States facing many issues in 2010
 
As noted in our last issue, lawmakers in 2010 will primarily be dealing with a host of dire budget restraints brought on by the Great Recession. But the new year will bring many challenges in addition to just tending to the bottom line.
 
TEXTING/CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING: In November, RHODE ISLAND Gov. Don Carcieri (R) signed HB 5150, a bill that made the Ocean State the 20th to ban all drivers from sending or receiving cell phone text messages while behind the wheel. Another 10 impose restrictions on certain drivers, from teens to school bus operators. To date, however, only seven states require all drivers to use a hands-free device when talking on their cell phone. Another 21 ban certain groups — again, mostly teens and school bus operators — from using their cell phone at all while driving. Expect numerous states to consider similar measures in 2010. 
 
GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS: When CALIFORNIA lawmakers endorsed AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, numerous states soon followed suit with plans of their own to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. Now all eyes are on the Golden State to see how it will go about implementing the plan, which calls for a 25 percent carbon emissions reduction by 2020. Critics have long contended the program will irreparably harm the state's economy. With 2010 an election year, AB 32 has become a campaign issue, with some gubernatorial candidates vowing to activate a clause in the bill that would allow the state to put off implementation for a year in case of economic hardship. Meanwhile, state regulators have proposed rules that would govern the nation's first cap-and-trade program, which would allow companies to buy and sell emission allowances among themselves to reach an overall goal of cutting pollutants 25 percent below today's levels by 2020. 
 
PRESCRIPTION DRUG SALES & MARKETING DISCLOSURE: With prescription drug costs a major factor in state-run health care spending, a growing number of states will be looking at various ways to rein those costs in. Several states in recent years have turned to a process known as academic detailing, which provides doctors with unbiased academic evaluations of new prescription drugs. Such programs already exist in MAINE, VERMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, SOUTH CAROLINA and the District of Columbia. At least two other states — IDAHO and OREGON — have pilot programs underway. At least three others — CALIFORNIA, MINNESOTA and WISCONSIN — considered similar bills in 2009. Federal legislation (HR 1859 and SB 767) is also pending. With or without federal health care reform, expect more states to consider this issue in 2010. 
 
States are also starting to crack down on the gifts that drug companies lavish on doctors. MASSACHUSETTS, VERMONT and NEW HAMPSHIRE have in recent years adopted measures that limit drug company gifts to medical professionals, while MINNESOTA requires doctors to report such gifts to the state. NEW JERSEY, the home of many of the nation's major drug manufacturers, may soon join the club. Last week, Attorney General Anne Milgram proposed new regulations that would ban Garden State doctors from accepting any gifts, fees or travel expense reimbursement from any pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers. She also wants to bar physicians from accepting free food and meals in office settings or at promotional dinners and require them to publicly disclose any consulting fees or other payments they receive from drug makers. 
 
ABORTION RESTRICTIONS: In recent years, abortion opponents have focused on bills that require doctors to notify parents before performing an abortion on a minor. Other bills have also mandated waiting periods before obtaining the procedure or required that doctors provide women with hard copy information about the process. According to State Net, at least 150 bills have been held over from last year, and at least seven states will decide abortion-related ballot measures next November. Abortion is also playing a major role in the ongoing federal health care reform effort. The Senate last week rejected a House-approved amendment that would restrict using federal funds for the procedure. A number of anti-abortion Democrats in both chambers have threatened to pull their support for the reform measure if those restrictions are not included in the final bill. 
 
This sampling is far from a comprehensive list of all the varied and complex matters lawmakers will deal with next year. Other ongoing hot button issues for lawmakers in 2010 include: 
 
CREDIT SCORING/EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND CHECKS: Fueled by the fallout from a troubled economy — reflecting rising unemployment and foreclosures and anticipated falling credit scores leading to higher insurance rates — more than half the states considered bills regulating the use of credit scoring by the insurance industry in 2009. In recent years, some states have also considered bills that would regulate the use of credit scores in evaluating job applicants. WASHINGTON already requires that an applicant's credit history be related to the job he or she is applying for. In July, the HAWAII Legislature overrode Gov. Linda Lingle's (R) veto of HB 31, which bars Aloha State employers from using background checks in hiring workers. CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed a similar measure (AB 943). With unemployment still a major concern nationwide, more states will likely consider similar bills. 
 
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: 2009 was a year of highs and lows for same-sex marriage advocates. Starting in April, VERMONT, IOWA, NEW HAMPSHIRE and CONNECTICUT joined MASSACHUSETTS in legally recognizing same-sex unions. In November, WASHINGTON voters endorsed same-sex domestic partnerships, the so-called "everything but marriage" law. But that same month, MAINE voters overrode a new state law legalizing gay marriage, making it the 31st state where voters have rejected such a proposal. In spite of vigorous lobbying from Gov. David Paterson (D), the NEW YORK Senate followed that in December by rejecting an Assembly-endorsed measure to legalize same-sex marriage, likely putting the issue off in the Empire State until at least 2011. As of this writing, NEW JERSEY lawmakers are still pondering their own same-sex marriage measure. Advocates in several states, including NEW YORK, MAINE and CALIFORNIA, which rejected same-sex marriage in 2008, have vowed to renew their efforts in 2010. 
 
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: In recent years, death penalty supporters have pushed strongly to have the death penalty applied to a greater number of crimes, particularly sexual assaults on children and the murder of police officers. In 2009, however, KENTUCKY, OHIO and CALIFORNIA were among many states that instead found themselves grappling with legal issues surrounding the three-drug cocktail used to carry out a death sentence. Although courts consistently upheld the states' rights to hold executions, judges were not so convinced of the constitutionality of the use of the cocktail. Several states have since enacted moratoriums on capital punishment while they try to develop new lethal injection protocols. Two weeks ago, OHIO announced it would become the first state in the nation to switch to a single drug to kill condemned prisoners. Other states are likely to follow suit, though death penalty opponents are expected to continue to seek its abolition. 
 
UNION ORGANIZING: Labor unions have long sought laws that make it easier to organize workers and boost membership. In 2009 that effort consisted primarily of advocating for "card check" legislation that would allow unions to bypass the usual secret ballot union adoption process if a majority signed cards indicating their support for a union. While most observers are focused on a measure currently under consideration in Congress (HB 107, HB 1176, SB 478), several states have addressed this issue as well. CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and HAWAII Gov. Linda Lingle (R) each vetoed measures to adopt card check policies (CA SB 789 and HI HB 952 respectively), though the Aloha State Legislature overrode Lingle's veto. OREGON, meanwhile, approved a bill that bars Beaver State companies from holding mandatory employee meetings to talk about organizing. Similar bills died in CONNECTICUT and MICHIGAN. If Congress remains distracted by economic issues and health care reform, this issue could gain real momentum in statehouses in 2010. 
 
PUPPY MILL REGULATION: While some might not consider this a top-tier issue, 33 states in fact considered "puppy mill" legislation in 2009, with OREGON, WASHINGTON, INDIANA, TENNESSEE, NEBRASKA and WISCONSIN adopting measures to more closely regulate the dog breeding industry. CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed a similar measure in the Golden State, while matching bills have been held over in NORTH CAROLINA and OKLAHOMA. More are likely to follow in 2010. 
 
Follow us each week as the SNCJ tracks these and other policy trends as they develop.

States sending fewer people to prison
 
The U.S. prison population grew only 0.5 percent last year, about a third of the average annual growth rate since 2000 (1.6 percent), according to a report released last week by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Prison populations actually declined in 19 states between 2007 and 2008. The biggest drops were in NEW YORK (-3.6 percent), NEW JERSEY (-3.3 percent) and KENTUCKY (-3.3 percent). The statistics may reflect efforts by state governments to reduce their skyrocketing corrections costs by reevaluating their sentencing, parole and drug policies. This fall, for instance, RHODE ISLAND passed a law eliminating mandatory minimum drug sentences.

BUDGET NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS: State lawmakers may have dreamt of coming out of the current fiscal crisis before the start of the new year, but many of those dreams would only have been sugar plum visions. 
 
According to a new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 36 states face budget deficits totaling $28 billion this fiscal year, which began just five months ago. And NCSL's State Budget Update: November 2009 predicts 35 states will see $56 billion in shortfalls next fiscal year and 23 states will face $69 billion in deficits the year after that. 
 
The report notes that while many economists believe the current recession ended sometime in the third quarter of this year, state finances aren't expected to recover for at least two years. 
 
"Even if the recession is over, state budgets are still in appalling conditions and are going to be that way for quite a while," said Corina Eckl, fiscal director at the National Conference of State Legislatures. "For many states, revenue recovery is not even in the forecast." 
 
The report mentions many of the same fiscal problems that other recent reports have highlighted, including declining income and sales tax revenues and rising expenses associated with Medicaid. So lawmakers in most states will find themselves making spending cuts once again next year. OKLAHOMA and ARIZONA will have the most work to do, with projected budget gaps of 18.5 percent and 18 percent of their general fund budgets, respectively, the largest in the nation. State lawmakers in ILLINOIS, HAWAII and NEW MEXICO won't have much time for long winters' naps either, with expected budget gaps of about 12 percent or more. 
 
NCSL said budget gaps over the next two fiscal years will be even larger because federal stimulus money that helped prop up states will run out. 
 
"The states are facing nearly unprecedented declines in revenue collections," said NCSL Executive Director William Pound. "Coupled with probable declines in federal stimulus support over the next two years, the state fiscal picture is bleak. We're heading into an era of retro budgeting, where state spending is receding to levels five to 10 years ago." 
 
But there are a few states for which Christmas is likely to be merry. VERMONT told NCSL its economy began recovering in the second quarter of 2009. And six other states — ALABAMA, CALIFORNIA, MONTANA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, TEXAS and WASHINGTON — said they are expecting their economies to do the same before the end of the year. (NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES, STATELINE) 
 
OBAMA PITCHES JOBS PLAN: President Obama outlined — but gave few details about — his jobs stimulus plan last week. It could provide $100 billion for unemployment insurance, temporary food-stamp payment increases and subsidies for health care purchases by the unemployed, as well as $70 billion for infrastructure projects. Congressional action on the plan may not come until next year because of a busy schedule. (STATELINE) 
 
BUDGETS IN BRIEF: NEBRASKA plans to hike its unemployment tax on businesses to replenish its unemployment fund after payments more than doubled, to $190 million, this year. The Cornhusker State is one of 33 expected to increase the tax in 2010 as a result of the sharp rise in the number of people claiming jobless aid (LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR). • VIRGINIA Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell (R) and a lead Republican budget writer in the House told reporters last week that any tax increases Gov. Tim Kaine (D) puts in his outgoing budget are going nowhere (FREELANCE-STAR [FREDERICKSBURG]). • FLORIDA economists estimate the state will take in about $338.4 million more in general fund revenue than anticipated in the current fiscal year and $312.6 million more than anticipated next year (MIAMI HERALD). • COLORADO's secretary of state has approved two tax related measures for the 2010 ballot. One would slash state taxes by at least $1 billion annually, and the other would roll back property taxes statewide (DENVER POST). • MARYLAND Gov. Martin O'Malley told a group of small business owners last week that he will ask the General Assembly to approve a $3,000 tax credit for companies that hire jobless residents (BALTIMORE SUN). • WASHINGTON Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) unveiled a spending plan last week that would close the state's $2.6 billion budget gap by slashing funding for social and health services for the poor and elderly and eliminating early childhood education for 3-year-olds, among other things. The governor was required by law to propose a 2010-11 supplemental budget balanced exclusively to existing revenue, but she said she would propose her preferred budget in January that would restore $700 million in cuts by closing tax loopholes and raising new revenue (COLUMBIAN [VANCOUVER]). • NEW JERSEY Gov.-elect Chris Christie (R) agreed last week to expand a scheduled bond deal six-fold, to over $1 billion, to pay for highway improvements and public transit projects (RECORD OF BERGEN COUNTY). • KENTUCKY Gov. Steve Beshear (D) said last week he will continue to push for slot machines at racetracks next year despite the loss by Democrat Jodie Haydon to Republican Rep. Jimmy Higdon in last Tuesday's special election for the state's vacant 14th Senate District seat. Beshear had created the vacancy by appointing former Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly (R) to a circuit judgeship, a move Republicans charged was an attempt to reduce their 21-17 Senate majority and improve the chances for passing expanded gambling legislation.

LEGISLATIVE OFFICE LOSING LUSTER IN CA: There was a time when the job title of "CALIFORNIA Legislator" was desirable. But that time appears to have passed. Increasingly, holders of the title are giving up their job. 
 
"It's not as much fun as it used to be," said GOP strategist Kevin Spillane, who recruits candidates for the state Assembly. 
 
The state's fiscal trouble is among the things taking the fun out of the job, along with abysmal public approval ratings, ever-increasing partisanship, and rank-and-file lawmakers' limited role in the policy making process. 
 
"Who wants to grow up and be held in low esteem by 87 percent of the people and have to deal with the budget and not have a darned thing to say about it?" said independent Assemblyman Juan Arambula, who has decided not to run for the Senate next year when he is termed out of the lower house. 
 
Some legislators are actually opting to make the move to local office. Los Angeles City Council member and former Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D), for instance, chose city government over the Senate. 
 
"It's like night and day in terms of the ability to actually get something done," he said.  
 
Last week, another Democratic Assemblyman, Paul Krekorian, became the 5th former legislator on the 15-member LA City Council, after winning a runoff election against a former movie-industry executive. 
 
The state's strict term limits law — limiting Assembly members to six years and Senate members to eight years — was apparently one of the factors contributing to Krekorian's move. He can serve for 12 years on the City Council but could only serve for three more years in the Assembly. 
 
Term limits was also an issue for former Sen. John Benoit (R), who resigned this month for a seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. He referred to service in the Assembly as "a six-year dead end job with no retirement [benefits]." Riverside County, on the other hand, places no limits on supervisors' terms, so Benoit will be able to serve there "as long as the good Lord gives me breath and the people decide to vote me in," he said. 
 
Benoit's local government job also pays better than his old one. He'll earn $143,031 at his new post. Legislators' base salary was $116,208 up until last week, when it was cut by 18 percent. 
 
Lawmakers have always bounced back and forth between state and local office. But there seems to be more driving them away from the Capitol. Policy decisions are increasingly made by the state's Big Five — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and legislative leaders — behind closed doors. As Assemblyman Arambula, a former Fresno County supervisor, put it: "On the board of supervisors, five people make decisions. In Sacramento, five people make decisions — I'm just not one of them." 
 
"If you're not in the Big Five, you're sort of out in the cold," said Councilman Koretz. 
 
On top of that is the Capitol's intensely partisan atmosphere. In recent years, political moderates have been locked out of their offices or even thrown out of the building. After former Senate GOP leader Dave Cogdill helped broker a budget deal with the Democrats in February, he was promptly ousted from his leadership post by his conservative colleagues.  
 
And voters don't have much sympathy for legislators' plight. A recent Field Poll placed the Legislature's approval rating at 13 percent, its lowest level in decades of surveying. 
 
The job still has its perks: a respectable salary, a car, over $30,000 a year in untaxed living expenses and a personal staff. But all of the job's downsides make folks like Arambula question whether it's worth it. 
 
"If I could make a difference, then I would put up with the difficulties," he said. "It's when you can't affect the outcome that a person has to wonder: Is it worth the effort to be in Sacramento?" (LOS ANGELES TIMES) 
 
GOP HOLDS KY SENATE SEAT: KENTUCKY Rep. Jimmy Higdon (R) defeated Democrat and former Rep. Jodie Haydon in last Tuesday's special election for the state's vacant 14th Senate District seat. Higdon won every county in the Central Kentucky district except for Haydon's home county of Nelson. Higdon's win ends the Democrats' streak of special election victories, having claimed two vacant Senate seats earlier this year. Haydon's loss is also a setback for Gov. Steve Beshear (D), who was hoping to create a friendlier environment in the Legislature for expanding gambling at the state's horse racetracks. Republicans claim that was the reason Beshear created the vacancy in the first place, by appointing former Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly (R) to a circuit judgeship. The outcome was a big loss as well for horse racing interests, who poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Haydon's campaign. (COURIER-JOURNAL [LOUISVILLE]) 
 
POLITICS IN BRIEF: MASSACHUSETTS Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) defeated U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano in last week's Democratic primary to succeed the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Coakley, the first to jump into the three-month race in the days after Kennedy's death, won in a landslide, 47 percent to 28 percent. She would become the first female senator from MASSACHUSETTS if she is victorious in her Jan. 19 clash with state Sen. Scott Brown, who won his GOP primary against attorney Jack E. Robinson by an even wider margin: 89 percent to 11 percent (BOSTON HERALD).

SANFORD WON'T FACE IMPEACHMENT: A SOUTH CAROLINA House panel has rejected a move to launch impeachment proceedings against Gov. Mark Sanford (R), meaning the embattled governor will almost surely serve out the remainder of his term. While the panel declined to seek impeachment, it did issue Sanford an official rebuke for bringing "ridicule, dishonor, disgrace and shame" on the state, its citizens and the governor's office. 
 
Sanford has been under increasing fire since June, when he disappeared for several days. His office at first claimed he had been hiking alone on the Appalachian Trail, but Sanford later admitted he had flown to Argentina to see a mistress. The revelation led to a six-month investigation into his use of state aircraft, business-class airfare and campaign funds, and sparked calls from many in his own party for him to resign or face impeachment. In the end, however, six of the seven lawmakers on the impeachment panel decided that those actions — which Rep. Garry Smith (R) called "seriously stupid" — didn't merit removal from office. 
 
"We can't impeach for hypocrisy. We can't impeach for arrogance. We can't impeach...for his lack of leadership skills," said committee chairman state Rep. Jim Harrison (R).  
 
Sanford is not out of the woods yet. He still faces 37 pending State Ethics Commission charges, though he and his attorneys continued to say those complaints amount only to minor and technical oversights. The impeachment measure is also not technically dead, as it must still be considered by the House Judiciary Committee this week. But even its author, Rep. Greg Delleney (R), doubts the results will be different there.  
 
"The political will is just not there," he said. But a defiant Delleney also noted he will keep up his fight, noting "It will be difficult, but I'm not giving up." (THE STATE [COLUMBIA], ASSOCIATED PRESS) 
 
SCHWARZENEGGER ISSUES PRISON PLAN: CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) released a plan last week that would cut the Golden State's prison inmate population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two years. The proposal is designed to fulfill a federal panel's mandate that the state reduce the inmate population to constitutionally acceptable levels.  
 
Lawyers for some inmates praised the proposal and urged the federal panel to let the state work out on its own how it will implement the reductions. The panel ruled last August that the state's perennial overcrowding violates the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. It noted that the population in its 33 prisons is almost 150,000, nearly double their design capacity of 80,000. The court ordered the state to reduce that number by of 40,000 inmates within two years. 
 
Schwarzenegger said the state will appeal the panel's final order to the Supreme Court, regardless of whether it accepts his current proposal. The governor and state Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate contend that the three-judge federal panel does not have the authority to dictate the state's prison policies. Schwarzenegger and Cate prefer a plan that allows the system to reduce the population slowly over a longer period of time. (SACRAMENTO BEE) 
 
QUINN SIGNS ETHICS MEASURE: ILLINOIS Gov. Pat Quinn (D) signed SB 1466, which imposes the Prairie State's first-ever caps on campaign contributions. The measure, which goes into effect in 2011, places limits on how much money individuals, political action committees and interest groups can give to candidates. Quinn signed the bill on the first anniversary of the arrest of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) on charges he tried to leverage his power to fill Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat for personal financial gain. He was subsequently impeached and now faces a federal trial on those charges in June. (QUAD CITY TIMES [DAVENPORT]) 
 
GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: The governors of GEORGIA, FLORIDA and ALABAMA will meet this week to try and work out their differences regarding the use of water from Georgia's Lake Lanier. A federal court has told GEORGIA it may no longer use water from Lanier a residential water supply for metropolitan Atlanta (ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION). • MAINE Gov. John Baldacci (D) plans to hold a jobs summit next month to hear from small business owners and others on ways the state can encourage Pine Tree State job growth. Baldacci said he is upset that Congress has used billions in taxpayer money to bail out big investment banks, but has not directed aid to community and local banks to help create jobs (BANGOR DAILY NEWS). • MINNESOTA Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) told local Gopher State governments that he will not reduce the second half of this year's local aid allotments to help ease the state's budget shortfall. He warned, however, that future payments could be curtailed if the budget shortfall can't be resolved quickly (AUSTIN POST-BULLETIN). • Citing a $1 billion budget shortfall, NEW YORK Gov. David Paterson (D) said he would delay payments to localities and school districts that were promised state funds in the budget he and lawmakers agreed upon earlier this year. "I will probably be sued for this, but I will not let New York state run out of money on my watch," he said (NEW YORK TIMES).

BUSINESS: The MICHIGAN Senate endorses SB 879, a bill that would bar strip clubs and other adult entertainment businesses in the Wolverine State from using sexually explicit or suggestive images on signs that are visible from the outside. Businesses would be limited to signs that display only words or numbers, which also would have restrictions. The measure moves to the House (GRAND RAPIDS PRESS). • The NEBRASKA Court of Appeals rules that the Cornhusker State worker compensation law covers all employees injured on the job, even those in the country illegally. The court said that disqualifying illegal immigrants from workers compensation would encourage companies to hire more undocumented workers (LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR).  
 
CRIME & PUNISHMENT: An ILLINOIS appellate court rules that smoking is not a crime in the Prairie State. The ruling overturns the conviction of a woman cited for smoking in a Joliet bar last year. She was convicted of a misdemeanor and sentenced to six months of supervision and a $231 fine (PEORIA JOURNAL STAR). • The U.S. Supreme Court rejects a challenge to an ILLINOIS law that allows police to indefinitely retain items impounded from innocent property owners during criminal investigations. The justices said the case was now moot because most of the property in the original suit has since been returned. The lawyer for the challengers said he will file a new suit with new plaintiffs (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR [BOSTON]).  
 
EDUCATION: A LOUSIANA education panel endorses rules that would raise the minimum achievement standards Pelican State schools must reach to avoid facing state sanctions. Under the current rules, schools must earn a score of at least 60 out of 200 on a state assessment evaluation; under the new rules, that would climb to 70 for the 2010-2011 school year and 75 for the 2011-2012 year. The proposal now goes to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which is expected to vote on it in January (THE ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE]).  
 
HEALTH & SCIENCE: The OHIO House endorses HB 8, which would bar Buckeye State health insurers from excluding coverage for autism. The measure caps autism coverage at $36,000 annually and allows insurance companies to opt out if the mandate increases premiums by at least 1 percent. The bill moves to the Senate (COLUMBUS DISPATCH). • The IOWA Legislature's Administrative Rules Review Committee unanimously approves new rules that add Hawkeye State food service workers and housekeeping staff to the list of hospital personnel who are legally required to report elder abuse. The committee also defined "gross negligence" as a form of abuse. The rules take effect January 1 (DES MOINES REGISTER).  
 
SOCIAL POLICY: A MICHIGAN House panel endorses HB 5515, which would make it illegal to discriminate against a woman for breastfeeding a child in public. The measure would protect women from harassment, denial of services or arrest. It is now before the full House (DETROIT FREE PRESS).  
 
POTPOURRI: The MICHIGAN House endorses HB 4394, legislation that would bar drivers from sending, receiving or reading cell phone text messages while behind the wheel. Texting would be a secondary offense, allowing officers to ticket a driver only if he or she is pulled over for another offense. The measure now goes to the Wolverine State Senate, where that chamber's Transportation Committee has already approved a similar bill (DETROIT FREE PRESS).

NO GRUDGES HELD: To err is human, to forgive divine. Or so says Newly-elected KENTUCKY state Sen. Jimmy Higdon. As the Louisville Courier-Journal reports, Higdon recently was stopped on the street by a fellow who, upon recognizing him, made a special point of hopping out of a vehicle to shake his hand. After exchanging pleasantries, Higdon asked the man if he could count on his vote. The gentleman gave assurances that he could and was on his way, but not before Higdon asked, "Remember the good times and not the bad, huh?" When asked about the situation by reporters, Higdon, a grocer by trade, explained that he had had the man arrested twice for shoplifting. So why the good will, then? "He may not remember. He was pretty loaded both times," he said. 
 
THANKS BUT NO THANKS: For over a century, MASSACHUSETTS governors of every political stripe have at one point or another trundled over to Boston's Clover Club, long the bastion of the Bay State's political elite, to hold court over one of the group's thrice-annual dinners. This year, however, Gov. Deval Patrick begged off at the last minute, citing a club policy barring women. As the Boston Globe reports, the sudden refusal left many club members in defense mode. Former House Speaker Thomas Finneran echoed the feelings of many when he voiced his surprise, noting that his own wife and daughters have no objection to the club being all male. Alas, some observers noted the political wisdom of Patrick's decision. Former state treasurer Shannon O'Brien, whose father was once a speaker at the club, said the refusal "will warm the hearts of women who were not invited." And gosh, warm-hearted women actually vote these days.  
 
FOREVER AND EVER...AND EVER: You may have heard that approximately half of all marriages end in divorce. Well, that will soon change if a CALIFORNIA man has anything to say about it. As the Sacramento Bee reports, Sacramento resident John Marcotte is collecting signatures for a ballot measure that would ban divorce in the Golden State. That's right — getting hitched in the land of Arnold would mean never saying "I don't." Marcotte, a married father of two, admits the effort is mostly a satire intended to poke fun at the state's recent constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. He has set up a Web site to promote the effort, which features slogans like "Jesus still loves you if you get divorced...just not as much as before." Interestingly enough, barring divorce in CALIFORNIA wouldn't actually impact national divorce stats because, citing the cost, the state no longer reports its divorce rates.  
 
TOLD YOU ONCE, TOLD YOU TWICE: As noted back in October, NEW JERSEY Gov.-elect Chris Christie is a major Bruce Springsteen fan. During the campaign, Christie ran into the singer on a plane, but was rebuffed in his wishes to be able to hang out with the Boss for the flight. That rejection, however, apparently did not dampen Christie's adoration. As the New York Times reports, the new gov recently hit Springsteen up to perform at the gubernatorial inauguration, punctuating the request with a promise to make a big donation to the Boss's favorite charity. Christie's brother, sensing the "The Boss" might still be reluctant, even suggested a benefit concert of some sort if the inaugural idea fell flat. Alas, the Jersey-born Springsteen said no, citing a desire to stay out of state politics. The disappointed but relentless Christie has booked a Springsteen tribute band instead.