Stateline Midwest · 2016-02-02 · 2 stAteLIne MIDWest noveMer 012 CSG MidweSt Issue BrIefs F ive...

T h e M i d w e s T e r n O f f i c e O f T h e c O u n c i l O f s T a T e G O v e r n M e n T s

StatelineMidwest vo l . 2 1 , n o. 1 1 • n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 2

Stateline Midwest is published 12 times a year by the Midwestern Office of The Council of State Governments.

annual subscription rate: $60. To order, call 630.925.1922.

CSG Midwestern Office StaffMichael h. Mccabe, DirectorTim anderson, Publications Managercindy calo andrews, Assistant Director ilene K. Grossman, Assistant Directorlisa r. Janairo, Senior Policy Analystlaura Kliewer, Senior Policy Analyst Gail Meyer, Office Managerlaura a. Tomaka, Senior Program ManagerKathryn Tormey, Policy Analyst/Assistant Editor Kathy Treland, Administrative Coordinator and Meeting Planner

INSIDE• Michigan revisits first-of-its-kind Great Lakes law

• Minnesota leads way in energy efficiency

• Impact of no new farm bill already felt

• States unveil plans for costly Medicaid group

CSG Midwest Issue Briefs 2

Around the Region 4A different way to look at states’ bottom lines; drops in recidivism in 3 Midwestern states

Question of the Month 5What are states in the Midwest, and elsewhere, doing to promote urban agriculture?

Only in the Midwest 5Kansas’ distinct redistricting law that requires adjustment of census data

CSG News & Events 10New interstate compact proposed to improve siting of transmission lines, with two legislators from Midwest leading the way

Capitol Clips 12• States take swift action on concussion measures

• Federal payday lending bill would impact states

• Indiana outsources lottery sales, marketing

• Michigan cracks down on false crime reports

Profile 8North Dakota House Speaker David Drovdal

FirstPerson 9Illinois Sen. Don Harmon on a campaign-finance law to combat power of super PACs

health could suffer if that was their main source of food). Gallagher and her team used the data to give communities a “food balance” score reflecting residents’ access

I llinois Sen. Jacqueline Collins remem-bers when her legislative district on Chicago’s South Side had plenty of

grocery stores and family restaurants.But today, she sees a very different

picture. She says she counts “too many” fast-food outlets. And in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, for example, she counts just two full-service, sit-down restaurants.

Residents also have few option in terms of grocery stores; many of the stores left with the demographic shift that oc-curred in the 1970s, when large numbers

of residents fled the city for the suburbs.

This landscape is part of the reason why Collins has helped support recent leg-islation in her state to lure those grocers back with grants and loans.

But the people in Collins’ district are

not alone. They are among the more than 25 million people that live in “food deserts” — areas that lack access to affordable, healthy food. In the Midwest, about 5.1 million people live in rural or urban census tracts that are considered food deserts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Under the USDA’s definition, a food desert exists when a census tract has a poverty rate of least 20 percent (or median family income is less than 80 percent of the statewide average) and at least 500 people or 33 percent of the population is located one mile (in urban areas) or 10 miles (in rural areas) from a large grocery store or supermarket.

A lack of convenient access to stores with a variety of foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, can contribute to a poor diet and resulting health complica-tions. According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research,

people living in food deserts are more likely to shop at stores that have limited food options and that mostly offer pro-cessed foods that are high in sugar and fat.

In order to improve access to healthy food and improve the negative health con-sequences associated with living in food deserts, 12 states (including Illinois and Michigan) have passed legislation since 2001. Seven others (including Nebraska and Ohio) have introduced bills that are pending or did not pass.

Communities vary on access to healthy, affordable foodThe term “food desert” was popularized by a 2006 study done by researcher Mari Gallagher, a consultant known for her groundbreaking work on the issue.

Gallagher and her team looked at individual Chicago blocks and deter-mined whether residents had access to a supermarket or grocery store (where people can buy what they need to sup-port a healthy diet on a regular basis) or so-called “fringe” stores (where someone’s

States cultivate healthy options in food desertsPolicies focus on improving access to fresh foodby Kate Tormey ([email protected])

PLeASe turN to PAGe 6

By the numbers: Food deserts in Midwestern states

StatePercentage of census

tracts considered food deserts

% of total food deserts in rural

areas

% of total food deserts in urban

areas

People living in food deserts

illinois 7.3% 26% 74% 819,545

indiana 8.5% 99% 1% 451,265

iowa 7.6% 30% 70% 191,079

Kansas 14.3% 46% 54% 321,303

Michigan 10.3% 18% 82% 918,366

Minnesota 15.8% 54% 46% 644,710

nebraska 16.5% 70% 30% 216,859

north dakota 18.5% 86% 14% 88,451

Ohio 9.8% 5% 95% 945,018

south dakota 25.0% 90% 10% 106,465

wisconsin 8.3% 42% 58% 397,982

United States 10.0% 25% 75% 25.7 millionSources: U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Census Bureau

Illinois Sen. Jacqueline Collins

0

10%

20%

30%

40%

Food desert

Non-food desert

Poverty rate

Minority population

Population with lessthan high school degree

Unemploym

ent rate

Population receiving public assistance

Demographic characteristics of food deserts vs. other

census tracts (2000)

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture

2 STATELINE MIDWEST November 2012

CSG MidweSt Issue Br Iefs

Five years after Michigan issued its first ballast water permit, a move widely seen as a significant development in Great Lakes protection, some

legislators say the time has come for their home state to revisit and relax its permitting standards.

“We keep hearing that we want Michigan to be a leader on this issue, but if we’re a leader, nobody is following us,” says Republican Sen. Mike Green.

Under Michigan’s current regulatory framework, ocean-going vessels wanting to use one of the state’s 40 commercial ports must secure a permit by doing one of the following: not discharging ballast water, or treating ballast water with technology methods approved by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

No other Great Lakes state has standards as stringent as Michigan’s, Green says, a situation that he compares to expecting protection from a “half-chlorinated pool.”

“It’s not doing any benefit to the Great Lakes; it’s just hampering Michigan jobs,” Green says, noting ships can simply use other states’ ports and, as a result, introduce invasive species that can spread across the basin.

In response, he has introduced SB 1212. The bill would ease the state’s standards by granting a permit to any ocean-going vessel that conducts a

ballast water exchange and undergoes saltwater flushing before entering Michigan waters.

Under existing U.S. and Canadian rules for shippers, all overseas vessels entering the Great Lakes already must conduct saltwater flushing and ballast water exchanges.

Sarah LeSage, the aquatic invasive species coor-dinator for Michigan’s DEQ, says the flushing-and-exchange technique has significant benefits — but by itself does not sufficiently guard against invasions. The DEQ and top state leaders are opposing SB 1212.

Great Lakes“In our opinion, there is too much risk associ-

ated with that single ballast water management practice,” she says.

Since 2007, no ocean-going ship has filed for a permit with Michigan to discharge ballast water. But even before new rules were in place, the state’s ports had little or no traffic from overseas vessels. With a change in permitting standards, though, Green sees potential to expand port activity as the state increases its exports, including crops from his heavily agricultural legislative district.

Others see the change as compromising Great Lakes protection, as well as Michigan’s lead role in this issue area, for little or no economic benefits.

Along with Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the other Great Lakes states with ballast water permitting programs in place; the latter two states’ criteria, though, mirror the standard set by the International Maritime Organization.

This IMO standard is being used by the U.S. Coast Guard as well, and is expected to serve as the basis of a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Vessel General Permit.

“The U.S. Coast Guard and EPA are taking positive steps toward the ultimate goal of water quality protection,” LeSage says. “We still don’t think they go far enough. There is room to develop a limit that protects water quality in the long run.”

Some Michigan lawmakers want to ease ballast water permit rule

Brief written by Tim anderson, who can be reached at [email protected]. csG Midwest provides staffing services to the Great lakes legislative caucus, a nonpartisan group of lawmakers from eight u.s. states and two canadian provinces. Minnesota sen. ann rest serves as caucus chair. More information on the caucus is available at www.greatlakeslegislators.org.

When it comes to promoting energy ef-ficiency, Minnesota ranks highest in the Midwest, thanks in large part to the state’s

strong efficiency standards and the conservation plans that it requires of utilities, according to a national scorecard released in October.

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy uses a broad range of public policies to score all 50 states — from the strength of their public-benefits programs, which levy a fee or surcharge on utility customers in order to invest in a shared energy-policy goal such as efficiency, to the rigor of their building codes.

Ben Foster says the scorecard is designed to provide a snapshot of how and why certain states have emerged as national leaders in energy conservation.

“But it doesn’t tell the longer story, which is that states are making good movement overall in energy efficiency,” adds Foster, the report’s lead author. One example of that movement is the adoption of energy efficiency standards, which are in place in 24 states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Minnesota’s standard for electric utilities began in 2010, requiring annual savings of about 1.5 percent per year. For natural gas utilities, a 0.75 percent reduction is required from 2010 to 2012, with 1.5 percent in annual

savings required beginning in 2013.“Minnesota imports all of its energy, except re-

newables, so most energy dollars leave the state,” says Bill Grant, who heads the state’s Division of Energy Resources. “Anything we can do to keep those dollars circulating in the state is good for the economy.”

Minnesota’s progress is the result of two policies: the Next Generation Energy Act of 2007, which estab-lished the efficiency standards, and the Conservation Improvement Program, which requires utilities to develop conservation plans every three years. These plans have mostly focused on providing incentives to ratepayers — residential, commercial and industrial users — to get energy audits and buy energy-efficient products.

One weakness of Minnesota’s current policies, Grant says, is an opt-out provision for the state’s largest indus-trial customers. Because these customers were exempted from paying for CIP programs, other ratepayers have a greater responsibility for funding the efficiency programs.

According to the report, energy savings from the nation’s customer-funded efficiency programs totaled 18 million megawatt-hours, equivalent to the amount of electricity used by the state of Wyoming in a year. In Minnesota, Grant says, the programs have averted the need to build two or three new power plants.

But to continue such savings, states will have to do more, says Dan York, utilities program director for the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.

Energy

Because some of the easier efficiencies have been reached, he notes, policies may have to be extended to review industrial processes and to provide design assistance for new construction. According to Grant, Minnesota is already offering programs like this. Utilities in Minnesota have also begun to provide reports to customers about how their energy use compares to that of their neighbors.

Other scorecard standouts were Illinois, for being one of two states requiring (through SB 2724) use of the newest International Energy Conservation Code for home building, and Ohio, for promoting the use of combined heat and power (through SB 315, which adds cogeneration to its Energy Efficiency Resource Standard).

Minnesota a regional leader in energy efficiency, report says

Brief written by ilene Grossman, who serves as staff liaison to the Midwestern legislative conference energy committee. she can be reached at [email protected]. The committee’s co-chairs are iowa rep. chuck soderberg and nebraska sen. deb fischer.

Sources of Great Lakes species invasions, 1960-2006

65%11%

11%

7%6%

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Predicting Future Introductions of Nonindigenous Species to the Great Lakes”

(November 2008)

Aquarium release

Other (canals, bait, intentional release)

Unknown

Unintentional release

Shipping/ballast water

45

9

11

17

14 33

12

Midwestern states’ national rankings on energy e�ciency, 2012

Source: American Council for an Energy E�cient Economy

50

46

42 22

Issue Briefs cover topics of interest to the various groups and policy committees of CSG Midwest, including the Midwestern Legislative Conference, Great Lakes Legislative Caucus, Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission and Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee.

3STATELINE MIDWEST November 2012

The 2008 farm bill officially expired on Sept. 30, a congressional inaction that has left plans for 2013 crop production in limbo while

also costing dairy farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars and leaving consumers with the prospect of much higher milk prices starting next year.

It is also a continuing concern for state lawmakers in the Midwest as they prepare for sessions in 2013.

“The strength of the farm economy has buffered the state from much of the [national] recession,” Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Rielly says. “But the lack of a farm bill could throw a wet towel on Iowa’s farm communi-ties, energy companies and rural development efforts.”

Even without a new farm bill, many crucial programs can and will continue through the spring.

However, a safety-net program for dairy farmers has already ended. Its payment amounted to only about 10 cents per gallon of milk, but at a time of drought and high feed and fuel costs, it has been the difference between survival and bankruptcy for many farmers.

Ironically, without a farm bill or an extension by Jan. 1, milk pricing will revert to the 1949 farm bill, which would reset the price of milk to “parity” — the purchasing power of milk in 1914 — thus raising the retail price of milk to more than $6 a gallon.

The failure of the U.S. Congress to pass a new farm bill is not without precedent. However, for the first time, the controversy is not over farm subsidies, but over how deeply to cut food stamps (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP). The nutri-tion provision of the farm bill has provided both domestic and international food aid for decades.

“The legislation is more of a food bill than a farm bill,” North Dakota Republican Rep. Mike Brandenburg notes. “Only 16 percent of the farm bill funding actually goes to farmers.”

The Senate passed its version of the farm bill in June, cutting $4.5 billion from SNAP and an additional $19.1 billion from agriculture programs through consolidation of programs and elimination of direct payments. In July, the House Agriculture Committee also passed a farm bill, cutting $16.5 billion from SNAP and $18.5 billion from agri-culture programs. That is how things still stand. (In a resolution for fiscal year 2013, Congress extended SNAP, so the lack of a new bill does not impact that program.)

Both chambers agree on the elimination of direct payments, which are not tied to production and which began in the 1996 farm bill as a way to transition farmers to a free-market system. These

Agriculture & Natural ResourcesFarm bill expires, raising specter of drastic milk price hikes, uncertainty for 2013 crop year

payments were supposed to be eliminated within seven years, and their end finally seems near.

Though the milk-price reversion will take place in January, the 1949 law for com-modity crops won’t be imple-mented until the first harvest in 2013. And federal crop insurance will continue through at least the spring of 2013 because it arises from different legislation.

Most current commodity pro-grams, in fact, are not in jeopardy. However, either bill would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop new rules and applica-tion processes. The department will

also have to train employees before farmers (and their lenders) begin making next year’s planting decisions.

“The main challenge will be planning for the 2013 crop year,” says Rep. Brandenburg, a farmer. “Uncertainty about the future of crop insurance will impact lending by agriculture bankers. [They] will be leery about providing operating capital when they don’t know what type of safety net will be included in the final bill.”

There are two theories about what will happen next regarding the farm bill: Either a compromise on a new bill is reached by the end of the year, or Congress extends the 2008 bill until the summer of 2013 and starts the process of writing a five-year bill all over again.

Brief written by carolyn Orr, staff liaison to the Midwestern legislative conference agriculture and natural resources committee. she can be reached at [email protected]. The Mlc committee’s co-chairs are north dakota sen. Tim flakoll and Kansas sen. carolyn McGinn.

Brief written by Kate Tormey, staff liaison to the Midwestern legislative conference health and human services committee. she can be reached at [email protected]. The committee’s co-chairs are south dakota sen. Jean hunhoff and illinois sen. Mattie hunter.

Health & Human Services

Six Midwestern states have submitted plans to the federal government that aim to control the costs of caring for a relatively small — but

expensive — population in the Medicaid program.The goal is to better integrate care for so-called “dual

eligibles”: the more than 9 million seniors and people with disabilities who receive benefits under both the federal Medicare and state-federal Medicaid programs.

Dual eligibles account for 15 percent of Medicaid’s beneficiaries, but 38 percent of program spending, ac-cording to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That is largely due to Medicaid paying for long-term-care services.

This population includes some of the poorest and sickest people receiving public health assistance. The average cost of care is about $16,000 per year, compared with about $5,500 for a typical Medicaid enrollee.

This spring, under a program initiated by the fed-eral Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services accepted applications from 26 states to test one of two proposed new funding models: “capitated payment” or “managed fee-for-service.”

Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin have opted to try the capitated-payment model; Iowa chose managed fee-for-service.

Under the capitated-payment system, state and fed-

eral health officials would pay health plans a set “blended” rate to treat patients. In exchange for this monthly fee, the plans would provide each patient with primary, acute, behavioral health and long-term care services — which are now paid for separately by Medicare and Medicaid. The idea is to generate savings by streamlining payment systems and administrative oversight.

Under the fee-for-service model, providers would continue to be paid per service by the federal government for Medicare-eligible charges and by the state for care covered under Medicaid. But states would be responsible for coordinating care for dual eligibles — and therefore must find ways to control costs. States would receive performance bonuses for reducing the federal govern-ment’s share of costs and for meeting quality goals.

CMS is reviewing the state plans to determine which to implement. Preference will be given to plans that improve care coordination, such as relying on elec-tronic medical records and remote monitoring devices; regularly updating patient care plans; fostering closer communication between physicians, specialists and other providers; and keeping family members and caregivers better informed about a patient’s needs and care.

In order to encourage managed-care plans to meet quality and cost-savings goals, states using the capitated-payment model can charge insurers a “withhold amount” that they could earn back each year by meeting certain goals. Illinois and Minnesota would use this type of pay-for-performance system.

In some cases, providers would also be rewarded for holding down costs. The Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin plans all mention sharing bonus payments with health professionals.

Iowa’s managed FFS model would give providers an annual bonus of up to 20 percent for meeting certain quality-improvement goals.

States look for ways to control high cost of care for Medicaid-Medicare ‘dual eligibles’

Nutrition 84%

Crop insurance7%

Commodity 4%

Conservation5%

Spending under current farm bill, FY 2012

Source: U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Wis

cons

in

Sout

h D

akot

a

Ohi

o

Nor

th D

akot

a

Neb

rask

a

Min

neso

ta

Mic

higa

n

Kans

as

Iow

a

Indi

ana

Illin

ois

Dual eligibles as % of total Medicaid enrollees, spending

13%

28%

14%

39%

16%

46%

17%

42%

13%

33%

16%

44%

17%

44%

20%

58%

14%

40%

16%

37%

21%

46%

% of enrollees % of spending

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

4

Around The r egIon

STATELINE MIDWEST November 2012

Drops in three-year recidivism rates in 3 Midwestern states: 2005-2007

Do states truly balance their budgets? New report says most do not

A ll 11 Midwestern states have laws on the books to keep their budgets balanced from year to year.

But very few of them are living up to the intent of these constitutional or statutory requirements, says Sheila A. Weinberg, founder and CEO of the Institute for Truth in Accounting, which earlier this year published its second edition of “The Financial State of the States.”

“As it stands now, most states only include the checks that they write for the current period [bud-get year or biennium] as expenses,” she says. “So there are a lot of costs that are being pushed into the future; 90 percent of the retirement liabilities of states is maintained off their balance sheets.”

The result of this outdated “checkbook account-ing,” she says, is a hidden financial hole that has built up in most states and that current and future taxpayers will have to fill.

Using 2010 financial figures, the institute’s report examines the depth of this hole in each state, and then measures the per-taxpayer burden for paying the state’s unfunded liabilities. In the Midwest, the burdens ranged from $31,600 per taxpayer in Illinois (third-highest in the nation) to $500 in Iowa.

Three of the six U.S. states showing a tax-payer surplus were in the Midwest: North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota. Strong state econo-mies help, but Weinberg says another factor is the budgeting discipline adhered to by the governors and legislatures in these surplus states.

“When they promise employees benefits, they put money aside to fund those benefits,” she says. “They include it in the current budget and then write a check to the pension plan, so they actually fund the benefits as they go along.”

Progress report: With new policies in place, states reduce recidivism

In 2008, more than 28,000 people were released from Ohio’s prisons. Three years later, close to one-third of them had returned. Most came

back because they committed new crimes, others because of violations of their parole.

It is a revolving door in Ohio and states across the country that lawmakers have been aggressively trying to close in order to improve public safety and save taxpayer dollars. These efforts appear to be paying off, according to a report released in September by The Council of State Governments Justice Center.

Ohio is a case in point: Its three-year recidivism rate fell 20 percent between 2000 and 2008 — from 39.0 percent for prisoners released in 2000 to 31.2 percent in 2008.

The CSG Justice Center report highlights Ohio, Michigan, Kansas and four other U.S. states where recidivism rates have been falling. It also explores policies that likely contributed to the positive trend.

In Michigan, when comparing prison releases between 2000 and 2008, the three-year recidivism rate decreased by 28 percent.

Over the past decade, the state has transformed its criminal justice system to reduce the risk of individuals reoffending. Under the Michigan Prisoner Reentry initiative, the state has targeted more resources for individuals at the greatest risk of reoffending, in part by improving its process for assessing the risks and needs of released prisoners.

Through the initiative, the Justice Center notes, Michigan has provided community-based housing for parolees, subsidized employers who hire them, and maintained funding for community-based transition-support services.

In Ohio, new training programs for probation and parole officers have been developed, and evidence-based strategies for improving community corrections have been adopted.

This investment in research-driven, evidence-based programs is cited in the new report as being an essential part of any state strategy to reduce recidi-vism. Other key components include putting more resources into individuals most likely to reoffend and into geographic areas where a disproportionate number of people released from prison or jail reside.

The final part of the four-pronged strategy is effective community supervision, which was at the

center of legislative reforms passed in Kansas in 2007. SB 14 created a performance-based grant program for community corrections agencies.

Prior to passage of the bill, the state had already established a Reentry Policy Council, launched pilot programs focusing on parolees at a high risk of reof-fending, and strengthened community-supervision training and services. Kansas’ three-year recidivism rates fell 14.8 percent between 2005 and 2007.

Additional policy actions will be considered in Kansas when the Legislature convenes in January. As the result of legislation passed earlier this year (HB 2684), a multi-branch team of state legislators and other leaders has been exploring strategies for justice reinvestment: evidence-based options for cutting corrections spending and investing in public safety. CSG Justice Center experts are providing assistance.

The center has also worked to employ reinvest-ment strategies in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Last year, Ohio lawmakers adopted HB 86, which, in part, seeks to improve risk assessments, bolster the supervision of those at a high risk of reoffending, and improve reentry services.

More information on the CSG Justice Center is available at www.justicecenter.csg.org.

Focus on individuals most likely to reoffend — By assessing the risk of an individual com-mitting another crime or violating parole (based on factors such as age, crime committed, attitude, home life and substance abuse), the criminal justice system can allocate its resources more effec-tively, modify intervention strategies and tailor supervision levels.

Invest in research-driven, evidence-based programs — Policymakers should take the role of a good investor: Continually monitor program quality and outcomes. research shows that cognitive behavioral programs often work best; they help individuals learn how thinking patterns ultimately influence actions, including criminal behavior.

Implement effective community supervision policies and practices — States have several policy options at their disposal: enable officers to provide swift and certain sanctions, adopt performance-based incentives, fund skills training for supervising officers, and require that quality risk assessments are used.

Apply place-based strategies — Specific geographic areas have high rates of crime and a disproportionately high number of people released from prison or jail. Devoting more resources to these neighborhoods can pay higher dividends. Michigan, for example, established an Inner-City Neighborhood Project that connects former prisoners to neighborhood-improvement projects and transitional employment.

Framework for reducing recidivism: 4 principles for state policymakers

Kansas

• 2005 prison releases ~ 38.6%


• Change in rate ~ -15%

Michigan

• 2005 prison releases ~40.5%

• 2007 prison releases ~33.2%


OhiO




Source: CSG Justice Center, “The National Summit on Justice Reinvestment and Public Safety: Addressing Recidivism, Crime, and Corrections Spending”

Source: CSG Justice Center, “States Report Reductions in Recidivism”

Requirements that the legislature pass a balanced budget

Constitutional Constitutional and statutory

Source: National Association of State Budget O�cers and CSG Midwest

* In Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, de�cits can be carried over to the next year.

Statutory

No requirement, but state is constitutionally barred from assuming debt

$3,900

Source: Institute for Truth in Accounting

Per-taxpayer burdens/surpluses (#s for surplus states in parentheses)

$31,600

$20,800

$6,000

$5,700

$500

$2,600

($9,500)

($1,400)

($2,400)

$4,600


By retaining the customary residency require-ments for military personnel and students, Kansas became the only state in the Midwest, and one of just a handful nationally, to require federal census data to be adjusted before redistricting begins. (In New York and Maryland, federal census data are adjusted to exclude nonresident prisoners and to reflect the permanent residence of inmates who resided in the state before being incarcerated.)

According to Corey Carnahan, principal analyst with the Kansas Legislative Research Department, the practical effect of the required adjustments in Kansas is a net reduction in the state’s total population for redistricting purposes and a redistribution of that total within the state.

Districts with large college campuses, for example, tend to see their population numbers decline; other areas where college students and military personnel reside permanently when not otherwise away on campus or on military duty tend to see their numbers increase.

Since its inception, the census adjustment has become standard operating procedure in Kansas. Carnahan says that efforts to modify or repeal the requirement have surfaced from time to time, but none has ever been approved by the Legislature.

ar ticle written by Mike Mccabe, director of the csG Midwest Office. he can be reached at [email protected]. Only in the Midwest highlights unique features of state governments in the Midwest. Past articles in this series are available at www.csgmidwest.org.

Q u e s t I o n o F t H e M o N t H

QuestIon: What are states doing to promote urban agriculture?

The Question of the Month section highlights an inquiry received by this office through its Informa-tion Help Line, a research service intended to help lawmakers, legislative staff and state officials from across the region. To request assistance through CSG Midwest’s Information Help Line, call 630.925.1922 or send us an e-mail at [email protected].

According to the u.S. Department of Agriculture, about 15 percent of the world’s food is grown in urban areas.

And there was a time in u.S. history, too, when the country came to rely on local production. During World War II, millions of Americans planted fruit and vegetable “victory gardens” at private residences. these gardens reportedly grew 40 percent of the na-tion’s produce by the war’s end.

today, a mix of factors — food insecurity, the rise in blighted and vacant land in urban areas, and concerns about environmental sustainability, for example — has renewed interest in promoting such activity in this country.

urban agriculture can take many forms, from backyard and community gardening to livestock grazing in open spaces.

A few states outside the Midwest, such as New York and New Jersey, have passed legislation with the explicit aim of facilitating the development of community gar-dens and/or urban farming. Meanwhile, in this region, policymakers are considering urban agriculture as one way to reduce blight in cities with declining popula-tions and more tracts of vacant land.

ohio and Michigan are among the states that have pioneered the use of land banks: enacting new state laws that let local juris-dictions create entities that can accept title to vacant properties and help find a new use for them.

When a land-bank program was begun in the Michigan city of Flint, an urban agriculture coordinator was hired to help find suitable properties.

under ohio’s land-bank law (HB 313, passed in 2010), the first property that the Cuyahoga County Land reutilization Cor-poration transferred became a community garden.

Another policy option for states is “cottage food laws,” which free small-scale producers from some health and food-safety rules. one result of these laws is that urban gardeners are able to directly sell their produce and/or products containing ingredi-ents from their gardens.

Seven of the 11 Midwestern states (all but Kansas, nebraska, north Dakota and Wisconsin) have such laws, according to the website CottageFoodLaws.com.

Most state laws specify the types of foods that can be sold and require specific labeling. Illinois’ SB 840, signed into law in 2011, requires would-be food

operators to receive training and pass a certification exam. opera-tors must then register with the county health department and take periodic refresher courses.

A third option is the creation of statewide food-policy councils. According to the American Plan-ning Association, these councils should be involved in a wide range of objectives, many of which help in the development of urban agriculture — recom-mending policy language on ordinances related to beekeep-ing and backyard chickens, for example, or identifying outdated land-use regulations or restrictive zoning codes.

Illinois and Michigan have established food-policy councils, both states aiming to increase consump-tion of locally grown and processed foods. one of Illinois’ goals is that by 2020, 20 percent of the food products purchased by state agencies must be lo-cally produced.

The Kansas redistricting count: Under unique constitutional provision, census numbers are adjusted prior to drawing maps

Vacant residential units in Midwest, 2000-2010

State# of vacancies,

2010Increase

since 2000

illinois 459,743 56.5%

indiana 293,387 49.7%

iowa 114,841 38.0%

Kansas 121,119 29.8%

Michigan 659,725 47.1%

Minnesota 259,974 52.2%

nebraska 75,663 34.0%

north dakota 36,306 11.6%

Ohio 524,073 55.4%

south dakota 41,156 24.9%

wisconsin 344,590 45.6%

Midwest total 2,930,577 47.9%

United States 14,988,438 43.8%Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Only in the Midwest: The redistricting count in Kansas

When the 2012 session of the Kansas Legislature adjourned last May, lawmak-ers left one important piece of business

unfinished. Their inability to come to closure on the politi-

cally charged issue of redistricting left Kansas alone among the 50 states without a new set of maps go-ing into this year’s congressional and legislative elections, and eventually forced a panel of federal district court judges to finish the job.

T h i s ye ar ’s s t a l e m ate m ay have been unprecedented in the Sunflower State, but Kansas’ redistricting process is unique among Midwestern states in other ways as well.

Like all other states, Kansas relies on U.S. Census Bureau data as a starting point in the decennial process of drawing new district lines.

But the Kansas Constitution requires that the population data provided by the federal government be adjusted before maps are drawn. Under Article 10, Section 1, nonresident military personnel and nonresident students attending Kansas colleges and universities are not counted. In addition, military personnel and students who are residents of the state are counted in the districts of their permanent residence rather than where they are stationed or attending school.

This adjustment to the federal data is a throw-back to an earlier era when Kansas conducted its

own census and relied exclusively on its own data during the redistricting process.

From 1918 through 1979, Kansas counties collected population figures and submitted them to the state Department of Agriculture, which

provided the statewide data used in redistricting. The residency rules used in the “Ag Census” required both the exclusion of nonresidents and the inclusion of residents at the place of their permanent residence.

The residency adjustments built into the Ag Census were actually broader than those that are used

today. In addition to military personnel and students, the Ag Census attempted to account for the permanent residency of prisoners, nursing home residents and others.

Under a constitutional provision approved by voters in 1974, redistricting in Kansas became an end-of-the-decade process beginning in 1979 — the final year the Ag Census was used.

Ten years later, the redistricting process was based on a state census conducted by the secretary of state in 1988. The residency rules used that year were similar to those applied in the old Ag Census, which meant that adjustments were made to reflect the permanent residency of the population.

The current constitutional language, which paved the way for Kansas to begin using federal census data, was approved by voters in 1988 and used for the first time in 1992.


Cover sTory

States support grocers in offering healthier options or moving into underserved areas CoNtINueD FroM PAGe 1

to healthy versus unhealthy fare.Communities made up of mostly African-

American or Latino residents are more likely to have poor food balance scores, the research showed.

Gallagher also studied the impact that reduced access to healthy food had on the well-being of residents living in food deserts. The results were troubling; she found that death rates due to diabetes and cardiovascular disease were more than twice as high in communities with the poorest food balance.

Financing healthier food options

So how can states help improve access to healthy, affordable food?

About a decade ago, policymakers in Pennsylvania were considering that very question.

Rep. Dwight Evans says he started by think-ing about his own community in northwest Philadelphia. He remembers seeing large grocery stores when he was growing up, and he even worked in one of them as a young man. But as Evans drove around his district in the early 2000s, he took note that most of those stores were gone.

What he saw growing, however, was the number of diabetes and dialysis centers — which treat complications from unhealthy lifestyles, including poor diet.

“Obesity has become a real epidemic in the country for a lot of different reasons,” Evans says. “It has forced everyone to take a look at what we’re doing. … The availability of quality food in supermarkets or corner stores is something we can do something about.”

Evans helped shape Pennsylvania’s Fresh Food Financing Initiative, a groundbreaking approach to ending food deserts that has since been replicated all over the country.

The program provides grants and loans to gro-cers who are willing to set up shop — or up-grade existing stores — in underser ved areas throughout the state.

Pennsylvania’s ini-tiative was shaped by the work of a task force, which heard from the grocery industry that the costs of building new stores in the city were high, and that ordinary economic-development initia-tives didn’t address the unique needs of a grocery store, such as training local workers in sorting produce.

The Fresh Food Financing Initiative began in 2006 with a state appropriation of $30 million over three years. But the magic of the program, Evans says, is what happened to that initial investment.

The $30 million was handed over to The Reinvestment Fund, a community development financing institution. TRF leveraged the state’s initial investment and more than tripled it with private funds. The funds were then used to provide loans and grants to eligible recipients to help defray the costs of everything from construction and equipment to

employee recruitment and training.

While the finances were handled by TRF, applica-tions for the program were fielded by The Food Trust, a nonprofit organization that collected data on un-derserved areas of the state.

“The key thing I want to stress is that this was driven by the marketplace,” Evans says. “It was not the state government telling people where supermarkets have to go. Demand drove that. … The marketplace has kicked in, and we have used an entrepreneurial theory to attack a social problem.”

The program has helped finance 88 projects around the state; about two-thirds of the projects were in urban areas, while the remaining third were in rural communities.

The projects have created more than 5,000 new jobs. And while the grocery industry is one that operates on small profit margins, retailers participating in the Fresh Food Fund have a lower rate of closure than average. That’s in part due to a requirement that grant recipients have at least five years’ experience in the grocery business, says Caroline Harries, a senior associate with The Food Trust who managed the organization’s role in the Pennsylvania initiative.

“The presence of a grocery store not only impacts the availability of fruits and vegetables, but it has been shown to help revitalize communities and even bring up housing values — not to mention the significant number of jobs they can bring to a community,” Harries says.

That kind of economic success was Evans’ sec-ond reason for sup-porting the initiative.

W h a t ’s m o r e , program adminis-trators have found that the new facili-ties have played an-other role: serving as gathering places for communities.

“We he ar f rom c om mu n it i e s how amazing it is to have access to food in their neighborhoods,” she says. “And [the new stores] have become focal points of their communities, which is a positive benefit that we hadn’t even planned for.”

The Fresh Food Financing Initiative has now completed its cycle of giving grants to retailers, although it still offers loans to entrepreneurs through a revolving fund.

But the program has continued to have an impact by spurring similar actions in four other states (California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey) and the city of New Orleans. Evans was also instrumental in bringing the program to the attention of the White House; elements of the Fresh

Food Financing program have been implemented as part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to address obesity and in a U.S. Department of the Treasury program called the Healthy Food Financing Initiative.

Some versions of the federal farm bill reau-thorization currently being considered in the U.S. Congress also include efforts to address food deserts through grants and loans for grocers.

And The Food Trust recently convened task forces in eight additional states (including Minnesota) with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Illinois invests in Fresh Food Fund

S en. Collins has been leading the charge to address the food desert issue in her home state of Illinois. Many of her constituents

are included in the more than half a million Chicagoans living in a “food desert,” according to Mari Gallagher’s research.

“We have seen a rise in obesity, and we know that certain communities disproportionately suffer from chronic disease such as diabetes and high blood pressure,” Collins says. “Access to green, fresh foods is instrumental and critical to overall quality of life. Good food is a good investment in our children’s future.”

In 2009, she helped pass the Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act, which focused on improving health and spurring economic development by bringing Illinois-grown produce to residents of the state.

“Eighty percent of Illinois is farmland, but we import 95 percent of our organic produce,” she says. “We have rich farmland, and yet we found ourselves importing food. We wanted to get the farmers in southern Illinois to provide produce for our urban areas.”

About the same time, a state task force was looking for ways to leverage capital dollars for a fresh-food fund similar to Pennsylvania’s — and its members looked to Collins for support in the legislature.

As part of a larger capital bill passed by the legislature in 2009, the state is investing $10 million in capital funding to launch the Fresh Food Fund. The program also has an additional $3.5 million from a mix of private funding and a grant from the U.S. Treasury.

“I am hoping that we can encourage some entrepreneurial minority grocers to consider the idea of returning to the community and hiring from the community,” Collins says. “It is a stabilizing force because if you have owners who reside in the community, there is less chance that they will

Years of potential life lost (YPLL)* and death rates due to chronic disease in Chicago communities

Cancer Cardiovascular disease Diabetes

Food balance score groupings**

YPLLDeath rate per 1,000

populationYPLL

Death rate per 1,000

populationYPLL

Death rate per 1,000

population

Best 204 6.68 185 5.72 25 0.56

Middle 247 7.42 242 7.41 33 1.11

worst 314 9.73 345 11.07 45 1.27* “Years of potential life lost” measures the total number of years of life lost in a population (in this case, people in the city of chicago’s 77 community areas) due to premature death from a certain cause (chronic diseases caused in part by a poor diet, for example).** a community’s food balance score takes into account the distance to a grocer versus the distance to a fast-food restaurant.

Sources: Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Latino

African-American

White

Chain grocers

Smallgrocers

Fastfood

Food access in Chicago neighborhoods by average distance in miles and majority race

.57 miles

.77 miles

.57 miles

.81 miles

.52 miles

.32 miles

.28 miles

.52 miles

.28 miles

Source: Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group

Miles


FeAture sTory

abandon or vacate the area.”The Illinois program began taking applications

in October; recipients will be able to use grants and loans to purchase land, build a new facility, renovate a current business or upgrade equipment. Collins says that she and other policymakers are working to make sure that funds are made available to a range of types of businesses — from large chain stores to smaller, independent grocers.

But, she adds, just adding grocers isn’t enough.“If we put the food there, it doesn’t necessarily

mean that people will purchase it,” she says. “We need a culture shift and education for the constitu-ency about why it’s important for them to eat fresh foods and produce.”

Legislation considered in Midwest

In addition to the efforts now being implemented in Illinois, four other Midwestern states have looked at ways to improve access to healthy,

affordable food.Under a bill passed five years ago in Michigan

(SB 294), grocers can apply to have their property taxes frozen for up to 10 years. To be eligible, the store must serve fresh meats and produce, and it must be located in a rural or underserved area.

Minnesota is among the eight states that have assembled task forces to look at implementing programs similar to Pennsylvania’s groundbreaking Fresh Food Fund.

In 2011, Nebraska legislators considered LB 200, which would have created a “Healthy Food Financing Initiative” to bring fresh foods to under-served rural and urban areas. Under the legislation, the state would have contributed $150,000 annually

to the program, which would have provided grants for new grocery stores, the development of farmers’ markets and other initiatives designed to distribute healthy food to communities in need.

The bill was approved by the legislature but vetoed by Gov. Dave Heineman, who said in his veto message that while he supports efforts to promote access to healthy food, the legislation would duplicate federal programs available for this purpose.

A food desert law was introduced in Ohio in 2010. SB 288 would have provided a 10 percent income-tax credit to retailers serving fresh foods. Qualifying retailers would have to be located in a census tract with below-average density of supermarkets or with a majority of low-income households. The bill did not receive a committee hearing.

Boosting access to healthy foods: Options for statesencouraging grocers and supermarkets to invest in underserved areas is one tactic being used by states around the country to improve access to healthy, affordable food. But policymakers have other options, too.

In a report on food deserts, the u.S. Department of Agriculture suggests some other policy ideas for assisting residents of food deserts, such as:

• providing better access to transportation so residents can reach retailers in other areas;

• adopting policies that require communities and housing programs to take into account ac-cess to food when building new developments;

• addressing education and employment barriers that prevent retailers from investing in underserved areas;

• encouraging smaller stores in food deserts to carry healthier foods;

• promoting local initiatives such as farmers’ markets, community gardens and mobile produce carts that bring fresh produce to underserved areas; and

• emphasizing infrastructure investment in areas of concentrated poverty in order to remove barriers to retail development.

the uSDA has also developed an online tool that allows users to find the loca-t i o n o f f o o d d e s e r t s . to a c c e s s t h e report and the food desert locator, visit www.ers.usda.gov and search for food deserts.

“Access to green, fresh foods is instrumental and critical to overall quality of life. Good food is a good investment in our children’s future.”

Illinois Sen. Jacqueline Collins


StAteLine ProfILe

increasing that amount, but we just haven’t been able to catch up because the boom has come so fast.

Q: What specific type of help is needed in your home district?

A: We need help with infrastructure and the safety of our roads. Our little old county

either leads or is second in the number of traffic deaths on the [state’s] highways. We need to im-prove those statistics. And we need to address the fact that we’re running more trucks on our county roads than run on our interstate; our county roads aren’t built for that kind of traffic.

We need additional assistance for our edu-cational systems, above what other schools get, because of the vast growth. We also have problems with the cost of living out here. To get our state employees here, we need to make special arrange-ments to cover the high cost of living caused by the oil exploration. They can’t afford to work here if they have to pay the kind of rent being charged.

Q: What have been some of the positives of the oil boom?

A: One thing that has been great is that our young people are coming back. We’ve got

great jobs for them, and we’re building housing as fast as we possibly can. It’s a great opportunity.

Q: North Dakota’s economy has been greatly out-performing the nation’s in recent years. How

much has the legislature contributed to this success?

A: We have to acknowledge, of course, that the good Lord put the oil in the ground.

But there are other states that have oil that aren’t in the same economic condition that we’re in. ...

We don’t have the cheapest tax for these [oil and gas] companies, but we’ve been stable with it and don’t have any plans to raise it. The state has also been investing in research on some of the technology, fracking for instance, as well as investing in road improvements, housing and law enforcement. We try to make sure the climate is there for them to do business.

Q: Your state made national news a few months ago with a ballot proposal that would have

completely eliminated the property tax. It was de-feated, but are there plans in the works for property tax reform in 2013?

A: The 2012 referendum went down not because people wanted to pay property taxes, but

because people didn’t want to lose local control. What we’ve done the last few times in the

legislature [to reduce property taxes] is take over more of the school funding, and I think we’ll probably continue that. There is a push now that we’re going to identify the core curriculum [for K-12 schools], and then fund that at 100 percent.

As it stands, we’re funding 70 percent of what schools are taxing — that is 70 percent of everything. But if we identify what core curriculum is, we could then fund that at 100 percent and put the rest of it completely in the hands of local governments.

by Tim Anderson ([email protected])

For three decades, David Drovdal owned and operated a hardware and furniture store in the western North Dakota town of Watford City.

He is also a volunteer firefighter, a former City Council member, a longtime community leader, and a 20-year state legislator.

But when Rep. Drovdal walks down the town’s Main Street these days, he says, “I hardly know a soul.”

Watford City and his entire legislative district have gone through a remarkable transformation over the past decade — the result of an oil boom that has brought people from all over the country to a part of North Dakota that Drovdal describes as “almost a wilderness area” just a few years ago.

“We have had a lot of great opportunities because of the boom, but a lot of challenges as well,” he says.

As a state legislator, Drovdal is one of the key play-ers in helping his district — home to North Dakota’s largest oil-producing county – adapt and survive.

He welcomes the challenge.“I’ve always wanted to be in the middle of

where decisions were being made,” he says. “That’s really how I got involved in politics to begin with.”

First elected in 1992, Drovdal has spent the last two years serving as speaker of the House. He sought the leadership position for the same reasons he became a legislator in the first place — wanting to make a difference, wanting to be where the action is, and wanting to try something new.

“That’s kind of the story of my life: I don’t like to get into a rut,” says Drovdal, who at various times in his life has been an independent bookkeeper, a wheat farmer, a city custodian, and a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician.

For someone who embraces change, his rapidly evolving legislative district seems a good fit. And 2013 will be a year of change for him inside the state Capitol as well.

In North Dakota, the speaker serves a two-year term and then relinquishes the position (see sidebar). So when the legislature reconvenes in January, Drovdal will no longer be the presiding officer of the House, thus allowing him to focus on bills that address some of the many issues facing his district.

Drovdal discussed his priorities for 2013 during a recent interview with CSG Midwest. Here are excerpts.

Q: How much has your legislative distric t changed as the result of the oil boom?

A: We’ve had growth of 300 to 400 percent over just the past few years. Watford City

had 1,500 people in the 2010 census; our post-master says he is now serving over 8,000 people.

Our little town of Arnegard had a population of 100; it now has 300 people with a 1,400-bed man camp north of town, a 1,200-bed man camp south of town, and a 600-bed man camp west of town.

Q: What does the state need to do to help the area deal with all of this population growth?

A: We need to get additional oil and gas revenue back to the counties. We’ve been

Speaker David DrovdalLongtime North Dakota lawmaker has clear agenda for 2013: Help his local oil-boom communities cope with growing pains

In North Dakota, the House speaker is in one biennium, and out the nextFor speakers of the House in North Dakota, the time as presiding officer of the state’s lower chamber is a whirlwind. elected in November and sworn in in December, they begin a new biennial session in January, close the session a few months later, and vacate the speakership position the following year.

“It started as a struggle between the majority leader and speaker, and it’s never gone back,” says rep. David Drovdal, the most recent legisla-tor to hold the position, explaining the unique legislative tradition in North Dakota of having the speaker serve for only two years.

“It takes some authority away from the speaker’s position, but there are still a lot of things for the speaker to do.”

those duties include hiring staff, making committee assignments, assigning bills to committees and managing floor debate.

the position of speaker, too, remains a highly sought-after leadership post. Drovdal’s first two attempts were unsuccessful. the third time was the charm, but even then, he won by a single vote in a process that took six different ballot elections in the House republican caucus. He came to the position with some background in parliamentary procedure, but nothing that fully prepared him for the new job.

“My peers were very understanding; they worked with me,” says Drovdal, though he adds that end-ing the tradition of switching speakers every two years might be best for the legislative process.

“Some more institutional knowledge in the position would certainly help.”

Role of house speakers in Midwest

Presiding o�cer

Speaker is top leadership position in nonpartisan, unicameral legislature

Presiding o�cer and party’s caucus leader


Submissions welcomeThis page is designed to be a forum for legislators and con-stitutional officers. The opinions expressed on this page do not reflect those of The council of state Governments or the Midwestern legislative conference. responses to any firstPerson article are welcome, as are pieces written on other topics. for more information, contact Tim anderson at 630.925.1922 or [email protected].

the millionaire or beneficiary of the Super PAC’s largesse as well as his or her opponents; this was essential to clear constitutional hurdles.)

The whole point of contribution-limit laws is to prevent pay-to-play politics in which one individual, company, industry or union develops undue influence over an elected official, or in which an elected official attempts to shake down campaign contributors in exchange for favors. I had hoped everyone who sup-ports contribution limits would agree to these goals and work together to find realistic language for the law.

However, I repeatedly ran into opposition from good-government groups — especially over the Super PAC limitation law. One opponent was CHANGE Illinois!, with which I had worked to pass the original contribution-limits law. But when I asked this group to propose possible solutions to an obvious problem,

it could not come up with anything realistic. Its best idea was to clearly define independent expenditures and empower the Illinois State Board of Elections to investigate violations; however, like most Illinois government departments, the board is underfunded and understaffed. It simply would not be capable of policing Super PAC spending.

Our new Super PAC law in no way undercuts the purpose of contribution limits: preventing pay-to-play politics. Because they are not allowed to coordinate with candidates, Super PACs cannot put undue pressure on candidates or vice versa.

In the end, Super PACs create an issue that every state legislature is going to have to confront: the role of money spent by nonparticipants to influence elections. I believe Illinois’ approach, particularly through cam-paign disclosure requirements, is the best of a number of extremely limited options. (The Citizens United and Personal PAC rulings have taken a lot of choices off the table.) I hope Illinois can serve as a model for other states in making the best of a bad situation.

illinois sen. don harmon, a democrat from Oak Park, was first elected in 2002. he serves as president pro tempore.

FirSt PersonFirSt PersonA F O R u M F O R L E G I S L A T O R S A N D C O N S T I T u T I O N A L O F F I C E R S

Whether deserved or not, Illinois suffers an unfortunate reputation for public corruption.

Just before I was first elected to the Illinois Senate in 2002, Gov. George Ryan decided not to seek a second term due to the specter of corruption. With the promise of a new administration in Springfield, I had no reason to believe that the Senate would ever be called upon to remove a sitting governor from office.

Nothing could prepare me for the process former Gov. Rod Blagojevich set in motion through his ethical lapses and criminal conduct.

Even before Blagojevich was arrested, it became clear that Illinois campaign finance law permitted a governor who chose to use his office as a fundraising tool to do just that. During the spring 2008 legislative session, I helped pass a bill placing significant limits on campaign contributions from government contractors retained directly by a governor and other statewide officeholders.

As the effective date of the law (known as the “pay-to-play ban”) approached, Blagojevich accelerated his heavy-handed fundraising efforts, resulting in his eventual arrest in December 2008.

In the wake of his subsequent removal from office, the General Assembly enacted a sweeping package of reforms. These included a stronger Freedom of Information Act, a procurement process with greater transparency and more firewalls, and a measure al-lowing law enforcement to go after the personal assets and campaign war chests of elected officials convicted of corruption-related crimes. I was heavily involved in another part of this ethics package: Illinois’ first limits on campaign contributions.

Contribution limits have limited valueContribution limits are, admittedly, of dubious value — and primarily address the appearance of unethical behavior. Such limits do not eliminate public corrup-tion, but they can play an important role in curbing abuses. They make it less likely that candidates will appear to be financially beholden to any one company, group or person.

More importantly, frequent contribution-disclosure reports and almost-immediate disclosure of large contributions give the public and the media a regular opportunity to examine the nature of candidate fundraising. With that in mind, I sponsored Illinois’ first contribution-limit law, Public Act 96-0832, in 2009. I worked closely with several good-government groups, most notably CHANGE Illinois!, to negotiate a package that was both effective and realistic.

Here’s what the legislation did:• Established campaign contribution limits.

Candidates can accept $5,000 from an individual; $10,000 from a business, union or association; and $50,000 from a political committee.

• Established stronger transparency requirements. Illinois already required candidates to report contribu-tions, but now we must file quarterly reports and report contributions of $1,000 or greater much more quickly. Independent expenditures must also be reported.

• Initiated random audits. Three percent of political committees are now randomly audited each year, in addition to audits for cause.

• Limited each candidate to a single political commit-tee that can accept contributions and make expenditures, and limited business, unions, associations and individu-als to a single Political Action Committee (PAC).

Acknowledging that the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment allows people to spend as much of their own money on their own political campaigns as they want, we also included a “Millionaire’s Amendment.” If a candidate spends more than $250,000 of his or her own money on a statewide bid or $100,000 on any other campaign, contribution limits are lifted for all candidates in the race. We wanted to do as much as we could to ensure that no candidate’s voice is drowned out by a wealthy millionaire or billionaire willing to spend freely.

In the 2010 Citizens United case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal ban on independent corporate expenditures was uncon-stitutional. This law initially had no direct effect on Illinois’ laws, because our state never prohibited direct expenditures by corporations.

However, Personal PAC — a pro-choice group that plays a significant role in Illinois politics — sued to over-turn parts of our campaign contribution law. Personal PAC contributes directly to candidates’ campaigns, so it is subject to the limit law. However, the group wanted to start a second PAC that makes only independent expenditures — a Super PAC, as they are commonly known. It further argued that Super PACs should not be subject to contribution limits. A federal court agreed.

The power of money

This ruling essentially means that any individual, business, labor union, etc., can create a Super PAC to make unlimited expenditures on behalf

of its chosen candidates. I believe that these Super PACs can have the same effect as a millionaire who is willing to spend unlimited amounts of his or her own money. They can buy so much advertising and hire so many workers that it could be difficult for other candidates to compete — especially a middle-class candidate bound by contribution limits.

In response, I worked with House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie to pass Public Act 97-0766. It extends the Millionaire’s Amendment to include Super PACs, with spending over the $250,000/$100,000 thresholds causing contribution limits to be lifted for all candidates in a race. (Both this law and the Millionaire’s Amendment apply to

Standing up to Super PACsCitizens United ruling marked a new era in campaign finance, and helped lead to unique new law in Illinoisby Illinois Sen. Don Harmon ([email protected])

The whole point of contribution-limit laws is to prevent campaign contributors from

developing undue influence over an elected official, or an official from attempting to shake

down contributors in return for favors.


The council of state Governments was founded in 1933 as a national, nonpartisan organization to assist and advance state government. The headquarters office, in lexington, Ky., is responsible for a variety of national programs and services, including research, reference publications, innovations transfer, suggested state legislation and interstate consulting services. The Midwestern Office supports several groups of state officials, including the Midwestern legislative conference, an association of all legislators in 11 states: illinois, indiana, iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, nebraska, north dakota, Ohio, south dakota and wisconsin. The canadian provinces of alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and saskatchewan are Mlc affiliate members.

CSG MidweSt news & eVen Ts

The Council of State Governments, through The National Center for Interstate Compacts, is nearing completion of draft language for

an interstate compact on electricity transmission line siting.

The goal of the proposed compact is to improve the process for siting transmission lines. Compact language was drafted by a team of state legislators, federal agency representatives and other key stakeholders. Assistance was provided by staff in CSG’s compact center.

The project is the culmination of more than two years of work, which began with an exploratory advisory phase and concluded with a year-long drafting process.

The compact will be of particular importance considering the country’s need to enhance and secure its energy infrastructure. Too often, national and state interests do not align — and this discord has contributed to an underdeveloped and overstressed transmission system.

An improved process for siting new lines would help meet the growing demand for electricity and bring more renewable fuels to market.

“I believe that this piece of legislation provides a real opportunity for states to actively engage in the process of siting interstate transmission lines,” said Kansas Rep. Tom Sloan, co-chair of the compact drafting team and former chair of CSG’s Energy and Environment Task Force.

“If successful, it has the potential to standard-ize the siting process and reduce many of the inefficiencies that have previously prevented lines from being built.”

The Electric Transmission Line Siting Compact was drafted with the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 in mind. As part of that legislation, the U.S. Congress gave authority “for three or more con-tiguous states to enter into an interstate compact facilitating siting of future electric transmission facilities.”

Under the compact, member states would establish common permit applications, have

predetermined timelines and set uniform public comment periods. Such an agreement, and its requirements, would be triggered on an ad hoc ba-sis and pertain only to those states that are members of the compact and impacted by a proposed transmission line.

“This piece of legisla-tion, which was a member-supported effort, represents a

culmination of two years of hard work by a dedi-cated drafting team,” said Rep. Kim Koppelman, co-chair of the drafting team and past national chair of CSG.

“I am pleased to have co-chaired such an important effort and look forward to assisting my colleagues around the country as they consider the legislation.”

With compact lan-guage nearing comple-t i on , t h e e f for t n ow moves into the education and outreach phase, be-ginning with a legislative briefing held in conjunc-t ion with CSG’s 2012 National Conference.

The Dec. 2 session in Austin, Texas, wil l inform policymakers about the compact and the potential benefits it can offer states. Attendees will hear from policy experts about the need for an interstate agreement, how the language was developed and the specific areas covered by the proposed new compact.

Reps. Sloan and Koppelman will lead the session.

CSG staff is also planning to convene a series of webinars highlighting the importance of the compact. In addition, online resources will be developed to assist state policymakers as they consider the proposed agreement.

ar ticle written by crady deGolian, director of csG’s national center for interstate compac ts. he can be reached at 859.244.8068 or [email protected].

CSG’s compact center completing work on transmission line siting agreement

M illions of U.S. public school students in grades K‒12 are suspended or expelled in an academic school year,

particularly students in middle and high school. But research demonstrates that when students are removed from the classroom as a disciplinary measure, the odds increase dramati-cally that they will repeat a grade, drop out, or become involved in the juvenile justice system.

These negative consequences dispropor-tionately affect children of color as well as students with special needs. Policymakers and practitioners have a growing need to identify strategies for effectively managing students’ behavior and aligning schools’ policies in order to support student success.

In resp onse , The C ounci l of St ate Governments Justice Center is launching a national project that will convene experts in school safety, behavioral health, education, juvenile justice, social services, law enforce-ment and child welfare. Youth, parents, and community partners will also play an active role in the project.

The goal of the 18-month project is to document better ways to match youth to appropriate interventions that can produce academic successes and less-frequent juve-nile justice involvement. The project will culminate in a comprehensive report that will provide implementation guidance on

• minimizing the dependence on suspension and expulsion to manage student behaviors,

• i mprov i ng s t u d e nt s’ a c a d e m i c outcomes,

• reducing their involvement in the juvenile justice system (including alternative strategies to school-based arrests and direct court referrals when appropriate), and

• promoting safe and productive learn-ing environments.

This work builds on a two-year CSG Justice Center collaboration with Texas A&M University to study nearly one million public school stu-dents in Texas over a minimum six-year period. Findings from the “Breaking Schools’ Rules” report describe how suspension and expulsion rates, even among schools with similar student compositions, can vary dramatically.

For more information, contact Blake Norton ([email protected] or 240.482.8584) or visit http://justicecenter.csg.org/resources/juveniles.

Justice project to focus on effective school discipline

North Dakota Rep. Kim Koppelman

Kansas Rep. Tom Sloan

What is an interstate compact?An interstate compact is an agreement between two or more states. It carries the force of statutory law and allows states to carry out a certain action, observe a certain standard or cooperate in a critical policy area. Generally speaking, interstate compacts:

• establish a formal, legal relationship among states to address common prob-lems or promote a common agenda;

• create independent, multi-state gov-ernment authorities (such as commis-sions) that can address issues more effectively than a state agency acting independently, or that can be used when no state has the authority to act unilaterally; or

• establish uniform guidelines, standards and procedures for agencies in the compact’s member states.

there are more than 200 active interstate compacts. For more information about compacts, including a database of all such agreements in the united States, please visit www.csg.org/NCIC.


A s planning begins for the 19th Annual Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development, a bipartisan steering commit-

tee of legislators is seeking sponsors for the 2013 program.

BILLD, the only training program designed exclusively for Midwestern legislators, will be held Aug. 9-12 in Madison, Wis. It is made possible by funding from corporate and foundation sponsors.

The goal of the program is to provide the region’s state legislators with the tools necessary to improve their leadership and policymaking skills.

BILLD offers a range of sponsorship levels. Sponsors are widely recognized during the five-day institute, as well as through a variety of publica-tions. In addition, they are given the opportunity to spend time with BILLD fellows by attending the institute in Madison.

The entire program is overseen by the BILLD Steering Committee, a bipartisan group of state legislators from the region. Each year, the com-mittee selects the class of BILLD fellows — 37 lawmakers representing the 11 Midwestern states and four Canadian provinces.

For more information about becoming a sponsoring partner, visit the CSG Midwest website (www.csgmidwest.org) or contact Laura A. Tomaka ([email protected]/630.925.1922). BILLD is a pro-gram of the Midwestern Legislative Conference, a nonpartisan association of all legislators from 11

C A L E N D A R

uPCOMING MIDWESTERN LEGISLATIvE CONFERENCE AND COuNCIL OF STATE

GOvERNMENTS EvENTS

THE COuNCIL OF STATE GOvERNMENTS 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

november 30-december 3, 2012austin, Texas

800.800.1910contact: Kelley arnold ([email protected])

www.csg.org/events

68TH ANNuAL MEETING OF THE MIDWESTERN LEGISLATIvE

CONFERENCEJuly 14-17, 2013

st. Paul, Minnesota

contact: Gail Meyer ([email protected])630.925.1922

www.csgmidwest.org

19TH ANNuAL BOWHAY INSTITuTE FOR LEGISLATIvE LEADERSHIP DEvELOPMENT (BILLD)

august 9-13, 2013Madison, wisconsin

contact: laura Tomaka ([email protected])630.925.1922

www.csgmidwest.org

THE COuNCIL OF STATE GOvERNMENTS HENRY TOLL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

august 16-21, 2013 lexington, Kentucky

contact: Kelley arnold ([email protected])859.244.8258

www.csg.org/LeadershipCenter

THE COuNCIL OF STATE GOvERNMENTS 2013 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

september 19-22, 2013Kansas city, Missouri

contact: Kelley arnold ([email protected])859.244.8258

www.csg.org/events

69TH ANNuAL MEETING OF THE MIDWESTERN LEGISLATIvE

CONFERENCEJuly 13-16, 2014Omaha, nebraska

contact: Gail Meyer ([email protected])630.925.1922

www.csgmidwest.org

CSG Midwest convenes group of legislative service directors from around the region

Sponsorship opportunities available for region’s premier leadership training program

A lthough legislators may come and go and political winds can shift over time, there are some forces that remain constant in

Midwestern state capitols: legislative service agencies. These bodies conduct research, handle administrative tasks and otherwise keep legisla-tures running smoothly.

CSG Midwest supports a group of legislative service agency leaders and research directors from the region. The group met in late October in Chicago for a two-day conference, where members shared ideas and discussed a number of topics related to nonpartisan legislative institutions.

One of the group’s sessions focused on events taking place this fall across the region and country — orientations for newly elected lawmakers. The agency directors discussed various ways to make these orientations useful to new legislators.

Members of the group also discussed the different ways that LSAs introduce themselves to legislators, raise awareness of their products and services, and remain engaged with lawmakers.

Another session focused on agency efforts to plan for their long-term futures, a challenging task given the short-term focus in most legislatures.

The group also explored the role of technology in legislative service agencies — including current developments and future applications of items such as tablet computers, which are already being

introduced in the Indiana legislature.In a session led by a professor in nonprofit

management, attendees of the October meeting learned about strategies for managing a multi-generational workforce.

The resulting discussion among the members focused on how to motivate, engage and inspire each of the generations in today’s workplace.

For more information about the legislative service agency group, contact Cindy Andrews at [email protected] or 920.393.4423.

CSG Midwest hosted a group of legislative service agency leaders last month in Chicago. Attendees included Gordon Self, senior assistant revisor with the Kansas Revisor of Statute (left), and Jim Fry, director of the South Dakota Legislative Research Council.

Thank you, 2012 BILLD sponsorsSilver SponSorS

american coalition for clean coal electricityJohnson & Johnson

union Pacific foundation ~ united Parcel service

Bronze SponSorSaltria client services ~ american chemistry council

american water company ~ Bayer healthcareBP america ~ Bristol-Myers squibb ~ cargill, inc.

enbridge energy company, inc. ~ ford Motor companyGenentech ~ GlaxosmithKline ~ Golden living

Kraft foods ~ Motorola solutions ~ novartis PhrMa ~ sanofi ~ Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Touchstone energy cooperatives of america ~ us foodswalgreen company

patron SponSorSMonsanto ~ dTe energy

states. CSG provides staffing services to the MLC, which also includes four Canadian provinces as affiliate members.

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CAPitoL CLIPsAcross Midwest, new laws in place to improve concussion awarenessBy year’s end, all 11 Midwestern states will likely have new laws on the books to help protect young people from serious or long-term health problems due to concussions.

The flurry of state activity began in 2011, when eight states in the region passed concus-sion-related bills. legislation was also passed earlier this year in Michigan and Wisconsin.

as of late October, Ohio was the lone state in the region where a bill had not been passed. The Ohio house approved a measure this sum-mer, and key lawmakers in the state senate told The Columbus Dispatch in October they were readying a bill for passage in november.

according to Education Week, all of the new laws in the Midwest require student-athletes suspect-ed of having a concussion to be removed from the game. To return to action, they must first receive medical clearance from a health professional. in Ohio, lawmakers have been trying to decide who should have the authority to clear student-athletes for play — only licensed physicians, or other health care professionals as well.

Most states in the Midwest also now require par-ents to sign a concussion information form. Mich-igan, Minnesota, North Dakota and wisconsin are among the states that now require coaches to undergo training on concussion awareness.

Payday lending bill gets attention of region’s attorneys generala bipartisan group of state attorneys general has joined forces to oppose federal legisla-tion that would curb state authority to regu-late the payday lending industry.

under the legislation (hr 6139), non-bank lenders could obtain a federal charter.

as a result, the attorneys general say, these lenders — whose products include payday loans, check cashing, and car title loans — could sidestep more-stringent state rules. The attorneys general of Illinois and Indiana co-wrote the letter to congressional leaders that voices concerns about hr 6139. it was signed by attorneys general in 36 other states, including Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Over the past decade, several states in the Midwest have adopted new laws to clamp down on the short-term-loan industry due to concerns about high interest rates and con-sumer debt. Most states in the Midwest, for example, now have caps on annual percentage rates, and all limit the amount of a loan. Other state restrictions include limiting the number of payday loans taken out by a single customer and capping the number of times a loan can be rolled over or renewed. according to a 2009 federal reserve report, 13 states, none in the Midwest, ban payday lending.

In Indiana, lottery sales and marketing put in hands of private firmIndiana lottery officials announced in October that they were handing over day-to-day operations of sales and marketing to a private contractor.

This decision to outsource services is designed to boost state revenue from the hoosier lottery, with officials projecting an annual increase of $100 million during the first five years of the integrated services agreement.

Gov. Mitch daniels noted in a press release following the decision that his state’s lottery revenues “lag far behind most states.”

GTech, the company handling sales and marketing for indiana, will receive performance incentives. according to The Wall Street Journal, hoosier lottery officials expect revenue to increase when they begin to sell tickets at grocery stores, big-box stores and discount stores. Illinois was the first state to hand over management of its state lottery. The Chicago Tribune reported in July that in the first year of this new arrangement, the lottery turned a record profit. net revenue, though, was still less than promised.

according to the most recent u.s. census Bureau data, ticket sales from state-administered lotteries in the Midwest range from $2.3 billion in Ohio to $23 million in North Dakota.

New Michigan law seeks to swat away false crime reportingPartly in response to concerns about a new crime known as “swatting,” Michigan legislators have passed a three-bill package that toughens penalties against people who falsely report a crime or medical emergency.

The measures (hB 5431, hB 5432 and hB 5433) were signed into law in October.

under the new law, judges can require individuals who falsely report a crime or medical emergency to reimburse the state or local government. This includes people convicted of “swatting”: using the internet to make false emergency phone calls to 911 centers while hiding their actual location or identity. according to the online news site mlive.com, the fBi has estimated that each swatting incident costs law enforcement $10,000 in resources.

The new Michigan law also stiffens penalties for false reporting of crimes that result in serious injury or death (up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000).

Prior to enactment of the three-bill package, there had been no felony for making a false report of a medical or other emergency. with the change in law, these false reports could now result in a misdemeanor or felony conviction. The felony is for cases in which the false reporting results in injury or death.

Stateline Midwest · 2016-02-02 · 2 stAteLIne MIDWest noveMer 012 CSG MidweSt Issue BrIefs F ive...

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Transcript of Stateline Midwest · 2016-02-02 · 2 stAteLIne MIDWest noveMer 012 CSG MidweSt Issue BrIefs F ive...