Hot topics in other state legislatures last week

Three states have already adjourned in 2007: Virginia,Utah and Wyoming. Three others are in recess: Georgia, South Dakota, and New Hampshire (House only). West Virginia, like us, has a specific target date for adjournment.

Number of bills filed nationwide so far this year: 105,783

Business
Idaho: The Senate approved legislation that would require auto insurers to offer coverage for accidents involving underinsured drivers. That coverage pays for property damage and bodily injury caused by another motorist who doesn’t carry enough insurance to pay for damages in an accident. UM and UIM coverage has been a hot topic among many legislatures and appellate courts;

Crime & Punishment
Texas: The House approved a measure that would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for people convicted twice or more of sexually abusing children;

Wyoming: Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) signed legislation that requires all sex offenders, regardless of assessed risk, to be listed on a state-run Web site. State officials say the new rule is meant to discourage out-of-state offenders from moving there;

Kentucky: The Senate unanimously endorsed SB 43, which makes it a crime to exploit people for forced labor, domestic work or sex;

New York: Both Houses approved a measure that would allow the state to hold violent sexual criminals in mental institutions indefinitely after completing their prison terms;

Maryland: The Senate approved legislation that would extend the hate-crimes law to cover acts against the homeless;

Education
Oklahoma: A House committee endorsed HB 2103, which would allow college freshmen in that state to lock in a tuition rate for their entire four years in school. The schools could still raise rates, however, in years when the lawmakers do not increase higher education funding by at least 5 percent;

Iowa: Gov. Chet Culver (D) signed legislation that requires all schools to adopt anti-bullying policies by Sept. 1. The rules must apply to all students, staff and volunteers;

Florida: A House committee approved HB 461, which would make all high school athletes competing in football, baseball and weight lifting submit to one year of random steroid testing. A student testing positive would be suspended from that sport for 90 days;

Environment
North Carolina: A House committee approved a proposal to extend by three years a 10-year state moratorium on new hog farms and their waste lagoons. Supporters say researchers need more time to develop cost effective alternatives to the current waste disposal methods;

Health & Science
Oklahoma: The Senate approved a measure that would bar the placement of a microchip into a person’s body without their approval. The chips could be used to track people in nursing homes, hospitals or prisons;

New Hampshire: The House approved HB 628, which would give the state power to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for discounts on prescription drugs for low-income families or individuals, similar to AG Dustin McDaniel's Arkansas Rx program.

North Carolina: The House approved legislation that would bar smoking in all state government buildings. The measure would also grant local governments the right to bar smoking in their buildings as well. I think this is a pretty significant move for Tobacoo Road.

South Dakota: Gov. Mike Rounds (R) signed legislation that allows parents to keep their children who are full-time college students insured on their medical coverage policy until age 29. Current law allows such coverage only to age 24.

Immigration
Idaho: A Senate panel defeated a bill that would have required employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants to pay for their health care costs should those workers get injured on the job. The committee said it is already illegal to hire undocumented workers;

Mississippi: The Senate endorsed a measure that would prohibit companies that hire illegal immigrants from doing business in the Magnolia State. The proposal would also strip those companies of any state-sponsored fiscal incentives for one year;

West Virginia: The House approved SB 70, whichwould strip employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers of their business license;

Tennessee: The Senate approved legislation that makes English the primary language for driver’s license tests;

Idaho: The Senate approved a proposal to make English the state’s official language;

Social Policy
Hawaii: The House unanimously approved legislation to extend health benefits to unmarried partners, including those of the same sex, of state employees;

Iowa: A Senate committee approved legislation that would prohibit discriminatory employment, public accommodation, housing, education and credit practices based upon a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity;

Montana: Similar to a 2006 Arkansas Act, the House endorsed legislation that would bar picketing within 1,500 feet of funeral sites starting one hour before and one hour after a service. This is in response to the Kansas Church whose members have carried out aggressive protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Church claims the deaths are God’s punishment on the U.S. for supporting homosexuality. The measure moves to Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) who has not said if he will sign it;

New Hampshire: The House approved HB 184, which would repeal a state law requiring a parent to be notified before a minor daughter can get an abortion;

Hunting
Idaho: The Senate unanimously approved a proposal to ban Internet hunting. Such hunts feature a gun being attached to a Web camera, then being placed in a field and guided via a mouse by an Internet hunter to shoot an intended target;

Transportation
Kentucky: The House approved SB 83, which will raise the speed limit in that state from 65 to 70 mph;