States Paying New
Attention to Children
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, January 8, 2007
Governors and legislators return to
work this month with renewed interest in the needs of their youngest citizens,
bringing a slew of ideas on health insurance and education.
Expanding health coverage to all children is emerging as a goal in many states,
even as debate continues over how to provide care to all the uninsured, adults
and youngsters alike.
''This is not only an economic crisis. It's a human crisis and it demands
action now,'' Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, said last week. He
promised to reduce the cost of care for families and businesses, and is pushing
hard to expand the state's health insurance program to cover all children.
Similar expansions are being proposed in Minnesota and California, where
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday called for health care for all
children, including illegal immigrants, as part of a sweeping expansion of
coverage to nearly all the state's 6.5 million uninsured.
Demands for more emphasis on education, already one of the biggest chunks of
state budgets, are getting louder. Courts in Arkansas, Illinois, New
Jersey and many other states have ordered legislators to craft more equitable
funding systems. And parents and educators are pushing for greater early
education, including kindergarten and pre-kindergarten classes.
''This is the year we make an absolutely irrevocable commitment,'' said Indiana
Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican who has vowed to establish statewide, full-day
kindergarten. Minnesota, South Carolina and Washington state are also
looking at statewide early childhood programs.
One reason for the new ideas is that most states are now on solid financial
ground, with the economic downturn of the first years of the decade long past.
Most are seeing healthy revenue and relatively strong financial reserves, though
some analysts are warning that there are worrying signs of weakness ahead.
That financial freedom is spurring new calls for tax cuts, including rebates or
cuts in property taxes in Minnesota, New York and North Dakota; a reduction in
income taxes in Alabama and Nebraska; a cut in taxes on groceries in Arkansas;
and a lowering of gasoline taxes in Indiana.
Ethics reform and campaign finance are expected to be big topics of discussion
from Alaska to New Jersey.
Some states want to ban all meals or gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers, after a
year in which scandals in Washington were one of the biggest factors in the
election.
''These types of perks create an overly schmoozy atmosphere in which the
concerns of the average citizen seem a little remote,'' said Oregon House
Speaker-elect Jeff Merkley, a Democrat. ''We need to assure the citizens
of this state that we are here doing their business for them.''
Illegal immigration is sure to be back, with a slew of get-tough bills in
several states. In Texas, one proposal would bar the babies of illegal
immigrants from receiving state benefits such as food stamps, health care or
public housing. Critics say that undermines the concept of ''birthright
citizenship,'' which grants citizenship to anyone born in the country.
Debates over gay rights are brewing. Legislators say they will pursue
civil unions or gay marriage in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Washington
state. In Arkansas, some hope to reinstate a ban on gay foster parents
that the state Supreme Court overturned last year.
Other big issues bubbling up include alternative energy, identity cards, obesity
and eminent domain.
But just getting the job of legislating done is a worry among lawmakers in
Nebraska, where voter-approved term limits swept out nearly half of the state's
49 senators in the last election, said longtime Sen. DiAnna Schimek.
She said she is not sure whether such a large group of rookies will be able to
tackle the challenges.
''That's the $64 million question,'' said Schimek, an 18-year veteran who lost
her bid for speaker to a 31-year-old senator elected three years ago. ''I
don't feel certain of the answer.''
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