Autoation Nation · Florida Senator Jack Latvala (R) in a letter urging the state’s governor,...

AutomationNation

October/November 2017

R O L L C A L L : M I L I T A R Y V E T E R A N S B Y T H E N U M B E R S P A G E 3 0

LegislatorPay

StudentAthletes

Voting Technology

Ad

“NCSL helped us work on telehealth and community paramedicine.

At the meetings they planned, we heard from key policy experts, engaged

in constructive discussions, and developed legislation that increases access

to care for all Nevadans.”

– ASSEMBLYMAN JAMES OSCARSON, NEVADA (R)

NCSL is policy expertise.

And you are NCSL.Learn more at ncsl.org/members

STATE LEGISLATURES 3 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 VOL. 43 NO. 9 | CONTENTSA National Conference of State Legislatures Publication

Executive DirectorWilliam T. Pound

Director of CommunicationsKaren Hansen

EditorJulie Lays

Assistant EditorKevin Frazzini

Contributing EditorJane Carroll Andrade

Summer InternOlivia Berlin

Online MagazineEd SmithMark Wolf

Advertising Sales ManagerLeAnn Donahue (303) [email protected]

ContributorsJon Jukuri

Art DirectorBruce Holdeman

NCSL President Senator Deb PetersSouth Dakota

NCSL Staff ChairChuck TruesdellFiscal Analyst, Legislative Research CommissionKentucky

Denver Office7700 East First PlaceDenver, Colorado 80230(303) 364-7700

Washington, D.C., Office444 N. Capitol St. N.W., Suite 515Washington, D.C. 20001(202) 624-5400

State Legislatures (ISSN 0147-0641) is published 10 times a year by the National Conference of State Legislatures. ©2017, All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Requests for permission to reprint may be emailed to Julie Lays at: [email protected]. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect NCSL policy. State Legislatures is indexed in the PAIS Bulletin and Expanded Academic Index. Annual subscription rates: U.S.—$49; foreign—$55; teachers—$25 (promo code SLMTEA). Single copy: $6.50. Periodically, NCSL rents mailing labels to other organizations. If you prefer your name not be included please send a written request.

Postmaster: Send address changes to: State Legislatures magazine, 7700 East First Place, Denver, CO 80230.

NCSL’s national magazine of policy and politics

©2

017

BR

UC

E H

OLD

EM

AN

FEATURES

Automation Nation Page 8By Olivia Berlin

Will advances in technology put people out of work or give them

new purpose?

Rebooting the Manufacturing Workforce Page 13By Savannah Gilmore

There are plenty of jobs available, but are there enough skilled

workers to fill them?

The Politically Perilous Pay Problem Page 18By John Mahoney

Legislators in states with independent salary commissions have

seen their pay stay on par with—or even ahead of—inflation.

Protecting Student Athletes Page 24By Michael Ollove

Are states doing enough to protect student athletes from heat

and head injuries?

Aye for Modernizing Voting Page 26By Wendy Underhill and Amanda Buchanan

As lawmakers look for ways to improve elections, they’re looking

at technology—even if they don’t know it.

DEPARTMENTS

NEWSMAKERS PAGE 4What’s happening under the domes

SHORT TAKES PAGE 6Connections, insight and ideas from NCSL

TRENDS PAGE 7The latest on energy-efficiency legislation and raising the tobacco

sales age to 21

STATELINE PAGE 16News in brief from across the

country—from shielding California’s

public lands to making Michigan’s

State Capitol green

ON RECORD PAGE 22Q&A with Doris Kearns Goodwin,

author and historian

“Leadership is more important now

than ever before.”

STATESTATS PAGE 30Roll Call: Veterans by the Numbers

THE FINAL WORD PAGE 31Meet Ohio House Speaker Cliff

Rosenberger

“People are starting to understand

they get a lot more done at the state

level than they ever realized.”

SL ONLINEFind more information and links to

resources on topics covered in these

pages at SL Online.

Go to ncsl.org/magazine

State Legislatures magazine is printed

on recycled paper.

OCTOBER/NOVEMER 2017 4 STATE LEGISLATURES

NEWSMAKERS

“My goal is not to make unnecessary restrictions and regulations that take away from being a drone owner. My goal for this bill is public

safety.” Nebraska Senator Carol Blood (NP) on her

proposal to hold drone owners accountable if they

commit crimes, in the Omaha World-Herald.

BLOOD

California Assembly Republicans unanimously selected Assemblyman Brian Dahle (R) to replace ousted Minority Leader

Chad Mayes (R). Mayes, who came under fire from his GOP

colleagues for voting with Democrats to extend the state’s cap

and trade climate program, was elected minority leader in 2015.

He resisted calls to step down and withstood a challenge a few

days before his colleagues replaced him. He supported Dahle’s

bid for leader and announced his selection on the chamber floor.

“If we’re going to be serious about improving our campaign finance

laws, there have to be real consequences for those

who break them.”Idaho House Minority Leader Mat Erpelding (D),

who is part of a panel considering changes to

the state’s laws, in the Idaho State Journal.

“My contention is we don’t have a revenue or a spending problem, we have a process problem.”

Colorado Representative Dan Thurlow (R), who

supports reforming the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill

of Rights, known as TABOR, which requires

lawmakers to get voter approval before raising

taxes or issuing debt, in The Denver Post.

“You typically have a very short window to get

something done, and you’re almost certainly not an

expert on everything you need to be an expert in.”

Arkansas Representative and NCSL Executive

Committee member Greg Leding (D) on why it’s

important for legislators in term-limited states

like his to attend the policy sessions at NCSL’s

Legislative Summit, on KUAR Radio.

MAYESDAHLE

THURLOW

LEDING

ERPELDING


BEAVERS

NEWSMAKERS

Vernon Ehlers (R) was a rarity in the Michigan Legislature and the U.S. House. A nuclear physicist and college professor, he was the only

research scientist in his home state Legislature and the first ever elected

to Congress. He dedicated his political career to educating his colleagues

on science issues, whether it was climate change, drilling in the Arctic

National Wildlife Refuge, reviewing federal science policy, or improving

education standards in science, technology, engineering and math. A fiscal

conservative, Ehlers often parted with his GOP colleagues on education

and environmental issues. He served in the Legislature from 1983 to 1993,

when he was elected to Congress, where he served until 2011. Ehlers, who

died of complications of Alzheimer’s disease, was 83.

Former Delegate Lacey Putney, Virginia’s longest serving legislator, lay in state in the Capitol rotunda following

his death. He was 89 and had served 52 years in the House.

He started his legislative career as a Democrat but left the

party in 1960 during the civil rights era. He became an

independent but caucused with Republicans.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D) is the longest serving statehouse speaker in modern U.S. history. Madigan was elected to the speakership in

1983 and in August bested the record of former South

Carolina Speaker Solomon Blatt (D), who served 11,893

days. Illinois Senate Republicans, meanwhile, elected Bill

Brady as their new leader.

Tennessee’s House Republican and Democratic leaders—Speaker Beth Harwell (R) and Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh (D)—have thrown their hats into the ring to

replace Governor Bill Haslam (R), whose second term ends

in 2018. They join Senator Mae Beavers (R), who resigned her

seat to focus on her race for the governor’s office.

“We must provide the proper financial resources to those

communities across Florida that have been struggling with this crisis for many years and join together to help end the stigma of addiction.”Florida Senator Jack Latvala (R) in a letter urging the state’s

governor, Rick Scott (R), to allocate another $20 million from

state reserves to the ongoing opioid crisis, in the Miami Herald.

“Our goal was to create reforms that would allow

government to be as efficient as the private

sector would be.”Iowa Representative Steve Holt (R) on a proposal

to require public-sector union members to vote

to recertify their unions every time a new contract

comes up for negotiation, in The Hill.

Georgia Representative Stacey Abrams (D), the former minority leader, resigned her seat in August

to concentrate on her bid for the seat of term-limited

Governor Nathan Deal (R). She will face Representative

Stacey Evans in the Democratic primary in 2018.

Republicans in the race include Lt. Governor Casey Cagle,

Senators Hunter Hill and Michael Williams, and Brian

Kemp, the current secretary of state. Abrams’ seat will be

filled in a November special election.

ABRAMS

LATVALA

FITZHUGH

HARWELL

PUTNEY

MADIGAN BRADY

EHLERS

HOLT


More than 6,900 legislators, legislative staff and others

convened in Boston this summer for NCSL’s largest Legislative Summit in 10 years. Four days were jampacked with sessions on some of the hottest state policies of the day. Lawmakers and staff met colleagues from around the country, received training tailored to them and came home with ideas for their states. If you missed it, visit ncsl.org to view sessions and obtain handouts and other resources. Mark your calendars now for NCSL’s 2018 Legislative Summit in Los Angeles.

SHORT TAKES ON NCSL NEWSSummit 2017 Roundup

NCSL leadership changes every year at the Summit. Presidents alternate each year by party. The new officers, from left, are Staff Vice Chair Jon Heining, general counsel for the Texas’ Legislative Council; Vice President and Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos; President-elect Senator Toi Hutchinson of Illinois; Immediate Past President Senator Dan Blue of North Carolina; President Senator Deb Peters of South Dakota; Immediate Past Staff Chair Raúl E. Burciaga, director of the New Mexico Legislative Council Service; and Staff Chair Chuck Truesdell, fiscal analyst with the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission.

At the business meeting during the Summit, states vote in blocks on the “states’ agenda”—policies that guide NCSL’s Washington, D.C., staff in advocating on behalf of the states before Congress and the administration. To read the policies and for updates on what’s happening in our nation’s capital, visit www.ncsl.org/ncsl-in-dc.

Pollster and political analyst Frank Luntz brought his combative, often in-your-face style to a Summit session on what voters want to hear from their elected officials. People want them to be problem solvers, he said. “They want all of you to work together and they don’t accept partisanship,” he said. The good news: The public overwhelmingly trusts state and local government more than they do Washington.

More than 225 organizations, associations, government agencies, nonprofits, unions and businesses had booths in the exhibit hall to share their messages, products or services with the Summit attendees. Luntz called the NCSL exhibit the best he’s ever seen.

Thousands of legislative staff gathered for their annual luncheon, where they networked with colleagues, renewed acquaintances and

made new connections. Right, staff practiced what they learned from the keynote speaker’s presentation, “Conversations That Sparkle, Inform and

Amaze.” The annual luncheon also honors staff with numerous awards. Seventeen states, chambers and agencies received a 2017 Legislative Staff

Achievement Award recognizing excellence in supporting their legislatures and the institution. NCSL recognized 13 outstanding documents on a variety of topics. Finally, the Alaska Legislature took home the Online

Democracy Award for its dynamic website. The 2017 Summit offered staff a more robust menu of sessions, professional development programs and

networking opportunities than ever before.


If young people continue to smoke at the current rate, about one in 13 Americans who are currently 17 years old or younger will die early

from a smoking-related illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s 5.6 million of today’s young people.

To reduce the use of tobacco among young people, Oregon recently joined California, Hawaii, Maine and New Jersey in raising the age for buying tobacco to 21.

Under Oregon’s bill, sponsored by Representative Rich Vial (R), store clerks face fines ranging from $50 to $1,000 if they sell tobacco products or vapes to anyone under age 21. Keeping tobacco from adults under 21 is about saving lives

and money, Vial told The Oregonian. State residents spend more than $3 billion a year treating their tobacco-related illnesses, he said.

The bill had bipartisan support—and bipartisan opposition. Calling it a case of government overreach, some lawmakers voted against the bill because they said it infringed on citizens’ rights to use a legal product. It’s not the role of government to regulate unhealthy conduct, they argued.

Three-quarters of adults favor raising the minimum tobacco age of sale to 21 years, including 70 percent of smokers, according to a 2015 study in the Journal of Preventive Medicine. Advocates for raising the smoking age to 21, believe stopping, or at least delaying, people from

trying tobacco when they are young may prevent them from becoming addicted later. Nearly nine in 10 cigarette smokers say they started smoking before they were 18, and 99 percent say they were smoking by age 26, according to the CDC.

—Magazine staff

Hey, Kids, Tobacco Can Wait

The cheapest electricity is the electricity you don’t use.

Each year, legislators enact about 100 efficiency-related bills,

and this year was no different. States have a range of energy efficiency

policies to choose from—setting building-efficiency or reporting requirements, creating efficiency targets or incentives, designating sales tax holidays for buying efficient appliances and enacting various financing and funding initiatives. This year, examples can be found across the nation.

Nevada lawmakers enacted five efficiency-related bills this session, including initiatives for low-income customers and annual energy-savings targets for utilities.

Nevada lawmakers also established a Clean Energy Fund, which is similar to a “green” or energy bank. The fund seeks to increase the pace and volume of financing for energy efficiency, renewable energy, demand response and alternatively fueled vehicle projects.

The Virginia Assembly authorized cities to create green development zones in which businesses receive tax incentives if they operate in energy-efficient buildings or

produce environmentally friendly products.In Maryland, newly passed legislation

requires electric utilities to save 2 percent of energy annually through cost-effective energy efficiency, through 2023.

Vermont lawmakers enacted federal appliance and lighting efficiency standards in state statute.

Since efficiency decreases energy sales and, in turn, utilities’ profits, Montana legislators authorized a study of utility decoupling—a separation of utility profits

from total electricity or gas sales, which eliminates the financial disincentive for utilities to invest in efficiency.

To streamline projects and improve quality assurance, lawmakers in Mississippi authorized the state’s Division of Energy to compile a list of prequalified contractors that can guarantee energy savings through efficiency improvement contracts.

The spotlight on energy efficiency shows no sign of burning out anytime soon.

—Jocelyn Durkay

Doing More With Less EnergyTRENDS


EMPLOYMENT

Olivia Berlin is a senior at Colorado College

majoring in creative writing. She was a summer

intern in NCSL’s Communications Division.

Will advances in

technology put

people out of work

or give them new

purpose?

BY OLIVIA BERLIN

AUTOMATION NATION

Welcome to the fourth Indus-trial Revolution. Cars are driv-ing themselves, scanners have replaced clerks and cashiers,

and 3-D printers are spewing out everything from medical models and musical instruments to firearms and high-heeled shoes. Discoveries in artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnol-ogy, genetics and biotechnology are coalescing, resulting in dramatic changes in how we live, play and work.

As these technological innovations plow—or, rather, hoverboard—forward, more and more jobs are being automated. The result is a widespread, and not totally unfounded, fear that these advances will put millions of people out of work.

Automation isn’t inherently a bad thing, of course. Historically, new technology has led to new jobs, greater efficiency, increased pro-ductivity and higher living standards across the country. But some believe this time it’s different. This time it’s happening much more quickly and affecting a wider variety of jobs.

According to a 2016 jobs report by the World Economic Forum, “The accelerating

What’s Driving the Change?The portion of senior executives surveyed who identified these

technological factors as driving change to the workforce.

Mobile Internet, Cloud Technology 34%

Processing Power, Big Data 26%

New Energy Supplies and Technologies 22%

Internet of Things 14%

Sharing Economy, Crowdsourcing 12%

Robotics/Autonomous Transport 9%

Artificial Intelligence 7%

Advanced Manufacturing, 3D Printing 6%

Advanced Materials, Biotechnology 6%

Source: Future of Jobs Survey, World Economic Forum, 2016.


EMPLOYMENT

pace of technological, demographic and socioeconomic disruption is transforming industries and business models, changing the skills that employers need and shorten-ing the shelf-life of employees’ existing skill sets in the process.” Even jobs that are less directly affected by technological change, the report says, may require that workers learn new skills in the coming years.

Which Jobs and Why?In a widely publicized 2013 study, Carl

Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne, from Oxford University, surveyed 702 occupa-tions and found that 47 percent of American workers had jobs with a higher than average risk of being automated in the coming years. In addition to manufacturing jobs, they included service, sales, office, administra-tive and transportation jobs, as well as some construction and financial jobs.

Which Jobs?The probability of certain occupations

being automated, with 0 being not

probable and 1 being certain.

Job ProbabilityRecreational therapists 0.003Dentists 0.004Athletic trainers 0.0071Clergy 0.0081Chemical engineers 0.02Editors 0.06Firefighters 0.17Actors 0.37Health technologists 0.04Economists 0.43Commercial pilots 0.55Machinists 0.65Word processors and typists 0.81Real-estate sales agents 0.86Technical writers 0.89Retail salespeople 0.92Accountants and auditors 0.94Telemarketers 0.99

Source: “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerisation,” by

C. Frey and M. Osborne (2013)

“What determines vulnerability to auto-mation is not so much whether the work concerned is manual or white-collar, but whether or not it is routine,” Frey and Osborne write.

Among the hardest jobs to automate are those requiring high-level STEM (science,

technology, engineering and math) skills, but don’t worry if you’re not a math whiz. Also difficult to automate are jobs that call for creativity or the yet-to-be-replicated “human touch.” These include “caring” professions that rely on meaningful social interactions and an ability to empathize and exhibit emotion. Teachers, clergy, home health aides and social workers all are professionals with a less than 10 per-cent chance of being replaced by machines in the next 20 years, according to the Oxford scholars.

The World Economic Forum agrees. “Overall, social skills—such as persuasion, emotional intelligence and teaching oth-ers—will be in higher demand across indus-tries than narrow technical skills, such as programming or equipment operation and control.”

Re-employment, the New NormalAlthough Frey and Osborne focused on

jobs lost to automation, plenty of others predict that computerization will create a variety of new jobs. In past industrial revolutions, technology has been a “great job-creating machine,” according to a 2015 study by the consulting company Deloitte. This revolution likely will be no different. The most recent wave of automation—the advent of the World Wide Web in the 1990s—transformed the fields of publish-ing, journalism and retail sales, to name a few, but also opened the door for internet giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon, which collectively employ nearly 450,000 people and are worth more than $1 trillion.

Economist James Bessen argues that rather than destroying jobs, automation redefines them in ways that reduce costs and boost demand. There was much con-cern in the 1970s, for example, when banks unveiled ATMs. Bank tellers feared becom-ing a thing of the past. Bessen reminds us, however, that even though the introduc-tion of the machines initially lowered the number of tellers needed, the money the banks saved by hiring fewer tellers eventu-ally allowed them to open more branches, which required more tellers. In the end, the number of tellers actually increased by an average of 2 percent annually between 2000 and 2010.


EMPLOYMENT

How Expenses for Dual Enrollment Are Paid, by State (March 2016)

Source: NCSL, 2017

Top 10 Skills Needed in the Workplace

RI DC PR VI GU MP AS

Generally paid by student Local schools detremine student’s share Shared by state/school district Paid by state/school district Not specified

In 20201. Complex Problem Solving

2. Critical Thinking

3. Creativity

4. People Management

5. Coordinating with Others

6. Emotional Intelligence

7. Judgment and Decision Making

8. Service Orientation

9. Negotiation

10. Cognitive Flexibility

In 20151. Complex Problem Solving

2. Coordinating with Others

3. People Management

4. Critical Thinking

5. Negotiation

6. Quality Control

7. Service Orientation

8. Judgment and Decision Making

9. Active Listening

10. Creativity

Automation will not increase demand for every job, of course. Rather than eliminating jobs completely, automation may just affect part of a job, or shift demand from one job to another. For example, since the 1980s “there are fewer telephone operators, but more receptionists; there are fewer typesetters, but more graphic designers,” Bessen says.

With nearly half of American jobs sus-ceptible to at least partial automation, how can we ensure workers will still have jobs five, 10 or 15 years from now? How do we help workers become more re-employable?

“To prevent a worst-case scenario—tech-nological change accompanied by talent shortages, mass unemployment and grow-ing inequality—reskilling and upskilling of today’s workers will be critical,” the World Economic Forum warns. “It is simply not possible to weather the current technological revolution by waiting for the next genera-tion’s workforce to become better prepared.”

State SolutionsState legislatures are looking at how to

make higher education more accessible to their constituents, since research indicates that in less than five years nearly 70 per-cent of all jobs could require some kind of post-secondary training, a certificate or a degree. In addition, lawmakers are stra-tegically directing job-training programs toward the future needs of local businesses and industries.

Workers understand the importance of education as well. In a 2016 Pew Research Center survey, “The State of American Jobs,” 87 percent of workers said it would be essential for them to get training and

develop new job skills throughout their lives to keep up with changes in the workplace.

With all the research indicating noncog-nitive social skills—“soft” skills, like char-acter, dependability and perseverance—are just as important in the workplace as cog-nitive skills, many colleges and universities are using methods you may remember from grade school, such as group projects and small-group discussions. More and more, in today’s—and tomorrow’s—labor market, a good education will be measured not only by academic test scores, but also by stu-dents’ ability to “play well with others.”

Dual Enrollment, Double DelightOne way to increase access to higher

education is to get students started early. Minnesota lawmakers were the first to enact legislation creating the Post-Second-ary Enrollment Options program in 1985, allowing 11th- and 12th-grade students to enroll in college courses while still attend-ing high school, and to graduate high school with an associate degree. The idea caught on. As of March 2016, 47 states and the District of Columbia had policies on dual enrollment. Alaska, New Hampshire and New York, which don’t have statewide policies, allow educational institutions to decide whether to offer dual-enrollment.

Some programs are more comprehensive than others. “Twenty-one states have com-prehensive policies with few course restric-tions, liberal credit-granting policies and minimal (or no) student fees,” according to a paper issued by the U.S. Department of Education. “Twenty-six states have ‘lim-ited policies,’ which do not provide funding for student tuition and have more restric-tions on credit and student access.”

In addition to dual enrollment, Iowa’s comprehensive Senior Year Plus policy offers part-time concurrent enrollment and

Source: Based on a survey of chief HR officers at some of the world’s leading companies, in The Future

of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum, 2016


Tuition-Free College Legislation

career academies for students in grades nine through 12. In 2011, the General Assembly enacted the STEM Scale-Up initiative to encourage schools to adopt state-endorsed programs such as the one developed by Proj-ect Lead the Way, a nonprofit that offers activities to inspire K-12 students to pursue careers in engineering, computer science or biomedical science.

“These programs have provided additional oppor-tunities for students to be workforce ready in career and technical areas or to give them a head start on college coursework,” says Iowa Sen-ator Amy Sinclair (R), who chairs the Education Com-mittee. “This helps reduce student debt and … furthers the state’s goal of having a skilled workforce available for growing the economy.”

Tuition-Free CollegeThe Tennessee Promise program,

launched in 2014, offers free tuition to recent high school graduates enrolled at any of the state’s 13 community colleges or 27 technical colleges. The state also offers a mentorship program as part of the Promise scholarships to help students in choosing a college, a major and other decisions. Legis-lation called Reconnect, passed this spring, expands the program to include students age 24 and older, making the Volunteer State the

first to offer free tuition to all adults. Both the Promise and Reconnect programs are funded by proceeds from the state lottery.

The programs are part of the Drive to 55 initiative, launched by Governor Bill Haslam (R) in 2013, that aims to get 55 percent of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate by the year 2025. “It’s not just a mission for higher education,” the initiative’s website reads, “but a mission for Tennessee’s future workforce and economic development.”

Tennessee Senator Mark Norris (R), who sponsored the legislation creating the Prom-ise and Reconnect programs, as well as the state’s Labor Education Alignment Pro-gram, believes the efforts will give Tennesseans a compet-itive advantage in the work-force. “Offering a relevant education in today’s economy for tomorrow’s marketplace is essential,” he says. “[We are] making sure our schools are properly incentivized, equipped and funded to grad-uate citizens with the proper attitude, apti-tude and skills necessary to work … in the 21st century.”

EMPLOYMENT

Senator Mark NorrisTennessee

Senator Amy Sinclair Iowa

“These programs have provided additional

opportunities for students to be workforce ready.”

—SENATOR AMY SINCLAIR IOWA

“Offering a relevant education in today’s economy for tomorrow’s marketplace is essential.”

—SENATOR MARK NORRIS, TENNESSEE


Program in place and/or legislation enacted Legislation introduced

Source: NCSL, June 2017


This year, New York became the first state to offer free tuition at two- and four-year public institutions through a fund called the Excelsior Scholarship. More than 940,000 low- and middle-income stu-dents from families making up to $125,000 annually will qualify for tuition-free college so long as they:• Are residents of New York• Attend a SUNY or CUNY two- or four-year degree program• Take 30 credits per calendar year (including January and summer sessions)• Plan to live and work in New York following graduation for the length of time they participate in the scholarship program

Besides New York and Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oregon and Rhode Island also offer statewide tui-tion-free college programs.

Work-Based LearningApprenticeship programs have been

around for nearly a century, giving work-ers an opportunity to “earn and learn,” to get paid a living wage while working alongside accredited professionals to learn their trade. They are traditionally offered in construction-related fields such as electricity, plumbing and carpentry. But apprenticeships are not just for the trades anymore. Nationwide, there are registered apprenticeships for more than 950 occu-pations in child care, telecommunications, hospitality and health care, among other fields.

In 2007, South Carolina began expand-ing its existing apprenticeship programs to include non-traditional occupations. Apprenticeship Carolina now offers close to 900 registered apprenticeships through

all 16 of the state’s technical colleges, tar-geting industries such as manufacturing, energy, health care, information technol-ogy, tourism and services, and transporta-tion, along with construction.

Businesses that employ an apprentice can take an income tax credit of up to $1,000 per apprentice for four years. The apprentice must be employed for at least seven months.

Another game changer is the rise of partnerships in which leaders from busi-ness, labor, education and communi-ty-based organizations work together to develop market-driven employment, train-ing and education services that address the needs of a state’s local industries. Rhode Island has the most extensive program on a per capita basis, according to Bryan Wilson of the National Skills Coalition. The Rhode Island program also provides staff to help job seekers understand the job market, select career paths suited to their objectives and find the skills training needed to help them get a job.

As of July 2017, 35 states offered some kind of work-based learning policy, according to the National Skills Coalition.

Back to the FutureSo, will this wave of automation be the

end of work as we know it? Or will new technologies give rise to millions of jobs we can’t even imagine? Experts’ predictions were split nearly in half, according to a recent story in The Economist. Most tech workers tend to believe the former, while most economists and historians predict the latter. More than likely, we will end up somewhere in between.

Regardless, we must find a way to adapt, as we always have done, to our changing environment. “Disruption can be advanta-geous,” Norris, the Iowa senator, says. “In today’s world of automation and advanced manufacturing, anticipating the needs of business and industry is the name of the game. It requires looking beyond, not at, the horizon.”

As we ride out this fourth wave of auto-mation, state governments will play a cru-cial role in helping their workers and stu-dents succeed. And many states are already well on their way.

EMPLOYMENT

Skills Matter

Jobs that grew the most consistantly between 1980 and 2012 required both high social skills and math skills.

Decreased Stayed the same Increased

Lawyers and Judges

Vocational Councelors

Social Workers

Child-Care WorkersNurse Aids

Police

Dentists

Designers

Registered Nurses

Management Analysts

Physicians

Health Technicians

Accountants

Computer Scientists

Economists

Finacial Managers

Mathmaticians

Bank TellersFood Scientists

Machinists

Accounting ClerksElectricians

Carpenters

Statistical Clerks

Tool and Die Makers

Machine Operators

Welders

Auto mechanics

Janitor

Biological Technicians

Laborers

Truck drivers

Source: David Deming, Harvard University

MATH SKILLS

SOC

IAL

SKIL

LS


EMPLOYMENT

Savannah Gilmore is a research analyst in NCSL’s Fiscal

Affairs Program.

The days of rote assembly line work—when workers simply had to know their machine or their step in the production process—

are long gone, replaced by new technology and automation that have improved the products or the processes used to create them. Such “advanced manufacturing” requires skilled employees who are more adaptable and flexible than in previous years—workers who understand how the entire production process works. They must be familiar with a variety of machines and have the critical thinking and computer skills (some would add math and reading skills) needed to fix the machines or the processes when they fail.

“While some remaining job roles will require less technically skilled workers, ironically, these trends and innovations actually demand more skilled workers,” write the authors of a joint report from

Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute.Are we preparing enough of these skilled

workers? Many feel we aren’t. They argue that

thousands of manufacturing jobs remain open because there are not enough quali-fied workers to fill them. They believe the country’s workforce training has failed to stay ahead of technological advancements, resulting in a lack of workers with the skills needed by manufacturers today and—more

important—tomorrow. “When you have a lot

of jobs but you don’t have the trained workforce to do those jobs, it’s a problem,” says Kentucky Representa-tive Jim DeCesare (R).

Researchers Andrew Weaver, from the Univer-sity of Illinois, and Paul Osterman, from the Massachusetts Insti-tute of Technology, assess the issue a little differently. They studied the manufacturing workforce and found there was a generally modest demand for higher-level skills. Sur-prisingly, three-quarters of manufacturers had plenty of qualified job applicants and no difficulties hiring. They argue that the jobs staying vacant the longest are not the ones requiring advanced computer skills or keen critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities; rather, they are the ones demand-ing higher level math and reading skills.

“This debate frequently gets framed as a pure science, technology, engineering and

Representative Jim DeCesare Kentucky

A Snapshot of Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the nation’s

fourth-largest industry and employs

11.4 million people. Wisconsin,

Indiana and Iowa have the nation’s

most manufacturing workers as a

percentage of total population. But in

sheer numbers, California, Texas and

Ohio, have the most manufacturing

workers. Nearly 28 percent of

manufacturing employees ages 25

and older have at least a bachelor’s

degree. The average worker’s annual

salary is $56,000, which is nearly

$7,000 higher than the average

annual pay across all sectors.

Rebooting the Manufacturing Workforce

There are plenty of jobs

available, but are there

enough skilled workers

to fill them?

BY SAVANNAH GILMORE


EMPLOYMENT

math skills shortage,” Weaver says. “But it turns out reading also is a robust predictor of longer term hiring difficulty. It certainly gives a more nuanced picture of skill chal-lenges in manufacturing, and it really cuts against many of the prevailing narratives about the American workforce.”

Whatever it is that workers will need, for DeCesare it’s all about boosting Kentucky’s manufacturing sector and training workers with the skills needed for the automotive industry. Since 1990, the state’s automo-tive employment has risen by 72 percent compared with a 26 percent decline nation-

wide. The auto industry contributes more than $14 billion to the gross state product and generates $1 of every $14 in state taxes, according to the University of Louisville Urban Studies Institute. The average auto worker’s pay is $58,280 annually.

So significant is car building to Ken-tucky’s economy that lawmakers created the Automotive Caucus in 2016 to encour-age the industry’s growth and address the challenges it may face. In the 2017 legisla-tive session, it tackled ways to be compet-itive with surrounding states when trans-porting metal commodities. The governor, Matt Bevin (R), signed House Bill 184 on March 27, allowing suppliers to haul larger loads on roads throughout the state.

“We’d like to become the hub of engi-neering and manufacturing excellence in America,” says DeCesare, co-chairman of the caucus.

Manufacturing Still Vital, But…Manufacturing plays several important

roles in state economies—as a significant

employer, a major source of goods and a driver of services in other industries. Nevertheless, manufacturing continues to decline. It was the leading employer in 36 states in 1990, but by 2015 it led employment in only seven, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the last decade, manufacturing jobs declined by 1.6 percent; they’re projected to fall by 0.7 percent annually between 2014 and 2024.

Still, over the next decade, nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled, the Deloitte and Manufacturing Institute report estimates. The skills gap, the report says, will result in 2 million of those jobs going unfilled.

Concerned that this could result in a shortage of consumer goods at a time when demand for them is growing, some state legislators have begun to address this potential threat.

Strategic PartnershipsThe Commerce Department’s National

Institute of Standards and Technology rec-

A (Mis)perception Problem

Although technological

advancements have modernized

manufacturing, the public’s general

perception of the industry’s jobs—

repetitive, unskilled tasks performed in

dark, dirty factories—hadn’t changed

much over the years.

So, in 2012, America’s manufacturers

created a public image campaign called

Manufacturing Day, to be celebrated

annually on the first Friday of October.

This year it’s Oct. 6. Through various

events, the program shows people what

modern manufacturing really looks like.

Tours of manufacturing plants show

participants how jobs often require

higher education and advanced skills

and take place in some of “the most

exciting, innovative work environments

anywhere,” according to the campaign’s

website, mfgday.com.

After three years, according to

a Deloitte survey, the campaign

appeared to be working. Eighty-four

percent of students who attended an

event emerged “more convinced that

manufacturing provides careers that are

interesting and rewarding.”


ognized in 1988 that small and midsize man-ufacturers could use help in developing new products, expanding into global markets and adopting new technologies. The insti-tute created the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a network of centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico that acceler-ates the transfer of manufacturing technol-ogy to these businesses. Local MEP centers, as they’re known, must match each federal dollar with nonfederal funds, which typi-cally come from state appropriations and the fees the companies pay for the technical assistance they receive from the centers.

The results have been impressive.Each federal dollar invested in this pub-

lic-private partnership generates $17.90 in new sales for manufacturers and $27 in new client investments, according to eval-uations. This adds up to $2.3 billion in new sales annually. A 2017 study by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research found that $130 million in federal funds invested in the partnerships during fiscal year 2016 generated $1.13 billion in federal personal income taxes.

MEP centers also may work directly with state legislators to strengthen the industry. In August 2017, New Jersey law-makers formed a bipartisan manufacturing caucus to address the shortage of work-ers with mid-level skills needed to fill the

state’s manufacturing jobs. Caucus mem-bers hope to put a bond referendum on the ballot to support vocational schools and plan to turn to the MEP center to ensure that academic institutions are teaching the skills students need for existing manufac-turing jobs.

“The manufacturing extension program in New Jersey can play a critical role in bridging the academic institutions with the manufacturers, so that’s certainly one of the things we’re going to be trying to do,” says New Jersey Sena-tor Bob Gordon (D), chair of the caucus.

Closing Skills GapsFrom economic incentives to workforce

training, state legislatures are always trying to boost employment rates and create more jobs. Some states promote a specific man-ufacturing sector, while others encourage overall manufacturing job growth.

Apprenticeship and job training pro-grams are helping to close skills gaps. Connecticut’s Manufacturing Innovation Fund Apprenticeship Program provides financial assistance to manufacturers that have a registered apprentice program. The program offers several forms of assistance,

including reimbursement of apprentices’ wages, training and credentialing. Massa-chusetts’ Advanced Manufacturing Train-ing Program targets training for unem-ployed and underemployed workers. In Iowa, manufacturers may participate in the Accelerated Career Education program, which helps community colleges to estab-lish or expand programs that train people in the occupations and skills most needed by the state’s businesses.

And this year in Maryland, the General Assembly approved business tax credits for qualifying manufacturers for up to 10 con-secutive years through the More Jobs for Marylanders Act. The law also includes a tax credit for individuals and corporations employing an apprentice for at least seven months.

“We’re hoping that [the law will help] manufacturing plants to get up and running in certain parts of the state where they really, really need them,” says Maryland Senator Katherine Klausmeier (D).

What’s in Store for the Future?As technology advances, so must the

next generation of workers. But, as MIT researchers Weaver and Osterman point out, it’s misleading to say that a low-qual-ity labor supply is the sole reason for jobs going unfulfilled.

What matters more in filling jobs, they say, is creating a strong connection between the institutions that train work-ers and the employers who need them. It’s important, they say, for “community colleges and trade associations to help knit the supply and demand sides of the market together, and get them all on the same page preparing workers for what manufacturing employers need. That way of thinking about the problem is much more constructive than bemoan-ing the quality of the American work-force.”

By working with employers to support apprenticeships and career education, state legislatures can help ensure that future workers are equipped with whatever skills are needed in the ever-changing world of manufacturing.

Senator Katherine KlausmeierMaryland

EMPLOYMENT


Senator Bob Gordon New Jersey

Greater than 7.5% 5.81 – 7.50% 4.35 – 5.80% 2.90 – 4.34% Less than 2.9%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, based on 2014 data.

Where Are the Manufacturers? The Percentage of the Working Age Population

Employed in Manufacturing


STATELINE

4 In a League of Her OwnSenator Judith Zaffirini (D) is the Energizer Bunny of Texas legislators—she

just keeps voting and voting. Zaffirini, first elected to the Senate in 1987,

cast her 60,000th consecutive vote in the chamber in August. But she does

more than just show up for votes. She has sponsored and

passed more bills (1,024) and substantive resolutions

(53) than any legislator in Texas history. This year

alone, she passed 108 bills—a sign of her bipartisan

effectiveness in the Republican-dominated

Legislature.

5The Michi-green CapitolMichigan officials are

enlisting Mother Nature’s

help to keep the temperature

inside their 138-year-old

Capitol just right for making

laws. A new geothermal

heating and cooling system

will be the country’s largest,

as state government

buildings go, The Detroit

News reports. The system

sends fluid through loops

of piping reaching 500 feet

below ground. The fluid is

naturally cooled or heated in the

ground, then used to heat or cool the

building. The system, which cost about $4 million, will save

the state $300,000 annually in heating and cooling costs

and will pay for itself in about 10 years.

2Wolf and Dog ‘Sign’ LawWhen Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) signed Libre’s Law

toughening the state’s penalties for animal cruelty, the law’s

namesake added his “signature” as well. Libre, a now-healthy

rescue dog, put his pawprint on a copy of the bipartisan bill, which

increases penalties for animal abuse and shields vets, humane

society officers and vet technicians from frivolous lawsuits when

reporting animal cruelty, among other protections. The law “brings

us in line with the rest of the country,” Wolf said. More than three-

quarters of states have put real teeth in their animal protection laws

in the last five years, the Animal Legal Defense Fund reports.

1Alaska’s SesquicentennialRussia ceded the territory of Alaska to the United States in the Treaty of

Cession, signed in March 1867. The actual transfer of the territory took place

seven months later, in Sitka on Oct. 18, a date Alaskans celebrate as a state

holiday, Alaska Day. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the transfer, and

the weeklong Alaska Day Festival will include events held across the state,

with most taking place in Sitka. No doubt part of the celebration has to do

with the purchase price of all that territory: about 2 cents per acre.

Managing MedicaidLike many states, Oregon saw a big

increase in Medicaid enrollment under the

Affordable Care Act. And, like many states, it fell

behind in verifying that enrollees were qualified.

After eligibility checks on 115,000 recipients, officials

reported in late August that they’d canceled benefits for

almost half of them because they no longer qualified

or did not respond to information requests. Oregon

will soon create a new office to handle the eligibility

checks. According to Pew’s Stateline, Republican

lawmakers in many states are proposing tougher

and more frequent checks. Some states,

such as Illinois, are hiring private

contractors to conduct the

checks.

3


STATELINE

10Remote Sales-Tax UpdateSouth Dakota officials hope to snatch a U.S. Supreme Court victory from the jaws of

a state high court defeat. The state filed a lawsuit against several remote retailers in

2016 based on a law passed that year requiring certain out-of-state sellers to collect

sales taxes, The Associated Press reports. A state judge sided with

the defendants in March. Officials hope a speedy defeat before

the high court will allow them to appeal to the U.S. Supreme

Court—where they seek their ultimate goal: a reversal of the

court’s 1992 ruling preventing states from collecting taxes

from remote sellers. Alabama, Indiana, Maine and

Wyoming have laws similar to South Dakota’s.

9Test Costs = Enrollment HurdleIt won’t make tuition more affordable, but paying for

low-income students’ college-entrance exams makes

it more likely they will enroll in a four-year school,

Education Week reports. About half the states require

high-schoolers to take the ACT or SAT. A study of

Michigan high school records found that for every 100

needy students who took the ACT in that state, nearly

50 other such students who didn’t take it would have

scored at a college-ready level. The ACT typically costs

$46 per student, though ACT Inc. offers some discounts.

When testing costs were covered, college-enrollment

rates went up by 6 percent for students at schools with

higher poverty rates.

6Making a Good Drug Easy to Get

This summer, Delaware joined at least 40 other states

that make naloxone available to the public, The

(Delaware) News Journal reports. Also known

by the brand name Narcan, naloxone is a nasal

spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid

overdose. Drug-related overdoses in Delaware

killed 308 people last year and at least 121

people so far this year. The new law requires

those buying naloxone at a pharmacy to

undergo a short training before they can

leave with the overdose antidote. The law also

protects pharmacists from legal liability if they sell naloxone

to a person and it doesn’t work.

8Driven to DistractionWashington state officials have a message for drivers: “If you’re

on the road, you’re off the phone,” the director of the Traffic

Safety Commission said. Texting or holding a phone to your ear

while driving is already illegal in the state, but a new law prohibits

drivers from holding any electronic device—phones, tablets, other

gadgets—while behind the wheel, The Associated Press reports. At

least 14 states now have bans on handheld phones. Five others—

Hawaii, Illinois, New Hampshire, Vermont and West Virginia—ban

their use even when the vehicle is stopped in traffic or at a light, as

Washington’s new law does.

7 Tax Highs and LowsAt 10.2 percent, Louisiana has the nation’s highest average sales tax.

The nonpartisan Tax Foundation ranks states based on their combined

state and local sales tax rates. After Louisiana, at the high end of

the ranking, are Tennessee (9.45 percent), Arkansas (9.34 percent),

Washington (9.20 percent) and Alabama (9.03 percent). The bottom

five, with the lowest combined rates, are Alaska (1.76 percent), Hawaii

(4.35 percent), Wyoming (5.26 percent), Wisconsin (5.42 percent) and

Maine (5.5 percent). Five states get by without statewide sales taxes:

Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon.


LEGISLATORS

John Mahoney is a policy associate in NCSL’s

Center for Legislative Strengthening.

Legislators in states

with independent

salary commissions

have seen their pay

stay on par with—or

even ahead of—

inflation.

BY JOHN MAHONEY

Whether it’s debating a long-overdue budget bill, traveling to every corner of a district to raise money for ever-more expensive

campaigns or holding impromptu town hall meetings with constituents in the local library, the job of a state legislator has changed significantly over the past 50 years.

A position that once required legislators to travel to the state capitol for just a few weeks a year before returning to their careers and fam-ilies back home is increasingly becoming full time. Yet, as legislatures have evolved into sig-nificantly more professional, year-round insti-tutions, most legislators’ pay has not kept up.

In fact, when average legislator salaries are adjusted for inflation, pay has dropped about 11 percent since 1970, from $39,200 to $34,750.

The Saga of Sinking Salaries The inability of legislators to garner public

support for initiatives that increase their pay is a perennial problem. Some worry that if salaries fall too low, only the wealthy and the retired will fill our legislative chambers.

“This is a centuries-old dynamic,” says Peverill Squire, political science professor at the University of Missouri and an expert on state legislatures. “Both Democrats and Republicans understand that, for people to run and be elected, they need to be fairly com-

pensated.” Salary increases also encourage a broader range of people to serve, which more accurately reflects the population as a whole, he says.

But the problem remains: It’s just too hard to give yourself a raise when your income comes from taxpayers’ wallets.

“On one hand, we are trying to attract qual-ified legislators, yet at the same time we have a public reluctant to pay their lawmakers,” Squire says.

Cautionary tales from recent years high-

The Politically Perilous Pay Problem

Effects of CommissionsBy analyzing rates of biennial change,

between 1992 and 2017, NCSL found that

the presence of a commission, particularly

one with the authority to set salaries directly,

significantly correlates with higher raises for

legislators.

Commission Type Average Raise Over BienniumNone 3.2%

Advisory 4.6%

Sets pay unless vetoed 8.3%

Sets pay 8.6%

Note: Biennial rate of inflation is 4.6%.

Source: NCSL, 2017


LEGISLATORSLEGISLATORS

light the political risk of raising legislative pay. In Louisiana, in 2009, then-Governor Bobby Jindal (R) initially told lawmak-ers he would support a bill raising their annual salaries from $16,800 (set in 1980) to $37,500.

Angry constituents sent thousands of critical letters and emails to him and law-makers, demanding they kill the bill. The press attacked the action, too. New Orleans Times-Picayune called the increases “greedy and shameless.” The outcry forced Jindal to change course and veto the legislation.

In Pennsylvania, after the Legislature raised salaries 16 percent in 2005, voters ousted 17 incumbents in the next election.

Legislators in Colorado, Iowa and Texas (where legislative salaries have not changed since 1999, 2007 and 1972, respectively) have experienced similar public backlash in attempts to raise their outdated salaries.

What’s the Solution?Such incidents are not new to the Ameri-

can legislature. The pay problem has been a thorn in the side of legislative institutions for as long as they have existed. With an issue as difficult as this, and with voters unlikely to change their views in the foreseeable future, an increasing number of states are looking for objective solutions that remove lawmak-ers from the process yet ensure them fair and adequate compensation.

Nine states have tied legislative sala-ries to economic indices or state employee pay plans. In Alabama, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Rhode Island, legislative pay is automatically adjusted as median household income or the consumer price index rises. In Florida, Montana and Wisconsin, legislative salaries are adjusted as part of a broad state employee pay plan. Indiana ties legislative salaries to those of state judges.

More states, however, have created com-pensation commissions to analyze legisla-tive salaries and make recommendations or changes deemed necessary. Squire says forming such commissions allows legisla-tors to avoid making unpopular decisions regarding their own pay, and aligns with a national effort to make salary decisions “more systematic and less capricious.”

Compensation commissions take a

The Pay IssueSince 1964, 19 states have established compensation commissions,

but they don’t all have the same authority. Another five states

tie salary increases to changes in the rate of inflation.

Source: NCSL, 2017

BY THE NUMBERS

Legislator Compensation

1889Year New

Hampshire’s

salary was set

$100New Hampshire

legislators’

annual pay

$104,118California

legislators’

annual salary

$0New Mexico

legislators’ salary

Source: NCSL

variety of forms and roles. The oldest is Michigan’s State Officers Compensation Commission, established in 1968. As an advisory body (the legislature is under no obligation to act on its recom-mendations), the commission has had mixed success in adjusting legislative pay. In 1968, Michigan lawmakers received an annual salary of $12,500; today, they’re paid $71,685. When inflation is factored in, however, the real value of their salaries has fallen by about 18 percent. The legislature has not acted on the commis-sion’s recommendations since 2004.

Many states have made use of compensation commissions, but mostly on a temporary basis. Of the 19 active commissions, 11 were created between 1968 and 1986, three in the 1990s and five since 2000.

Minnesota RevampsMinnesota is the latest state to give its compensa-

tion commission some teeth. After 18 years of salary stagnation, with legislative pay trailing far behind that of county commissioners and other state offi-cials, Representative Jason Metsa (DFL) and Sena-tor Kent Eken (DFL) co-authored a bill in 2014 to revamp the Legislative Salary Council, which at the time had a strictly advisory role. Metsa and Eken’s measure amended the state constitution to give the council authority to set legislators’ salaries. The bill was signed by the governor in that year, and passed

Senator Kent Eken Minnesota

Representative Jason Metsa Minnesota


Commission sets salary Commission sets salary unless vetoed Commission’s recommendations must be approved by voters Commission is advisory Salary changes tied to indices


by a public vote in November 2016. Tom Stinson, Minnesota’s state econ-

omist from 1987 to 2013, served as the revamped council’s chairman during its inau-gural meetings. The council decided to raise legislators’ pay by 45 percent, increasing their annual salary of $31,140 (set in 1999) to $45,000, effective on July 1 this year.

“I came away from the process think-ing that it worked extremely well,” Stinson says. “You had 16 people—eight Demo-crats and eight Republicans—meet, develop a common set of knowledge and reach a near-unanimous conclusion. The final vote was 13-1, with two abstentions. I think that’s pretty strong.”

House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R) didn’t agree. He directed the House comp-troller to continue paying representatives the old salary and, in a news conference in late July, insisted he would not implement the raises unless directed by a court to do so. He claimed that although the constitutional amendment authorized the council to set legislators’ salary, it didn’t appropriate the money to pay for the bonus.

“It still requires legislators to vote for their own pay increase and unfortunately I can’t ask my members to do that,” Daudt said. “They didn’t support the constitu-tional amendment and I can’t ask them to do that.”

The following day, Daudt was sued by two House colleagues, a Republican and a Democrat, who asked a judge to order Daudt to enact the approved raise and noted that the public vote and the council’s decision were not negotiable.

Daudt then dropped his resistance.“At this point, it’s probably unwise for us

to continue to use taxpayer dollars to get a clarification (from the courts),” he said on a local TV news program. “I am going to instruct our staff to begin paying these sal-aries beginning Aug. 1.”

Daudt took the flak he received from some Republican colleagues in stride. “While none of us maybe wanted this outcome and didn’t certainly ask for it, the independent panel chose this dollar amount,” he said.

Commissions No GuaranteeAlthough salary commissions have been

set up as objective boards, often largely comprising members of the public, they hardly guarantee that raising legislative pay will be easy. Commissions have been dragged into the same turbulent waters as the legislatures that attempted to go it alone.

In Washington state, for example, the recommendations of the Citizens’ Commis-sion on Salaries for Elected Officials have at times faced opposition from inside and out-side the statehouse. In 2011, the commission decided to raise salaries by 12 percent, to put them “in line with national trends and to correlate with the level of professionalism in our Legislature,” says Teri Wright, the commission’s executive director. “And they stand by that decision.”

As commission members expected, some lawmakers were not happy with the decision as they considered it politically dangerous.

“It’s just an incredibly awkward situ-ation,” says Washington Representative Matt Manweller (R). “This is a situation where I did not ask for a raise, I have no control over it. And yet I am going to get beat up for it, regardless.”

Dissatisfied lawmakers made no attempt to block the implementation of the com-mission’s recommendation, but vocal opposition to salary increases continues.

Moving Away From the LegislatureAlthough commissions have existed for

more than 50 years, their use and level of

influence have greatly increased in recent years, and the lessons we’re learning from that growth are valuable ones.

How successful are commissions? Half the 16 states that managed to raise legisla-tive salaries to match inflation in the last five years used commissions, with four of the five biggest percentage pay raises com-ing from commission states as well.

Wright, from Washington’s commis-sion, believes better communication with the public would help the commission’s efforts, which are currently hampered in her state by limited funding, she says. Without proper funding, it is difficult for commis-sioners to gather input from all corners of the state, hindering their ability to come to decisions that are both fair to legislators and supported by the public. “A stronger bud-get would provide the public with a more engaged and versatile commission,” she says.

Beyond money, she suggests that com-missioners:• Receive in-person training before begin-ning the salary-setting process, • Maintain regular contact with one another through the year and between sala-ry-setting meetings and, • Get involved with communities around the state.

We are likely to see more states adopt policies that either tie salaries to economic indices or create commissions with the power to set salaries. “Either way, more attention is certainly being paid to devising solutions that don’t directly involve the leg-islature,” says Squire, the political scientist. “While neither method is necessarily more effective than the other, generally, voters are more comfortable with commissions.”

In states where salaries have stagnated for years, Stinson, with Minnesota’s com-mission, says a dual-method model—with salary changes being determined annually by indices and commissions intervening on an intermittent basis—might be a more sta-ble and politically appealing alternative.

Not matter how states choose to pro-ceed, it’s vital that legislators and the public alike consider how legislative pay not only affects our current hard-working lawmakers, but also determines who can afford to run in the future.

LEGISLATORS

RepresentativeMatt Manweller Washington

RepresentativeKurt Daudt Minnesota


All Over the MapFrom Alaska to Florida, legislators’ jobs vary. And in some states, legislative work has increased significantly while the salaries have not. Here’s a look at legislators’ compensation and allowances for in-session expenses in 2017. For more detail, see this chart online at ncsl.org, or contact

John Mahoney at [email protected] SalaryAlabama $44,765/year

Alaska $50,400/year

Arizona $24,000/year

Arkansas $39,400/yearCalifornia $104,118/yearColorado $30,000/year

Connecticut $28,000/year; $38,689/year for president and speaker.Delaware $45,291/yearFlorida $29,697/yearGeorgia $17,342/yearHawaii $61,380/year; $68,880/year for speaker and president.Idaho $17,017/year; $21,017/year for speaker and pro tem.Illinois $67,836/yearIndiana $25,435.98/yearIowa $25,000/yearKansas $88.66/day (C) Kentucky $188.22/day Louisiana $16,800/year plus $6,000 annual expense allowance (U)Maine $14,271/year for first regular session;

$10,158/year for second regular session.Maryland $47,769/year; $62,044 for president and speaker.Massachusetts $62,547.97/yearMichigan $71,685/yearMinnesota $45,000/yearMississippi $10,000/yearMissouri $35,915/yearMontana $90.64/day (L)Nebraska $12,000/yearNevada $150.71/day if elected in 2017; $146.29/ day for mid-term members. Maximum of 60 days of session.New Hampshire $200/two-year term; $250/two-year term for president and speaker; $3/ day for first 15 days of special session.New Jersey $49,000/year; additional 1/3 ($65,333) for Senate president and Assembly speaker.New Mexico NoneNew York $79,500/yearNorth Carolina $13,951/year; $17,048/year for majority and minority leaders; $21,739/year for deputy and speaker pro tem; $38,151/year for president pro tem and speaker.North Dakota $177/day during sessions (C)Ohio $60,584/yearOklahoma $38,400/yearOregon $24,216/yearPennsylvania $86,478.50/yearRhode Island $15,429.72/year; rate doubled for Senate president and House speaker.South Carolina $10,400/year

South Dakota $6,000/session; $142/day for interim committees.Tennessee $22,667/yearTexas $7,200/yearUtah $273/day (C)Vermont $707.36/week in sessionVirginia $18,000/year for senators; $17,640/year for delegates.Washington 47,776/year; $56,853 for House speaker and Senate majority leader; $52,314 for minority leaders.West Virginia $20,000/yearWisconsin $50,950/year

Wyoming $150/day in session

Per DiemNo per diem. Reimbursed for in-state travel at state employee rate; reimbursement for out-of-district travel must be approved by presiding officer.Up to $247/day (depending on the time of year); tied to federal rate. Members living in Capitol area receive 75 percent of federal rate. $35/day for first 120 days of regular session and for special sessions and $10/day thereafter. Members residing outside Maricopa County receive an additional $25/day for first 120 days of regular session and for special sessions and an additional $10/day thereafter (V).$153/day (V) plus mileage; tied to federal rate.$183/day while in session.Up to 85 percent of federal rate for members living more than 50 miles from Capitol; $45/day for those inside 50-mile radius.No per diem.

No per diem.$152/day while in session. Travel vouchers are filed to substantiate.$173/day (U).$225/day during session for members not living on Oahu; $10/day for members living on Oahu during mandatory five-day recess only.$129/day for members with second residence in Boise; $49/day if no second residence established and up to $25/day travel (V).$111/day during session.$161/day, rising to $175 during months of February-April 2017 (U); tied to federal rate.$166/day (U); $124.50/day for Polk County legislators (U). Tied to federal rate.$142/day.$154/day.$156/day (U); tied to federal rate.

$38/day for lodging or mileage and tolls in lieu of housing plus $32/day for meals.

$45/day for meals; $103/day for lodging.

No per diem.$10,800/year allowance for session and interim (V).$86/day for senators; $66/day for representatives.$142/day (U); tied to federal rate.$113.30/day (U); tied to federal rate. Verification by roll call.$114.39/day (U).$142 for members living 50 miles or more from Capitol; $51 mileage allowance for those inside 50-mile radius.$142/day.

No per diem.

No per diem.

$164/day (V); tied to federal rate.$175/full day (including overnight).$104/day (U). Monthly expense allowance: $559; $666 for majority and minority leaders; $836 for deputy pro tem and speaker pro tem; $1,413 for president pro tem and speaker.

Lodging up to $1,682/month (V).No per diem.$156/day (U); tied to federal rate.$142/day (U); tied to federal rate.$179/day; tied to federal rate.No per diem.

$195.53/day plus mileage during session, verified by roll call; $195.53, plus $35/day and mileage, for each committee meeting on a non-legislative day. Members also receive an in-district allowance of $1,000/month.$142.00/day (U).

$220/day (U) for members living more than 50 miles from Capitol; $59/day inside 50-mile radius.$190/day (U).Up to $100 plus tax/calendar day (V) for lodging; up to $41/day for meals (V).$115/day for lodging or $74/day for meals, mileage.$196/day.

$120/day.

$131/day (U).Up to $115/day (up to $57.50/day for senators living in Dane County). Up to $157/day for Assembly members staying overnight; up to $78.50/day when not staying overnight.$109/day (V), including travel for members living outside Cheyenne.

LEGISLATORS

Notes: (L) = Legislative day; (C) = Calendar day; (V) = Vouchered; (U) = Unvouchered Source: John Mahoney, NCSL, February 2017


ON RECORD

Gene Rose, founder and chief sinergist with the Sinergie Project, interviewed Doris Kearns Goodwin before she spoke at the Legislative Summit in Boston.

Doris Kearns Goodwin is a presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of six books. Five of them are

about presidents: Lincoln, Kennedy, Johnson, Franklin Roosevelt. Her latest is “The Bully Pulpit,” about William Taft and Teddy Roosevelt.

Where did you get the idea for your new book?

I realized that underneath all these fat books that I’ve written over time was really a study of leadership, and that’s what I was most interested in. When I was in graduate school, you used to ask: Are leaders born or are they made? How do they get through adversity? Is it a matter of the man versus the times or the times versus the man? So I figured I’d just take four of my guys, as I like to call them, starting with Lincoln, and then Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin and LBJ domestically, and figure out: How did they become leaders? How many of their leadership traits were inborn? How did they develop into leaders? How did they get through adversity? And then: How did they meet the moment that they were called upon to lead?

It’s really fun, and it turns out I had to learn a lot more than I thought I knew.

Did you come up with the idea for this book before the last presidential election?

I did. Leadership is more important now than ever before, and I’m hoping that it can reach not just people who like history, but people who want to be leaders in any field, because there are lessons to be learned from the people who have been our great leaders.

How do you define leadership?Clearly it has to do with a person’s

ability to influence other people to move in a common direction that hopefully is for the common good, an ability to mobilize the energy and spirit of other people, and have them look to you for direction and guidance. I’m trying to write something called “the making of leaders,” so that it would be applicable to young people in lots of other fields.

Is there a correlation between baseball and leadership?

Obviously, what happens to make a team win is often a team spirit. Somehow, there’s a leader, whether it’s a player or the manager, and sometimes it’s not the teams with the greatest talent individually, but somehow they work together. That’s true in leadership in any level of life.

And there’s going through adversity. As we know from the Boston Red Sox, there’s something about adversity that welds the people in the town together so that when you finally win it’s just glorious. I remember one of the times we lost one of the playoffs to the Yankees, again, of course, before 2004, and as we were all filing out of the park, some old guy stood up and he said, “Year after year after year after year!” And everybody just laughed in this common misery. So it was pretty thrilling to watch the Cubs win last year.

Does it take a crisis for leadership to emerge?

A crisis, whether it’s war or depression, creates an opportunity for a historic leader, but you have to have the right temperament and the right leadership skills to make use of that opportunity.

This is a very polarized country right now. Do you think your research will uncover ways to convince leaders that compromise is a good thing?

Our whole system, created by the Founding Fathers, was built on compromise. I think we have to have nonpartisan district commissioners create districts that are reasonable—that don’t just allow one kind of person or one political party to dominate. One of the things we’re missing today is that many leaders in the ’50s and ’60s, and probably even into the ’70s, had been in war together, had a common mission, whether it was World

Doris Kearns Goodwin, historian, author

“Leadership is more important now than ever before.”


ON RECORD

War II or the Korean War. They knew what it was like to forge compromise and work as a team, and not allow the fact that you’re in one or the other party, or you’re black or you’re white, to make a difference. I sometimes think we need a national service program. If we had such a thing, maybe young people would learn to get away from the polarization that they’re all being brought up in now.

What advice do you have for state legislators who want to restore faith in government?

I think it’s important for political leaders to talk about why they want to be in politics, to remind people that they’ve chosen this as a profession because they believe that politicians can do good things, and they believe in their state legislatures. There’s a lot of experimentation going on in the states. And I think it’s important to talk about the pleasures and the joys of it, and remind themselves why they became a public figure, and letting young people know that, so that they see something other than the kind of vitriol that’s coming out of Washington.

What lessons from history can our elected officials use to navigate the current political landscape in Washington, D.C.?

Remember there were great times when Democrats and Republicans worked together and could produce legislation that they knew their children would be proud they had been involved with. When I think about the Civil Rights law, which

LBJ was able to get through in 1964, there was no way he could do it with Democrats alone because the Southern Democrats would filibuster it. So, he had to reach across the aisle to Republicans, and he says to Everett Dirksen, “You come with me on this bill and schoolchildren will know only two names 200 years from now: Abraham Lincoln and Everett Dirksen. And Dirksen brings 22 Republicans to join the 44 northern Democrats. That sense of bipartisanship is remembered on both sides now as having done something really, critically important. It happened during Reagan’s time when Reagan and Tip O’Neill were friends. The trouble is

when you haven’t seen something for a while, then you lose the desire for it and you think it’s impossible.

Who would you like to sit down and have a conversation with?

It would probably be Lincoln. And I know that if I was supposed to interview him now, I should ask him a question that everybody wants to know: What would you have done differently about Reconstruction had you lived? But instead, I’d ask him to tell me a story because then I know he’d come alive and his whole face would crinkle up and he would laugh louder than even the storied people would imagine, and I’d see him alive.

If there’s somebody else, it would be Winston Churchill. I would love to have studied him. I would have loved to have met him. What a character—living till 90, drinking a lot, smoking, being a public figure, and having that extraordinary verve. So I’ll take Lincoln and Churchill; then I’ll bring FDR along too.

What is your message to state legislators?

They have to provide examples for America right now of parties getting together and passing legislation and dealing with the administration and the enactment of the laws that are coming down, and making people in their own states feel that government is working.

It’s great when, like at the Legislative Summit, there are lots of Republicans and Democrats, and they’re out of their polarized settings and they can talk to each other and share ideas: What made it work here? What did you do there? They can see each other as human beings.

I still love political life. I think we have to project that feeling more, because it’s been denigrated for so long now. I worry that the best people may not want to enter public life as a result. And if we don’t have that, then the democracy is in trouble.

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 are not necessarily those

of NCSL.

Author Doris Kearns Goodwin, left, talks with Gene Rose, former NCSL co-director of communications.


HEALTH CARE

Michael Ollove is a health care staff writer for Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, which published this article on Aug. 30, 2017.

Another school year began with the death of a student athlete. This time, Dominick Bess, a 14-year-old high school football player

from the Bronx, collapsed on the field and died of an apparent cardiac arrest, possibly the result of high heat and humidity.

Nearly 8 million kids participated in high school sports last year, the most in U.S. his-tory. The shocking deaths of young student athletes have prompted some to ask if we are doing enough to keep kids safe as they collide into one another, run wind sprints, or dig in against hard-throwing pitchers.

State Roles and RankingsSome state lawmakers think more can be

done. The California Legislature is consid-ering a bill that would bring athletic train-ers under state regulation. Others, includ-ing Florida and Texas, are strengthening policies on training during high heat and humidity and on the use of defibrillators during sporting events and practices. They are also moving to require schools to devise emergency plans for managing catastrophic sports injuries. And in response to growing concerns about concussions, Texas recently embarked on the largest study ever of brain injuries to young athletes.

But overall, a recent study by the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Con-necticut (which provides research, educa-tion and advocacy on safety measures for athletes and others who engage in strenu-ous physical activity) found that all states could do more to keep high school athletes safe. And some have a long way to go.

The study has prompted a strong pushback, including from the national organization that represents state high school athletic associations. But it also

has encouraged some athletic trainers and sports medicine physicians who hope poor rankings will impel their states to make improvements and avoid exposing student athletes to needless risk.

“I was embarrassed we were last,” says Chris Mathewson, head athletic trainer at Ponderosa High School in Parker, Colo-rado, speaking of his state’s showing in the study’s ranking of state safety efforts. “My hope is it will kick people in the pants and get people to do something about it.”

The rankings by the Korey Stringer Institute are based on whether states have adopted more than three dozen policies or laws derived from recommendations pub-lished in 2013 by a task force that included representatives from the institute, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and the American College of Sports Med-icine. The recommendations cover such areas as prevention of heat stroke, cardiac arrest and head trauma, as well as qualifi-cations of school athletic trainers and edu-cating coaches in safe practices.

Some state athletic associations, includ-ing Colorado’s, and the National Feder-ation of State High School Associations, which represents the associations that gov-ern high school extra-curricular activities, have objected to the methodology of those rankings. They say it relies too much on information found on the websites of state athletic associations while failing to note efforts those groups have undertaken to

reduce risks to high school athletes.“By ‘grading,’ state high school associa-

tions based on a limited number of criteria, the Stringer Institute has chosen to shine a light on certain areas, but it has left others in the dark,” says Bob Gardner, the execu-tive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations. He points to steps his group and its members have taken related to safe exertion in heat and humidity, use of defibrillators and tracking head injuries, which Stringer didn’t take into account.

In Colorado, Rhonda Blanford-Green, commissioner of the state’s High School Activities Association, says officials are “comfortable and confident that our [policies] meet or exceed standards for student safety.”

She complained that Stringer’s method-ology is too rigid. She noted, for example, that Stringer penalized states that did not require that all football coaches receive safety training taught by USA Football, the governing body for amateur football. But, she says, Colorado coaches are trained in other programs that she described as more comprehensive.

She also noted that her association was penalized because it made policy recom-mendations to its high school members, rather than making them requirements, as Stringer prefers.

The scholastic association in California, which finished just ahead of Colorado, also objected to the survey. Its executive direc-tor, Roger Blake, suggested that funding was a chief barrier to progress.

California Interscholastic Federation “member schools will need more funding, more AEDs [automated external defibril-lators], more athletic trainers and more research to help support our efforts to min-imizing risk,” Blake says. “With the assis-tance of everyone who cares about young athletes, including [Stringer], we can con-tinue to progress.”

Protecting Student AthletesAre states doing enough to keep student athletes safe from heat and head injuries?

BY MICHAEL OLLOVE


HEALTH CARE

High School DeathsBetween 1982 and 2015, 735 high school

students died as a result of their partici-pation in school sports, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina. The vast majority of those deaths were related to football, and three-quarters of the overall deaths were attributed to cardiac arrest, respiratory failure or other ailments associated with physical exertion. The rest were linked to trauma, such as head injuries.

More of those deaths occurred in the 15 years prior to the year 2000 rather than the 15 years after— likely a reflection of the fact that most of the policies and laws pertaining to safety in high school sports were put in place after 2000, particularly in the last nine years.

In 2014-15, the last school year for which there are statistics, 22 high school athletes died, 14 of them football players.

Some of the reforms carry the names of student athletes who died while participat-ing in school sports. That was true in North Carolina after the 2008 death of Matthew Gfeller, a 15-year-old sophomore linebacker who died in the fourth quarter of his first varsity game in Winston-Salem after collid-ing helmet-to-helmet with another player.

Now a foundation and a brain injury research institute at the University of North Carolina are named after Matthew. His name and that of another North Carolina high school football player, Jaquan Waller, who died the same year as a result of on-field head injuries, are attached to a 2011 North Carolina law that specifies concussion educa-tion for coaches and concussion protocols to be followed in high school athletics.

“Was the information out there in ’08?” says Matthew’s father Robert, who created the foundation. “No, but it’s out there now, big time.”

Despite the progress, the Stringer rank-ings demonstrate the distance many athletic trainers and doctors believe states still need to go to protect student athletes.

For instance, although North Carolina finished No. 1 in the Stringer rankings, it has adopted only 79 percent of the laws or policies used in the rankings. In particular, Stringer found the state hadn’t done enough to make certain that defibrillators—and people trained to use them—were present at sporting events.

A Sense of UrgencyMany athletic trainers, such as Jason

Bennett, president of the California Ath-letic Trainers’ Association, say the rankings should create urgency in his state and others. “This is life and death,” Bennett says. “The sad thing is that in many of these cases, the deaths were 100 percent preventable.”

California fared particularly poorly because it is the only state that does not regu-late athletic trainers.

“Sometimes it’s the school’s janitor or maybe a friend of the coach,” says California Assemblyman Matt Dababneh (D), who introduced a bill that would create state licensure for athletic trainers. “These are peo-ple who are making decisions about whether a kid who has just been hit in the head can safely go back into a game. And they have no qualifications to make that decision.”

The bill would not require all schools to employ an athletic trainer, although that’s exactly what many athletic trainers and sports medicine doctors say would best ensure the safety of student athletes.

“The No. 1 thing we can do to make high school and youth sports safer is to have ath-letic trainers at any sporting event,” says Michael Seth Smith, co-medical director of a sports medicine program at the University of Florida focused on sports medicine for ado-lescents and high school students.

A survey from Stringer and others pub-lished this year found that fewer than 40 per-cent of public secondary schools in the U.S. had a full-time athletic trainer.

Mathewson, the athletic trainer in Colo-rado, says he has little sympathy for smaller schools who say they can’t afford athletic trainers. “If you can afford to put a foot-ball team on the field, you should be able to afford an athletic trainer.”

In a number of places, including in Flor-ida and North Carolina, hospitals subsidize athletic trainers working in public schools, some in the expectation that after a year or two, the school district will pick up the costs.

Aside from the salary of an athletic trainer, schools could adopt most of the best practices at an initial cost of $5,000 and an outlay of less than $2,500 a year thereafter, according to Stringer CEO Doug Casa.

Assemblyman Matt Dababneh California

2017 High School Sports Safety Policy Rankings

Rank State Score, %

1 North Carolina 78.75

2 Kentucky 71.13

3 Massachusetts 67.40

4 New Jersey 67.03

5 South Dakota 60.58

6 Missouri 60.00

6 Washington 60.00

8 Hawaii 59.13

8 Wisconsin 59.13

10 Georgia 56.98

11 Arkansas 56.03

12 New York 55.75

13 Mississippi 55.25

14 West Virginia 54.33

15 Oregon 53.59

16 Illinois 53.38

17 Tennessee 52.73

18 Arizona 52.00

19 Texas 50.80

20 District of Columbia 50.55

21 Virginia 49.40

22 Pennsylvania 49.00

23 Florida 48.25

24 New Mexico 48.08

25 Alabama 47.20

26 Maine 47.10

27 Rhode Island 46.73

28 Indiana 46.00

29 Nevada 45.00

30 Utah 44.00

31 Ohio 43.93

32 Delaware 43.73

33 Alaska 43.40

34 Vermont 42.38

35 Louisiana 41.00

36 Maryland 40.63

37 Oklahoma 40.50

38 Connecticut 40.01

39 Idaho 40.00

40 South Carolina 39.80

41 Michigan 38.73

42 North Dakota 38.00

43 Nebraska 37.75

44 New Hampshire 36.00

45 Kansas 35.75

46 Wyoming 35.00

47 Minnesota 33.35

48 Montana 33.25

49 Iowa 33.00

50 California 26.00

51 Colorado 23.00


ELECTIONS

Aye for Modernizing VotingAs

lawmakers look for ways to

improve elections, they’re looking at technology—even

if they don’t know it.

BY

WENDY UNDERHILL

AND

AMANDA BUCHANAN


ELECTIONS

Wendy Underhill is NCSL’s elections expert; Amanda

Buchanan worked with Wendy as a summer intern.

The election of 2016 was the best one to date—administratively speaking. Lines were shorter than in 2012, machine malfunctions

were few and far between, no one ran out of ballots, and results in key races weren’t delayed for days.

Despite these successes, talk of mod-ernizing voting systems continues and concerns about cyberattacks persist. At least half the states are, or soon will be, undertaking the complex process of pro-curing new election technology to replace the aging equipment that has been used for years to cast and tabulate votes.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle want to improve how Americans vote, from ensuring that only eligible voters are on the rolls to making sure hackers can’t break in. They also want to make it easier to cast bal-lots and transfer records from motor vehicle agencies to voter rolls.

And all of this involves technology.Whatever policy goals lawmakers have

for improving elections will require the right technology, in terms of costs, conve-nience, accuracy and security.

The Goal: Cleaning Up Voter RollsThe concept is simple: Ensure that only

eligible voters are listed on voter registra-tion rolls. But reaching that goal isn’t so simple. For one thing, the National Voter Registration Act prohibits voters from being removed from the rolls without their permission, unless reliable information shows they have moved or died. Even with reliable information, federal law dictates how and when voters can be removed.

Automation, however, is making it eas-ier for state officials to find inconsistencies and inaccuracies in data when searching prison files, health records, death notices and jury records. Interstate compacts, such as the Electronic Registration Information Center or the Interstate Crosscheck (run through the Kansas secretary of state’s office), allow voter records to be checked against records in other states, and against a host of other lists.

“Having a clean and accurate registra-

tion list is very important and serves to ensure that we aren’t unnecessarily reg-istering individuals,” says Wisconsin Representative Kathy Bernier (R), chair of the Assembly committee on elections. In Wisconsin, officials send electors a post-card verifying election registration data that comes from the ERIC system to cross-check for potential multiple registrations.

The Goal: Streamlining “Motor Voter” Operations

When Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act in 1993, the internet was in its infancy and email was a novelty. Called the “motor voter” law, this federal mandate requires local motor vehicle agen-cies, in all but six states, to provide oppor-tunities for voters to register, which, when it passed, meant offering paper applications.

Many states are going above and beyond the letter of the law today by automating the transfer of data between motor vehicle and voter registration agencies. How they go about it comes in two flavors: opt in and opt out.

The opt-in model was pioneered by the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. Those who come in to the DMV are asked, “Would you like to register to vote?” If the answer is “yes,” the office automatically transmits the person’s data to the voter reg-istration agency. Those who decline must sign a declination form on the signature pad. Registered voters may also change their political party at the DMV. The pro-cess is easy one-stop shopping for the voter and far less work for the staff.

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illi-nois, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Vir-ginia and the District of Columbia have recently adopted the opt-in version.

Oregon took the other route, becoming the first opt-out state. There, a person who goes to the DMV and provides all the key information is automatically registered to vote. If they don’t want to be registered, or they want to select a political party, they must fill out a postcard and return it to the secretary of state.

Some people question whether it is right

to register people without their permission. After the governor vetoed a mea-sure to make Nevada an opt-out state, Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson (D) said, “Voting is a right, not a privilege and we should make it easy for Nevadans to hold their own govern-ment accountable.”

Whether it’s opt in or opt out, technol-ogy, programming and coordination are needed to make it all work. States that have made the shift to automating registration have saved money in reduced processing costs and time spent on provisional ballots.

There are other ways to expand auto-mated registrations. In 34 states (soon to be 38), citizens can register to vote online. Adopting online voter registration (usu-ally) takes legislative action, then program-ming to create the web-based application and, finally, citizen outreach. Getting online voter registration up and running costs states, on average, roughly $250,000.

The Goal: Ensuring Voters Are Who They Say They Are

Whether people should have to show an ID before being allowed to vote is contro-versial. Texas knows this well. Its voter ID law has been in and out of court since 2011. Most recently, a divided federal appeals court stayed a lower judge’s ruling that barred a revised version of Texas’ voter identification law from being implemented because it targeted minority voters, the judge ruled. The latest appeals court rul-ing allows the state to use the revised law beginning next year.

Iowa’s new voter ID law, passed this May, requires an education campaign and a “soft roll-out,” which will allow voters with-out a valid ID to sign a doc-ument attesting to who they are in elections next year.

Iowa Representative Ken Rizer (R) argued that “if you have to show an ID to board a plane, cash a check, get welfare benefits, buy Sudafed, then it makes sense that you ought to show an

Representative Kathy Bernier Wisconsin

Representative Ken RizerIowa

Speaker Jason Frierson Nevada


ID in order to protect one of our most pre-cious constitutional rights.”

Iowa’s new law also requires election officials to send a free voter ID card to every registered voter who does not have a driver’s license or one of three other valid IDs issued by the state.

Currently, 32 states require voters to show some kind of identification. Arkansas, Iowa and North Dakota enacted laws this year that either tightened existing require-ments or added new ones where there weren’t any before. Voter ID is the classic example of the “access versus integrity” debate. It requires making a choice between fighting fraud or widening the voting pool. But, technology may soon end the debate.

First, polling places can be equipped with card readers that are attached to elec-tronic poll books so driver’s licenses can be swiped, bringing up the voter’s name on the check-in screen in the blink of an eye.

Second, polling-place cameras may prove to be game changers. If a voter doesn’t have a photo ID, a picture can be easily taken and copied to the electronic record.

Third, the use of iris scans or finger-prints to identify us may be in our voting future. In 2015, the New Mexico Senate passed a memorial bill requesting a study of biometric identification methods. This year, Oklahoma introduced a bill to use fingerprint technology.

The Goal: Reducing the Difficulties of Finding Poll Workers and Polling Places

Ask any election administrator what his or her biggest headache is, and the answer will be finding poll workers and polling places. One policy solution is to create vote centers where citizens throughout a juris-diction can go to cast their ballots instead of having just one polling place for each neighborhood. This tweak to Election Day is quietly spreading. In some way, shape or form, 23 states use vote centers, with Indi-ana and Texas being the leaders.

Although vote centers solve the prob-lems of finding enough buildings to host voting and rounding up enough poll work-ers to staff them, a question remains: Can administrators ensure that citizens vote only once and not at other voting loca-

tions? Technology is making that possible. Vote centers rely on electronic poll

books, basically computer files, to look up voters, rather than traditional paper rolls. “E-poll books can also perform a variety of additional functions that paper rolls can-not, such as ballot production, same-day registration and verification of ballot totals after polls close,” according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The Goal: Increasing Voter Participation in All-Mail Elections

Here’s another super-hot elections topic. Colorado, Oregon and Washington already mail ballots to every registered voter, and California will permit counties to do so in 2018. Utah counties already have that choice, and Hawaii has been on the brink of passing legislation for years.

“Throughout this time, we’ve been watching the elections-by-mail experience of our sis-ter states in the West,” says Hawaii Senator Gilbert Keith-Agaran (D). “I think more policymakers and stakeholders interested in having a fair and efficient election system are becom-ing comfortable with con-

ducting an entire election by mail.”All-mail elections are convenient for the

voter and cheaper for the government. But are they secure? MIT researcher Charles Stewart III has studied the issue and says that all-mail elections leave more votes uncounted than polling place elections. If a voter makes an error, for example, and votes for two candidates where only one vote can count, no vote is counted. If that happens in a polling place, the equipment will catch the error and give the voter a sec-ond chance.

Many believe the increased convenience is worth the trade-off. To make an all-mail election model work, a state needs paper ballots printed in large quantities and high-volume scanners to read them at a central location. In fact, elections oper-ations in cities such as Denver; Portland, Oregon; or Spokane, Washington, resem-ble retail fulfillment centers more than polling places, what with all the conveyor belts, color-coded trays, assembly lines and clacking noise.

Since existing equipment will likely not support the changes needed to conduct an all-mail election, a good time to consider going to an all-mail way of voting is before your state commits to replacing aging equipment.

ELECTIONS

Senator Gilbert Keith-Agaran Hawaii


ELECTIONS

The Goal: Providing Secure, Independent Voting for Those With Disabilities

As states consider replacing voting equipment, many are following the “back to the future” approach and opting for paper ballots and scanners. The chief rea-son is that paper provides a good record of the vote, should a recount be needed. The catch: Paper is a not an easy technology for many people with disabilities to manage.

Ensuring that visually, physically and cognitively impaired voters can vote inde-pendently and securely is a laudable goal—and the Help America Vote Act requires it.

Electronic equipment that can be man-aged with audio readers and personal-assis-tive devices such as sip-and-puff is familiar to people with disabilities and provides them with an independent voting experience.

“One of the great gifts afforded us through improved voting technology is the opportunity to serve all voters—including those with disabilities,” says Maryland Senator Cheryl Kagan (D). “States must work to ensure that the franchise is accessible, user-friendly, accurate and private.”

In 2015, Maryland was sued by the National Federation of the Blind for dis-continuing a 2-year-old system that allowed people with disabilities to mark, print and sign their ballots at home. The state ended the method because it couldn’t certify it to be secure. The suit pitted two key goals against each other: the need for secure voting meth-ods versus the right of people with disabilities to vote independently. After the final court review, Marylanders with disabilities are again able to use the at-home ballot system.

The Goal: Considering Options to Winner-Take-All

With our nation’s winner-take-all elec-tions, the victor may win with less than a majority of the votes. Case in point: The governor of Maine was elected in 2010 with just 38 percent of the vote.

Ranked-choice (or instant-runoff) vot-ing is appealing to those who believe the winner should have the support of a major-ity of constituents.

With this system, voters rank candi-dates. If no one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is dropped and ballots are recalculated using sec-ond-choice votes. The process is repeated

until the winning candidate makes it over that magic 50 percent mark.

Sound complicated? Not for techies! Although no technology has yet been cer-tified by the U.S. Election Assistance Com-mission for ranked-choice voting, that may soon change. The Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center is developing a tabulator to work on existing voting equipment. Ven-dors, too, are trying to incorporate ranked-choice tabulators into their next generation of voting machines.

Voters in Maine passed a citizen initiative in November 2016 to move the state toward a system of ranked-choice voting, starting in 2018. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court, however, found parts of it violated the state constitution, which calls for some candidates to be selected by plurality, rather than by ranked preference. Senate President Mike Thi-bodeau (R) wants to repeal the ranked-voting measure, but is “open to figuring out a different path if that’s what gets people on board. …But we certainly can’t leave it unattended to,” he told the Bangor Daily News.

It remains to be seen what the legislature will do, but as this magazine went to press, it appeared the governor was ready to call a special session to address ranked-voting and other issues.

Technology Doesn’t Create ItselfAlthough the technology we use in elec-

tions today might confound our Found-ing Fathers, it is sure to be driving future changes in how we vote.

Still, technology is only as good as the people and processes behind it. Together, they play a huge role in the efficacy of elec-tions. When we use technology to make elections more efficient, secure and accu-rate, the more trusted our voting systems will become.

What Bill Gates once said about business can apply to elections: “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that auto-mation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient opera-tion will magnify the inefficiency.”

Senator Cheryl Kagan Maryland

Senate President Mike Thibodeau Maine


Roll Call: Veterans by the Numbers

Most Americans will never serve in the military or step foot on a battlefield, but many feel an obligation to support those who have. Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, a holiday created to honor all those who have served in an American war. It began as “Armistice Day,” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I, when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1954 to change the name to Veterans Day.Thanking veterans for their service can go a long way, but many feel we owe the more than 18 million veterans and their families more

than that. These men and women offer a unique set of skills, experiences and leadership abilities, yet many struggle with the transition to civilian life. Finding a job, housing and health care can be challenging, especially for veterans with disabilities.

The unemployment rate for veterans who served after September 2001 continues to be higher than that of nonveterans. Difficulty in translating military skills into workplace skills, along with a lack of self-marketing skills and the persistence of negative stereotypes all play a role in the higher than average unemployment rate, as do requirements for professional licenses and certifications.

With more veterans returning home, state legislatures can play an important role in ensuring they and their families receive the resources and information they need to make a smooth transition to civilian life. —Jennifer Schultz

STATESTATS

Who Are Our Veterans? The nation’s 18,830,450 veterans make up 7.6 percent of the

total population.

Their Gender

Male veterans 17,254,563 91.6%

Female veterans 1,575,887 8.3%

How Old They Are

65 years and over 9,315,829 49.5%

35 to 54 years : 4,470,020 23.7%

55 to 64 years 3,405,348 18.0%

18 to 34 years 1,639,253 8.7%

When They Served

Vietnam Era 6,251,257 33.2%

Peacetime 4,338,296 23.0%

Gulf War 4,191,649 22.2%

More than one War 1,682,931 9.0%

Korean War 1,530,875 8.1%

World War II 835,442 4.4%

How the Averages CompareThe similarities and differences between the average veteran

and the average nonveteran

All Veterans Nonveterans

High school dropout 6.6% 12.9%

High school graduate 28.6% 27.6%

Some college or associate’s degree 37.1% 28.9%

Bachelor’s degree or higher 27.7% 30.6%

Portion who voted (in 2014) 54% 41%

Annual income (males) $38,978 $34,168

Annual income (females) $32,446 $22,505

Married 59.8% 47.8%

Post 9/11 Vets Nonveterans

Work in private sector (males) 62.9% 80.3%

Work in government (males) 33.1% 10.7%

Self-employed (males) 4% 9%

Work in private sector (females) 55.6% 79.5%

Work in government (females) 40.9% 14.3%

Self-employed (females) 3.4% 6.3%

Six Over 10%Veterans make up more than 10 percent of the total adult population in six states.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey. (The American Community

Survey did not collect data for Guam, but other sources report a large veteran population.)

Where Do They Live?Total Number of Veterans by State

More than 1,000,000

500,001 to 1,000,000

300,001 to 500,000

100,001 to 300,000

Under 100,000

Alaska

(12.5%)

Virginia

(10.8%)

Montana

(10.6%)

Wyoming

(10.2%)

Maine

(10%)

Hawaii

(10%)

Veterans To-BeWhere the 1,332,987 active-duty

military members serve

Army 465,075

Navy 322,739

Air Force 320,749

Marine Corps 183,394

Coast Guard 41,030

Top 10 States with the most active-duty and

reserve members

1. California

2. Texas

3. North Carolina

4. Virginia

5. Georgia

6. Florida

7. Washington

8. Hawaii

9. Colorado

10. South Carolina

RI DE DC PR VI GU MP AS


At 36, Cliff Rosenberger is the youngest statehouse speaker

in the nation. The self-described “small-town Ohio” native

was first elected in 2010 and is serving his second term as

speaker. An Air Force National Guard veteran and graduate

of Wright State University, Rosenberger has worked at the White

House, was political events coordinator for Mitt Romney’s presidential

campaign and was special assistant to U.S. Secretary of the Interior

Dirk Kempthorne—all before running for the legislature at age 29.

What are the advantages and challenges of being a

leader at a relatively young age? The challenges are

that a lot of people doubt you, they don’t know you’re

ready to take on the role and they sometimes don’t take

you seriously. The advantage is being able to disprove

that, but also understanding how to use and tap

into things we haven’t done before. Part of that is

figuring out a better way to message what we’re

doing legislatively to all Ohioans through social

media—like more videos explaining a sales tax

holiday or what’s happening in the Statehouse—

and just getting around the state and being

extremely active.

What do you hope to see emerge in the

relationship between states and the federal

government under the Trump administration?

Speaker [Robin] Vos created a federalism

committee in Wisconsin, and based off that we

created one in Ohio. Then we decided to bring our

two states together and keep talking about it. People

are starting to understand they get a lot more done at the

state level than they ever realized. And that’s putting a lot of

new pressures on state governments. The federalism initiative

is extremely important to ensure that our elected officials in

Congress understand how their decisions affect us. That’s

everything from health care to transportation to energy policies.

That’s why NCSL is the best format for this conversation on

federalism, so we can all get involved in the mix.

Why did you run for office? The big motivation for me was

when, in my hometown of Wilmington, [shipping company] DHL

pulled out and 10,000 jobs were lost. All of a sudden, on the

national news you were seeing friends and families talking about

having to move in together and stopping school. And then my

mother was laid off. I thought I could make a difference in the

legislature, so I stepped up to run. My focus has been economic

development and diversifying Ohio’s economy.

What did serving in the Air National Guard mean to you? It made

me appreciate earning my degree much more than just taking out

a bunch of loans or having mom and dad pay for college. The

military also gave me a lot of leadership skills: attention to detail,

communications, working as a team, as well as, of course, pride in

being able to serve the country and state.

What is it about Ohio voters that makes the state

such a bellwether in presidential elections,

and is that changing? I don’t think Ohio is

changing. Ohio is never really a red state,

and it’s never really a blue state. It’s always

a purple state. I think Ohio is going to be

a huge player in the next presidential

election, and you’re going to still see a lot

of people in the nation looking to her for

direction.

What do you do for fun? I like to watch

movies. I’m a child of the ’80s, so I love

Indiana Jones. I love to hang out with

friends, and I love travel and history. I’ve

gotten into collecting older cars. I’ve got

an old Mustang, and I’m getting ready to

buy an old pickup truck that my grandfather

helped reconfigure into a grassfire unit. I could

have been a fourth-generation firefighter if I’d

stuck with it. I tease my dad by saying I still put

out fires, just in a different way.

What would surprise people most to learn

about you? Probably that I’m a big nerd. I’m very

nervous about public speaking. I like to be a behind-

the-scenes guy. I used to pace and fidget a lot. But

eventually I just got past it.

What final words do you have for our readers?

Don’t take yourself so seriously. Step back and realize

that it’s not always about Republican or Democrat—it’s

about what we can do to make other people’s lives

better. And find a way to look at your statehouses or

your chamber and realize you’re pretty lucky to be

able to represent several hundred thousand people in

a given day and call that your job.

Jane Carroll Andrade, contributing editor, conducted

this interview, which has been edited for length.

Cliff RosenbergerSpeaker, Ohio House

THE FINAL WORD

Ad

JOB: PHR-GEN-M03633BDOCUMENT NAME: 7F81844_PHR_b2.1_ks.indd

DESCRIPTION: DENDRITE CELLS BLEED: 8.75" x 11.375"TRIM: 8.125" x 10.875"

SAFETY: 7" x 10"GUTTER: None

PUBLICATION: Congressional QuarterlyART DIRECTOR: Jin Park 8-4689

COPYWRITER: Craig Geller 8-3993ACCT. MGR.: Alex Cohen 8-3211

ART PRODUCER: Bill Gastinger 8-3727PRINT PROD.: Peter Herbsman 8-3725

PROJ. MNGR.: Linda Holmes 8-4121This advertisement prepared by Young & Rubicam, N.Y.

7F81844_PHR_b2.1_ks.indd

CLIENT: PhRMA Research & Mfg. TMG #: 7F81844 HANDLE #: 1 JOB #: PHR-GEN-M03633B BILLING#: PHR-GEN-M03632DOCUMENT NAME: 7F81844_PHR_b2.1_ks.indd PAGE COUNT: 1 of 1 PRINT SCALE: None INDESIGN VERSION: CC 2015STUDIO ARTIST: Kevin Sullivan 6-9941 LAST SAVE DATE: 6-30-2017 11:33 AM CREATOR: KMS CREATION DATE: 6-30-2017 11:33 AM

DOCUMENT PATH: TMG:Clients:YR:Pharma:Jobs:2017:7F:7F81844_PHR-GEN-M03633:Mechanicals:7F81844_PHR_b2.1_ks.inddFONT FAMILY: Circular Std (Book, Medium)LINK NAME: 7E81728_PHR_a1_w.tif, Go Boldly™ Lockup_100pt_4C_FINAL_yr.ai, PhRMA_ABC™_logo_4C+W_alt2_yr3.aiINK NAME: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black

S:7"

S:10"

T:8.125"

T:10.875"

B:8.75"

B:11.375"

Scientists are pioneering advanced treatments to help dendritic cellsactivate immune T cells to attack the body’s most lethal illnesses.

Welcome to the future of medicine. For all of us.

RESEARCHERS ARE ARMING THIS CELL TO BATTLE SOME OF THE MOST INSIDIOUS FORMS OF DISEASE.

BEAUTY, IT APPEARS, CAN BE A BEAST.

GoBoldly.com©

2017

Am

eric

a’s

Bio

pha

rmac

euti

cal C

om

pan

ies.

©20

17 A

mer

ica’

s B

iop

harm

aceu

tica

l Com

pan

ies.

Autoation Nation · Florida Senator Jack Latvala (R) in a letter urging the state’s governor,...

Documents

Transcript of Autoation Nation · Florida Senator Jack Latvala (R) in a letter urging the state’s governor,...