Preschool Is for Real

Reality of Fantasy Football PAGE 11
October/November 2015
Preschool Is
for Real
Highway
Funding
legislative
Caucuses
Creative
Solutions

VISIT US AT BOOTH #121
How can you be an ENVIRONMENTALIST
and not support NUCLEAR ENERGY?
EILEEN CLAUSSEN
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
LEADER & FORMER ASSISTANT
SECRETARY OF STATE
The world needs to triple the amount of electricity it gets from
non-carbon sources – like nuclear, wind, and solar –
to provide the energy we need and reduce carbon emissions.
Eileen Claussen has devoted her career
to working with policymakers and a wide
range of stakeholders to develop sensible
solutions to one of our most fundamental
challenges, providing clean, secure, and
affordable energy, while protecting
our environment.
She knows that no single energy
technology can meet our carbon reduction
goals. However, nuclear energy produces
more than 60% of America’s carbonfree
electricity, preventing 2 billion
tons of carbon each year. That’s the
equivalent of capturing all emissions from
nearly all of America’s automobiles.
Find out why some of the world’s leading
environmentalists support nuclear energy.
Get the facts at nei.org/cleanair
#futureofenergy
CLIENT: NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute) PUB: State Legislatures Magazine RUN DATE: July/August

A National Conference
of State Legislatures
Publication
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015
VOL. 41 NO. 9 | CONTENTS
Executive Director
William T. Pound
Director of
Communications
Karen Hansen
Editor
Julie Lays
Assistant Editor
Kevin Frazzini
NCSL’s national magazine of policy and politics
Contributing Editor
Jane Carroll Andrade
Web Editors
Edward P. Smith
Mark Wolf
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
Copy Editor
Leann Stelzer
Advertising Sales
Manager
LeAnn Hoff
(303) 364-7700
Contributors
Daniel Diorio
Pam Greenberg
Heather Morton
Douglas Shinkle
Wendy Underhill
Preschool Is for Real Page 14
BY JULIE POPPE AND ROBYN LIPKOWITZ
Funding is up, as is enrollment, as states continue to
invest in high-quality early childhood education to
help kids succeed.
SHORT TAKES PAGE 4
NCSL news, activities and Summit roundup
STATESTATS PAGE 7
Voting Rights Act Reaches Milestone
Art Director
Bruce Holdeman
NCSL Officers
NEWSMAKERS PAGE 8
A peek at what’s happening under the domes
President
Senator Curt Bramble
President Pro Tempore, Utah
President-Elect
Senator Mike Gronstal
Majority Leader, Iowa
Staff Chair
Karl Aro
Executive Director,
Department of Legislative
Services, Maryland
Denver Office
7700 East First Place
Denver, Colorado 80230
(303) 364-7700
Washington, D.C. Office
444 North Capitol Street,
N.W.
Suite 515
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 624-5400
Website
www.ncsl.org/magazine
State Legislatures
(ISSN 0147-0641), the
national magazine of policy
and politics, is published
monthly by the National
Conference of State
Legislatures except
July/August and October/
November, which are
combined. Postmaster: Send
address changes to: State
Legislatures, 7700 East First
Place, Denver, CO 80230.
© 2015, All Rights Reserved.
Opinions expressed in this
magazine do not necessarily
reflect NCSL policy.
Go to www.ncsl.org/bookstore
to subscribe. Annual rates:
U.S.—$49; foreign—$55;
teachers—$25 (promo code
SLMTEA). Single copy: $6.50.
Letters to the editor and
requests for permission
to reprint may be mailed
to Julie Lays in the Denver
office or e-mailed to her at:
julie.lays@ncsl.org. Send
subscriptions and changes
of address to the Marketing
Department in Denver.
Periodically, NCSL rents
mailing labels to other
organizations. If you prefer
your name not be included
please send a written
request.
On the Road Again Page 20
BY KEVIN PULA
States take the wheel on transportation funding as
Congress sputters along.
Birds of a Feather Page 24
BY SUZANNE WEISS
Legislative caucuses bring together likeminded
lawmakers and help create ways to work across the
political divide.
COVER DESIGN BRUCE HOLDEMAN
TRENDS PAGE 10
Felon voting rights, fighting revenge porn, employers
dealing payroll cards and battle on the e-gridiron
STATELINE PAGE 12
News from around the nation—from getting kids
off their phones and into parks to working out new
legislation on drones
TOOLBOX PAGE 28
BY JAMIE RALL
Practice creativity like any other
skill and unleash the problemsolving
genius of your staff.
THE FINAL WORD PAGE 31
NCSL’s new staff chair,
Karl Aro, from Maryland’s
Department of Legislative
Services
ON RECORD PAGE 22
Q&A with Robert
Gates, former defense
secretary, CIA director—
and Eagle Scout
“The states have
become extraordinary
laboratories for
experimentation and
innovation.”
State Legislatures is indexed
in the PAIS Bulletin and
Expanded Academic Index. It
is also available in microform
and electronically through
University Microfilms Inc.
(UMI) at
(800) 521-0600.
STATE LEGISLATURES 3 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

SHORT TAKES ON NCSL NEWS
NCSL
EXPERTISE
“The waivers can
include broad
change as well as
very specific or
focused change.”
Dick Cauchi on Affordable Care
Act “1332 waivers” that will
give states more flexibility in
regulating health care plans, in
the Washington Examiner.
FOCUSED
“Every square inch
of every state has
somebody in that
legislature who
cares about it.”
Tim Storey on the
advantage of having legislatures
handle redistricting, on NBCNews.
com.
“The impact of
uncertain funding
is states delaying
or cancelling
bids for highway
projects.”
Ben Husch on states’ frustration
over Congress’ inability to pass a
long-term highway funding bill, in
USA Today.
“Anything passed
after the deadline
may be subject to
a lawsuit.”
Brenda Erickson
on the inflexibility of legislative
adjournment dates set by
state constitutions, in the Daily
Nonpareil.
“This is something
the states have
been looking for.”
Luke Martel
on potential
Department of Labor rules
allowing states to adopt
mandatory retirement savings
vehicles, in Financial Advisor
magazine.
“Now that it has
happened, it may
be seen as being
more likely to pass
in another state.”
Karmen Hanson on Hawaii
becoming the first state to raise
the smoking age to 21, on Fox
News.
Telehealth Trek
NCSL’s Health Program has organized four visits and meetings to explore telehealth issues, including this
one in North Dakota. Participants have also visited sites in Nebraska, Nevada and Utah.
Nuclear
Demonstration
At the Oak Ridge National
Lab in Tennessee, an
employee explains the
High Flux Isotope Reactor
to NCSL’s 2015 Nuclear
Legislative Working Group,
including, New Mexico
Representative Eliseo
Alcon (D), on the left, and
Tennessee Representative
John Ragan (R) and his staffer
Tyler Lane, on the right.
Capitol Art
More than 500 works by
local artists are displayed
in the New Mexico
State Capitol. Hawaii
Representative Karl
Rhoads (D), on the left,
and Idaho Senator Curtis
McKenzie (R) view the
artwork between sessions
at an NCSL meeting on
election technology.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 4 STATE LEGISLATURES

SHORT TAKES
Building the
States’ Agenda
State lawmakers from
across the country
will gather at NCSL’ s
annual Capitol Forum
to defend states’ rights,
push for e-fairness
legislation and meet
with members of
Congress. Please join
us! Go to www.ncsl.
org/forum.
Civil Discourse
Legislators from 11 states were among 450 participants from
35 countries in the Kettering Foundation-NCSL Deliberative
Democracy Exchange in Dayton, Ohio, this summer. The group
explored ways to increase civil discourse in legislatures.
LEGISLATIVE
SUMMIT
What NCSL Can Pack Into Four Days is
Herculean, and the 41st annual Legislative Summit, Aug. 3-6 in
Seattle, was no exception. More than 5,400 legislators, legislative
staff and others joined a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, former
defense secretary, futurist, ethicist, economist and many
other thought leaders in forward-looking plenaries, deep-dive
policy sessions and professional development seminars, with
networking opportunities galore. Here’s a brief recap.
“It was invaluable to learn
different approaches to similar
problems across the country.”
—From the Summit survey
NCSL Welcomes New Officers
NCSL’s bipartisan leaders begin their terms every
year at the Summit. Above, Immediate Past President
Senator Debbie Smith of Nevada, third from left,
passed the gavel to President Senator Curt Bramble
of Utah, third from right. Other NCSL officers, from
left, are Staff Vice Chair Raul Burciaga, director of the
New Mexico Legislative Council Service; Immediate
Past Staff Chair Peggy Piety, senior staff attorney for
the Indiana Legislative Services Agency; Presidentelect
Senator Mike Gronstal of Iowa; Vice President
Senator Deb Peters of South Dakota; and Staff Chair
Karl Aro, executive director of Maryland’s Department
of Legislative Services.
“The detail and depth in the
presentations were great.”
—From Summit survey
The Annual Business Meeting
Policy directives and resolutions to guide NCSL’s advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., are
approved with the support of at least three-fourths of the states attending. Those that passed
this year will focus on:
• Supporting the Remote Transactions Parity Act, which would give states the authority to
collect the sales taxes already owed by residents who make out-of-state purchases.
• Urging Congress to solve the nation’s long-term transportation funding crisis and allocate
funds to support state pilot programs exploring alternatives to fuel taxes.
• Supporting reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
• Protecting state and local authority within proposed federal standards on the collection,
use and security of student data.
• Urging Congress to leave sports gambling, marijuana and hemp policies to the states.
SEE YOU IN CHICAGO IN 2016
STATE LEGISLATURES 5 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

SHORT TAKES
THE
SUMMIT
By the
Numbers
13
Notable
Documents
Awards presented
by the Legislative
Research Librarians
for outstanding
government
publications
85%
Portion of Summit
survey respondents
who discovered
new ideas from
other states
PHOTOS BY AARON BARNA, WASHINGTON LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES
LEGISLATIVE SUMMIT
Connelly
“It was the best one I’ve attended.”
—From Summit survey
Kerman
Summit speakers offered insights into far-reaching topics such as what the future may hold, with help from Ford futurist
Sheryl Connelly, above left, as well as specific subjects like women in prison, thanks to “Orange Is the New Black” author Piper
Kerman, above right.
300
Items—including
handouts,
PowerPoints
and videos—in
the Summit
Online Resources
Document at
www.ncsl.org
3,918
Tweets
posted using
#NCSLSummit
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham chatted with attendees
and signed books after sharing his thoughts about what we can
learn from history and its leaders during the closing general session.
Virginia’s Jay Pearson, left, director of the House
Information and Communications Services, and Nathan
Hatfield, assistant clerk of the Senate, accept the Kevin
B. Harrington Award for Excellence in Democracy
Education from outgoing Staff Chair Peggy Piety. The
Virginia General Assembly was cited for its decades-long
effort to promote civic education.
30 Years Strong: NCSL’s Women’s Legislative Network—a professional development organization that includes every female legislator in the 50 states, U.S.
territories and the District of Columbia—celebrated three decades of advocating for women in politics.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 6 STATE LEGISLATURES

STATESTATS
Voting Rights Act Reaches Milestone
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, the landmark federal legislation that changed the way America votes.
Although the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed in 1870, granted the right regardless of race, it did not specifically prevent
literacy tests, poll taxes, good-character tests or other mechanisms that were frequently used to exclude minorities from voting.
A cornerstone of the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 to defend the right of all eligible citizens to vote.
The law prohibits discriminating against racial or language minorities, intimidating voters and committing registration fraud. It requires translations
of election material into several languages when warranted and ensures that people with disabilities receive assistance with voting. It also
allows federal observers into polling places and absentee voting in presidential elections.
The act’s most notable provision, however, is in Section 5. It requires some states and counties with a history of discrimination to get approval,
or “preclearance,” from the federal government before changing their voting laws. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court found the formula used to
determine which jurisdictions needed preclearance to be unconstitutional. Congress has yet to act on legislation to establish a new formula, so
once-covered jurisdictions no longer need to seek preclearance.
The Voting Rights Act remains an important tool for ensuring the right to vote in all states, and its place in American history is undeniable.
—Wendy Underhill and Daniel Diorio
How the Voter Pie Is Sliced
Share of votes in the 2012 presidenial election,
by race and ethnicity.
On the Decline
Civil rights cases in U.S. district courts alleging violations of voting rights peaked in 1992 and
rose again in 2002, most likely the result of redistricting challenges. By 2006, the number of
voting rights lawsuits had declined to about 150 cases, much less than in other areas.
White 72%
Black 13%
Hispanic 10%
Asian 3%
Other 2%
Claims
Source: Pew Research Center, based on 2012 exit
poll data from the National Election Pool.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1990 –2006.
Aug. 6, 1965
President Lyndon
Johnson signs the Voting
Rights Act.
1965
1970
Congress
extends Section
5 provisions for
five years.
1970
A Half-Century of the Voting Rights Act
1975
Congress again
extends Section 5 provisions,
this time for seven years and
adds protections for language
minority citizens.
1975
1980
In Mobile v.
Bolden, U.S. Supreme
Court rules that intent must be
proved in claims of racial
discrimination.
1980
1985
Sources: Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Voting Section
1982
Congress amends
the act in response to the
Mobile ruling by adding coverage
of racially discriminatory effects,
intentional or not, and extends
the law for 25 years. President
Ronald Reagan signs it.
1990
1995
2000
STATE LEGISLATURES 7 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015
2006
Congress
reauthorizes the Voting Rights
Act for 25 years and President
George W. Bush signs it.
2005
2013
Supreme
Court’s Shelby
County v. Holder
decision eliminates
most preclearance
requirements.
2010
2015
Voting
Rights Act
BEFORE
25%
Percent
of blacks
registered to
vote in mid-
1950s.
AFTER
62%
Percent
of blacks
registered to
vote in 1968.

NEWSMAKERS
“The song remains the same in
American democracy.”
—Oregon Representative Brent Barton (D) reflecting on the
way many topics are discussed year after year, in the Portland
Tribune.
THE ALASKA LEGISLATURE RAISED THE STAKES in its months-long battle
with Governor Bill Walker, a Republican-turned-independent, over his attempt
to expand Medicaid without lawmakers’ approval. The Legislature has filed an
injunction against the governor to block the expansion, and a Republicancontrolled
House-Senate committee voted to spend up to $450,000 on two
law firms to represent the Legislature in the lawsuit, the Alaska Dispatch News
reported. “This is not a policy issue—we’re not discussing whether we should
or shouldn’t expand Medicaid,” Senate President Kevin Meyer (R) said. “This is
a question of authority and process and our constitution.” Walker says the suit
is politically motivated. “I cannot fathom why suing to take away health care
coverage of working Alaskans is a partisan issue,” he said.
CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS HAVE CHOSEN NEW LEADERS.
Jean Fuller replaced Bob Huff as Senate minority leader
at the end of August, rather than the end of session in
November. Huff is running for Los Angeles County supervisor.
“I’m eager to get started,” Fuller said after the decision. She
told reporters that the caucus had moved up the timeline
to focus on its priorities. Those likely include current tax
proposals being discussed and next year’s elections. On the
Assembly side, Republicans have chosen Chad Mayes to be
their next minority leader. He will
succeed Kristen Olsen, who is termed
out next year, when the new session
opens in January.
“The right to bail is a constitutional right in
the [New Mexico] Bill of Rights.”
—New Mexico Senator Peter Wirth (D), who wants to amend the state
constitution to allow judges more discretion to deny bail in certain cases, in the
NM Political Report.
COLORADO SENATOR LUCIA GUZMAN (D) WAS CHOSEN
TO BE THE NEW MINORITY LEADER, and among the
first to salute her was Senate President Bill Cadman (R). “I
congratulate Senator Guzman for earning the support of her
caucus as the new minority leader. I look forward to working
with her in her new role,” Cadman stated. Guzman replaces
Senator Morgan Carroll (D) as minority leader, who stepped
down to prepare for a run for Congress. Before Guzman’s
election in 2010, she was executive director of the Colorado
Council of Churches, a small-business owner and vice
president of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 8 STATE LEGISLATURES

IOWA’S NEW SPEAKER ELECT DIDN’T HAVE TO GO FAR TO FIND A ROLE
MODEL. Linda Upmeyer (R), who assumes her new position on the first day
of the 2016 session in January, is the daughter of the late Delwyn Stromer,
who served as speaker in the 1981-82 session. Upmeyer, a cardiology nurse
practitioner in her seventh House term, succeeds Kraig Paulsen (R) who is not
seeking re-election in 2016. When Upmeyer takes over as speaker, she and
Senate President Pam Jochum (D) will be the legislature’s first female presidingofficer
duo, The Globe Gazette reports.
“That was my right
to try. We gave it a
shot and we got it
right.”
—Minnesota Representative Nick
Zerwas (R), an author of the state’s
new “right to try” law, on the
experimental heart procedure that
saved his life when he was 15, in
the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune.
NEWSMAKERS
THE FIELD OF GUBERNATORIAL CONTENDERS GOT A LITTLE
MORE CROWDED IN VERMONT, where current Governor Peter
Shumlin (D) has said he won’t seek a fourth term. House Speaker
Shap Smith has announced he’ll seek the Democratic nomination.
“Vermont is the state I grew up in, it’s the state I came back to, it’s
the state I love, and it’s the state I seek to lead,” he said, according
to the Burlington Free Press. Smith, an attorney in Burlington, was
first elected to the House in 2002 and became speaker this past
January. He plans to continue as speaker during his campaign.
Other contenders include Lt. Governor Phil Scott (R), Secretary of
Transportation Sue Minter (D), Google executive Matt
Dunn (D) and H. Brooke Paige (R), who’s also running
for attorney general.
“It makes for great TV to arrest a
drug lord. But it’s not such great
TV to show someone coming
out of treatment.”
—Maine Senator Anne Haskell (D) on the governor’s plan
to use the National Guard to address the state’s heroin
epidemic, in the Portland Press Herald.
FORMER CONNECTICUT SENATOR EILEEN DAILY (D) DIED IN LATE JULY.
She was 72. Active in NCSL, Daily represented her Senate district for 20 years
before deciding not to seek re-election in 2012. “For decades, she was a
tenacious fighter for her constituents and a committee chair who wielded
enormous respect among colleagues—and she did it with a smile on her
face,” Governor Dannel P. Malloy (D) said in a statement. “Eileen was one of
the toughest elected officials in the state, yet her jovial disposition always
made those around her feel at ease. She represented the best of public
service and politics. … This is a loss for all of us. Eileen will indeed be missed.”
“The money is there. Now it’s our job
to get rid of the shell games, make
the tough decisions and institute real
budget reforms.”
—Alabama Senator Paul Bussman (R), who has proposed unifying
the two state budgets, removing all earmarks and capping spending
on Medicaid and prisons, on AL.com.
KENTUCKY HOUSE SPEAKER GREG STUMBO (D) WANTS EVERYONE TO FEEL
COMFORTABLE coming into the Capitol, “knowing that he or she is going to be
treated equally and fairly.” So he’s proposed moving a statue of Confederate President
Jefferson Davis from its current place in the rotunda, its home since 1936, to the
state historical museum, also located in Frankfort. The monument’s fate is uncertain,
however. A state commission and residents who responded to a
poll overwhelmingly favor letting the stone Davis remain right
where it is. Stumbo is undeterred. “If they had the courage to do
it in South Carolina, surely we’ve got the courage to stand up and
do what’s right in Kentucky, for every Kentucky citizen,” he said.
STATE LEGISLATURES 9 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

TRENDS
Felon Voting Rights
A
one-time encounter with the justice system can have
lasting effects on an individual in more ways
than one. For starters, those who have
been imprisoned are far more likely
to become inmates again. Within five years
of release, 76.6 percent of prisoners are rearrested,
according to the Bureau of Justice
Statistics.
Then there are voting rights. Some 5.9
million Americans will be barred from voting in
the 2016 presidential election because of a felony
conviction, according to the Sentencing Project, an
advocacy group for loosening restrictions.
From the time they were written, most state
constitutions have permanently denied voting rights to people
convicted of felonies. But states began reversing those prohibitions
in the mid-20th century, and the trend has continued. Currently,
11 states permanently ban some felons from voting.
Advocates for restoring voting rights say voting can reduce
recidivism by fostering a greater commitment to and involvement
in the local community. They also point out that without a
parental role model, children of disenfranchised voters are less
likely to vote themselves, creating a cycle of disengagement.
Others say felons shouldn’t be allowed to vote because they
committed serious crimes. They’ve lost the public’s trust. A loss of
freedoms is simply a consequence of their poor judgment, they
argue. It’s just how the judicial system works.
Except for Maine and Vermont, all states restrict
felon voting rights to some degree. Thirteen states
ban only felony inmates from voting, four also
include parolees, and 20 include both parolees and
probationers.
Consequently, the percentage of felons who
cannot vote varies by state. The rate is highest
in Florida, where 10.4 percent of the voting age
population is prohibited from voting, according to The
Pew Charitable Trusts. The national average is 2.5 percent.
The Florida Legislature rejected recent measures to expand felon
voting rights.
In 2015, North Dakota and Wyoming enacted legislation
easing voting restrictions for ex-offenders, while 17 other states
and Puerto Rico considered similar legislation. Maryland’s
governor vetoed a bill.
With a presidential election nearing, felon voting rights is likely
to remain a popular topic as candidates from both parties have
expressed support for re-engaging citizens whose votes could make
a difference in some states.
—Zita Toth
Fighting Revenge Porn
The damage a private photo can do once it’s posted on
the Internet, the embarrassment and distress it can
cause the victim, and the challenge it can be to remove
it highlight just how horrible “revenge porn” can be.
In April, Kevin Christopher Bollaert was sentenced to 18 years
in custody after being convicted on identity theft and extortion
charges in connection with a pair of websites he operated. One site
displayed naked and sexually explicit pictures, mostly of women,
posted by angry former romantic partners. When people requested
that pictures be removed, they were directed to another website
that charged up to $350 to take the photos down. Bollaert was
ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and $15,000 to each of his victims.
After Bollaert was charged, but before his conviction, California
enacted legislation criminalizing the distribution of revenge porn if
it causes the victim serious emotional distress.
Since 2013, about half the states have enacted laws that, generally,
criminalize the unauthorized distribution of sexually explicit
images of another person with the intent to embarrass, harass or
frighten that person. The laws vary in their details and in the penalties
imposed. Without specific laws against the practice, victims
are limited to pursuing stalking or harassment charges, filing a
civil action or registering for copyright protection of the photos,
all of which can be difficult to achieve.
Even search engine giant Google Search has joined the conversation.
Shifting from its previous philosophy that its search
function “should reflect the whole Web,” Amit Singhal, senior vice
president, stated in June that the company would “honor requests
from people to remove nude or sexually explicit images shared
without their consent from Google Search results.”
Critics argue this legislation can be overbroad and infringe on
free speech. In July, a federal court ordered Arizona prosecutors
to halt enforcement of the state’s 2014 law. The advocacy group
Media Coalition Inc. had challenged the law as a restriction on
speech that criminalizes a wide range of newsworthy, artistic, educational
and historical images. Media Coalition represents most
U.S. booksellers, publishers and librarians; film, recording and
video game producers; and home video and video game retailers.
Although states have been leading the way in crafting bills to
tackle the problem, Congress may take action as well. U.S. Representative
Jackie Speier, from California, is working on federal
legislation.
—Pam Greenberg and Kevin Frazzini
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 10 STATE LEGISLATURES

Battle on the
e-Gridiron
In the fantasy sports world, players act as owners to draft
teams that compete against each other based on the performance
of real-world athletes. It all involves a bit of make-believe,
but there’s nothing imaginary about the number of
people playing or the amount of money involved. An estimated
56.8 million North Americans will participate this year, and
each will spend around $465. That’s 15.3 million more fans than
in 2014, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.
A recent twist on traditional fantasy sports involves daily
competitions in which players’ teams compete not for a whole
season but for just one day. These daily sites are legal, even
though most forms of online gaming are not, and sports betting
is illegal everywhere outside of Nevada. Why? The answer comes
from a combination of federal and state laws.
The federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act
bans betting on sports, except through Nevada’s well-known
sports-wagering businesses and the sports lotteries of Delaware,
Montana and Oregon. All of these were in operation before
Congress passed the legislation in 1993. In theory, the law should
apply to fantasy gaming, but no fantasy player has ever been
challenged. Fantasy sports were exempted from the ban in the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 as well.
Although the federal laws can provide a framework, gambling is
typically regulated by the states. Currently, only Montana explicitly
prohibits fantasy sports if played over the Internet. Fantasy games
are considered to be illegal in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana and
Washington, as well, but not because of specific bans. Confusion
comes from vague laws, conflicting attorneys general opinions and
assumptions made by public officials. Lawmakers in those states
have introduced bills over the last two years to clarify and formally
legalize fantasy sports, but none have passed.
Lawmakers in Indiana, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have
introduced legislation to allow casinos or lotteries to offer daily
fantasy games. And in Texas, a bill was introduced to require
sports betting sites, including fantasy sports sites, to obtain
licenses. As fantasy sports continue to grow in popularity, more
states are likely to clarify their positions on the games.
—Jonathan Griffin
TRENDS
Employers
Dealing Payroll
Cards
Payroll cards have become a popular alternative to paper
checks and direct deposits for paying wages. Lawmakers
have tried to balance promoting their use with protecting
employees from hidden and unclear fees. Payroll cards
operate much like prepaid debit cards. They can be loaded with
employees’ wages and used in stores or online to buy goods or
pay bills. Cards are often branded by American Express, Discover,
MasterCard or Visa and can be used to get cash from
ATMs, bank tellers or through convenience checks.
Proponents argue that payroll cards are safer and more convenient
than getting paid in cash or by paper check. The cards are
protected like traditional debit cards under the Federal Reserve
Board’s Regulation E. For employees who don’t use financial
institutions or who cash their paychecks, payroll cards eliminate
check-cashing fees. Employees can also use monthly transaction
records to track their spending, and if a card is lost or stolen, the
transactions can be disputed and the funds replaced, if necessary.
Consumer advocates are concerned that some of the fees the
cards charge are hidden. They also claim that the terms, conditions
and available options are not always clearly disclosed.
Although payroll cards eliminate check-cashing fees, some card
providers charge for ATM transactions, point-of-sale and customer
service, overdrafts and access to account balances.
Twenty-two states and Puerto Rico have enacted legislation
authorizing the use of payroll cards. Georgia and Rhode Island
enacted legislation this year. Twenty states and Puerto Rico apply
the law to all employers, while Texas and Washington apply the
law specifically to institutions of higher learning. In Florida, a new
law requires labor pool employers to give employees notice before
switching to a pay card system. The employer also must give
workers a list of nearby businesses that provide free withdrawals.
—Heather Morton
STATE LEGISLATURES 11 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

STATELINE
Faster Permits for Free-Range Deer 2
Drivers who kill deer in auto crashes in Wisconsin now don’t have to
wait as long to start preparing their critter dinner. The state recently
streamlined the process of acquiring the permit necessary to keep
the game meat. Motorists simply contact a Department of Natural
Resources call center, which can issue a permit by email at
any time of day or night. In the past, motorists were required
to call local police who sent an officer to issue a permit before an
animal carcass could be removed from a crash site. About 26,000 deer
are killed by vehicles every year, according to the DNR. Drivers have 24
hours to request a permit, and still must contact police if crash damage to a
vehicle is $1,000 or more, or if a turkey or bear was involved.
Alexander Hamilton: That’s a Rap 1
Founding Father Alexander Hamilton is still making
connections, long after his fatal encounter with
Aaron Burr along the Hudson River in 1804. Two state
senators—Chap Petersen and Donald McEachin, both
Virginia Democrats—claim ancestry with Hamilton,
and now the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury
is the subject of a well-received Broadway musical,
titled simply “Hamilton.” Lin-Manuel Miranda, who
conceived, wrote the lyrics and music for, and stars
in the production, has said his inspiration was the
best-selling biography “Alexander Hamilton,” by the
historian Ron Chernow. The hip-hop connection?
Miranda told the New York Times that he saw in
Hamilton’s difficult childhood echoes of rap stars
Jay Z, Eminem and Biggie Smalls. “I recognized the
arc of a hip-hop narrative in Hamilton’s life,” he said.
And hip-hop was the perfect musical style for a story
set during the American Revolution, because it’s “the
language of youth and energy and rebellion.”
5 Tears in Their Craft Beers?
Colorado is a leader on retail marijuana, but when it comes to beer, some say
the state is stuck in the past along with Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma and
Utah, all of which limit grocery stores to selling the low-alcohol 3.2 version.
Lawmakers’ efforts over the years to revise the laws, which date to the
1930s, have gone flat. But things could change if the group Colorado
Consumers for Choice gathers enough signatures to put the
question on the 2016 ballot. “Since 1933, we have invented
soft-serve ice cream, rock ’n’ roll, space travel, the Internet
and the cellphone, but you still can’t buy real beer or
wine in a Colorado grocery store,” the group’s website
says. On the other side is Keep Colorado Local,
a group of liquor store owners, craft brewers,
distillers and winemakers who say changing
the laws would put jobs and the state’s
$1.15 billion craft brewing industry at
risk. It might be the voters who make
the last call.
3Pot-Free Parkland
With illegal pot operations on the rise in California’s parklands and forests since voters
approved medical marijuana use in 1996, a new law gives the state Department of
Fish and Wildlife more power to fight back. “Some of these unregulated grow-sites
are responsible for the release of rodenticides, highly toxic insecticides, chemical
fertilizers, fuels and hundreds of pounds of waste dumped into the surrounding
habitats and watershed systems,” Senator Bill Monning (D) said. In addition, at a
time when the state faces historic drought conditions, some growers steal water by
constructing dams or diversions. Monning’s bill, signed recently by Governor Jerry
Brown, sets fines of up to $40,000 for illegally dumping many kinds of hazardous
materials into rivers and streams, and up to $10,000 for removing trees or trapping
and killing wildlife, the Los Angeles Times reported.
4Good Snooze for Students
New Jersey lawmakers sent Governor Chris Christie a bill requiring
a study of the benefits of later start times in middle and high
schools. The legislation, which Christie signed this summer,
comes amid growing concern from health officials that teens
aren’t getting enough sleep. A recent Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention report linked lack of sleep to health
risks—being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco,
using drugs—as well as failing classes. And the American
Academy of Pediatrics last year reported that later school
start times are more in line with teens’ biological sleep
patterns. Under the law, the Department of Education will
look at the effects of starting school at 8:30 a.m. or later,
as recommended by the pediatricians’ group. Currently,
about 85 percent of
New Jersey middle
and high schools start
before 8:30, according
to the CDC. Some
school leaders and
parents say delays
could conflict with
extracurricular
activities and family
schedules, but
most New Jersey
students no doubt
are wondering,
What took you so
long?
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 12 STATE LEGISLATURES

6Show Me Farmers Keep It ‘Legit’
A new constitutional amendment forever guarantees Missourians the right to
farm—they just need to be sure their crops are “legitimate,” a judge decided.
A public defender for a Jefferson City woman arrested in 2012 for allegedly
growing marijuana in her basement argued that she was protected by the rightto-farm
amendment, added to the state constitution last year. The “argument
that growing marijuana in a basement constitutes a ‘farming or ranching
practice’ goes way beyond the plain meaning of ‘farming or ranching practice,’”
the county judge wrote. “Simply put, marijuana is not considered a part of
Missouri’s agriculture.” The judge ruled that the amendment applies
only to livestock and “legitimate” crop cultivation, the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch reports. The voters may get to decide whether
to legalize marijuana, if backers can gather enough signatures
to put the question on next year’s ballot. Meanwhile, the
Jefferson City grower’s case continues.
8Hang Up and Camp
Kids are getting bigger while state park budgets are
wasting away, Stateline reports. Obesity more than
doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents
over the last 30 years, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile,
legislative funding for state parks has dropped by
about 10 percent nationwide in the last five years,
according to the National Association of State Park
Directors. To lure kids away from their phones and
video games and into the parks, several states are
sponsoring camping trips, running conservation
programs or organizing outdoor classrooms
where students learn about wildlife and ecology.
A relationship to nature, with an understanding of
how clean air and clean water are produced are
needed for kids care about doing anything about
the stewardship of the earth,” said Nita Settina,
superintendent for the Maryland Park Service.
STATELINE
7License to Fly
Pennsylvania could become the 27th state with a law on
unmanned aircraft or “drones,” if Senator Mike Folmer’s (R)
bill becomes law. Concerned that people’s constitutional
rights “are being threatened by 21st century technology,”
Folmer’s legislation would put a two-year ban on the use of
the unmanned aircraft by state and local agencies, including
law enforcement, except in emergency situations or when
a warrant is obtained. The bill would allow U.S. military units
to continue to use them for training. In Maine, a new law
allows law enforcement officials, with a warrant,
to use the aircraft if they follow Federal
Aviation Administration requirements
and new state standards. In North
Dakota, a new law may allow
police to outfit their drones with
“less than lethal” weapons, as long
they obtain a warrant and receive
approval from the state’s Unmanned
Aircraft Systems Research Compliance
Committee, which received FAA
authorization. Any use of a weaponized drone
requires FAA approval.
9Tops in Transparency
Seven states earned high marks in transparency on the
Sunlight Foundation’s recently updated report card. The
nonprofit foundation, which advocates for openness
at all levels of government, evaluated each state based
on disclosure of lobbyist activity and compensation,
expenditure transparency, expenditure reporting
thresholds and document accessibility. Just like in a
classroom, the states’ grades fall on a classic bell curve,
with seven A’s, 15 B’s, 12 C’s, 12 D’s and—ouch!—four F’s.
10
Not Cool at School
This year, the Montana Legislature made it illegal for anyone under age 18
to buy, possess or consume alternative nicotine or vapor cigarette
products. Now, following the legislators’ lead, the Bozeman
School Board has put the alternative tobacco products
on its list of items banned from school grounds, for
students and adults alike—and for good measure,
it added powdered alcohol. Walking into school
with either of the products, like possessing
regular tobacco or drugs, can result in students
being disciplined. The school district’s decision
was unanimous, but the Legislature’s was not.
Representative Denise Hayman (D) said many
parents and coaches were “terrified” about
e-cigarettes because little is known about
nicotine vapor, and adults see it as “a first step,”
according to the Bozeman Chronicle. Opponents,
such as Representative Nicholas Schwaderer (R),
argued vapor cigarettes can help kids quit smoking.
Forty-six states prohibit young people from buying
e-cigarettes.
States earning
Sunlight’s A grade:
California
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
South Carolina
Wisconsin
STATE LEGISLATURES 13 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Preschool Is
for Real
Funding is up, as is
enrollment, as states
continue to invest
in high-quality early
childhood education
to help kids succeed.
BY JULIE POPPE
AND ROBYN
LIPKOWITZ
Julie Poppe and Robyn Lipkowitz cover
early childhood education issues for NCSL’s
Children and Families Program.
Imagine yourself as a preschooler. Everything’s
an adventure, from pretending
you’re a superhero to chasing a butterfly to
painting a self-portrait. There is so much
to explore, discover and learn at preschool, and
it all feels like play—hours and hours of play.
But behind all the fun and games, preschool
teachers have one very serious goal: To prepare
children for kindergarten and future academic
success. To achieve that, they have the daunting
task of helping young children learn specific
social, emotional, physical, linguistic, cognitive,
literacy and math skills, which are defined in
state learning guidelines or standards. All this
sounds very much like school, although preschool
teachers make it all feel like play.
“There’s always a push to make preschool
look more like school,” says Shari Funkhouser,
a preschool teacher with 18 years of experience
from Asheboro, North Carolina. “With that
comes a push for more data,” she says, “which
leads to more assessments. But no test can
really measure all the important growth that
occurs in preschool.”
Preschool programs are sprouting up as
statewide or pilot initiatives, and public funding
is increasing. Forty-one states and the District
of Columbia have funded voluntary preschool.
Whether it’s half-day or year-long, preschool
is now available to more than 1.3 million kids,
according to the National Institute for Early
Education Research. States spent $6.3 billion
on preschool last year, compared with $2.8 billion
in 2005.
Nationally, the percentage of children eligible
for preschool who actually enrolled rose to
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 14 STATE LEGISLATURES

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
“Getting kids ready
for school helps them
get ready for life.”
—REPRESENTATIVE SARAH BUXTON, VERMONT
29 percent in 2013, up from 14 percent in
2002.
That still leaves many kids without the
benefits of preschool. And an estimated 52
percent of low-income kids and 25 percent
of moderate- or high-income kids arrive on
the first day of kindergarten unprepared,
lacking in many of the skills considered
essential to learning.
For those children who don't receive
what they need at home, many believe preschool
can help.
Why Preschool?
One reason for the recent focus on preschool
comes from brain researchers and
developmental psychologists who are discovering
how critical the early years are for
developing healthy brains. That’s when the
most rapid proliferation of new neural connections
occur. These connections provide
a foundation on which to learn and grow,
and to be physically and mentally healthy.
The most frequently cited reason for the
renewed interest in preschool, however, is
concern over the widening achievement
gap between rich and poor children. The
statistics are telling. By age 3, an 18-month
gap opens up in language skills between
low-income children and their wealthier
peers.
Significant differences exist in how parents
and children interact based on their
socio-economic backgrounds, according to
The Word Gap
Differences in how parents and children
interact based on their socio-economic
backgrounds leads to wealthier children
being exposed to words much more often
than their lower-income peers.
College-Educated Parents
Working-Class Parents
Low-Income Parents
Betty Hart and Todd Risley at the University
of Kansas, who conducted a groundbreaking
study in 2003. These differences
have an impact on children’s language and
vocabulary. Researchers calculated that
by age 4 the wealthier children had heard
30 million more words spoken than their
lower-income peers.
Starting school behind sends most children
on a scholastic trajectory that limits
their educational choices and affects their
future academic and workforce success.
Researchers with the Institute of Education
Sciences, after studying 22,000 children
through fifth grade, concluded that
children who begin school behind rarely,
if ever, get ahead. Not only do they pay a
price, so does society.
“Children who aren’t able to access
high-quality early learning experiences—
for whatever reason—are far more likely
to challenge the resources of our education,
corrections and social welfare systems,” says
Vermont Representative Sarah Buxton (D).
To help school districts, private programs
and parents, Buxton supported
legislation last year that moved the state
closer to universal access. It increased
funding for additional preschool hours and
set a uniform tuition rate for public and
private programs. “Getting kids ready for
school,” she says, “helps them get ready for
life … and be happy, smart, stable adults.”
Parents, policymakers and researchers
are not the only ones sounding the alarm.
Military leaders and business executives are
concerned about the growing achievement
gap as well. They see far too many young
people who lack the basic academic skills
needed to perform well in the current job
market or to pass military entrance exams.
And law enforcement officials say many
young offenders are high school dropouts
with poor academic skills.
Whose Role Is it?
Along with concerns over the disparities
in achievement, however, come concerns
over parental rights, big government and a
growing “nanny state.”
“The long-term success of early education
will depend on preserving ... a
firm commitment to parental choice and
engagement,” says Katharine B. Stevens
STATE LEGISLATURES 15 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Funding Sources
The average annual cost per preschool student
was $4,679 in 2014.
work in the state, so this is really helping out
these working parents,” Flakoll says.
Legislation that offers parents options
is more likely to attract bipartisan support.
Several states have expanded publicly
funded preschools recently to include private
child care centers, community organizations,
faith-based centers, military agencies
and colleges.
State Contributions 87%
Local Contributions 7%
Federal Contributions 5%
TANF Contributions 1%
Source: The National Institute for Early Education
Research, 2014 Yearbook
from the American Enterprise Institute.
Maintaining parental choice is essential
to many who believe government should
stay out of family decisions. Like North
Dakota Senator Tim Flakoll (R), chairman
of the Education Funding
Committee, they believe
“parents should be the first
teachers of kids.”
With that in mind, lawmakers
in North Dakota
funded a new preschool program
specifically to support
parents—many of whom
have recently been drawn to
the state by its booming economy. “We have
job openings for nearly everyone who needs
Who and How Much?
Return on Investment
Preschool can be expensive, and funding—where
it comes from and who receives
it—can lead to contentious discussions.
From a purely financial standpoint, however,
James Heckman, a Nobel laureate
economist at the Center for the Economics
of Human Development at the University
of Chicago, says publicly funding preschool
makes sense. The most efficient and cost-effective
investments in education are those
made in the early years of life, he says. They
offer a greater return on investment than
programs that target adults, who generally
find it more difficult to learn new skills.
To get the biggest bang for the buck,
according to Heckman and others, states
should invest in the very young. But not just
any early education program will do. When
it comes to preschool, quality matters.
“Quality is No. 1,” says Mississippi
Senator Brice Wiggins (R). “Whether a
preschool program has staying power
and provides long-term benefits depends
on how good it is. Research shows that
high-quality, evidence-based programs
provide benefits that take hold and lay the
foundation for results later on,” Wiggins
says. “The better the program, the more
long-lasting the benefits.”
The percent of 4-year-olds attending a public preschool has increased while average per-student
funding has decreased since 2002.
Funding per child
4-year olds
Senator
Tim Flakoll
North Dakota
Source: The National Institute for Early Education Research, 2014 Yearbook
“Quality is No. 1.”
—SENATOR BRICE WIGGINS, MISSISSIPPI
It’s not just that good programs improve
achievement. Studies have also shown that
poorly run programs can actually do harm.
It’s well worth it to do what it takes to get
schools from not-so-good to great, says
Steve Barnett with National Institute for
Early Education Research at Rutgers University.
It’s a simple formula. “If you pay for
high quality, programs will produce stronger
results,” Barnett says.
But will the improvements last?
Long-Term Questions
Skeptics say many of the gains made
during preschool disappear by third grade—
what is often called the “fade-out” effect.
David J. Armor, George Mason University
professor emeritus of public policy,
argues in the Washington Post that “the
few top-quality studies out there reveal
few, if any, lasting benefits.”
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 16 STATE LEGISLATURES

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Others disagree. It’s difficult to know
which skills will diminish over time and
which will persist or even appear later.
“That is, early measures may not capture
the full long-term impact of the program,”
says Rob Grunewald, economist at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. The
bank got involved in preschool issues over
concerns that our future workforce would
be ill-prepared and lack the skills needed to
lead our country.
Despite concerns, legislation to strengthen
preschool in various ways has found strong
bipartisan support in most states. “My fellow
Republican lawmakers are warming up
to the idea, especially preschool’s long-term
impacts,” notes Wiggins.
After assessments of the state’s children
showed that two-thirds of all 5-year-olds
were not ready for kindergarten, Wiggins
sponsored legislation in 2013 to provide
$3 million to fund preschool for nearly
Portion of Children in Public Preschools
About 86 percent of the more than 1.3 million 4-year-olds who attend
preschools enroll in publicly funded ones.
None
1%– 20%
21% –40%
41% – 60%
61% – 80%
Source: The National Institute for Early Education Research, 2014 Yearbook
STATE LEGISLATURES 17 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Innovative Solutions
Utah has experimented with a couple
of interesting ways to address problems
of school readiness, grade retention and
special education rates in 2014.
To finance a new statewide early
education program for more than
3,500 children, lawmakers approved
legislation, sponsored by Representative
Greg Hughes (R), that creates a School
Readiness Board to negotiate “resultsbased”
contracts with private entities.
“We are constantly looking, because
of the finite dollars we have in public
education, for innovation, efficiencies
and smart practices,” Hughes says.
In 2008, the Legislature established
a digital in-home preschool program
called UPSTART. The program, supported
with state funding, recently won an
“Investing in Innovation” federal grant.
As part of the program, a learning coach
contacts families on a weekly basis in
English or Spanish to help monitor and
improve the child’s progress. Statistics
show that, regardless of their ethnicity
or socio-economic status, children in
the program are making gains in school
readiness skills.
“We are constantly looking ...
for innovation, efficiencies and
smart practices.”
—SPEAKER GREG HUGHES, UTAH
1,800 children.
The senator’s interest in early education
stems from his time as a state prosecutor,
when he saw “too many underage offenders
who lacked education.” He believes in
the “pay now or pay later” theory voiced
by many law enforcement and criminal justice
officials.
Big Investments for Little Ones
In the last two years alone, 35 state legislatures
and the District of Columbia have
increased funding for new and existing prekindergarten
programs.
California legislators made their biggest
investment in more than a decade last year:
$273 million, including $25 million for professional
development for teachers. And
Michigan lawmakers, over the last two
years and with strong, bipartisan support,
have increased funding from $110 million
to almost $240 million.
Lawmakers in Minnesota, New York
and Pennsylvania have also voted to make
large investments in their prekindergarten
programs in the last two years.
Federal funding increased this year as
well after a coalition of philanthropic,
business, education, advocacy and elected
leaders gathered at a White House Summit
to discuss expanding early education.
As a result, more than $220 million in new
federal funding was available this year to
states with preschool enrollment rates
below 10 percent.
Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Montana
and Nevada received the first development
grants. And Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois,
Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, New York, Rhode
Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia
have received expansion grants. The future
of this program is uncertain, however, as
Congress has not yet renewed it.
An Eye on Quality
Lawmakers have targeted improvements
to areas that directly influence
quality, including teacher qualifications.
The Institute of Medicine recently recommended
that preschool teachers have a
bachelor’s degree along with specialized
training in early childhood education. Even
though more than 30 states already require
teachers in public preschools to have a
bachelor’s degree, only 57 percent of all
preschool teachers do, and only 34 percent
of assistant teachers are certified.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 18 STATE LEGISLATURES

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The Quest for High
Quality
What does a high-quality preschool
look like? According to the National
Institute for Early Education Research
at Rutgers University, great programs
include:
• Comprehensive state standards for
what preschool children need to learn
• Lead teachers with bachelor’s
degrees and specialized training in a
prekindergarten area
• Assistant teachers with appropriate
certificates
• At least 15 hours a year of
professional training for teachers
• Class sizes limited to 20 students
• A staff-to-child ratio of 1-to-10 or
better
• Children’s vision, hearing and health
screenings and referrals
• At least one additional support
service for families
• Meals offered regularly
• Adequate monitoring of program
quality, including site visits by evaluators
Finding qualified teachers may be difficult.
Salaries don’t exactly attract people to
the profession. Although preschool teachers
with bachelor’s degrees can make more than
$40,000 a year, depending on the type of
preschool, the nation’s average salary for all
preschool teachers is less than $30,000.
Some states focused on funding more
teacher training and coaching, credentialing
community providers or establishing
quality rating and improvement systems.
Other reforms tageted class sizes, student-to-teacher
ratios and curricula. Indiana
lawmakers decided to start with a pilot program
focused on quality and evaluation to
“make sure we are doing it right,” says Representative
Robert Behning
(R), chairman of the Education
Committee. Behning’s
legislation targets low-income
children who are not enrolled
in Head Start and offers parents
choices through public
schools, including charter
schools, or private providers,
including child care centers,
Representative
Robert Behning
Indiana
private homes or religious groups. The state
is funding the program with reallocated federal
child care money.
Texas lawmakers now require school
districts to meet certain quality requirements,
including having certified teachers
and using state-approved curricula before
receiving any of the new grant money.
School districts also have to track and
report certain data for the first time.
And Mississippi’s new prekindergarten
program was developed to meet all 10 of
Rutgers early education quality benchmarks
listed above.
Waiting for the Future
How effective will all this new investment
in high-quality preschools be? Finding out
will require patience—at least 10 or so years
of it. Meanwhile, preschoolers will continue
to be preschoolers, playing tag, learning the
alphabet, singing songs. They will learn and
grow and develop. And those in high-quality
preschools will likely show up on the first
day of kindergarten, prepared and eager to
sail through the next 12 years.
Teachers don’t need statistical proof to
measure that kind of success. “We know
where they were when they arrived and,
large or small, we can see the changes,”
says teacher Funkhouser.
“We know we have made a difference in
their futures.”
STATE LEGISLATURES 19 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

TRANSPORTATION
On the Road Again
“The longer Congress waits, the more
limited states’ options become.”
—REPRESENTATIVE JUDY CLIBBORN, WASHINGTON
States take
the wheel on
transportation
funding as
Congress sputters
along.
BY KEVIN PULA
Kevin Pula is a policy associate in
NCSL’s Environment, Energy and
Transportation Program. Doug Shinkle
contributed to this article.
Tired of the uncertainty and lack of
movement at the federal level, state
legislatures passed a variety of transportation
funding bills this year, leaving
Congress stuck in the slow lane, failing to get
beyond yet another short-term extension of the
federal bill. More than one-third of the states
found ways to increase investments in transportation
this year; at least 24 states have done so
since 2012.
According to the Congressional Budget
Office, federal spending on transportation and
water infrastructure was $96 billion in 2014,
down 21 percent from a high of $122 billion in
2002, adjusted for inflation. As federal spending
on highways has waned in recent years,
states and localities have had to increase spending,
forcing lawmakers to look deep and wide
for new funding sources.
“We cannot wait indefinitely for support
from the federal government,” says Washington
Representative Judy Clibborn (D), who led the
Washington House Transportation Committee
as it passed a $16.1 billion funding package this
year. Conversations regarding new transportation
revenue began in 2012, after “we learned
more about the need for additional state funding,”
she says.
Clibborn believes “the longer Congress waits,
the more limited states’ options become,” and
this affects long-term planning for transportation
infrastructure vital to state economies and
public safety, recreation and health.
The funding changes lawmakers made were
not limited to any particular region or political
party and were about as diverse as the states
themselves.
Gas Taxes Adjusted
Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, South
Dakota, Utah and Washington this year
enacted gas-tax increases ranging in size from 6
cents per gallon to 11.9 cents.
South Dakota lawmakers passed one of
the more broad-based packages. Along with a
6-cent increase in the gas tax, it includes higher
vehicle and truck registration fees and more
options for counties to raise transportation
revenue. The law also requires the secretary of
transportation to report to lawmakers annually
“so we know what is going on,” says South
Dakota Senator Mike Vehle (R). Before the
package was ever considered, however, Vehle
needed “to know if it was really necessary to
raise more revenues.”
Subsequent studies found 11 percent of the
state’s roads rated either poor or fair. But the
real game changer for Vehle was that by 2025
that portion was estimated to increase to more
than half. And the future for bridges didn’t look
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 20 STATE LEGISLATURES

“If you’ve got it, a road brought it.’ Not
much is parachuted in these days.”
TRANSPORTATION
—SENATOR MIKE VEHLE, SOUTH DAKOTA
Revenue Streams
The Various Sources That Fund Government Transportation Projects
any brighter. Vehle knew that “if we don’t
do anything and our roads are in this kind
of condition in 10 years, there’s going to be
a lot of people saying, ‘What in the devil
were you guys in the Legislature doing?’”
Elsewhere, in Kentucky and North Carolina,
lawmakers restructured their percentage-based
gas taxes to prevent revenues from
dipping further because of lower gas prices.
The Utah Legislature elected to allow
the gas tax to track with the state’s economy,
while lawmakers in Georgia, Kentucky
and North Carolina changed how
they tie the tax to the state economy.
Additionally, gas taxes in Maryland,
Nebraska, Rhode Island and Vermont
automatically increased because of indexing
or other mechanisms that adjust taxes
in those states without legislative action.
New Fees and Bonds, Too
Three legislatures established special
registration fees on electric or hybrid vehicles.
Georgia now charges $200 a year for
an electric vehicle, Idaho charges $140
($75 for a hybrid) and Wyoming requires
electric car owners to purchase a $50 decal.
Three states passed bond packages.
Connecticut authorized $2.8 billion in
bonds for its 30-year, multi-modal transportation
investment program. Massachusetts
approved $200 million in bonds
for local road repair projects. And Mississippi
lawmakers OK’d a $200 million bond
package, primarily for bridge repairs.
The Delaware General Assembly increased
a variety of transportation fees
and taxes, including the new- and used-vehicle
sales tax, which went from 3.75 percent
to 4.25 percent.
Lawmakers in North Dakota tapped a
state fund created from mineral sales and
leases to provide $800 million in one-time
“surge funding” for transportation. And in
Vermont, legislators created a “floor” on
the wholesale price of gasoline to limit the
potential decrease in revenues generated
by their 2 percent transportation infrastructure
assessment on motor fuel.
A handful of states will ask voters to
approve transportation funding packages
this fall. Louisianans will decide whether
to divert surplus rainy day funds to transportation.
Mainers will vote on an $85 million
bond package. Voters in Nevada will
determine whether counties will be allowed
to link local fuel taxes to inflation. And
lawmakers in the Lone Star State are asking
voters if $2.5 billion in general funds
should be diverted to transportation.
Note: Local vehicle tax revenue includes a
small amount of fuel revenue as well. Federal
revenue is in federal fiscal years; revenue of
state and local governments is in their own
fiscal years or calendar years, depending on
how they report their data to the Federal
Highway Administration.
Source: Pew Trusts, Funding Challenges in
Highway and Transit, Feb. 24, 2015.
The Quest Continues
Lawmakers continue to seek adequate
long-term funding for vital transportation
projects. And many have found acceptable
ways to invest in their infrastructure because
the condition of roads and bridges affects
everyone, whether they’re in the right lane or
the left lane.
As Senator Vehle likes to remind his constituents:
“If you’ve got it, a road brought it.
Not much is parachuted in these days.”
STATE LEGISLATURES 21 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

ON RECORD
Robert Gates
Former Defense Secretary, CIA Director—and Eagle Scout
“The states
have become
extraordinary
laboratories for
experimentation and
innovation.”
Mark Wolf, NCSL’s digital publications
editor, conducted this interview.
Robert Gates, currently president of the Boy
Scouts of America, has served the country as secretary
of defense, as director of the CIA and as
an intelligence professional at the National Security
Council and the White House under eight presidents.
He has been president of Texas A&M University and the
National Eagle Scout Association. He’s served on many
boards, won numerous awards and written several books.
A native of Kansas, he earned a doctorate in Russian and
Soviet history from Georgetown University.
STATE LEGISLATURES: The Boy Scout Law says
that a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly,
courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty,
brave, clean and reverent. How did this affect you
growing up?
GATES: The Scout Oath and Law have been with me all
my life. I have a photograph of my father in the study in
a Boy Scout uniform in front of his house in Kansas City
in 1918. He wasn’t an Eagle Scout, but he made sure both
my brother and I were. It really was a formative part of
my life, and my earliest experiences with leadership were in
the Boy Scouts. There’s nothing quite like trying to get a
bunch of 12- and 13-year-olds to do what they don’t want
to do—and you’re only a year older. If you can do that,
you can probably manage just about anything.
What approach are you taking with the Boy Scouts
since the organization repealed its ban on gay
Scoutmasters?
My approach is the same as it was in leading the
intelligence community and CIA, and then being president
of Texas A&M and finally secretary of defense, which was
having an inclusive decision-making process. People aren’t
surprised, and they have an opportunity to weigh in with
their opinions. I think when people feel they’ve been a part
of the process and they’ve been respected, it’s much easier
for them to agree to a decision or support a decision, even
if, in fact, originally they didn’t.
What about your experiences
with the military’s “don’t ask,
don’t tell” policy?
I think the same principles
apply. Our folks came in and I
told the president that before
any action was taken, we had to
consult with the troops. We had
to get the views of the troops
and their families about what
they thought about this change,
the impact it would have, their
concerns and so on, so we could
shape the decision to take those
concerns into account.
For the first time probably
ever, the military actually had a
conversation with itself about this
subject and, lo and behold, when
we got those surveys back, twothirds
of the people said that a
change wouldn’t have any impact
or, in fact, might make the services
better. So this was a process that
I wanted to emulate for the Boy
Scouts.
What do you think of the way
the VA is handling the care of
returning veterans?
Part of the problem with the
VA also affected the Department
of Defense, and that was nobody
thought these wars were going to
last very long, nobody dreamed
that the casualties would be as great
in numbers as they were, and that
there would be so many young
people with such severe wounds
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 22 STATE LEGISLATURES

ON RECORD
closer to the voters, and has to be more
responsive to actually getting things done.
Ideological paralysis in a state has more
immediate consequences and is more
intolerable to the people of that state.
The states have become extraordinary
laboratories for experimentation and
innovation and how you deliver services,
how you try and control costs and things
like that.
In most states, being in the legislature
is not a full-time job. State legislators are
just more connected to the real problems
people are facing, and probably feel more
accountable.
that would require years of rehabilitation.
The VA was suddenly flooded with these
young men and women, and totally
unprepared for it. And they were incredibly
slow in coming to deal with it.
There are also a lot of bureaucratic
problems. The VA is probably the
most micro-managed organization in
the government by Congress, because
every member of Congress is sensitive to
veterans and veterans’ interests, and so
there’s a lot of very close congressional
attention to VA, and some of it, maybe a
lot of it, is not very productive in terms of
how you make VA work better.
I think that VA Secretary Robert
McDonald is a good man with good
qualities, but I think he faces what a lot of
business people do when they’re brought
in to head a government agency—they’re
faced with obstacles and difficulties in
getting the job done that they’ve never
encountered before.
Based on your experience with
Congress, what advice would you
give state legislators?
Based on what I read, in most states
the legislatures are actually pretty effective.
One thing about state government or being
the mayor of a city: It doesn’t matter what
your ideology is. If you don’t shovel the
snow, and if you don’t pick up the trash,
and if you don’t pave the roads, you’re not
going to get re-elected.
State government similarly is much
PHOTOS BY AARON BARNA, WASHINGTON LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES
What are your views on the U.S.
nuclear deal with Iran?
First of all, getting the Iranians to
the bargaining table in the first place
was a success for the economic sanctions
policies followed under President
Clinton, President Bush and President
Obama. Frankly, I believe we could
have negotiated a better deal. I have real
concerns about the verification provisions
and Iran’s compliance. I have concerns
about “snapback” sanctions, not to
mention the non-agreement parts of
Iranian behavior in the region and so on.
All that said, I also believe that voting
it down would point to significant negative
consequences of its own. I think that we
would be all alone. We would be isolated,
not Iran. I think the sanctions would be
impossible to sustain. Iran could junk
the good parts of the agreement, such as
the 97 percent of their enriched uranium
being taken out of their hands, and the
changes that are being made in some of
their facilities. We would lose the pieces of
the agreement that are good, and I think
we would lose all of our leverage except
military.
My view is we have to face the reality
that we were out-negotiated and we have a
flawed agreement, but the consequences of
rejecting it were severe.
Editor’s note: This interview is part of a series of
conversations with national leaders. It has been
edited for length and clarity. The opinions expressed
herein are not necessarily those of NCSL.
STATE LEGISLATURES 23 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

LEGISLATURES
Birds of a Feather
Legislative caucuses
bring together likeminded
lawmakers
and help create ways
to work across the
political divide.
BY SUZANNE WEISS
Suzanne Weiss is a freelance writer and
frequent contributor to State Legislatures.
Following a tradition thought to be as
old as state legislatures themselves, a
handful of Texas House freshmen in
2013 created a mechanism to work
together, across party lines, to advance a
shared agenda.
The members of the Young Texans Legislative
Caucus, all of whom were under age 40,
were focused on issues important to their generation
and the next, from college affordability
to entrepreneurship to natural resources management.
Today, with just two sessions under its belt,
the 32-member caucus has put together a string
of modest but notable successes. Among them
are bills that expand the use of crowdfunding
for small businesses, create incentives to use
alternative fuels and encourage financial institutions
to establish branches in parts of Texas
that are “banking deserts.” The caucus also
pushed successfully for a bill mandating that
public universities strengthen policies on campus
sexual assaults, and another requiring hospitals
to give parents of newborns safety information
that includes a warning against leaving
children in hot cars.
“Nearly six in 10 Texans are 40 years of
age or younger, and that demographic definitely
deserves to have a stronger voice in our
legislative deliberations,” says Representative
Eric Johnson (D), who co-founded the caucus.
“When I looked at the makeup of the House, I
realized we had a solid core of younger members
on both sides of the aisle that we could
organize around to get some things done.”
Always on the Scene
Affiliations of like-minded lawmakers are
nothing new, says Peverill Squire, a University
of Missouri political science professor and an
expert on American legislatures. “Caucuses
have probably always been part of the legislative
scene,” he says, and they have endured for
“I realized we had a
solid core of younger
members on both
sides of the aisle that
we could organize
around to get some
things done.
—TEXAS REPRESENTATIVE ERIC JOHNSON
a simple reason: “Their members see value in
them.”
Squire cited a couple of ways in which caucuses
benefit individual legislators and invigorate
the policymaking process.
First, they provide a mechanism to “circulate
information and collectively develop ideas,
including ideas that, for one reason or another,
committees won’t take up,” Squire says. “They
provide a chance for things to gain traction.”
In this way, caucuses “serve as alternative
routes, as a challenge to existing structures and
as a competing source of power to established
leadership.”
Membership in a caucus also helps legislators
“send a signal to their constituents that
an issue is important to them,” he says. And
because they are generally bipartisan, caucuses
can serve as a countervailing force to the
polarization that increasingly afflicts legislative
deliberations.
James Henson, director of the Texas Politics
Project at the University of Texas at Austin,
agrees. “Caucuses allow legislators to sidestep
partisan conflicts and coalesce around issue
areas,” he says.
Consider, for example, the experience of two
members of the Louisiana Legislature’s Acadiana
Caucus—Senator Dan “Blade” Morrish
(R) and Representative Jack Montoucet (D),
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 24 STATE LEGISLATURES

LEGISLATURES
“Democrat and
Republican?
That never
enters into the
picture.”
—LOUISIANA SENATOR
DAN “BLADE” MORRISH
who consider themselves party stalwarts
and at opposite ends of the political spectrum.
For nearly a decade, the two have
worked closely on a wide range of issues,
from coastal restoration, bridge projects,
flood insurance and workforce training to
increased state support for the French-immersion
language programs that serve more
than 4,000 students, from kindergarten
through the 12th grade, in the 22 parishes
that make up the state’s Acadiana region.
“As caucus members, Jack and I work
together to do what’s best for the people
we represent,” Morrish says. “Democrat
and Republican? That never enters into the
picture.”
Linked by Party, Priorities, Passions
By far the most established and powerful
legislative caucuses are partisan—one
for the minority party and one for the
majority, in each chamber. They are given
staff, office space and other resources to
carry out their business—setting rules,
electing leaders, formulating policy and
strategy—much of which is done behind
closed doors.
By contrast, nonparty caucuses like the
Young Texans are both more informal and
more open, and typically receive no funding.
Most are co-chaired by a Republican
and a Democrat. Often, they come and go
in the space of several years, giving way to
new interests, priorities and affiliations.
In 2005 and again in 2013, NCSL surveyed
legislative clerks and secretaries to
get a clearer picture of the number and
kind of special caucuses operating within
the chambers in each state. Many of those
caucuses no longer exist, according to
a recent survey that included a 50-state
search of legislative websites.
The survey showed that about one-third
of states have no caucuses other than party
caucuses. The other two-thirds have nonparty
caucuses numbering from one or
two—typically a women’s and a black or
Latino caucus—to between 15 and 20.
But the survey also showed that new
caucuses are popping up all the time:
in Virginia, a 20-member New Americans
Caucus, which pledges to address
issues involving undocumented residents
and other immigrants; in Connecticut, a
27-member Intellectual and Developmental
Disabilities Caucus; and in Utah, a
21-member Clean Air Caucus.
The most numerous and longest lasting
nonparty caucuses are those based on
demographics. They emerged in the mid-
1970s as the number of blacks, women and
Hispanics elected to legislatures began to
increase. Today, 35 states have black caucuses,
23 have women’s caucuses and 16
have Hispanic/Latino caucuses. Nineteen
states have Native American caucuses tied
to a national network.
Other ethnic and cultural affiliations
around which caucuses have coalesced are
Asian (California and New York), Filipino
(Hawaii), Irish (Pennsylvania) and
Italian-American (Connecticut). Among
the newest are California’s three-member
Armenian Caucus and a nine-member Jewish
Caucus, both formed in the past year.
The majority of demographic caucuses,
according to their websites, are open to all
STATE LEGISLATURES 25 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

LEGISLATURES
legislators, regardless of party, race/ethnicity
or religion. But in fact, Democrats have
long dominated the larger racial/ethnic
caucuses—in some cases, to the point of
excluding the other party.
When California Assemblyman
Rocky Chavez (R)
asked to join the 24-member
Latino Caucus last year,
for example, he was turned
away and told that he ought
to form his own caucus,
where Republicans would be
more welcome. Chavez complained
publicly, accusing
the caucus of discrimination.
Assemblyman
Rocky Chavez
California
Mostly Bipartisan, Bicameral
By and large, however, most caucuses
are both bipartisan and bicameral.
About half of the nation’s legislatures
have caucuses focused on regional needs
and interests: the Everglades in Florida, for
example, or the coastal counties of Maine,
Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington,
or rural and agricultural areas, such as
Alaska’s Mat-Su Valley and California’s
Inland Empire.
Some caucuses are organized around
the interests of certain industries or sectors,
from arts, culture, aviation and aerospace
to coal, fisheries, manufacturing, steel and
vineyards.
Michigan, for example, has a caucus
promoting the growth of the state’s biosciences
industry and another, the Dutch
Caucus, nurturing long-term business,
civic and cultural relationships between the
Netherlands and the western region of the
state.
In Texas, 16 legislators banded together
in 2012 to create the Farm-to-Table Caucus,
which supports the production and
wider availability of home-grown foods,
craft beers and regional wines. Lawmakers
in Hawaii and North Carolina last year
established similar groups.
The year-old TechHub Caucus in
Massachusetts aims to further the state’s
national and global leadership in the Big
Data sector, which includes a range of
advanced high-speed computing industries
and data-analysis companies. And in
Washington, a Competitive Caucus was
established earlier this year with the goal of
safeguarding the state’s competitiveness in
international trade by, among other things,
streamlining regulatory processes.
Another major caucus category includes
those leading the charge on behalf of a special
issue. Some work broadly on big topics
such as education, the environment, mental
health or transportation, whereas others
are tightly focused on autism, hunger,
outdoor recreation, diabetes, community
colleges or veterans’ benefits.
In many cases, issue caucuses are part
of a network, tied to national organizations—the
National Caucus of Environmental
Legislators, for example, or the
National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses,
which has more than 2,000 members
in 47 states.
Over the last several years, ideological
groups—Mississippi’s Conservative Caucus,
Utah’s Patrick Henry States’ Rights
Caucus, Article V caucuses focused on
federalism and limited government—have
sprung up in about 20 states.
Finally, there are a handful of caucuses
formed specifically for spiritual fellowship
or social activities; they range from Bible
study and prayer groups to Illinois’ White
Sox Caucus and Pennsylvania’s Karaoke
Caucus.
Bridging Political Divide
A new wrinkle is the formation of bipartisan
legislative groups modeled along
the lines of the Young Texans Caucus,
and part of a network called State Future
Caucuses, whose stated goal is to “break
through partisan gridlock and create a
more constructive governing environment
for the next generation.”
In Maine, where there are now 13 legislators
under age 30, the newly established
Youth Caucus works to broaden education,
training and employment opportunities
for the state’s young people.
Similarly, the PA Future Caucus, established
last year by and for Pennsylvania’s
under-35 legislators, has set its sights
squarely on working across the political
divide to get things done.
The tendency of millennials to vote and
otherwise engage in politics at a lower rate
than older citizens, says Representative
Nick Miccarelli (R), the new
caucus’ co-chairman, is not
so much political apathy as
“an expression of frustration
at the lack of progress and
results.” He listed measures
to address the related problems
of soaring college tuition
costs and high levels of
student loan debt as the top items on the
caucus’ agenda.
Although many legislative caucuses
meet infrequently and focus their efforts
on a handful of issues, others put together
ambitious agendas, issue news releases,
maintain websites and make use of Facebook,
Twitter and other social media.
The Utah Legislative Clean Air Caucus,
for example, recently held a news
conference at which it unveiled a package
of 17 proposed bills and six appropriation
requests totaling more than $5.4 million.
The proposals ranged from a higher sales
tax on tires and new incineration regulations
to a measure allowing the state to
adopt pollution standards stricter than
those set by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
Changing the Conversation
Of course, not every bill backed by a
caucus becomes law. But having a caucus
to champion a particular measure provides
a collective history that can strengthen
members’ commitment to introducing it
year after year.
The Hawaii Legislature, for example,
last year passed a bill ensuring that women
who are victims of sexual assault are provided
with “accurate, unbiased information”
about—and access to—emergency
contraception when receiving care at hospitals.
It had taken nearly two decades for
the measure to gain acceptance, says Senator
Rosalyn Baker (D), a 21-year legislative
veteran, adding, “We just
kept at it.”
In Nevada, the 10-member
Hispanic Legislative Caucus
recently scored victories on
two measures that had died
in committee for several years
running. One is a $50 million
program underwriting, for
Representative
Nick Miccarelli
Pennsylvania
Senator
Rosalyn Baker
Hawaii
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 26 STATE LEGISLATURES

the first time, English-language-learning
programs in the state’s school districts.
The other is a law allowing immigrants
in the country illegally to obtain a driver’s
privilege card, if they carry auto
insurance.
“I wasn’t sure these things would
happen in my legislative career,” says
Senator Mo Denis (D),
who was the only Hispanic
in the Nevada
Legislature when he was
elected in 2004. “The Hispanic
community is starting
to come of age.”
The recent successes
resulted from better
strategies on the part of
Senator
Mo Denis
Nevada
the caucus, coupled with movement
into leadership positions by Denis and
several other caucus members, says
Andres Ramirez, who runs a political
consulting firm in Las Vegas.
In years past, the Hispanic caucus
largely touted its ability to stymie what
it viewed as anti-immigrant legislation,
Ramirez says. More recently, the caucus
has moved from defense to offense,
and managed to change the legislative
conversation, he says.
“The tone of the past two sessions has
been not about how to harm or exclude
Latinos, but how do we help them and
incorporate them in this state,” Ramirez
says. “That’s a dramatic and tectonic
shift.”
Not all caucuses will effect change
on such a scale, of course. But in joining
forces, often across party lines,
legislators are finding ways to make
progress on goals that otherwise might
be impeded by partisanship or inertia.
Their flexibility to coalesce and dissolve
as needed can infuse caucuses
with a sense of purpose, the urgency of
a mission, not to mention the strength
of numbers.
Considering the success these coalitions
have enjoyed since the early days
of the republic, and the appeal they
have for a new generation of lawmakers,
they’re likely to remain a fixture
on the legislative scene for quite some
time.
More Americans turn to doctors of optometry than any other eye care professional.
With a four-year, doctoral-level clinical degree following college and
extensive training, optometrists are licensed to correct vision, but they also diagnose
and treat eye diseases. And as the need for new advancements in eye care
continue, count on optometrists to offer the most comprehensive eye care.
Learn more at AmericasEyeDoctors.org

TOOLBOX
Everyday Creativity
Practice innovation
like any other skill
and unleash the
problem-solving
genius of your staff.
BY JAIME RALL
Jaime Rall is a freelance contributor to State
Legislatures and a former NCSL staffer.
I
believe the times demand new invention,
innovation, imagination, decision,”
John F. Kennedy said in his Democratic
acceptance speech in 1960. Fifty-five
years later, innovation continues to be a
perennially hot topic in public policy circles,
as state legislatures seek fresh ideas for leveraging
scarce resources and better serving the
public in a rapidly shifting world.
“A changing society requires a changing
legislature,” says Mary Quaid, executive director
of House Legislative Services in Louisiana.
“And change—particularly cost-effective
change—requires great creativity.”
Legislative staff, in particular, are often
called upon to use their creativity to improve
the policymaking process. Every day, staff
across the country encounter thorny problems
that need creative solutions—whether it’s how
to draft an effective bill, balance new technologies
with rich traditions, attract talented
young people into legislative careers or condense
mountains of research into something
clear and engaging.
“To me, creativity in the legislative environment
means enhancing the process so that it is
more open and transparent to the public,” says
Susan Schaar, clerk of the Virginia Senate. “As
legislative staff and the people who deal with
the process on a day-to-day basis, it’s up to us
to look for better ways to make it work.”
To spark valuable new ideas, staff leaders
are working to encourage creativity within
their own walls—not as a rare miracle of inspiration,
but as an everyday skill that anyone
can develop.
“It’s a bunch of little things you can do,
not just a big wave of the wand, that will help
spark creativity among legislative staff,” says
Jim Tamburro, human resources administrator
for Connecticut’s Office of Legislative
Management. “But you’ve got to be committed
to it. You can’t just go through the
motions.”
By taking some of these simple steps to
nurture creativity, legislative institutions can
boost their chances of achieving key insights,
smart solutions and, yes, innovation.
1. Plan time for creativity.
In hectic legislative settings, one of the
biggest steps toward encouraging creativity
can be just setting aside the time and space
for it to happen. Good legislative staff are by
nature creative, Quaid says. “So to encourage
creativity in the legislative environment simply
requires the encouragement of staff members
and their ideas.”
“We spend time in our meetings where the
staff talk about projects they’re working on
and I’ll say, ‘What do you think is a better
way to do it?’” Schaar says. “It’s got to come
from the top down. You’ve got to allow people
time to collaborate with each other, and
review, and bounce ideas off each other.”
Making time for creativity doesn’t have
to involve a big change. In Connecticut, for
example, staff now discuss new ideas at the
start of their weekly meetings, when minds
are fresh, rather than at the end. “I definitely
see the change in how we talk about things
because of that little tweak,” says Tamburro.
In Virginia, Schaar says, the interim
between sessions offers downtime to reflect
on what happened during the last session and
what improvements could be made for the
next one. She and her staff ask themselves:
“Are we missing the boat? Are we doing that
because it’s the way it’s always been done?
“For us, the best time is when we actually
have time to sit and talk about the things we
encountered during the session,” she says.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 28 STATE LEGISLATURES

TOOLBOX
2. Make it safe to offer new ideas.
Encouraging staff to be creative
“implies listening to their ideas,” Quaid
says. “Hopefully, age and experience have
helped me become a better listener.”
Some staff are more eager than others
to participate in creative problem-solving,
says Schaar. “Some hesitate, they don’t
want to get in trouble.” So Schaar tries
to create an accepting atmosphere that
encourages staff to pursue their ideas even
when she doesn’t agree with them.
“If you want people to grow and step
out of their comfort zone,” Tamburro
adds, “you have to encourage them to take
their ideas a little further, so they feel that
it’s OK to try something.”
Similarly, conducting “safe” brainstorming
sessions, where staff are encouraged
to generate lots of suggestions without
immediately critiquing them, can bring
out some of the most innovative solutions.
“It’s important to keep the door open,”
Schaar says. “Provide an open atmosphere
for discussion and suggestions, and
encourage people to come forward with
those ideas. If we want to attract young,
bright people, we need to produce that
kind of atmosphere.”
3. Seek a variety of viewpoints.
If you’re stuck in a rut, creativity can be
sparked by getting a fresh point of view. “I
have encouraged my staff to take advantage,
every time they have a chance, to talk
to their counterparts in other states and
get ideas,” Schaar says. Bringing in guest
speakers, going on field trips, role-playing
with experienced colleagues, asking staff
to answer “what if” and “why” questions
and attending trainings and conferences
also can help.
Exchange programs are another
resource. In Virginia, Schaar has sent
more than half her staff on trips arranged
by the American Society of Legislative
Clerks and Secretaries to observe another
state’s legislature for a week. One came
back from Delaware with the idea of using
iPads instead of bill books. “We were
able to eliminate six positions during the
session and save between $30,000 and
$40,000,” Schaar says. And the staffer who
brought back the idea? “He was excited!”
Don’t forget about the perspectives that
can come from within your own staff. In
Connecticut, the legislature’s long-standing
staff training program has spurred
creativity by bringing together staff who
have different roles and skill sets. “Meeting
with people from outside your usual
work environment, who have a different
perspective, can get you thinking in a new
direction,” says Tamburro. “It also helps,”
notes Quaid, “to have a diverse staff, one
with different backgrounds, interests and
abilities, and to embrace their differences.”
4. Embrace and learn from
mistakes.
Laszlo Bock, head of Google’s people
operations, urges leaders to “reward
thoughtful failure.” Leadership expert
Kevin Cashman says that “being willing
to risk failure for the sake of learning” is
integral to innovation. And in his book
“Creativity, Inc.,” Pixar co-founder and
president Ed Catmull warns, “If you aren’t
experiencing failure, then you are making
a far worse mistake: You are being driven
by the desire to avoid it.”
“If you don’t have people taking
risks, that’s a roadblock to creativity,”
Tamburro says. “So we try to create an
environment where staff feel comfortable
trying different approaches to things and
where they know it’s OK if they fail. The
more staff feel supported, the more creative
they can become.”
Encouraging creativity can be especially
important when an idea fails, as it presents
Puzzles to Ponder
Don’t know where to start? Try these
classic brain teasers to get your creative
juices flowing.
1. With only a small candle, a box of
thumbtacks and a book of matches, how
would you affix the candle to the wall so
that when lit, it doesn’t drip wax onto a
table below?
2. Find a fourth word that connects
each set of unrelated words below. For
example, for “falling - movie - dust,” a
correct answer is “star,” as in “falling star,”
“movie star” and “stardust.”
palm – shoe – house
wheel – hand – shopping
fly – clip – wall
dress – dial – flower
3. The legendary runner Flash Fleetfoot
was so fast that his friends said he could
turn off the light switch and jump into
bed before the room got dark. On one
occasion Flash proved he could do it.
How?
Answers:
1. Empty the box of thumbtacks, use
the thumbtacks to fasten the box to the
wall, put the candle into the box, then
light it with the match.
2. tree, cart, paper, sun
3. He went to bed during the day.
an opportunity to learn from what went
wrong. One staff project just “didn’t flow
smoothly,” Schaar says. “But they went
back to the drawing board and said, ‘OK,
this didn’t work, so how can we make
it work?’ and came up with an alternative
solution. And that’s what I think is
important.”
5. Praise successes, reward taking
risks.
Celebrating the success of creative solutions
is a great way to both honor staff
and recognize the worth of innovation. In
Virginia, Schaar says, legislators acknowledge
when staff creativity helps the lawmaking
process and when staff receive
national awards for their leadership.
Whether it’s a formal honor or a simple
“shout-out” in a staff meeting, showing
appreciation for creativity can go a long
way toward inspiring it.
STATE LEGISLATURES 29 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

NCSL
Capitol Forum
December 8–11 | Washington, D.C.
• Learn the latest on important state-federal issues.
• Be a voice for your state on Lobby Day on Capitol Hill.
• Connect with legislative colleagues from across the nation.
REGISTER NOW AT
NCSL.ORG/FORUM

Karl Aro
THE FINAL WORD
NCSL Staff Chair
Karl Aro, NCSL’s new staff chair, has 36 years of experience
as a bill drafter, research analyst and a director
with Maryland’s Department of Legislative Services. He
was born in Brooklyn, raised in New Jersey and earned
a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from Monmouth
University in New Jersey and a master’s in public administration
from the University of Maryland. He has worked in several policy
areas including health, workers’ compensation, environment,
elections, but is best known for his work in redistricting and
reapportionment.
What life lessons have you learned working in a
legislature for 36 years?
What appears to be easy isn’t. It’s difficult to achieve
compromise. It’s hard to communicate clearly. It’s
challenging to get your ideas or the information
needed out there. Nothing is simple.
How has legislative service evolved?
Computerization has changed the landscape dramatically.
The fact that we can do so much more, so much more
quickly has sometimes created unrealistic time expectations.
It still takes a human mind to figure out the best way to draft
a bill, for example, or to analyze a particular problem and to
check the facts.
Where do you look for inspiration?
Music and nature. I can always find something
of value in lyrics. One of the songs that
influenced me early on was John Lennon’s
“Imagine,” but there’s so much good stuff
out there. I’m a big fan of a band called
Twenty One Pilots. I also find inspiration
in the beauty of our natural world by just
reflecting on the wonder of it all.
What advice would you give to new staff?
The greatest asset you have is your credibility. Stay
organized, be honest and make sure your work is on
time and accurate. And if you don’t know an answer,
don’t fake it; there are way too many people out there
who know the answers. Say “I don’t know, but I will find
out” and then find the answer—fast.
What are your priorities as NCSL staff chair?
We need to continue to provide value-added, useful
information and reliable resources, primarily through
electronic media. We have to stay current. But even
though we can do a lot of work through electronic media,
we shouldn’t do it at the cost of face-to-face, personalcontact
opportunities. With so many ways available
to reach legislators—through Facebook or Twitter
or whatever—the challenge becomes distinguishing
ourselves, making sure our members understand that we
are the most reliable source.
What do legislative staff wish lawmakers
understood?
From a nonpartisan staff perspective, that we always
make our best professional effort. We care about the
legislative institution. We want to help lawmakers make
good decisions by giving them the information they
need. We don’t have a dog in the hunt. I just wish they
all understood that as fully as I think they ought. I think
most do. Some don’t.
Jane Carroll Andrade, a contributing editor to the
magazine, conducted this interview.
How would your staff describe
you?
I hope they would describe me as fair,
supportive and caring. I try to be available
to them, and I look for ways to support
that work-life balance everybody’s looking
for. When we’re not in session we allow
people to telework and equip them to do
that. As long as staff are available during the
day and productivity doesn’t suffer, I like to give
them as much flexibility as I can. I think it makes
for much happier and more loyal employees.
Which books are on your nightstand?
“When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops,” by George
Carlin, and “I Am America (And So Can You!),” by
Stephen Colbert. I just finished reading “Hellhound
on His Trail,” by Hampton Sides, about James Earl
Ray and the stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. It’s an
incredible story.
What might surprise people to find out about
you?
I’ve worked in a patio umbrella factory and was an
exterminator. I know how to do a termite job. I come
from a blue-collar background, and know what it’s like,
as they say, to work for a living.
Do you have any final words you’d like to share?
Working for a legislature has been an incredible
experience. Being part of this ongoing pageant of
representative democracy and being able to contribute to
it in some way has been a great privilege.
STATE LEGISLATURES 31 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

America’s Diabetes Challenge: Get to Your Goals is a program from Merck and the
American Diabetes Association that urges people with type 2 diabetes to pledge to work
with their doctor to set their individual A1C goal and maintain it. Through the program,
people can also learn if they are at risk for hypoglycemia and how to help reduce that
risk. The program encourages friends and caregivers to help support the nearly 30
million Americans living with diabetes by challenging their loved ones to take the pledge.
“I’ve seen first-hand how type 2 diabetes impacts Americans
from all walks of life. It’s affected my family, friends and
fans. I’m a strong believer in making healthy choices, so I’m
encouraging all Americans to join me and challenge their
family and friends with diabetes to work with their doctor to
get to their A1C goal. Together, we can make a difference.”
- TIM MCGRAW
TIM McGRAW
Visit AmericasDiabetesChallenge.com
to pledge and for helpful resources and tips.
Copyright © 2015 Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. DIAB-1145933-0000 (04/15)
Printed in USA. Minimum 10% Recycled Paper