CPA News November 2002

CPA News November 2002

DON'T MISS OUT...

CPA's Summit on the States - November 23-24, Washington, DC - Capital Hilton Discuss the impact of the 2002 elections and prepare for the 2003 legislative sessions at CPA's Summit on the States. Workshop topics include: Fiscal Crisis in the States, Education Reform, Corporate Accountability, Reproductive Health, Revenue Enhancements, Drug Treatment Instead of Incarceration, Death Penalty, and much more! Just announced - closing plenary speaker Robert Reich!

Webcasts and transcripts of the "Public Attitudes Revealed by the 2002 Election" and "State Strategies to Lower Prescription Drug Costs" sessions will be available on kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Kaiser Family Foundation, after 12:00 pm ET on Monday, November 25 here.

Partial scholarships for state legislators and leaders are available, but going fast - contact Jen Ray for more information at (202) 956-5142. If you know of any newly-elected legislators who would benefit from attending the Summit, please encourage them to come! For more information, visit CPA's website or contact Quinta Martin at (202) 956-5132. Register now!

YOU'RE INVITED...

CPA's 2002 Awards Dinner - Friday, November 22, Washington, DC, Omni-Shoreham Hotel Please join us on this special evening to pay tribute to outstanding progressive leaders. At this year's Awards Dinner, CPA will honor AFSCME International President Gerald McEntee, Fannie Mae Foundation President and CEO Stacey H. Davis, Washington State Representative Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney, and Kate Kahan, Executive Director of Working for Equality and Economic Liberation. For more details, or to purchase tickets, please click here or contact Chris Rutledge at (202) 956-5151.

YOU SHOULD KNOW...

New Report: States Face Gigantic Budget Deficits in 2003 A report released yesterday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities declares that "states now face a gigantic revenue problem" because of permanent tax cuts enacted in the 1990s coupled with the current recession. State tax revenues declined by $38 billion from 2001-02, and economic forecasts suggest that state revenues in 2003 will be as bad or worse than 2002. In September, the National Conference of State Legislatures estimated that states will face a combined budget deficit of approximately $58 billion in 2003. Click here to view a copy of the report.

Progressives Win Several Ballot Measures On November 5, Americans voted on 202 statewide ballot measures, of which 53 were placed on the ballot by petition. For the first time in decades, there were more progressive initiatives on the ballot than conservative ones. Noteworthy progressive victories include class size reduction in Florida, an increased minimum wage in Oregon, campaign finance reform in Colorado, and a tobacco tax increase to fund healthcare in Arizona. For a complete rundown of ballot measure victories and losses, check out an analysis from the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center here.

Defying History and Predictions, GOP Makes Mid-Term Election Gains In the 2002 state legislative elections, Republicans gained 200 seats across the nation, taking partisan control of 21 legislatures, up from 17. Democrats now control 17 legislatures, and 11 are split. The Nebraska legislature is nonpartisan. Historically, the President's party loses more than 300 state legislative seats in every mid-term election. GOP victories include: taking control of the Texas House for the first time since 1870 and the Missouri House for the first time since 1955, and taking over control of Senates in Arizona, Colorado and Wisconsin.

Independent Sector 2002 Annual Conference - Cleveland, OH, October 27-29 CPA's Executive Director Tim McFeeley recently spoke at the annual conference of Independent Sector - a forum for foundations, corporate giving programs and nonprofit organizations. During the panel "Crossing the Bridge from Research to Public Policy Action," McFeeley shared CPA's efforts to shape public policy at the state level though its annual policy handbook the Progressive Agenda.

Coalition for Juvenile Justice National Conference - Miami Beach, Florida, November 7-10 CPA Policy Director Bernie Horn was a featured speaker at the national conference of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, which focused on strategies to keep juveniles from being routinely tried and sentenced in adult criminal courts. Horn discussed the "top three rules" for successful lobbying in the 2003 state legislative sessions during the conference's closing plenary session on legislative reform.

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH...www.serconline.org

If you're working on environmental issues at the state level, you need to bookmark the website of the State Environmental Resource Center (SERC). At www.serconline.org, you can great environmental ideas and policies for your state, including model legislation, talking points, fact sheets, and other resources. On SERC's website, you can find the latest developments on state legislation-including innovative policies and anti-environmental legislative trends. You can also stay on top of pressing environmental issues by subscribing to SERC's free weekly e-mail newsletter.

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