Mark your calendar! This December, CPA will hold its 9th annual Summit on the States at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. Summit details and online registration are available here.

CPA invites you to attend a pre-Summit meeting hosted by Catholics for a Free Choice. "Progressive, Pro-choice and Catholic – An Endangered Species?" will be a facilitated strategy session that includes presentations from Catholic pro-choice members of Congress, national media commentators, experts on Canon Law, national opinion leaders in the choice movement, and pollsters who focus on the intersection of religion and reproductive rights. This half-day strategy session for Catholic Pro-Choice Legislators and their allies will be held on Friday, December 2 from 10:00 - 5:00, at the Capital Hilton Hotel prior to the start of the Summit on the States. Contact Roger Limoges, at (202) 986-6093 or rlimoges@catholicsforchoice.org for more information.

The Center for Policy Alternatives, Demos and Common Cause will sponsor an Election Reform Conference on October 7-8 in Columbus, Ohio. With a primary focus on communications training, legislators will participate in hands-on messaging workshops and learn research tested messages to advance proactive reform policies. Conference details and online registration are available here.

The deadline for the 2006 application is September 30. You may download the application online or contact Quinta Martin at (202) 956-5132 or qmartin@cfpa.org for more information.

The California legislature became the first in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage without a court order (Connecticut did the same for civil unions). After suffering a narrow defeat in June, sponsor Asm. Mark Leno rallied supporters to pass AB 849. The bill would change California's legal definition of marriage from "a civil contract between a man and a woman" to "a civil contract between two persons." Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his veto, its passage marks a major victory for proponents of marriage equality. The Massachusetts legislature was the site of another important milestone for same-sex marriage. A constitutional amendment that would have banned gay marriage but established civil unions was defeated. Many legislators who supported the amendment last year elected to oppose it this year. The amendment's defeat ensures that same-sex marriage will continue to be legal at least through 2008, when it could appear on the ballot. Read CPA's Marriage Equality policy brief and model legislation.

Nine northeastern states (New York, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont) have reached a preliminary agreement to freeze power plant emissions at their current levels and then reduce them by 10 percent by 2020. The cooperative action, the first of its kind in the nation, came after the Bush administration decided not to regulate the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Once a final agreement is reached, the legislatures of the nine states will have to enact it, which is considered likely. The regional initiative would set up a market-driven system to control emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, from more than 600 electric generators in the nine states. Environmentalists who support a federal law to control greenhouse gases believe that the model established by the Northeastern states will be followed by other states, resulting in pressure that could eventually lead to the enactment of a national law. California, Washington and Oregon are also exploring the possibility.

Oregon's legislature has approved a mental health parity law. SB 1 prohibits group health insurers from imposing treatment limitations, limits on total payments or financial requirements on coverage for chemical dependency, including alcoholism, and for mental or nervous conditions unless similar limitations or requirements are imposed on coverage of other medical conditions. Sen. Peter Courtney and Sen. Kate Brown sponsored the bill. Read CPA's Mental Health Parity policy brief and model legislation.

A new law authorizes the Orange County Board of Elections to conduct a one-stop voting centers pilot program in Chapel Hill township. One-stop voting would allow a person to register and vote on the same day only during the early voting period. SB 98, sponsored by Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird (see Legislator of the Month), will test "super precincts," likely in easily accessible areas that have plenty of parking. Read CPA's Election Day Registration policy brief and model legislation.

Sen. Bill Morrissette and Sen. Jeff Kruse sponsored SB 1085, which authorizes licensed health care professionals to administer medical marijuana in limited circumstances. The new law, signed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, requires the state's Department of Human Services to develop a system to allow authorized law enforcement personnel access to the list of persons issued registry identification cards. Read CPA's Medical Marijuana policy brief and model legislation.

Illinois will guarantee temporary workers the right to fair wages and safe workplace conditions. Rep. Cynthia Soto sponsored HB 3471, which allows the state to punish temporary-staffing agencies that shortchange workers' paychecks or illegally charge workers for business expenses like safety equipment or transportation. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill into law. Read CPA's Contingent Work policy brief and model legislation.

SB 105, which establishes an earned income tax credit (EITC) in Delaware, was approved and signed into law by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. Sen. Margaret Rose Henry sponsored the law to create a credit equaling 20 percent of the federal EITC. State officials project that 14,000 low-income Delaware tax payers will no longer pay state income taxes and another 14,000 will pay less in taxes. Read CPA's Earned Income Tax Credit policy brief and model legislation.

Gov. George Pataki signed A 5403/S 1936, which will enable shoppers to compare prescription drug prices online. By logging onto the Department of Health website, www.health.state.ny.us, New Yorkers can search their area using their zipcode. The online database, the first in the nation, will list the prices for most popular drugs at every pharmacy in the state. The bill was sponsored by Asm. Richard Gottfried and Sen. Martin Golden. Read CPA's Prescription Drug Pricing policy brief and model legislation.

In 2005, CPA is one of only 50 organizations to receive contributions from Working Assets! All year, Working Assets and Shop For Change customers who make long distance calls and wireless calls through Working Assets or use Working Assets credit cards are able to support CPA and our work. By shopping or calling using Working Assets, you will build the pool of donations given to groups such as CPA. Also, by going online to the 2005 ballot, you can tell Working Assets to direct an increased share of this CPA, or whatever group you prefer. The best part is that you can help us simply by using these services to make purchases you ordinarily would make. More details are available at http://www.workingassets.com. We hope you will be able to take part.

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird and her colleagues, most notably Rep. Verla Insko, were disturbed by the disappearance of 4,500 votes during the 2004 election in North Carolina. Electronic machines had simply stopped counting. In other precincts, more votes were recorded that the number of people who actually turned out to vote. "The most important thing that came out of that incident was that we realized a paper trail was essential," says Sen. Kinnaird. Read more...

Many Americans feel a responsibility to lend assistance to those devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Opportunities to donate money or supplies to traditional charities like the Red Cross have been widely advertised. For those who want to ensure that their donations are used in a way that fosters the inclusion of low-income people and people of color in the rebuilding process, http://katrina.mayfirst.org/ is a valuable resource. The website focuses on organizations that operate at a grassroots level and are directed by or accountable to low-income people and people of color. It features the names of dozens of groups and includes detailed information about their goals and the methods they are using to achieve them. The site is the result of efforts by the Sparkplug Foundation, which supports innovative start-up projects in music, education and community organizing.