Elections, workforce among popular issues addressed in the 14,000-plus enacted bills of 2023
States adopt new, innovative approaches to aid affordable housing shortage
Alaska legislators promote value of communication, compromise and collaboration
The Dean of the North Carolina House, Rep. Julia Howard, leads CSG as its national chair in 2023 — a year marking nine decades of service to the states.
David Adkins CSG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO dadkins@csg.org
David Biette CSG EAST DIRECTOR dbiette @csg.org
Laura Tomaka CSG MIDWEST DIRECTOR ltomaka@csg.org
Publisher
DAVID ADKINS dadkins@csg.org
Senior Editor BLAIR HESS bhess@csg.org
Managing Editor CODY PORTER cporter@csg.org
Associate Editors
TREY DELIDA tdelida@csg.org
LEXINGTON SOUERS lsouers@csg.org
JENNIFER HORTON jhorton@csg.org
Graphic Designers
THERESA CARROLL tcarroll@csg.org
STEPHANIE NORTHERN snorthern@csg.org
JESSICA RUSHER jrusher@csg.org Email capitolideas@csg.org
Lindsey Gray CSG SOUTH DIRECTOR lgray @csg.org
Edgar Ruiz CSG WEST DIRECTOR eruiz@csg.org
Megan Quattlebaum CSG JUSTICE CENTER DIRECTOR mquattlebaum @csg.org
GRACE HARRISON grace.harrison@csg.org
The cover photo for this issue of CSG CAPITOL IDEAS magazine was provided by the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association.
CSG CAPITOL IDEAS, ISSN 2152-8489, Issue 2, Vol. 79, No. 1 – Published four times annually by The Council of State Governments, 1776 Avenue of the States, Lexington, KY 40511-8536. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Council of State Governments nor the views of the editorial staff. Readers’ comments are welcome.
Mailing lists are available for rent upon approval of a sample mailing. Contact the sales department at (800) 800-1910. Copyright 2023 by The Council of State Governments. An accessible version of this publication is available upon request. Please email capitolideas@csg.org.
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MPP Ted Arnott ONTARIO CSG East Co-Chair Assemblymember Mike Gipson CALIFORNIA CSG West Chair Sen. Thomas Alexander SOUTH CAROLINA CSG South Chair Sen. Roger Victory MICHIGAN CSG Midwest Chair MPP Jamie West ONTARIO CSG East Co-Chair Gov. John Carney DELAWARE CSG National President Rep. Julia Howard NORTH CAROLINA CSG National Chair
In 2023, CSG celebrates 90 years of service to the states. Founded in 1933 through the vision of Colorado then state Sen. Henry Wolcott Toll, the organization has long pursued unifying state leaders across the aisle and across branches of government to advance the common head. Find out more about what’s ahead for CSG.
Alaska faces unique fiscal and geographical challenges. House leaders emphasize aligning over values rather than party identity, resulting in bipartisan victories and lasting friendships. Through communication and understanding, Alaska’s House members tackle bipartisanship in a divided chamber. In the absence of a definite voting majority or minority, the state sets itself apart with a history of cross-party coalitions getting formed in order to advance policy.
Rep. Cathy Tilton serves as Alaska’s speaker of the House. In that capacity, she directs the chamber’s legislative process, upholds bipartisanship and appoints committee membership. Through Tilton’s experiences, she has learned the importance of promoting communication and respect within the chamber. Those lessons have consequently allowed her to thrive in public service for more than 30 years, and led to the formation of friendships and partnerships that she continues to appreciate.
More than 97,000 bills, resolutions and memorials have been introduced or prefiled this year. Of those, 14,000 were enacted into law. Throughout this state legislation were notable trends that included efforts to lower insulin and other prescription drug costs, in addition to attempts to strengthen the workforce through changes in occupational licensing and adoption of compacts.
Significant reductions in jobs and wages during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to what was a seismic impact to the nation’s housing market. to the nation’s housing market. Rising costs and interest rates resulted in an inadequate supply of housing that placed a strain on states. State leaders are seeking viable funding options — including various grants, initiatives, tax credits and zoning changes — for new projects to address the lack of access to affordable housing.
The nation’s economic shift, and subsequent housing issues, during the COVID-19 pandemic left many individuals seeking affordable — or any — housing. More than 10% of the U.S. population lived in poverty, including more than 500,000 homeless as of January 2022. State leaders responded by employing alternative strategies like the Housing First model.
Economic conditions such as unemployment levels or job growth are one of the most important measurables for government leaders. Although trends have indicated an increase in education for the workforce, labor shortages remain an issue for leaders nationwide. To address this shortage, states are pursuing changes to education and skill requirements that could make it easier for individuals to obtain a job.
Stay plugged in to the latest from The Council of State Governments. CSG provides nonpartisan information, resources and programming through multiple online outlets. Sign up to receive the weekly CSG Capitol Ideas newsletter, tune into csg.org to learn how CSG works for your state, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for the access to easy, fast and up-to-date informatio for state leaders.
We asked @SenatorLamar to describe her experience at the Henry Toll Fellowship last year in Lexington, KY.
Lamar is a 2022 Toll Alumna and a courageous state leader. Join a network of leaders like her by applying to the #HenryTollFellowship before May 8! csg.org/csg-events/csg
Today, CSG hosted The College Student Congress, made up of scholars from all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Students in the @HenryClayCenter program will be immersed in public policy by exploring teamwork, diplomacy and leadership.
Next stop �� D.C.
Yesterday, our Executive Director, David Adkins, was honored to attend a celebration of the 75th anniversary of The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, DC. #Pew75
Pew hosted a great program focused on “Strengthening Democracy in America.”
CSG is proud to partner with Pew to leverage data to solve problems, to find common ground and to build stronger states.
The Council of State Governments • @CSGovts
Behind the scenes: CSG Headquarters picture day! ��
This week, we treated staff members to free headshots! CSG frequently provides this service to our employees and members to help set them up for success.
Last week, our policy analysts traveled to the great state of Idaho with help from @AscendiumEd! CSG and the @urbaninstitute are partnering with Apprenticeship Idaho to develop new apprenticeship programs in state, county and city government for low-income, rural learners.
The Council of State Governments • in/council-of-state-governments
May is #MilitaryAppreciationMonth, so we'd like to show some appreciation to staff members that have served!
Morgan Thomas currently serves in the 123rd Kentucky Air National Guard. He serves as a Non-Commissioned Officer for the Logistics Readiness Squadron.
This December, 20 outstanding leaders will join the CSG 20 Under 40 community at the CSG National Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. These up-and-coming leaders are public servants passionate about advancing the common good and providing exceptional leadership to their state and community. Leaders can either apply or be nominated through the CSG website. Applications or nominations are due by 5 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time on Aug. 1. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
CSG Associates have had an active spring. The National Association of State Procurement Officials launched a reimbursement program for public procurement professionals in March as part of its celebration of National Procurement Month. Amazon recently offered millions in engineering scholarships and Gilead Sciences, Inc., a research-based biopharmaceutical company, became the top funder for HIV-related philanthropy. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
The Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact became active in June with Oregon’s enactment of legislation to join the compact. Model compact legislation released to the states in November required a minimum of 10 states to join the compact prior to its activation. Earlier this year, the compact was adopted by Colorado, Utah, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas, Florida, Alabama, Nebraska and Nevada. Next steps for member states include the nomination of commissioners, who will then convene to draft compact rules and bylaws at their first official meeting. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
Policymakers and industry professionals gathered in Chicago April 29-30 to discuss the future of mental health policy with the State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED). The National Task Force on Workforce Mental Health Policy reviewed presentations and expert panels before joining breakout sessions highlighting workforce mental health policy. Topics included behavioral health coverage, individual placement and support programs, and workplace care and support. CLICK TO LEARN MORE .
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus named 14 state and provincial legislators to its 2023 Birkholz Fellows class. CSG Midwest provides staff support to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus, which is a binational, nonpartisan group of legislators. The Birkholz Institute is among the caucus’ ongoing initiatives. The newly named Birkholz Fellows convened in Detroit for a two-day policy workshop on April 21-22. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
As electric vehicle use increases, states face reduced transportation funding, like revenue from the gas tax, and must find a way to pay for roads and other costs. To combat this, states are raising prices for electric vehicle registration, increased taxes on vehicle charging stations and instating road-user charges. All 11 CSG Midwest members charge higher registration fees for electric vehicles and Kansas, Iowa and Minnesota are examining implanting a road-user charge. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
Overdose deaths have more than doubled in the last decade, spurred by the increased use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Many Midwest state legislatures approached the issue through “harm reduction,” which changes state laws, as well as through investments in new programs that prevent overdoses by reaching people who use drugs, or increasing criminal penalties for those who manufacture or distribute fentanyl. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
Intended to inspire public service attorneys, Ohio HB 150 (2022) established the Rural Practice Incentive Program, which authorizes the payment of up to $50,000 of an attorney’s student loans if the individual agrees to be a public service attorney in an underserved community. South Dakota has had a similar program since 2013 and, in 2022, the Kansas Supreme Court formed the Rural Justice Initiative Committee to better serve rural communities. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
Seeing the need for more regional dialogue on housing policy, CSG East gathered state leaders earlier this year for a roundtable call. The result was added housing programming, including three virtual roundtable webinars and in-person programming at the CSG East Annual Meeting in August. The most recent webinar, “Tackling the Affordable Housing Crisis: Best Practices from Maine,” took place May 19 with former Maine Speaker Ryan Fecteau and Mayor Jason Levesque of Auburn, Maine. Fecteau and Levesque shared their achievements on new zoning policies and housing construction. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
Maintaining an agriculture workforce is often challenging, that has only become more complicates following COVID-19. In late April, the CSG East Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee met in Baltimore, Maryland, to hear from policy and industry experts on the issue and discuss state-level strategies for addressing it. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
On April 21, the CSG East Energy and Environment Committee hosted a lunchtime virtual conversation with Michael Forrester, principal deputy director at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of State and Community Energy Programs. Deputy Director Forrester discussed the Inflation Reduction Act housing rebate programs, including the Residential Efficiency Rebates for low-income and market-rate housing, and the Residential Electrification Rebates for low and moderate income households. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
California Assemblymember Mike Gipson, who serves as CSG West Chair, and the California Host Committee are thrilled to invite you to the “Meeting with the Stars.” The 2023 CSG West Annual Meeting convenes Aug. 1-4 in Universal City, California. The annual meeting is the largest gathering of western legislators, welcoming more than 500 participants each year. Join legislative colleagues and engage in policy committee discussions, learn from topic experts, and build lasting relationships with regional, national and international colleagues. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
This year’s Legislative Council on River Governance was held June 26-29 in Whitefish, Montana. Established in 1998, LCRG is a cooperative, bipartisan program comprised of state legislators from Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Through collaborative efforts, members had the opportunity to exchange information and identify solutions to address the challenges and opportunities along the Columbia and Snake River basins. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
CSG West recently initiated an interstate housing collaboration, providing state legislators a venue to address challenges and opportunities connected to affordable housing. Moderated by the Hawaii House and Senate Housing Committee Chairs, Rep. Troy Hashimoto and Sen. Stanley Chang, the collaborative aims to assess the effectiveness of states’ recent housing efforts, while exploring innovative housing models employed in the U.S. and internationally. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
The Florida Legislature recently approved a permanent tax exemption on infant diapers and adult incontinence products in the state. The new law permanently enshrines the 2022 exemption on diapers and expands the tax exemption to include incontinence undergarments, incontinence pads and incontinence liners. The tax exemption begins in July. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
In April, Missouri became the first state to join Reentry 2030, a national initiative led by the CSG Justice Center to help individuals leaving prison find and keep employment. The program intends for 80% of formerly incarcerated Missourians to maintain their employment for at least nine months after release, among other goals. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
One of five states awarded a grant by Accelerate, Arkansas will use the $1 million awarded to support high-impact tutoring for K-5 public school students. Arkansas passed The LEARNS Act, an omnibus education law approved in March, a portion of which creates the Arkansas High-Impact Tutoring Pilot Program. The program will be administered by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
A new law in Virginia allows workers to take unpaid leave if they donate organs or bone marrow. Beginning July 1, employers in Virginia with 50 or more staff members must provide up to 60 days of unpaid leave in any 12 month period for someone serving as an organ donor and up to 30 days of unpaid leave for an employee donating bone marrow. Virginia SB 1086 (2023) requires employers to maintain the employee’s health care and prohibits them from taking retaliatory action on employees who take the leave. CLICK TO LEARN MORE.
90
YEARS OF SERVICE
56
1,300+ Toll Fellows
20+ affiliated organizations
53
By Trey Delidamember states and territories
80+ Shared State Legislation programs
volumes of The Book of the States
For 90 years, The Council of State Governments has pursued the advancement of common good in state government. CSG is among some of public policy's most influential nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations that represent state and local government.
It all began in 1925 when Henry Wolcott Toll, who was then a Colorado state senator, envisioned an organization that would convene state leaders and improve legislative standards — together. The result of that vision was the the American Legislators Association, the first iteration of what would soon become The Council of State Governments.
As the organization gained traction, interstate issues became more prevalent. Toll knew to achieve his original vision, the scope of his organization had to include the federal government and state administrative officials. In a letter to ALA board members, Toll wrote that the ALA’s role was evolving and that it was no longer a service organization solely for legislators. Simultaneously, ALA engaged in undertaking “an attempt for harmony in state activities between state and state, and between state and nation.”
It wasn’t until Oct. 22, 1933, when a group of state legislators gathered at the Penn Harris Hotel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that CSG was born. Though there is no official record of the meeting, Henry Toll recalled it nearly 25 years later as the conception of CSG.
“Probably 12 or 15 of us sat around a table in a small room,” Toll said. “The Council of State Governments had never been heard of before that day.”
That same meeting brought forth the Articles of Organization for this newfound, nonpartisan organization. One sentence from those articles stated, “In thousands of instances the laws of the states are in conflict, their practices are discordant, their regulations are antagonistic, and their policies are either competitive or repugnant to one another. Such disharmony cannot continue.”
By 1939, the organization had reached national acclaim for its collaborative nature and efficiency. On Jan. 20, 1939, The New York Times published an editorial noting how CSG successfully facilitated an interstate compact between New Jersey and New York, which established joint authority over the Palisades Interstate Park.
“It is an organization that represents all three branches of government, not just one of them. No other organization has that reach.”
CARL STENBERG CSG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (1983-89)
“It is so exciting to have the opportunity to champion this organization into its 90th year and to host members from across the nation in my home state ... It is an honor to serve as national chair during such a monumental time for the organization.”
“Notice the fitness of the machinery for the job. The commission members of state legislatures will look after the necessary laws. The administrative members will execute them. CSG is a practical machine of information and action, highly useful in a day of complex problems,” the editorial read.
The piece also noted the assistance of CSG in ending a 55-year-old question between eight states on the regulation of fishing in the Great Lakes. Throughout the organization’s history, CSG has consistently played an integral role in uniting state legislatures, notably during the dawn of World War II. In 1940, CSG members met with federal officials at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration to craft plans to aid states in developing legislation that helped fuel federal government defense efforts near the onset of World War II. As a result, the CSG Suggested State Legislation Committee, now referred to as Shared State Legislation, was developed. Throughout the war, CSG united state defense councils, administered the Selective Service System, and established state guards to offset the shortage of National Guard members who were called into federal services.
It was around this time that CSG had become a notable force in the policy world. Toll and his 15-member staff established a headquarters in Chicago, with an additional office space in New York City.
After the war, CSG continued to broaden its service area through the expansion of its regional presence. While the Eastern Regional Conference had already been developed in 1935, by the mid-1940s, organizational leaders across the nation had established regional conferences in the Midwest, South and West. As the regions began to take root, the scope of CSG services expanded. In 1969, under Executive Director Frank Bane, CSG relocated its headquarters to its current location in Lexington, Kentucky.
In 1983, Carl W. Stenberg III came on as executive director of the organization. Prior to his role at CSG, Stenberg directed the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. He has also authored several books and publications relating to policy, including “Managing Local Government Services: A Practical Guide,”“Pulling the Lever: The States’ Role in Catalyzing Local Change,” and “America’s Future Work Force:
A Health and Education Policy Issues Handbook .” He went on to serve as director of the Master of Public Administration program at the University of North Carolina School of Government from 2006-11.
Before Stenberg was named executive director, he recognized the unique perspective CSG had in the policy space.
“It is an organization that represents all three branches of government, not just one of them,” Stenberg said. “No other organization has that reach.”
He added, “CSG is a regionally based, national organization. It is unique in that it has a national office and Washington presence, but it also has four regional offices that enable it to, in a more focused way, identify and help policymakers deal with issues that are not national in nature, but may be regional or Interstate. The capability to have a broad national view, but also the more focused regional perspective sets CSG apart from the other organizations that serve state officials.”
One of Stenberg’s first big projects was the 50th anniversary of CSG, a pivotal moment in the organization's history as it was the first national convening of all regions and affiliated organizations.
“I believe it was Dec. 5, 1983,” he said. “Until that time, CSG National had not held annual conferences in a very long time, but the 50th anniversary was kind of a pilot. It was well attended with representatives from all three branches, and it was a terrific substantive program.”
As a newcomer to the organization, Stenberg wondered if bringing everyone together at the end of each year added value to CSG for members and affiliates.
The event proved to be so well-received that it morphed from an anniversary celebration to the annual convening now known as the CSG National Conference.
“When I look back and think of some of the ways I left CSG as a better organization, having an annual conference served a number of important purposes. Not being in Washington, D.C., it was hard to maintain the national visibility for the CSG headquarters office. Having an annual meeting that was moved around the country was one way to do that.”
REP. JULIA HOWARD NORTH CAROLINA, 2023 CSG NATIONAL CHAIR
For the past 40 years, CSG has convened state leaders, policymakers, representatives and affiliates in cities across the nation in a homecomingstyle reunion where participants can share ideas, collaborate and learn from one another.
This December, the CSG National Conference will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina, the home state of Rep. Julia Howard, who is serving as the 2023 CSG National Chair.
Howard is the longest-serving member of the North Carolina House. She also has an extensive history with CSG, serving as the organization’s national vice chair in 2020 before advancing to chair-elect. She is a 2008 CSG Henry Toll Fellow and previously served as the 2007 chair of the CSG Southern Legislative Conference.
“It is so exciting to have the opportunity to champion this organization into its 90th year and to host members from across the nation in my home state,” Howard said. “I have been involved with CSG in many roles over many years. It is an honor to serve as national chair during such a monumental time for the organization.”
Over the past nine decades of serving the states, CSG has had nine executive directors lead the organization through times of triumph and national hardships. David Adkins, a former Kansas State Legislator who is at the helm of CSG in its 90th year, has seen the organization through some of the most testing times in our nation. Joining as executive director/CEO in 2008, he has led CSG through the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. With every new challenge, Adkins has held the core values and principles that founded the institution at the forefront of his guidance.
With each generation, CSG has grown and adapted alongside our members to address the ever-evolving, uniquely complex landscape of public policy. In doing so, the organization has settled into a distinctive niche that sets it apart from any other establishment.
“Our four strong regions, our three-branch participation, and one-of-akind Justice Center, all help set us apart. But, when one asks state officials what they value most about CSG, we consistently hear one response: ‘It’s a family,’” Adkins said. “We create spaces where state officials from
CSG (2008–PRESENT)both parties and from many ideological perspectives can come together, see the humanity in each other, learn together and support each other, commiserate about successes and failures, support each other and share many memorable moments.”
The Council of State Governments has undoubtedly grown, advanced and changed over the course of 90 years. Some of the problems faced in the nation’s statehouses today are resonant of the issues CSG aided leaders with in its early years, while others were unheard of even a decade ago. However, much of the organization’s origins in state stewardship, advancing democracy and the common good remain.
So, what’s next?
“When someone asks me what the future holds for CSG, my answer is simple: We will continue to do what we have always done,” Adkins said. “We will focus on the priorities state officials tell us are important to them; we will provide objective, nonpartisan analysis of public policy issues; we will be a source of trusted data and information; we will provide state officials with meaningful ways to learn from each other; and we will fiercely defend the role of the states in our federal system. Like always, we will adapt to changing conditions, find new ways to accomplish our mission and be responsive to the states we serve.”
“Our gaze is firmly fixed on the horizon. We are always asking the question, ‘What’s next?’ I invite every state official to find a home in the CSG family. CSG will make you a better, more effective public servant and your participation will make CSG a stronger force for good.”
DAVID ADKINS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO
Pennsylvania and Virginia, much like Congress, have split chambers with the House and Senate led by each respective party. Five other states — Alaska, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire — have a near or total party split within either one or both chambers. With split chambers, legislators face unique challenges when compromising and collaborating on legislation.
Democrats (2)
MinOrity
Democrats (11)
Independents (4)
The 49th state, with thriving waterways, sweeping mountain views and distinct detachment from the contiguous U.S., has a history of coalition building, according to Alaska House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage. Because parties lack a definite voting majority or minority, Alaskan legislators join across party lines, creating coalitions made up of likeminded individuals, with more emphasis placed on values and fiscal policy.
“It’s not trying to necessarily achieve a party agenda but trying to meet your unique needs in unique districts. When you then try and form a majority or minority around the party issues, it just doesn’t work,” Rep. Schrage said. “So you see a lot of work going into trying to find what values and what issues can we find a majority support around. That’s where in the last Legislature, and in this Legislature, we have coalition governments that are formed much more around values and fiscal policy than you do around party identity.”
Rep. Cathy Tilton, Alaska’s House speaker, noted a bipartisan partnership
allowed the Legislature to serve Alaskans effectively, especially because of Juneau’s geographical location, which may keep citizens from participating in traditional government activities.
“Over the last several years, it’s taken a long time for the House, specifically, to organize because it’s so split,” Tilton said. “One of the goals was to organize in a timely manner because Alaskans are really frustrated with sending their representatives to Juneau. … Fortunately, we found alignment with the [Alaska House] Bush caucus, or the more rural partners, to organize. We’re able to do that on the second day of session.”
The minority party is also comprised of Democrats, Republicans and independents, which Schrage credits as being “vital” to the legislative process. By uniting around shared values, rather than strict party identity, Schrage said the coalition can work together. However, he recognizes that each member has legislation they are passionate about, which may not align with the coalition as a whole.
11 ISSUE 2 2023 | CSG CAPITOL IDEAS
“If it’s something that support isn’t there, individual members need to do the work of finding a way to meet those diverse members where they are,” Schrage said. “For those issues, individual members have to do a lot of work and kind of figure out how they can tailor their legislation to meet that very unique political identity of the Alaskan Legislature. There’s a much greater appetite in Alaska to pass bills out across party lines, or across caucus lines. That’s just something that I think is inherent in a close Legislature like this. You don’t have votes to spare within your own caucus, and sometimes you’re going to have to work across those lines to find a path forward.”
To do this, both Schrage and Tilton emphasize communication.
“You do that with just respectful communication and bringing back respect to this institution, which means that we need to communicate with each other,” Tilton said. “We can agree to disagree. I may not support your bill and you may not support my bill. That’s okay. We can still work together.”
Schrage noted how communication can assist with better understanding what values members align on and how those with differences can comfortably work together and make incremental progress. He added that communication also helps address potential roadblocks in legislation, which can be more easily achieved by straying from “typical political messaging” and clearly explaining bills to fellow legislators to find common ground.
“See where there’s some alignment on those values and recognize that because the chamber is so split, you don’t have that kind of party strength that you might have in other states,” Schrage said. “We all really have to moderate our expectations and be willing to make incremental progress. Accept that and do not let perfect be the enemy of good.”
From this communication, members build strong relationships, regardless of party identity. Tilton said the relationships she built led to some of her favorite memories from her time in the Legislature. Among them was her past work as House minority leader with Alaska Sen. Tom Begich, who was then Senate minority leader. Despite standing on opposite sides of the aisle, Tilton and Begich established a close relationship that helped meet the needs of the minority parties.
“I don’t know that if you were out in the real world that you would have that opportunity to build a relationship, and what I would call it true friendship, with somebody who was on the other side of the aisle from you,” Tilton said.
“Member-to-member communication” and relationships build trust and familiarity, according to Schrage. The role of legislator also allows him to meet and engage with individuals who are “experts in their fields.” The result of those relationships can lead to effective policy work and coalition building — both now and in the future.
As speaker, Tilton said she recognizes her role as a “leader of leaders,” regardless of party identity.
“You do that with just respectful communication and bringing back respect to this institution, which means that we need to communicate with each other. We can agree to disagree. I may not support your bill and you may not support my bill. That’s okay. We can still work together.
— rep. C athy t iltO n, a laska h O use s peaker
“I realize that my responsibility is to be the speaker of the entire House. I have to take in and listen to the needs of all of the members here,” Tilton said. “Because they were all elected in their districts to be a leader, just like I am that leader. Being a leader of leaders is a fine balance.” This balance often leads to compromise, which Tilton said can be difficult when “everyone has a different idea” of what major legislation like the annual budget will look like. These types of decisions can have a lasting impact on Alaska, which is why Tilton believes she — and those in similar positions — must make every effort to acknowledge the needs and wants of every member.
Both Schrage and Tilton highlighted the importance of passing a budget that addresses the distinct financial challenges found in Alaska, like the reliance on natural resource revenue and the question of implementing broad taxes. “A lot of the discussion surrounding organization of the majority and minority caucuses are around what you view as the right fiscal solution for the state, so you don’t see a lot of compro -
mise,” Schrage said. “As you face challenges, or as you see the need to negotiate on fiscal issues, the focus is really on consensus building, education and discussion. We have a large amount of time and energy focused around really making sure that members are communicated with and that everyone has an opportunity to speak to their districts’ needs, to be heard and to have a say in that process.”
While the budget remains a complicated compromise, other legislation illustrated the benefits of bipartisan support. Schrage said Senate Bill 58, which extends postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months, is a key piece of bipartisan legislation. The relationship between respect and bipartisan success remains vital in this session and beyond, the speaker added.
“I think we’ve done great things with the bills that we’ve had,” Tilton said. “But more than looking at creating laws, I think that it’s just important that you’re building good relationships. I think it goes back to how you have to be true to yourself and respect yourself, but you also need to respect the other person that you’re working with.”
“See where there’s some alignment on those values and recognize that because the chamber is so split, you don’t have that kind of party strength that you might have in other states. We all really have to moderate our expectations and be willing to make incremental progress. Accept that and do not let perfect be the enemy of good.”
— rep. C alvin sC hrage , a laska hO use Min O rity l eader
Relationships, respect integral to Rep. Tilton as Alaska’s House speaker
Alaska Rep. Cathy Tilton served as House minority leader from 2021-22 before being elected as speaker of the House in 2023. As speaker, she directs the chamber’s legislative process, upholds bipartisanship and appoints committee membership. Tilton’s focus in that capacity is on building respect within the chamber and improving Alaska’s financial stability.
tiltOn: I started out working at a law firm as a legal secretary, which I think gave me a little bit of background in some law. Then, for 10 years, I worked in local government. I worked for five mayors of Wasilla. That’s a lot of different types of leadership that I adjusted to. Before I ran for office, I was running my own business and taking care of my family. When you’re paying your own payroll and taking care of others, it’s a different perspective.
tiltOn: In the past several elections, this electorate has elected people into office where it’s been really divided — for the House, especially. It could be even on a 20/20 divide if you’re looking at partisan membership. That’s been a hard thing to overcome. One of the key things, I think, to keeping this chamber a working chamber is to show that respect for yourself while also having respect for others. I want to bring respect back to the institution overall. Alaskans want us to get our jobs done. We have this partisan divide that, over the years, has become wider and wider. I recognize that we really need to stay true to our beliefs, our morals, our values, our constituency, but we can do that in a respectful manner where we can agree to disagree.
tiltOn: Way back when I was in my first session as a legislator, I chaired the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee, which is really about all of Alaska. Let’s face it, I was raised on the Railbelt, in south central Alaska. I hadn’t really traveled my own state very much. It was a really good experience for me to be on that committee to learn to balance the needs of my area with the needs of rural Alaska, and to take bills and bring those together in a collaboration so that that they were acceptable to both areas. That’s the way I’m approaching this as a speaker. We have to be conscientious of the needs of our entire caucus.
Q A Q A Q A
tiltOn: The big issues that we’re dealing with are the volatility of our income and revenues. We are an oil revenue state, and, of course, we all know what the volatility of oil. Then there’s the tension between the permanent fund dividend, which is different than a lot of states have. There’s a little bit of tension between the dividend going to the people and public and government services. Where does that all fit in in our budget? We have a lot of tension in our own caucus, in this entire building and for the entire Legislature.
I stick to my values of who I am and what my constituency believes in. I’m from a really red part of Alaska. I’m very conservative. That being said, I do believe in fair treatment for everybody. I look at the fact that I am a leader of leaders. My role as the leader of leaders is to lift other leaders up and help them to become a leader. I won’t be here forever. I don’t expect to be. I feel like my role is to help them move into leadership spots.
tiltOn: I would love to see us be able to come together on some sort of a fiscal plan. It’s going to be difficult. Obviously, the Legislature has been working on it for 20 years and haven’t gotten there yet. But I think that we’re at that point in Alaska where we don’t have a choice. We really have to do something here to stabilize Alaska.
The second thing I think I would like to see really worked on is high crime issues. There are a series of crime bill dealing with fentanyl, sex trafficking and those kinds of things. I think it’s important to Alaskans that we do something about those things, and I’m hoping that we can all work together to get those over the line.
Q A Q A
tiltOn: I was a private business owner and stayed home with my kids before I went to work at the Legislature. I really didn’t plan to run for office. Some of my favorite memories are from some of the relationships that I have built here that are uncommon. I was a minority leader last session and the minority leader for the Senate was Sen. Tom Begich. I feel like he and I — although on total opposite sides of the aisle — built a relationship and were able to work together to meet the needs of the minorities. I think that’s one memory. I don’t know that if you were out in the real world that you would have that opportunity to build a relationship, and what I would call a true friendship, with somebody who was on the other side of the aisle from you. I think I look at that as being one of the accomplishments from being here that I hold very dear. Relationships are really important to me.
Q A ISSUE 2 2023 | CSG CAPITOL IDEAS
Legislatures in 2023 have introduced or pre-filed more than 97,000 bills, resolutions and memorials. Of those, at least 14,000 were enacted into law by June, ranging from workforce development to pass-through entity taxes.
Once COVID-19’s societal impact subsided, states attempted to remedy workforce concerns by passing legislation on sector specific programs, regional development plans and interstate compacts. In 2023, more than 30 bills on interstate compacts have been enacted in more than 15 states.
The Kansas Legislature enacted HB 2288, enabling mental health professionals to join the multistate Counseling Compact. Rep. Susan Ruiz, who helped pass the bill, said its success is a win-win for providers, patients and Kansans. Ruiz is the ranking member of the Health and Human Services Committee and a licensed clinical social worker.
“This is a very bipartisan effort to enhance our workforce,” Ruiz said. “We have put a lot of funding into enhancing our mental health services across the board, but we need the practitioners involved to bring all that to fruition. So, anything that we could do to enhance our workforce, we did it.”
Ruiz said HB 2288 allows practitioners licensed in another state to practice in states that are members of the compact. Practitioners must maintain their licensure, undergo a background check and complete other requirements. Due to these safety measures, patients can feel confident in a provider and protect their continuity of care, which Ruiz said could be “devastating” if interrupted.
Almost every bill on workforce training was passed, leading 24 states to pass more than 85 bills. Minimum wage bills were enacted in five states and 15 unemployment bills passed in four separate states.
State policymakers offer unique, viable solutions to common issues in 2023
By June, legislators filed more than 1,700 bills relating to elections. Of those, 119 were enacted across 28 states. While the focus of legislation varied, many bills enhanced protections for election officials. It’s those workers who help “operationalize democracy,” according to former election official Veronica Degraffenreid, senior manager of strategic partnerships, elections and government at the Brennan Center for Justice Degraffenreid said the Brennan Center completed three surveys, the most recent of which notes that one in three election officials have been abused, harassed or threatened, with three in four seeing an increase in threats.
“What I believe policymakers and lawmakers are doing is a pragmatic approach. They're like ‘let's do something and address it,’ but understand that along with the pragmatism is a passion that these are people in our communities,” Degraffenreid said. “They are our friends. They are our neighbors. We go to school with them and to religious services with them or ballgames. It's their job to carry out the work and carry out their responsibilities. It's absolutely something that we need to do, but we should want to do it, and want to make sure that we protect the lives and the livelihood of these American citizens.”
Legislation protecting election officials generally follows three paths that potentially result in increased funding, mounting criminal penalties for perpetrators, and/or additional information protection. Funding adds to the physical safety of election offices and polling places. Legislation surrounding doxing prevention and implementing address protection programs allows for increased physical safety and prevents malicious action against an election administrator or poll worker.
“If we want voters, however they participate, to have faith and confidence in the process and the people who are performing those duties, we want election administrators to be focused on conducting fair, accurate and safe elections; we want them to do their duty, their job that is dictated by federal and state law.”
Originally designed to provide health care access to rural and underserved areas, telehealth is now in widespread use. However, the popularity of telehealth, especially following its use in 2020, highlighted a need for increased regulation. Legislation in 2023 expanded existing framework to allow out-of-state providers to work with a certain state’s patients, increases prescribing ability for certain drugs and payment parity for services. Multistate legislation could be helpful in allowing providers to uphold state specific licensure requirements, meaning patients have a wider range of care.
Across 22 states, 44 telehealth bills were enacted this year entering June. These bills expanded funding and access to telehealth. Virginia SB 1418, which passed on March 21, permits telehealth entities with state licensed health care providers do not need to maintain an instate address to enroll as a vendor or provider group under Medicaid. The bill also allows health care providers to not maintain a physical presence in the Commonwealth to enroll as a Medicare provider.
“This is a bill with a significant impact on access to quality health care for Virginians, especially those in rural areas like southwest Virginia, which I represent,” said Virginia Sen. Todd Pillion. “In short, it fixes a systemic problem in Medicaid enrollment for Virginia-licensed providers. Prior to this bill, a Virginia licensed provider or provider group must have a physical address in Virginia in order to enroll in the Medicaid program.”
This allows licensed providers who do not have a physical Virginia address to aid patients. At the same time, patients can know the care they are receiving meets state licensing standards and other Medicaid qualifications. Pillion said the legislation reduces regulatory burdens and allows Medicaid to “leverage telemedicine” to better serve both providers and patients.
“The more we can do to reduce regulatory burdens and enhance quality of life, while increasing health care options, is a win for patients, providers and rural communities,” Pillion said.
As of June 2023, legislatures introduced or pre-filed
97,000 97,000
bills, resolutions and memorials.
119 BILLS 119 BILLS
28 STATES. 28 STATES. were enacted across passed workforce training bills.
24 STATES 24 passed minimum wage bills.
STATES 5 5 STATES passed unemployment bills.
More than 29 bills filed in 23 states were aimed at capping the cost of insulin and other diabetes care-related supplies. Despite recent federal caps, many Americans with diabetes still face high annual insulin costs. In response, states and private companies are capping costs in specific circumstances.
Insulin is relatively easy to produce, given its chemical makeup, but patients are often paying at least four times the amount those in other countries do. Additionally, the cost of pumps and other supplies are often not covered under a cap.
In North Dakota, Sen. Tim Mathern introduced SB 2140 to cap monthly copays at $25 for insulin drugs and supplies for health insurance programs. Mathern said the bill went through several iterations in both house and senate committees.
“The challenge is never-ending — to create a world where each and every person has the right to affordable, accessible and quality health care,” Mathern said. “SB 2140 is one small step toward that goal which I have been working on in the senate since 1986.”
Mathern suggested connecting with families experiencing diabetes and federal advocates to explain the importance of capping insulin costs. As well, he suggested increased education on the issue, especially because of an existing federal cap.
“A challenge in the drafting was identifying what specific items were to be covered by the $25 cap,” Mathern said. “I also found, as a democrat in a red state, it was a great boost to have republican cosponsors.”
4 4
Career and technical education, or CTE, is defined in the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act of 2018 as a series of courses that prepares students for futures in technical skills or industries, works to solve the skills gap. Studies show that involvement in CTE leads to higher wages, especially after the completion of advanced coursework. Spreading awareness of these programs and knowledge of the typical CTE student helps increase program success. In addition, integrating CTE courses into high school curriculum provides a benefit for students who may have chosen other classes to meet strict graduation requirements.
High school career and technical education courses prepare students for entry into the workforce by offering hard and soft skills specific to an industry. Students can use these skills immediately after graduation or in postsecondary training. States report that high school students taking at least two CTE courses have a 95% graduation rate. CTE programs provide skilled employees in professions facing labor shortages.
In 2023, 23 bills concerning career and technical education were enacted. At least eight states passed legislation allowing CTE courses to count as high school credit or meet a graduation requirement. Six states — Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas and Washington — passed general legislation concerning career and technical education, including pilot programs for nurses and joint studies on high school program enrollment.
44 22 STATES. 22 STATES.
TELEHEALTH BILLS were enacted this year across
29 BILLS IN 23 STATES 29 BILLS IN 23 STATES were aimed at capping the cost of insulin and other diabetes care related supplies.
PASS-THROUGH ENTITY TAXES,
according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
This year, seven states joined 28 others with pass-through entity taxes, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. An additional two states have also proposed legislation. A partnership, such as an LLC, can elect to pay state and local taxes at the entity level, rather than having those costs “pass through” to the owners. This offers the owner a federal income tax credit to reduce their personal federal income tax. Due to disparities in state taxes, some state residents paid more than others in federal income taxes despite similar incomes. By passing legislation allowing pass through taxes, states can balance the cost of taxes on some citizens.
“We think this will help our West Virginia small businesses that are organized as pass-through entities decrease the amount that owners would have to pay in federal income tax,” said West Virginia Sen. Mike Oliverio, who sponsored SB 151. “In turn, we're hopeful that will enable them to invest more money into their business, pay more money to their staff, or simply enjoy more the dollars that they've earned from their business.”
Oliverio said states have taken various approaches to legislating passthrough taxes, and given that the federal government was not preventing states from passing legislation, he and other West Virginia legislators wanted businesses to have the same benefits as other states.
“At some point, there has to be a balancing of what each of you respectively pay to the federal government in taxes as well,” Oliverio said. “The citizen in West Virginia versus the citizen in [a high tax state] is enjoying the same benefits of the CDC, the United States Army, the Postal Service and all those federal agencies that they're funding with their taxes.”
Legislators in 2023 enacted concerning CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.
23 BILLS
7 STATES 7 STATES joined 28 others with
wage. In some states, the two-bedroom housing wage is even higher — up to more than $40 an hour. The average worker earning minimum wage would need to work almost 96 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom rental at the national average fair market rent of $1,324.
By Cody Porter and Jennifer HortonLingering fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic placed an immense economic burden on countless Americans. Since 2020, the housing market is one area experiencing the brunt of its weight, remaining in a volatile state due to significant reductions in jobs and wages.
Deemed at an “inflection point” by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, the homebuying market’s record 2021 was followed by increased interest rates in 2022 that helped slow purchases in a market lacking inventory. Due to limited supply, costs for homes and rentals alike continued to soar in unison with rising rates.
Those most directly impacted by the active shortage of affordable and available rental homes are extremely low-income households, which includes those with incomes at or below the poverty guideline, or 30% of their area median income, whichever is higher. There are just 36 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 low-income households — a deficit of 7 million homes nationwide. For extremely low-income renter households, 71% are severely cost burdened, meaning they spend more than half of their income on housing, making it more difficult to afford healthy food and health care.
In its February policy brief on housing prices and affordability, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah noted that housing affordability comes in two forms that are not mutually exclusive: affordable housing and housing affordability.
In 2022, a person working full-time in the U.S. needed to earn $25.82 an hour on average just to rent — not purchase — a modest, two-bedroom home. That hourly wage is $18.57 higher than the $7.25 federal minimum
With the rapid increase in home and rent prices over the last several years, millions of low-income renters struggled to afford their rent even before the pandemic. The economic impacts of COVID-19 exacerbated the problem even further as low-wage workers lost income. While temporary eviction moratoriums and Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance programs kept millions of disadvantaged renters housed during the pandemic, as these programs end, the need for affordable housing for the lowest-income renters will not.
Homes suited for low- or middle-income earners to rent or purchase have been quickly consumed by investors in recent years for rental income or for quickly upgraded resells. During 2022’s first quarter, investors accounted for 28% of single-family home purchases, which is 9% higher than the year prior, according to CoreLogic data cited by The Joint Center for Housing Studies in its 2022 housing report
More densely populated areas, such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Jose, and were favored by investors in recent years due to higher home values compared to those in smaller cities. This factor, combined with the workforce’s ability to work remotely, promoted substantial population growth from 2020-22 in the likes of Idaho, Montana and Utah. Axios reported Idaho’s population increase of nearly 4.9% as the most for any state during the two-year span, while Utah came in just under 3%.
Utah, ranking fourth overall in growth from 2020-22, experienced similar increases from 2020-21 by adding 56,000 new residents, or 1.7%. Much of the state’s continued growth can be attributed to its lure as an employment hub, including in the tech space. The Milken Institute’s 2023 “Best-Performing Cities” featured many impacted by Utah’s employment boom, including Provo-Orem — its best-performing city for a third consecutive year — in addition to Logan and St. George as viable options among smaller cities.
States turn to new legislation to remedy affordable housing issues
A common theme for the states without dense populations has been determining how to best offer sufficient housing. Plagued by challenges stemming from the pandemic, funding for new projects has been difficult to obtain. When available, new housing projects are marred by issues associated with zoning mandates.
Former Utah Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, a real estate broker by trade, was involved in many affordable housing efforts prior to assuming his current role as Utah homeless coordinator in the Office of Homeless Services. While proud of his state’s ability to attract new employment opportunities, he said it doesn’t come without “a little caveat.”
“With all of these new, high-paying jobs there’s more money chasing a limited supply of housing,” Niederhauser said. “Our population could not have sustained such employment growth, so we’ve had huge in-migration from places like California where real estate values are higher. You’ve got all this equity coming in from a state with higher property values chasing after a limited housing supply, and it only multiplies our problem.”
In October 2021, The University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute revealed in its “State of the State’s Housing Market ” report that more than half of the state households could not afford median-priced homes. In the time since, prices have only increased.
“Our children and grandchildren are priced out at this point unless you’re making a lot of money — almost six figures at this point,” Niederhauser said. “We’ve had unprecedented home appreciation, and we have got
great economy, but that does price out social workers, case managers, firefighters, police officers and teachers. Compared to the national level, [Utah] ranks near the top in appreciation and that’s why it’s different here.”
In Maine, where the population grew quicker from 2020-21 than its previous 10-year average, state leaders have remained active in identifying avenues for additional housing.
It’s quite possible the state has even underproduced housing for quite some time, according to Ryan Fecteau, senior advisor of community development and strategic initiatives for the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. However, as Fecteau noted, the issue of affordability and availability has only emerged in the past few years due to in-migration.
“We’ve had net migration of around 37,000 people. For most states, that might not sound like a lot, but for a state of 1.3 million people that is a pretty significant number of individuals moving here,” Fecteau said. “The vast majority of the people moving here as part of the in-migration have been under age 45. So, we’re not talking about retirees calling Maine home; we’re talking about working-age folks. We now have this real gridlock, this stalemate, in our housing sector, where older adults might [be prepared to] downsize but [unsure if] they’re going to be able to find another housing opportunity.”
Affordable housing refers to a specific type of housing, generally government-assisted rental housing targeted for very low to extremely low-income households. Housing affordability is a much broader term and refers to the general level of housing prices relative to the general level of household incomes. The term does not refer to any particular type of housing. The two concepts are not mutually exclusive or in conflict but are complementary with affordable housing being a subset of housing affordability.”
A. Wood,Kem
C. GardnerPolicy Institute at the University of Utah
Maine Gov. Janet Mills appointed Fecteau to his current role in January as part of a string of efforts to address the state’s pressing need for housing. Maine’s House Speaker from 2020-22, Fecteau sponsored many bills on housing and community development. Among them was LD 1645, which created the Maine Affordable Housing Tax Credit that — to date — remains the state’s largest investment in affordable housing.
Maine’s Affordable Housing Tax Credit is an eight-year program granted $10 million per year, including shares for senior and rural housing. As a result, the state’s investment is matched with federal low-income housing tax credit dollars. To qualify for the program, individuals must earn below 60% of the area’s median income and monthly rent cannot exceed 30% of an individual’s monthly income.
“We’re very lucky that here in our state, we have the leadership of the governor, legislature and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle,” Fecteau said. “This is probably one of those rare issues in today’s politics where you have members on both sides of the aisle resoundingly in favor of tackling this problem.”
HCM 2002 | Encourages federal government to sell underused federal land to state and local governments in order to build more affordable residential housing.
SB 102 | Allows local government entities to adopt laws for the purpose of increasing the supply of affordable housing. Allows the Board of County Commissioners to approve affordable housing development.
HR 188 | Requests the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to convene a working group to identify sites of land that can accommodate new affordable housing.
HR 205 | Reports data on the “severe housing crisis” within the state and urges the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to provide loans or grants to buyers at certain income levels.
SR 50 | Reports data on unspent TANF money and the unaffordable rental housing situation and urges the introduction of legislation to allow TANF money to be allocated to the construction of transitional supportive housing and affordable rental housing.
HB 2001 | Establishes the Oregon Housing Needs Analysis within the Department of Administrative Services. The bill intends to analyze housing needs and produce housing units in accordance with those needs.
Fecteau reported the completion of 192 housing units since LD 1645 was enacted, with an additional 701 units in the works. The governor’s budget includes an additional $35 million for the tax credit that could lead to the development of 350 more units.
Additional housing initiatives in Maine include the Rural Affordable Rental Program and protecting United States Department of Agriculture Section 515 properties — the latter of which employs the use of the state’s tax credit. Mills has also proposed $10 million for a new Innovation Fund for Attainable Housing, expediting the production of affordable housing for qualified renters and homebuyers.
Fecteau’s other prominent work came with 2022’s enactment of LD 2003, advancing affordable housing and housing-friendly zoning and land use regulations. The legislation resulted in the creation of a local zoning and land use commission that delivered recommendations to the governor’s office in December 2021 allowing, “Maine property owners to build
SB 41 | Provides $150 million in funding for housing infrastructure loans and grants.
SB 240 | Establishes First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Program within the Utah Housing Corporation. Programs funds are available for use by first-time homebuyers only for certain housing. Rules for the program are to be determined by the Utah Housing Corporation.
SB 1114 | Creates the responsibility for the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a plan to guide the development of housing programs to meet community needs, particularly those of low- and moderate-income communities and individuals.
PR 25-0065 | PR 25-0078 | PR 25-0156 | PR 25-0157 | PR 25-0001
Various resolutions were passed entering Washington, D.C., into a 15-year subsidy contract that funded costs for affordable housing units.
Source: FiscalNote and the National Conference of State Legislatures Housing and Homelessness Legislation Database.
accessory dwelling units in residential areas and up to two units on a lot zoned for single-family housing.”
Although it could possibly aid growing housing issues, the topic of zoning is a highly debated one. In February, NPR reported on the discussion to end single-family zoning mandates in Arlington, Virginia, thus paving the way for new housing opportunities. As part of Arlington’s “missing middle” housing reform plan, developers could construct multiple units on a single-family lot, including duplexes up to six-unit buildings.
Arlington, much like Minneapolis and the states of Maine, California, Oregon and Washington before it, looked to capitalize on an opportunity to do more than increase affordable housing — it looked to re-establish racial equity in areas previously segregated by single-family zoning laws, as well as limit the need for commuting.
The “missing middle” plan, which was ultimately passed in March, included opposition who believed that not even increased community density would improve pricing. Other local Arlington homeowners were also concerned about potential parking issues, high taxes and flooding.
Public outcry led to city commissioners in Gainesville, Florida, reversing course on their decision to end single-family zoning just months after adopting the plan. Gainesville was originally the first city to adopt the plan after Florida Statute 163.31771 passed in 2021.
The following examples of state adopted affordable housing legislation include that plan and more:
California Assembly Bill 2162 (2018) encourages the production of supportive housing statewide by mandating streamlined and expedited approval for such projects and the elimination of minimum parking requirements for developments located within half a mile of public transit.
Florida Statute 163.31771 allows localities with a shortage of affordable rental housing to adopt an ordinance permitting accessory dwelling units in single-family residential areas to increase the availability of affordable housing for low and moderate-income individuals.
Massachusetts State Statute 40B enables local zoning boards of appeals to approve affordable housing developments under flexible rules if at least 20-25% of the units have long-term affordability restrictions.
Oregon HB 2001 (2019) implemented state-level legalization of “missing middle” housing. It expands the areas across the state available for duplex construction.
Utah SB 153 (2023) establishes the Redevelopment Matching Grant Program under which local governments can qualify if they have an approved development application that allows for “the creation of new or additional affordable housing units.”
“People achieve economic prosperity through homeownership. In some cases, being a homeowner is going to be what sets someone up for economic security in their later years,” Fecteau said. “Obviously, we want folks to take every initiative they can to save and plan for retirement, but homeownership is a very critical means to economic security and prosperity.”
We’re very lucky that here in our state, we have the leadership of the governor, legislature and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle,” Fecteau said. “This is probably one of those rare issues in today’s politics where you have members on both sides of the aisle resoundingly in favor of tackling this problem.”
— Ryan Fecteau, senior advisor of community development and strategic initiatives for the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the FutureThen Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (pictured third from left) and Maine Gov. Janet Miller (pictured far right) joined officials from the town of Skowhegan and the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program to break ground for an apartment complex on Oct. 26, 2021.
Homelessness in the United States trended upward ahead of the COVID19 pandemic. An already dire situation neared critical levels as the economic downturn forced countless businesses to close and unemployment rates to surge.
The nationwide poverty rate in 2020 climbed by 3.3 million, increasing the total number of individuals living in poverty to 37.2 million people, or 11.4% of the population. With necessities like housing being less affordable due to soaring home prices, homeless numbers also grew.
As of January 2022, an estimated 582,462 individuals experienced homelessness in the U.S., according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Rates of homelessness vary widely across the states. Per capita, Washington, D.C., California, Vermont, Oregon and Hawaii have the highest rates of homelessness.
State legislators take a range of approaches to address the nuances linked to homelessness, including efforts focused around affordable housing, transitional housing, and programs like Housing First that reduce prerequisites involved in the buying or renting processes.
“Every city, every county is a contributor to homelessness — people all over the state,” said Wayne Niederhauser, Utah homeless coordinator. “Only a couple of cities in the state — only a handful — do something about it. They have a shelter, or they have support services, and some of that's economics.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox appointed former Senate President Wayne Niederhauser to the role of state homeless coordinator in April 2021. His appointment came on the heels of the Utah Legislature establishing the role in its pursuit of a strategic plan to reduce homelessness.
That strategic plan — the Statewide Collaboration for Change: Utah’s Plan to Address Homelessness — arrived in March, a year after the Utah Department of Workforce Services revealed a 14% increase in the number of Utahns experiencing first-time homelessness. Response efforts included within the plan include a five-goal strategy centered around increasing opportunities for accessible and affordable permanent housing, support services and case management, homeless prevention strategies, and housing resources and services for the unsheltered.
In September 2022, Salt Lake County, Utah, received $30.2 million from the state for new affordable housing. The funds were part of a broader $55 million statewide investment via American Rescue Plan Act funding for the construction of 1,078 affordable to deeply affordable housing units. Access to deeply affordable housing is for those who annually earn less than $25,000.
“We now have the opportunity to increase deeply affordable housing, which is the hardest housing to provide,” Niederhauser said. “That's focused on homelessness and workers who really are [earning] $15-20 per hour and got to have deeply affordable housing.”
Salt Lake City’s 40-acre Other Side Village is among the first developments to come from the ARPA funding in 2022. Ground broke in March for the tiny home village, which is expected to house 60 individuals experiencing homelessness. The plan is to further develop the lot to offer sufficient housing for as many as 400 individuals.
“Deeply affordable housing requires additional help — [more than just] low-income housing tax credits,” Niederauer said. “The project needs to be sustainable and it's not sustainable if it doesn't have enough cash flow.”
In total, more than $200 million was appropriated by the Utah Legislature for affordable housing and homelessness initiatives prior to concluding the 2023 session. According to Niederhauser, legislative successes include $50 million in deeply affordable housing funding; a low-income housing tax credit worth nearly $60 million; housing stabilization grants, including project based rent support, accompanied by $5 million in funding; a statewide code blue system; a request for a response plan for larger counties; and $12 million for homeless services.
Between 2005-15, Utah was a prime example of how to curb homelessness through its use of the Housing First model. The state reported reducing its homeless population by 91% throughout the decade, although that number has decreased since 2015.
Every city, every county is a contributor to homelessness — people all over the state,” said Wayne Niederhauser, Utah homeless coordinator. “Only a couple of cities in the state — only a handful — do something about it. They have a shelter, or they have support services, and some of that's economics.”
Housing First is an evidence-based approach to ending homelessness that provides people with immediate access to housing and support services without preconditions. Based on the belief that people need to have their basic needs met before addressing other issues like employment or substance abuse, the Housing First model emphasizes client self-determination within a trauma-informed, harm-reduction framework. The model has been successful when applied to a range of circumstances, including both families who became homeless due to a temporary crisis and chronically homeless individuals. There are two common models that utilize the Housing First approach depending on a person’s needs and whether they need long or shortterm assistance. The permanent supportive housing model provides long-term rental assistance and supportive services to individuals with chronic illnesses, disabilities, mental health issues or substance use disorder who have experienced long-term or repeated homelessness. A second model, known as rapid re-housing, provides short-term rental assistance and services to help people obtain housing quickly and increase self-sufficiency so they can remain housed.
The Maine Legislature’s Committee on Housing hosted Niederhauser in March to learn more about Utah’s successes and failures with the Housing First model.
“I testified in their committee because they wanted to know what happened in Utah. The fact is we didn't keep up. That's the bottom line,” Niederhauser said. “You need to provide housing, but you also need to provide more as your population grows … and you have got to have deeply affordable housing to address homelessness. You can't be satisfied with what you've done in the past. It has to be an ongoing effort.”
Maine ranked eighth per capita for homelessness in 2022, according to data compiled by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. And from 2021-22, Maine’s homeless population increased by 113.8%, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“[Housing First] is an initiative that really is transformational,” said Ryan Fecteau, senior advisor of community development and strategic initia-
tives for the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. “It's probably the most transformational policy around homelessness in Maine history and will be a huge step forward in addressing that.”
Housing First was included in by the recently proposed budget of by Maine Gov. Janet Mills. If adopted, the program, contained in Speaker Talbot Ross’ proposed LD 2, would be established within the Maine Department of Health and Human Service.
An estimated 450 chronically homeless Mainers currently live throughout three Housing First model properties in Portland. Ninety efficiency apartments were constructed by nonprofits Avesta Housing and Preble Street in 2005, 2010 and 2017.
“Our service center communities, particularly Bangor and Portland — our two largest cities — are shouldering this challenge in a big way because a lot of people seek services in the city,” Fecteau said. “[While those seeking shelter] might not necessarily be from Portland or from Bangor, they end up there as a means of seeking services from the cities. Getting people stabilized affordable housing is a challenge across the spectrum. Whether it be folks who are experiencing homelessness or folks who are currently housed, they are having to pay way more than they should have to with their annual incomes.”
Fecteau added that Gov. Mills’ proposed budget also offers $12 million in one-time funds for the Emergency Housing Relief Fund. Those funds could continue supporting efforts to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness. In addition, the Legislature included a $21 million emergency spending package in January supporting emergency housing and shelter.
Research indicates people assisted through the Housing First model access housing faster and are more likely to remain housed, with studies showing a one-year housing retention rate ranging from 75-98%. The approach tends to be cost-efficient, generating savings through reduced usage of emergency services, hospitals, jails and emergency shelters.
For government leaders at the state and national levels, some of the most important metrics of their success in office are economic conditions, such as unemployment levels or job growth. Market conditions and workforce characteristics are often determined by macro-level circumstances, though, and are beyond the control of a single U.S. representative or governor. Despite trends toward an increasingly educated workforce, states still face labor shortages. Governors in Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Utah are advocating for changes in education and skill requirements to bridge this gap.
Since the mid-20th century, the number of workers with a postsecondary degree has increased significantly. For workers aged 25 and older, the proportion of those with a higher education degree increased by around 30 percentage points from 1960 to 2021. As the education level of the U.S. population has increased, researchers have begun to question how educational attainment, income and unemployment are interrelated.
In 2014, Pew Research Center published a report detailing the “rising costs of not going to college” for millennials. Combining Pew and U.S. Census Bureau data, the report highlights three areas of disparity based on levels of educational attainment — annual earnings, unemployment rates and the share of individuals living in poverty. Though there
By Grace Harrisonhave been differences in the earnings and general economic outcomes of college and high school graduates across generations, the annual income gap has increased from $7,449 in 1965 to $17,500 in 2013. Underlying this trend is the general divergence of earnings, indicating rising median earnings of college graduates coupled with falling median earnings of high school graduates.
Despite fluctuations throughout COVID-19, the economy stabilized to a point where analysts can determine the current state of employment for various demographics. There was a 13.6% decrease in employment during the first month of the pandemic, which is the largest one-month decrease since 1939. Since then, employment fluctuated across sectors as overall economic growth remained volatile. Now, three years later, in the context of interest rate hikes and contractionary spending, the labor market faces the opposite problem: rapid growth in job postings, with not enough applicants to fill open roles.
In January 2023, employers created 517,000 jobs. Economists want to know why, despite low unemployment levels and the increasing population of highly educated workers, labor force participation is around one percentage point lower than pre-pandemic rates. A working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found this trend is due to “less hours worked” rather than “less workers.” Males aged 25-55 with bachelor’s degrees experienced the greatest decrease in work hours. Exactly why this voluntary decline in hours worked took place is undetermined, but authors suggest a desire to create a better work-life balance could explain this trend, which, if true, will have further implications for societal roles and future efforts to curb unemployment.
Similar research offers an alternative explanation as to why open roles continue to go unfilled. The relationship between higher education and higher wages is a primary factor, particularly in fields like retail and health care.
As long as the benefits of obtaining a college degree exceed the cost for an increasing number of Americans, we should expect to see the number of Americans with a college degree continue to steadily climb.”
-Kory Kantenga, LinkedIn senior economist, to S&P Global.
“As long as the benefits of obtaining a college degree exceed the cost for an increasing number of Americans, we should expect to see the number of Americans with a college degree continue to steadily climb,” said Kory Kantenga, LinkedIn senior economist, to S&P Global.
People who would traditionally fill low-wage positions are pursuing higher education and increased wages or otherwise seeking more competitive employment. This trend could shift if employers modify their hiring practices and requirements. For instance, skill-based assessments, rather than degree requirements, might slow the growth of individuals pursuing higher education. Governors across the U.S. supported replacing degree requirements with skills and experience assessments.
Public sector employment, responsible for government and public services such as education and transportation, faced some of the largest labor shortages in the last few years. Despite the increased demand for public services due to growth and infrastructure investment, state and local governments struggle to attract college graduates to fill these crucial positions. Competitive employment, as well as job and social mobility, are not typically characteristics of state and local government employment, despite the offerings of stable income and benefits.
The need to fill these public sector positions, combined with efforts of workforce development across states, has recently led governors to remove degree requirements — typically a bachelor’s degree — for government jobs.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced in March 2022 a “first in the nation” program to strengthen the state’s workforce. It was determined that more than half of the nearly 40,000 state jobs did not require fouryear degrees, but rather relevant skills, work experience or community college education.
In April 2022, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order “directing state agencies to consider job applicants skills and experiences as substitutions for educational degrees.” On Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first day in office, a similar executive order was passed.
Other governors implementing similar skills-based hiring practices within the past year include Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox
This advancement in employment accessibility and development has now extended past executive actions. In the first few months of 2023, the Georgia Senate proposed and passed SB 3, the Reducing Barriers to State Employment Act of 2023. To date, eight states reduced the requirements of public sector employment, serving as examples for other states looking to do the same.
Because it is still early on in this transition, concrete impacts are yet to be determined. However, predictions for the future of educational attainment and state workforces are becoming clear. Employment expansion to skilled individuals without a degree provides economic stability and growth to not only the state and its constituents, but those individuals now receiving salaries and benefits that were previously unattainable. Skills-based hiring practices and newly-created state programs also benefit individuals with disabilities, who often face higher barriers to education and employment. Though the steady increase in individuals obtaining postsecondary degrees likely will not disappear, state governments are making strides in promoting employment accessibility and combatting labor shortages.
FIGURE
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | CHART: Grace Harrison
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | CHART: Grace Harrison
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | CHART: Grace Harrison
The Council of State Governments has officially been serving the states for 90 years. On our mission to champion excellence and advance the common good, we’ve created a legacy of nonpartisan work.
Prior to being named CSG, the organization was called the American Legislators Association.
In the original Articles of Organization, published in 1958, Toll referred to the organization as the League of State Governments. Members of the board did not amend the articles but wanted the organization to be referred to as The Council of State Governments.
In 1940, at the request of the Roosevelt Administration, CSG met with federal officials to devise a plan to aid states in developing legislation that aligned with the federal government’s defense efforts at the dawn of World War II. The result was the establishment of the Suggested State Legislation Committee. CSG has since produced 80-plus editions of Shared State Legislation.
For the first 25 years of CSG operations, State Government served as the organization’s monthly magazine. In 1958, it was changed to State Government News The publication then changed to State News in 2004 before landing on Capitol Ideas in 2010.
The Henry Toll Fellowship program started in 1986 and has since produced approximately
1,422 TOLL GRADUATES.
1937 — Eastern Regional Conference established.
1938 — Washington, D.C., office established.
1945 — Midwestern Legislative Conference established.
1947 — Southern and Western Legislative Conferences established.
1969 — CSG Headquarters moved from Chicago to its current home in Lexington, KY.
2006 — CSG Justice Center formed.
On an October evening in 1933, Henry Toll and a small group of legislators gathered at the Penn Harris Hotel
IN HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA. That meeting, Toll claims, is where The Council of State Governments was created.
CSG has had
5 RENDITIONS of its logo before settling on the current shield emblem.
Over the course of nine decades, CSG has partnered with
to share ideas and combine efforts to accomplish mutual goals.
