-973-3011 or visit www.ProChoiceAmerica.org.
Donate to CPA with the Click of a ButtonCPA has recently registered with Network for Good, an e-philanthropy website that will process credit card donations to CPA securely and accurately. Best of all the service is free-Network for Good collects no fee, so every penny donated is directed to our programs and institutes. We have placed a linkto this service on our homepage: just look for the Network for Good logo on the left side of the screen. Please feel free to share this information with anyone you think would be interested in supporting CPA.
WEBSITE OF THE MONTH...www.ecs.org
Trying to make sense of No Child Left Behind? Visit the website of the Education Commission of the States, where you can access detailed information on education issues across the 50 states. Notably, this nonprofit, nonpartisan organization's site offers a comprehensive database where you can search state laws, departmental regulations, board rules, directives and practices related to the 40 requirements across seven major sections of the No Child Left Behind legislation. The website also features a round-up of the latest in state policy trends and education policy reports, and links to pertinent online resources and conferences.
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