Developments in the States, 1999

▪ 2000

Introduction

      Basking in the nation's unprecedented economic performance, state and local governments in the U.S. recorded a relatively quiet legislative year in 1999. States enacted multibillion-dollar tax cuts for the sixth consecutive year, the trend aided by anticipation of revenues to states from a major legal settlement with tobacco companies. Unemployment, dependency on welfare, and crime all continued on a downward path, which added to a sense of well-being across the country.

      With fiscal problems at bay, many states turned to improvements in education and health care as their top priorities, even as Congress addressed similar concerns nationally. Support grew for more competition for public schools at the primary and secondary levels and for patient's rights against health maintenance organizations. A series of violent shooting incidents, starting with a devastating tragedy at a high school in Littleton, Colo., focused national attention on school safety and sharply reversed a trend toward more permissive gun laws. All 50 states, with the exception of Kentucky, held regular legislative sessions in 1999, and 13 staged special sessions.

Party Strengths.

      Republicans scored modest gains in limited state legislative elections in 1999, but Democrats were poised to capture one governorship from GOP control. In Mississippi neither major party candidate received a majority of the popular vote. The winner was to be determined by the Democrat-dominated state legislature in early January 2000. If a change of party occurred, that would set the national gubernatorial lineup for 2000 at 30 Republicans, 18 Democrats, and 2 independents.

      The partisan breakdown in state legislatures was much closer. In November balloting Republicans took over the Virginia House of Delegates for the first time since Reconstruction. That left state legislative control virtually even across the country; the GOP controlled 48 state legislative chambers, Democrats organized 49, and one chamber, the Washington state House, was tied. (Nebraska has a nonpartisan unicameral legislature.)

Government Relations.

      States received a judicial boost in their ongoing federalism battle with the U.S. government during the year. Three remarkable rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court in late June significantly advanced state powers against encroachment from the federal government. The justices proclaimed that states had a “sovereign status” that shielded them from private lawsuits seeking to enforce most federal laws. A 5–4 majority added that Congress has no right to waive a state's legal immunity, nor can state agencies be compelled to pay damages for violations of federal laws.

      An attempt by the federal government to claim more than half of the record $206 billion state settlement with tobacco companies as recoupment for federal health outlays was defeated with aid of a massive state lobbying effort in Washington, D.C. The former president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, Dan Blue, called the congressional action a “stunning affirmation of the states' place in our federal system.”

      One study showed that the number of families on state welfare rolls had dropped by 2.4 million, or 44%, in the three years since passage of a federal welfare-reform law. Federal welfare aid to states was turned into block grants that required some matching spending, but, thanks in part to the healthy economy, several states had trouble spending their share. At year's end more than $7.5 billion in authorized federal aid to state welfare programs was unclaimed.

Finances.

      With revenues rising at a record clip, states enacted a net $7 billion reduction in taxes during 1999, the sixth consecutive year of major cuts. Twenty-one states trimmed taxes by 1% or more of their previous year's collections, with eight reducing taxes by at least 4%.

      Personal income taxes were cut in 29 states, led by a $787 million income tax rebate in California. Sixteen states reduced business and corporate rates, and 19 lowered sales and use taxes. Only two states, Montana and Nevada, boosted sales taxes during the year. Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, and Louisiana eliminated inheritance taxes. Voters in Washington state overwhelmingly approved a taxpayer bill of rights that requires voter approval for any government tax or fee increase. The measure also replaced the state's unpopular 2.2% car excise tax with a flat $30-per-vehicle fee.

      As the vibrant economy produced more vehicle traffic, several states embarked on major road programs. Maine increased gasoline taxes to fund road improvements. Illinois approved the most ambitious public works program in its history, a $12 billion infrastructure bill for highways and historic buildings. Beset with increasing gridlock in many areas, Colorado voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum authorizing $2.2 billion for road and light-rail projects.

Y2K.

      A state-by-state survey indicated that legislatures had appropriated $3.3 billion to prepare their computers for switchover to year 2000 operation. Although readiness varied, most state officials expressed confidence that disruption to public services at the new year would be minimal or nonexistent.

      Even so, there were early reports of incidents and problems. Maine sent out several hundred 2000-model-year new-car registrations classifying the vehicles as “horseless carriages”; the computer mistakenly slotted them as 1900 vintage autos. Some 60,000 child support checks were delayed in South Carolina as state computers were shut down for Y2K repairs. More than 2,500 arrest warrants were inadvertently erased (but later recovered) during Y2K preparations in Nebraska. Attorneys general in several states, including Massachusetts and Colorado, warned of potential Y2K fraud, including scam artists telephoning consumers and demanding private financial information to assist in “Y2K preparations.”

Health and Welfare.

      Health care issues were prominent in state legislative action as well as in the U.S. Congress during 1999. Numerous states considered methods of bolstering patient rights against insurers and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and moved to subsidize prescription coverage and assisted living for the elderly.

      California approved a landmark health care bill regulating the managed-care industry; it allowed company-paid appeals resulting from denial of service, strengthened medical privacy regulations, and required insurance coverage for cancer screening, contraceptives, and mental illness. California, Georgia, and Illinois (through court order) joined Texas in allowing patients to sue HMOs for malpractice.

      Abortion controversy continued unabated during the year. Maine voters rejected a measure banning late-term, partial-birth abortions, but legislators in Michigan, Missouri, Montana, and North Dakota outlawed the procedure. At year's end 30 states had rejected partial-birth abortions, but the bans were under court challenge in 18. Texas approved a law requiring parental notification before a minor could receive an abortion.

      Although welfare rolls were shrinking, many states reported serious difficulties in implementing the next steps in welfare reform: helping train recipients for permanent jobs, combating substance abuse, and restoring traditional family cohesiveness. Michigan became the first state to require drug testing for welfare applicants. Several states began experimenting with applying a time limit for residency in public housing.

      Maryland joined 36 states prohibiting physicians from assisting suicides, which left Oregon as the only state explicitly permitting the procedure. In another development affecting state health funding, U.S. Census Bureau officials reported in 1999 that, for the first time, the majority of women becoming pregnant or giving birth to their first child in the U.S. were not married.

Education.

      As the U.S. Supreme Court worked its way through challenges based on separation of church and state, support for additional competition in elementary and secondary schools mounted during 1999. The high court approved an Arizona law granting tax breaks for religious school scholarship donations and stayed a federal judge's order stopping a major school-voucher program in Cleveland, Ohio. Florida inaugurated the first statewide voucher program for students in public schools deemed the state's worst. At the year's end voucher pilot programs were under way in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. Illinois joined Iowa in setting up a program granting tax credits for tuition. Oklahoma and Oregon joined 34 other states authorizing semi-independent charter schools with public funding.

      The tragedy in Littleton, in which two heavily armed students entered Columbine High School on April 20 and killed 12 students and one teacher before killing themselves, had a dramatic effect on national attitudes. The incident was followed by a half dozen other multiple killings in schools, workplaces, and businesses later in the year and encouraged 20 states to toughen antigun measures or enact other safety initiatives in schools, including the use of hot lines, video surveillance, and metal detectors.

      California established the nation's first peer-review system, removing salary and tenure decisions from sole control of administrators. States continued to wrestle with funding-equalization issues. State courts in New Hampshire and Vermont declared property tax funding systems for education, which favoured upper-income areas, as unconstitutional.

Law and Justice.

      States executed 98 men and women during 1999, all but a few by lethal injection. Although public support for capital punishment remained high, some questions were raised. Nebraska's governor vetoed a legislative initiative demanding a two-year moratorium on capital punishment while fairness of its imposition was studied. Florida officials moved late in the year to add lethal injection as a choice of execution after a second gruesome experience. In July convicted murderer Allen Lee Davis bled profusely as he was electrocuted in Starke, Fla.; two years earlier another man had appeared to catch on fire as he was executed in a Florida electric chair.

      Following a series of deadly incidents, a nationwide trend toward loosening gun restrictions (usually through so-called concealed-carry laws) was reversed during the year. More than 120 new gun-related proposals were signed into law nationwide. New Jersey and Pennsylvania joined three other states requiring that all guns sold in the state include trigger locks. Illinois joined 16 other states requiring that any gun accessible to a child under 14 have a safety lock or be stored in a childproof location.

Gambling.

      Although state-sponsored games of chance continued to expand, legalized gambling suffered several reverses during 1999. Many states reported that revenue growth from lotteries and other gambling had leveled off or failed to meet expectations. At the year's end only Hawaii, Tennessee, and Utah had no legalized gambling within their borders.

      Alabama voters unexpectedly rejected a statewide lottery proposal sponsored by Gov. Don Siegelman, even though proponents claimed the idea would generate $150 million annually for college scholarships, computers in schools, and a new prekindergarten program. South Carolina scheduled its own referendum on a statewide lottery for 2000 elections.

Equal Rights.

      Legal and political pressures to roll back affirmative-action programs continued during the year. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in November proposed wiping out race and ethnicity as factors in state university admissions and barring racial set-asides and quotas in state contracting decisions. Bush, however, also guaranteed college entry for the top one-fifth of high-school seniors in each high school, added financial aid to the state's budget, and eased statewide certification requirements for minority firms. The Vermont Supreme Court, although not recognizing homosexual marriages, ruled that the state constitution required gay couples be given the same benefits and protections as married persons.

      Following similar actions in Hawaii and Alaska, California scheduled a March 2000 statewide vote on a measure banning legal recognition of homosexual marriages.

Consumer Protection.

      Attorneys general from 19 states claimed victory in November when the U.S. Department of Justice won a preliminary antitrust verdict in a Washington, D.C., federal district court against software giant Microsoft Corp. The 19 had filed as co-plaintiffs, and their demands—including breakup of the firm's monopoly on computer operating systems—threatened to complicate any attempt by Microsoft to settle the case or exert political pressure on the federal government. Several states promised to pursue Microsoft for monopoly practices even if the Justice Department resolved the case out of court.

      Deregulation of electricity was approved in Arkansas, Delaware, New Jersey, New Mexico, Maryland, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. This brought the number of states with electricity competition to 23. Reaction was mixed, particularly because cost savings to date had not reached the 30–40% predicted by deregulation supporters.

David C. Beckwith

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