Application packets for the 2007 Flemming Leadership Class are now available at here.  Acceptance to the class is on a rolling application basis.  Please contact Quinta Martin at 202-956-5132 or by email at qmartin@cfpa.org with any questions.

Campaign for America's Future will hold their annual gathering of some of the nation's most prominent progressives at the Washington Hilton June 12-14—across the street from CPA headquarters. Full scholarships to the conference are available for legislators. For more information, contact Quinta Martin at 202-956-5132 or at qmartin@cfpa.org.

Mark your calendar!  The tenth annual Summit on the States will be held at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC.  Please contact Quinta Martin at 202-956-5132 or by email at qmartin@cfpa.org with any questions.

Gov. Mike Huckabee signed identical bills, SB 11 by Sen. Jack Critcher and HB 1033 by Rep. Benny Petrus, into law.  Both bills raise the state's minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.25 an hour.  The increase will take effect on October 1, 2006.  Read CPA's Minimum Wage policy brief and model legislation.

HB 1175, sponsored by Rep. Mike May and Sen. Dan Grossman, bans smoking in almost all workplaces, including restaurants and bars.  The ban exempts casinos, cigar bars, smoke shops, and businesses with no more than three employees that are not open to the public. Gov. Bill Owens signed the bill.  Read CPA's Smoke-Free Workplaces policy brief and model legislation.

Gov. Owens signed HB 1119, sponsored by Rep. Rosemary Marshall, an anti-identity theft measure similar to CPA's model Security Breach Notification Act.  The bill requires commercial entities to notify individuals any time their personal data—including Social Security numbers, driver's license information and passwords to financial accounts—has been lost or stolen.  Read CPA's Identity Theft policy brief and model legislation.

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne signed HB 791, sponsored by the House Ways and Means Committee, which imposes a two-year moratorium on the building or permitting of coal-fired power plants.  Read CPA's Clean Power Plants policy brief and model legislation.

SB 2885, sponsored by Sen. Terry Link, will make the state the first to link economic development subsidies to proximity to public transit and affordable housing.  By giving preference to transit- and housing-accessible deals, Illinois' “location-efficient” incentives law will encourage the creation of job opportunities for workers who do not own cars and will avoid new infrastructure expenses.  Reduced sprawl and promotion of affordable housing are other bonuses.  The governor is expected to sign the bill.  The idea for the bill sprang from two 2003 Good Jobs First studies, A Better Deal for Illinois and Missing the Bus: How States Fail to Connect Economic Development with Transit.

The Iowa House and Senate passed SF 2219, sponsored by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which makes human trafficking a crime in that state.  The legislation is aimed at traffickers who coerce victims—often immigrant women and children—into forced labor such as prostitution.  Iowa would become the 14th state to enact trafficking penalties. Gov. Tom Vilsack is expected to sign the bill.

The Maine legislature approved LD 235, by Rep. John Tuttle, to increase the minimum wage from $6.50 to $6.75 on October 1, 2006 and to $7.00 on October 1, 2007.  Gov. John Baldacci is expected to sign the bill.  Read CPA's Minimum Wage policy brief and model legislation.

Sen. Paula Hollinger's SB 144, which provides $15 million for stem cell research, has been passed by the Maryland legislature.  The legislation was signed by Gov. Robert Ehrlich, who had already included funding for stem cell research in his budget proposal.  Read CPA's Stem Cell Research policy brief.

The Maryland legislature passed HB 189/SB 154, or the Healthy Air Act, sponsored by Del. James Hubbard and Sen. Paul Pinsky.  The Healthy Air Act forces Maryland coal-fired power plants to reduce their emissions and closes a 30-year-old loophole that allowed them to violate the federal Clean Air Act.  Gov. Ehrlich signed the bill.  Read CPA's Clean Power Plants policy brief and model legislation.

HB 4850 aims to increase healthcare coverage to between 90 and 95 percent of the state's 550,000 uninsured.  By requiring individuals to obtain health insurance and subsidizing private health insurance plans so that premiums can be assessed on a sliding scale, the bill makes insurance more affordable for low-income residents and increases participation in health insurance plans.  Additional federal Medicaid reimbursements and the collection of extra taxes from residents who refuse to insure themselves will generate some of the revenue needed for this plan.  Gov. Mitt Romney signed the bill but vetoed a $295 per employee fee for businesses that do not provide insurance for employees.  The legislature may override the partial veto.  Read CPA's Health Care for All policy brief and model legislation.

The Michigan House followed the Senate's lead and approved SB 318, sponsored by Sen. Raymond Basham and a host of Democrats, to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.95 this October, to $7.15 in July 2007, and to $7.40 in July 2008. Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the bill. The minimum wage increase was the result of an effective labor-led coalition that worked to place the issue on the November 2006 ballot.  Read CPA's Minimum Wage policy brief and model legislation.

New York's Lobbying Commission unanimously voted to establish one of the nation's strongest gift bans.  The new rule creates an annual limit of $75 for gifts from lobbyists.  Before this change, there was no annual limit to lobbyist gifts although individual gifts were limited to $75 or less.  Read CPA's Ethics Reform policy brief.

The Oregon House and Senate passed SB 1105, by the Joint Special Session Committee, which strongly restricts payday lending.  The bill caps interest on payday loans at 36 percent APR, caps fees at ten percent, increases the minimum term of a loan to 31 days, sets the maximum number of loan rollovers at two, forces a seven-day waiting period between payday loans, and limits returned check fees to $25.  Read CPA's Payday Lending policy brief and model legislation.

Gov. Jon Huntsman signed HB 39, sponsored by Rep. Sheryl Allen, which creates an 11-member commission to study the impact of trade agreements on state policy and make recommendations to the governor and legislature. Read CPA's International Trade Agreements policy brief.

Gov. Jon Huntsman signed SB 19, sponsored by Sen. Michael Waddoups, which bans smoking in private clubs, taverns, fraternal organizations, country clubs and restaurants. Utah is the 12th state in the country to ban smoking in bars.  Read CPA's Smoke-Free Workplaces policy brief and model legislation.

Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a package of bills designed to reduce dependence on foreign oil through innovation and conservation.  The legislation creates an energy freedom program (HB 2939 by Rep. Bill Grant), reduces bureaucracy for new alternative energy providers seeking certification (HB 2402 by Rep. Jeff Morris), expands energy efficiency standards (SB 6840 by the Senate Committee on Water, Energy and Environment), provides tax exemptions for solar hot water systems (HB 2799 by the House Committee on Finance), and creates minimum renewable fuel content requirements (SB 6508 by Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen).  Read CPA's Renewable Energy policy brief and model legislation.

Gov. Gregoire signed HB 2573, sponsored by Rep. Dawn Morrell, which requires the State Health Care Authority to promote and increase the adoption of health information technology systems in hospitals.  Health information technology will facilitate more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatment, reduce unnecessary duplication of tests, increase consumer and provider access to health information, and improve health outcomes.  Read CPA's Health Information Technology policy brief.

Gov. Jim Doyle signed Executive Order 145, which requires all existing and future state buildings to conform to higher environmental and energy efficiency standards.  Once implemented, it is expected to save the state 30 percent on its $127 million energy bill annually.  Read CPA's Green Buildings policy brief and model legislation.

Gov. Freudenthal signed HB 92, sponsored by the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee, which provides $1.4 million to implement a public-private partnership to develop quality childcare facilities across the state.  The program will include a rating system for childcare providers, incentive payments for high-quality care, and financial assistance for professional development.  Read CPA's Smart Start Child Care policy brief and model legislation.

West Virginia recently joined several states by restricting the use of eminent domain. This flurry of legislation was prompted by a Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. City of New London. The bill sponsored by Del. Kevin Craig provides that eminent domain may not be used to condemn homes or businesses solely for private development or the enhancement of tax revenue. Click here to read our interview with Del.Craig.

As we approach May 1^st, the date of the organized “Day without Immigrants,” the growing size and influence of the American immigrant population has attracted increased attention.  Though immigration is a federal issue, many states have adopted laws that harm immigrants, such as the use employer sanctions and the exclusion of immigrants from workplace safety protections.  The National Employment Law Project has issued a report analyzing the effects of these laws, More Harm than Good: Responding to the States' Misguided Efforts to Regulate Immigration.  The National Council of La Raza works on these issues with nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations (find out which affiliates are in your state).  NCLR's website has a wealth of information on civil rights, community and family wealth-building, education, employment, labor issues and health.  An article that may be of particular interest to legislators and advocates is Hispanic Perspectives, which analyzes polling data to answer a variety of key questions: What are the most important issues to the Latino community?  Do Latinos feel these issues are being addressed?  How unified is the Hispanic vote?