Center for Policy Alternatives

CPA News June 2003

 

PROGRESS ON POLICY...

Hawaii, Connecticut Pass Family & Medical Leave Act Expansions  On April 30, HI Gov. Linda Lingle signed a bill, sponsored by Rep. Marcus Oshiro and Rep. Blake Oshiro (Flemming Fellow-2002), which allows employees to use up to 10 days of accrued sick leave for days missed to care for a sick family member, or for maternity or paternity leave. On June 3, the Connecticut legislature passed its own sick leave bill, allowing workers in companies with over 75 employees the right to use up to two weeks of accumulated sick time for parental leave or to attend to a serious health condition of a family member. The bipartisan bill now awaits the Governor's signature. To view CPA's Family Leave Benefits policy summary and related resources, including a model "Flexible Sick Leave Act," click here.

Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico & Nevada Pass Measures to Allow Post-Conviction DNA Testing  In 2003, a number of states have enacted laws to provide wrongfully convicted persons with an opportunity to establish their innocence through DNA testing. On June 9, NV Gov. Kenny Guinn signed such legislation for individuals on death row. GA Gov. Sonny Perdue signed similar legislation on May 27, which applies to persons convicted of serious violent felonies. New Mexico enacted the same type of measure in March, which applies to individuals on death row. Colorado enacted a more modest version of this legislation on March 28, sponsored by Sen. Ken Gordon (Flemming Fellow-1995). It applies to all imprisoned felons but does not guarantee the preservation of DNA evidence. To view CPA's Death Penalty Reform policy summary and related resources, including a model "Innocence Protection Act," click here.

Maine, Washington Enact Tough Measures to Reduce Mercury Poisoning On May 19, ME Gov. John Baldacci signed a law to ban the sale of mercury switches, relays and other mercury-added measuring devices as of July 2006, helping to reduce the potential exposure and access to this toxic element. On the opposite coast, WA Gov. Gary Locke signed a measure on May 14 limiting the sale of mercury and mercury-added products in the state after January 2006. To view CPA's Mercury Poisoning Prevention policy summary, model legislation and related resources, click here.

Connecticut, Florida & Oklahoma Enact Public Smoking Bans  States across the country are moving to protect the public's right to breathe clean air by enacting comprehensive smoking bans. CT Gov. John Rowland recently signed into law a very broad measure banning smoking in a variety of public places, including state offices, health centers, restaurants, bars, food stores, elevators, schools, college dormitories, and workplaces that employ five or more people. Last week, OK Gov. Brad Henry signed a law to restrict smoking in most public places, giving restaurants three years to comply with the law. Once the rules take effect, restaurants in Oklahoma will have to go smoke free or construct an enclosed and separately ventilated smoking room. And in late May, the Florida legislature passed a law implementing the indoor workplace, bar and restaurant smoking prohibition approved by voters last November.

YOU'RE INVITED...

NCSL Annual Meeting - July 22 -25, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA CPA staff are heading to San Francisco for NCSL's annual meeting. If you're attending, please be sure to stop by our booth (# 311) in the exhibition hall. Progressive organizations that are members of the State Issues Forum (SIF) are also hosting a booth (#313) and planning three panel sessions: Promoting Women's Reproductive Health, States as Laboratories for Health Care Reform, and From Poverty to Self Sufficiency: Preserving Postsecondary Education for Low-Income Women. SIF members will also co-host the reception at the close of the AFL-CIO's Workers' Voice Conference, on Monday, July 21 at the San Francisco Marriott. To learn more about the State Issues Forum and SIF-sponsored activities at NCSL's meeting, visit the SIF website here.

CPA LEGISLATOR OF THE MONTH...MONTANA REP. FRANK SMITH

Montana Representative Frank Smith scored a major victory this session by passing a law that prohibits racial profiling and requires a procedure to handle complaints of police bias. This was a tour de force for someone from the budget-strapped, conservative Montana legislature. Read more...

YOU SHOULD KNOW...

CPA Convenes 2003 Fellows of the Eleanor Roosevelt Global Leadership Institute, May 30 - June 2, Aspen Wye Retreat Center, Queenstown, MD The Institute, which provides international experience to senior-level state legislators, recently organized the first retreat for members of its 2003 class. CPA brought in experts on foreign policy and trade to discuss a wide range of global issues and helped prepare the Roosevelt Fellows for their trip to southeastern China this fall. The Institute is currently accepting applications for the 2004 class. For more information, contact Carolina Zumaran-Jones at (202) 956-5155, or click here.

CPA Policy Director Discusses Budget Options for the States - Take Back America Conference - June 6, Washington, DC Policy Director Bernie Horn presented CPA's paper Progressive Options to Close the Budget Deficitat the recent Take Back America conference, sponsored by the Campaign for America's Future. Horn's talk opened the panel discussion, "State Responses to the Right's Radical Tax Cutting Agenda."

CPA Convenes 6th Women's Leadership Retreat - June 6-8, Philadelphia, PA  Forty-six women leaders from 23 states gathered in Philadelphia last weekend for CPA's 6th Women's Leadership Retreat, implemented in partnership with Women's Association for Women's Alternatives and sponsored by the Rockefeller Family Fund. Over the course of the Retreat, state legislators and advocates discussed challenges and opportunities they faced during the 2003 legislative sessions, and worked together to share strategies and resources, and develop a progressive women's agenda that focuses on promoting and maintaining programs that help ensure the economic independence, security and empowerment of women. Keynote speakers included PA Secretary of Welfare Estelle Richman and nationally-acclaimed pollster Celinda Lake.

CPA in the News - Just in the last month, CPA has made headlines in a number of national media outlets, including USA Today, The Nation, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune. Check it out....

Support Progressive Policy? Support CPA! Help CPA continue its work advancing progressive public policy and supporting progressive state legislators. You can make a tax-deductible, secure donation to the Center for Policy Alternatives via Network for Good here.

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH...www.childrensdefense.org

Take a minute this month to listen to voices rarely heard in politics: that of children. The Children's Defense Fund is a nonprofit organization founded in 1973 that advocates for all children in the United States. On CDF's site, you can access one of its most comprehensive features, the Children in the States 2003 report, profiling the poverty, hunger, health and other conditions with which children in each state, and the District of Columbia, live. The site offers key facts on CHIP, Head Start and other programs benefiting children. Interested browsers can sign up for listservs on specific issues, such as violence prevention and childcare. Every parent, and policymaker, should take a peek.

View Previous Editions of our Newsletter:

October 2002 | November 2002 | December 2002 | January 2003 | February 2003 | March 2003 | April 2003 | May 2003

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