Latest State & Local Government News: i360 Gov

How to End Stop-and-Frisk Abuses

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:53:08 -0400

The New York Times: Commissioner Raymond Kelly of the New York Police Department issued a weak statement last week on efforts to “increase public confidence” in the city’s abusive stop-and-frisk program, which ensnares hundreds of thousands of mainly minority New Yorkers every year. Mr. Kelly seems to believe that tinkering at the margins will cure the program’s constitutional flaws. It will not.

New York should learn from Philadelphia, where the stop-and-frisk policy was the subject of a 2010 class-action suit for racial discrimination and violations of Fourth Amendment guarantees of freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Like New York police officers, Philadelphia’s were accused of using race as the basis for stops. Philadelphia settled the suit, accepting a consent decree that explicitly defined and prohibited illegal stops and put in place a court-appointed monitor to oversee stop-and-frisk practices.

Stockton, California’s Debt Problems May Set Precedent

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:52:27 -0400

Governing: Under a new California law governing municipal distress, Stockton has entered into a mandated mediation period before it can file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9 [read "Stockton, California's Bankruptcy Makes 'Normal' Cities Nervous"]. The city, state, employees, retirees and bondholders -- not to mention the citizens -- have a lot riding on how the story unfolds. Moreover, the unfolding could have major consequences for public employee pension plans and bondholders nationwide.

Christie tells transportation group to be 'agitators' for capital plan

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:51:48 -0400

NorthJersey.com: Governor Christie has told a transportation association meeting today that since he started office two years ago, the state’s economic climate has improved and that he needs their help to get more money for big projects.

"They're not there yet, but they're getting better,” Christie said, telling those in attendance to be "agitators" and press for the Legislature to act on transportation capital plan.

Arizona's new state legislative districts firmly set

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:51:13 -0400

The Arizona Republic: Arizona's new state legislative districts are now firmly set, at least for the 2012 election.

The last roadblock was a federal lawsuit filed by a group of Republican voters seeking to halt the new boundaries from ever going into effect.

On Monday, the plaintiffs agreed to adjust their legal challenge and ask the court to prevent the new boundaries from being used in 2013 and beyond

Special-interest spending floods Cailfornia races in new political landscape

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:50:31 -0400

Sacramento Bee: As federal super PACs continue to pour money into the presidential and congressional contests, state-level independent committees are spending big to influence the outcome in California's legislative races.

Independent expenditure committees, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts, are active in more than a third of state races on the June 5 ballot, spending more than $7 million to support and oppose candidates.

N.C. may compensate sterilization victims

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:49:55 -0400

USA Today: ASHEVILLE, N.C. – North Carolina is moving toward becoming the first state to compensate victims of an involuntary sterilization program that tried to filter out poor people deemed mentally or otherwise unfit to produce offspring.

The practice was declared legal by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1927 but tapered off in most states during World War II as word of Nazi genocide and sterilization began to spread.

6 Steps for Jump-Starting IPv6 Adoption in Government

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:49:13 -0400

Government Technology: Confused on how to adopt IPv6 for your state or local government website? If so, you’re likely not alone.

Sixty percent of enterprise IT teams don’t have an IPv6 plan in place, according to a recent survey by Infoblox, a provider of automated network controls. But fear not — joining the IPv6 movement may be easier than you think.

Armed with new data, Rawlings says he wants answers from TxDOT, could reconsider toll road support

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:48:33 -0400

Dallas Morning News: Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said Wednesday it is not too late for the city to change its position on the controversial Trinity River toll road, should new doubts about its benefits raised by three colleagues of his on the city council prove well-founded.

Rawlings voiced support for the toll road in a speech earlier this month, ending a year-long silence on the project by coming out forcefully in favor of its necessity. In doing so, he touted the toll road’s ability to ease traffic into and out of downtown by providing drivers an alternative route to congested Interstates 30 and 35.

Voters support tax, term-limit measures, poll says

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:47:26 -0400

San Francisco Chronicle: California voters are backing Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax hike and two June ballot propositions, one that increases the cigarette tax and another that makes changes to term limits for state lawmakers, according to a poll released late Wednesday.

The Public Policy Institute of California survey, conducted last week, found a sharp drop in support for the tobacco tax - 53 percent of likely voters said they will vote for the $1-a-pack hike, down from 67 percent in March. Meanwhile, a ballot measure that would change the state's term limit laws to reduce the time legislators may spend in Sacramento from 14 years to 12 still has strong support, with 62 percent of likely voters backing the proposed change, down from 68 percent in March.

Mining Boom in Great Lakes States Prompts Environmental Concern

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:44:35 -0400

Stateline: BIG BAY, Michigan – For thousands of years, the Salmon Trout River held fast to a deep secret, as its pristine waters flowed east into Lake Superior. Below the river’s headwaters, and hidden underneath 1,000 feet of sand, clay and rock, lie 4.1 million metric tons of ore speckled with valuable metals — primarily nickel and copper — a deposit that’s valued at as much as $5 billion.

Gov't taking new steps to combat food stamp fraud

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:29:40 -0400

Commercial Appeal: WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is trying to crack down on food stamp recipients who are ripping off taxpayers by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash.

The Agriculture Department wants to curb the practice by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards and then ask for replacements.

5 Western states shielding part of executions

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:46:14 -0400

TriCities: BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- A San Francisco-based federal appeals court ruled in 2002 that every aspect of an execution should be open to witnesses, from the moment the condemned enters into the death chamber to his final heartbeat.

The ruling established what was expected of the nine Western states within the court's jurisdiction. A decade later, five of the states have kept part of each execution away from public view, according to an Associated Press review and death penalty experts.

LA: La. among leaders in helping juveniles

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:45:46 -0400

The Advocate: Louisiana, which a short time ago was accused of running gladiator camps for young offenders, now is among the best states in the nation for setting up programs aimed at helping juveniles who find themselves in trouble with the law, according to a national survey.

Many states announce reform programs and start them, but the services are not widely used by the families and juveniles, usually as an alternative to being incarcerated, said Peter Greenwood, of Agoura, Calif., who conducted the study.

ND: Is North Dakota ready for medical marijuana?

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:45:12 -0400

Inforum: FARGO – A Fargo state legislator submitted a proposed initiative to make using and growing marijuana for medicinal purposes legal.

The petition was turned into Secretary of State Al Jaeger’s office on Tuesday for a title and approval of format.

CA: Calif. passes 'self-driving' cars bill

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:44:47 -0400

Spacemart: California's Senate passed a bill to create guidelines for autonomous vehicles' -- self-driving cars -- to be tested and operated in the state, officials said.

The bill will now go to the state Assembly for consideration next month, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

U.S. states with most, least deaths from injuries

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:44:18 -0400

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Thousands of injuries could be prevented and billions of dollars in medical costs could be saved each year if states implemented more research-based prevention policies, concludes a new report released today.

Injuries are the No. 1 cause of death for Americans aged 1 to 44, and the third leading cause of death nationwide. More than two-thirds of all injury deaths occur in men.

CA: Has blazing a trail in solar energy cost California too much?

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:35:03 -0400

Los Angeles Times: That ray of light you see peeking through all the clouds darkening California's future? That's the sun. More specifically, solar power, in which California is the hands-down national leader.

The state's installed solar generating capacity of about 1.2 gigawatts — the equivalent of two big conventional power plants and enough to fill the electrical demand from nearly 200,000 homes for a year — easily outstrips the next 10 highest-ranked states. It's also the fastest-growing solar market in the country.

AR: Arkansas politicians debate health insurance exchange

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:22:17 -0400

Government Health IT: Like many states, Arkansas is facing a Medicaid deficit for fiscal 2013. In the Razorback State’s case, that could be somewhere between $250-$400 million, which is among the reasons Governor Mike Beebe is talking about reforming the payment system.

Arkansas House and Senate public health committees in early May endorsed the creation of a multi-payer /provider portal, the goal of which is to reform the state’s healthcare payment system from fee-for-service to one that rewards outcomes, taking quality and affordability into account. The portal is slated to launch July 1 and on October 1 the first changes to the payment system will kick in.

Massive Data Breach in Utah State Servers Caused by Configuration Errors

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:03:42 -0400

eWeek: Last week, the director of Utah's Department of Technology Services (DTS) resigned in the wake of a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of nearly 800,000 people to hackers believed to have been in Eastern Europe.

The breach did not happen due to sophisticated malware, however. Instead, a series of configuration mistakes during an upgrade left the server wide open to attackers, who downloaded data from the server March 30.

CA: Mortgage settlement could go in state's budget hole

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:03:12 -0400

San Francisco Chronicle: California Attorney General Kamala Harris is not happy about Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to use $411 million in revenue coming to the state as part of the national mortgage settlement to help shrink the general fund deficit.

In his revised 2012-13 budget released last week, Brown proposed using most of the money for housing-related expenditures coming from the general fund, such as debt payments on more than $3 billion in voter-approved bonds used to build affordable housing, homeless shelters and related projects.

NC: ‘Heat Map’ Shows Global Influence on North Carolina

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:02:37 -0400

Government Technology: A new Web application is providing a closer look at the impact of international migrants and businesses on North Carolina.

Launched on May 16, the Global North Carolina Heat Map culls the global demographic, education and economic data of all 100 counties in the Tar Heel State and puts it in one central location. Users can examine 53 international data points, including the number of foreign-born residents, students and companies specific to each region in the state.

FL: To get a voice in Tallahassee, local governments spend millions on lobbyists

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:02:03 -0400

Miami Herald: TALLAHASSEE -- When Pinellas County’s tiny Lealman Fire District needed help navigating the state Capitol this year, it used its limited public funds to hire a lobbyist.

CA: Governor seeks to cut programs Dems pledge to save

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:01:18 -0400

San Francisco Chronicle: Gov. Jerry Brown's latest budget proposal attempts to close a formidable $15.7 billion deficit, but the real debate at the Capitol in the next few weeks probably will be over how to cut just a fraction of the big amount.

That's because about $2 billion in the governor's budget represents permanent reductions in spending on state welfare, child care and other programs that Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly have pledged to protect.

AZ: Arizona May Keep Obama Off the 2012 Ballot

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:00:45 -0400

Governing: In a revival of the controversy surrounding President Barack Obama’s Hawaii birth certificate, a state official in Arizona says it’s “possible” that he’ll hold Obama’s name off the Arizona ballot if Hawaii officials don’t send him confirmation that the president was born there.

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, a Republican who is exploring a 2014 race for governor, says he waded into the issue after receiving more than 1,200 emails from people requesting that he verify Obama’s birth in Hawaii before placing the president’s name on the 2012 ballot.

6 Ways Government Is in the Video Game Business

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:00:12 -0400

Government Technology: “If you want to know the truth of a city, you need look no further than its infrastructure.”

This quotation is not an excerpt from a book by the influential urban planner Kevin Lynch; it’s dialog from Diablo III, a hugely popular computer game released last week that is a shining example of the commercial success that some video games have become.