Application packets for the 2007 Flemming Leadership Class are now available 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 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.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee signed SB 19, sponsored by Sen. Tracy Steele, which bans indoor smoking in most public places and workplaces with three or more employees, making an exception for bars that prohibit customers under age 21, and motels with fewer than 25 rooms. Read CPA’s Smoke-Free Workplaces policy brief and model legislation.

HB 1149, sponsored by Sen. Ron Tupa and Rep. Morgan Carroll, requires lobbyists to disclose the bill numbers of legislation they’re working to adopt or defeat, their clients’ position on the legislation, and any direct business relationships between lobbyists and lawmakers.  Read CPA’s Ethics Reform policy brief.

HB 1233—which prohibits stores, restaurants, hotels and other public accommodations from discriminating against individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression—became law without Gov. Linda Lingle’s signature. Rep. Calvin Say sponsored the bill.  Read CPA’s GLBT Anti-Discrimination policy brief and model legislation.

Maine has increased the minimum pay for public school teachers to $27,000 in the upcoming school year and $30,000 the year after that. Gov. John Baldacci signed LD 1381, which was sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Mitchell. Read CPA’s Teachers for At-Risk Schools policy brief and model legislation.

LD 1987, sponsored by Rep. Elaine Makas, requires pharmacies to provide information about the “usual and customary” prices of individual prescription drugs. The bill also directs the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance and the Office of Elder Services to convene a working group to increase consumer access to prescription drug information.  Read CPA’s Prescription Drug Pricing policy brief and model legislation.

Minnesota approved HF 3712, sponsored by Rep. Tom Hackbarth and Sen. Scott Dibble, which requires a 90 percent cut in mercury output from power plants by 2014.  The bill requires Xcel Energy and Minnesota Power to phase in mercury controls at three plants between 2009 and 2014, thereby reducing annual mercury emissions by nearly 1,200 pounds. Read CPA’s Clean Power Plants policy brief and model legislation.

Nebraska’s legislature overrode the governor’s veto to enact a bill that allows immigrants to pay in-state college tuition rates. In order to qualify for in-state tuition, undocumented immigrant students must have lived in Nebraska for at least three years, graduated from a Nebraska high school, and pledged to seek citizenship. LB 239 was sponsored by Sen. DiAnna Schimek. Read CPA’s Immigrants’ In-State Tuition policy brief and model legislation.

New Hampshire adopted legislation which requires coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury emissions by at least eighty percent by 2013. HB 1673, sponsored by Rep. Larry Ross, also includes incentives for greater and earlier reductions. Read CPA’s Clean Power Plants policy brief and model legislation.

The New Hampshire legislature passed HB 1346, sponsored by Rep. Cindy Rosenwald (see Legislator of the Month), to ban the sale of information that identifies a specific prescriber or patient on a prescription. Unbeknownst to most doctors, drug detailers have access to “prescriber reports,” weekly lists of every prescription written by every physician. These report let them know—right down to the pill—if their sales pitches are successful. Gov. John Lynch has indicated that he will sign the bill, making it the first bill of this kind to become law. Read CPA’s Prescription Drug Marketing policy brief and model legislation.

Pennsylvania adopted two eminent domain bills, SB 881, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Piccola and HB 2054 by Rep. Glenn Grell.  The first bill blocks the use of eminent domain for the purpose of economic development and the second sets out procedures for condemnation and compensation.  Read CPA’s Eminent Domain policy brief and model legislation.

Utah enacted an identity theft law designed to protect consumers from unauthorized access to their credit-related information. SB 69, sponsored by Sen. Carlene Walker, requires that consumers be notified when their personal information is exposed to unauthorized access, stolen or lost. When notified of security breaches, consumers can take precautions to protect their credit. The law allows consumers to place a freeze on their credit records, enabling them to prevent new account fraud. Read CPA’s Identity Theft policy brief and model legislation.

Increasing media attention to pharmaceutical marketing practices has made prescription confidentiality one of the hottest issues of 2006.  With the passage of HB 1346, sponsored by Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, New Hampshire is set to become the first state to restrict the usage of prescriber reports. Click here to read an interview with Rep. Rosenwald on the success of her groundbreaking bill.

With Mother’s Day just behind us and Father’s Day around the corner, May is the perfect time to highlight the hard work of the National Partnership for Women & Families. For thirty years, the National Partnership has fought for policies that help women and men meet the demands of work and family. Their website features discussions of welfare, emerging medical research topics like stem cell research, Social Security and other matters of critical importance to working families.  Policymakers and advocates will find their February 2006 report, Where Families Matter: State Progress Toward Valuing America's Families, to be particularly useful. In addition to detailing the status of pro-family efforts, it provides a state-by-state breakdown of recent legislative activity.