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CSG WEST UPDATE
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Oregon Capitol Staff Unionize
Legislative employees in Oregon made history by becoming the first in the nation to unionize, according to ABC News. Staffers and other employees voted to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 89 and will now seek to come to an agreement about wages, scheduling and other issues. According to ABC, experts expect to see similar actions in other statehouses.
Nevada Permanently Expands Mail-In Voting
A new law in Nevada requires local election officials to mail ballots to all active registered voters prior to elections. Voters can opt out of mailed ballots if they choose — but if not, they are automatically eligible to cast a ballot by mail. According to Forbes, Nevada is the sixth state to mandate automatic mail-in voting. Meanwhile, according to The Hill, 22 pieces of legislation in 14 states would increase voting restrictions with measures like reduced hours at polling places and reductions in ballot drop boxes.
New Hawaii Laws Add Protections for Marine Life
A slate of laws enacted in 2021 address protections for marine life in Hawaii. Among them is HB 553, which outlaws the deliberate capture, entanglement or killing of sharks in state waters. According to the nonprofit newsroom Civil Beat, the first offense penalty is $500; a third or subsequent offense could cost as much as $10,000. The bill, which failed in previous sessions, was signed on June 8 in honor of the UN-designated World Oceans Day.
CSG West Annual Meeting Goes to Colorado Springs
The 74th CSG West Annual Meeting will be hosted Sept. 28–Oct. 1 in Colorado Springs, bringing together state leaders to connect with regional colleagues and to engage relevant topics such as energy, environment, social justice, education, fiscal affairs, health, economic development, trade, water, regional trends and more. Guests will learn from experts during keynote presentations, committee meetings and professional development sessions and participate in international program sessions with lawmakers from Canada and Mexico. Learn more and register at: csgwest.org/annualmeeting.
Western Legislative Academy to Convene Dec. 7–10
The 21st Western Legislative Academy will take place Dec. 7-10, 2021 in Colorado Springs. The program offers selected legislators an opportunity to sharpen leadership skills and build regional relationships with legislative peers. Working with faculty from academic, military, and legislative backgrounds, class members engage with one another in a variety of interactive exercises ensuring a learning experience that draws from both faculty and class member expertise. Class members return to their respective legislatures with new information, skills and relationships designed to help them become more effective legislators and leaders. Learn more at: csgwest.org/legislativeacademy/WesternLegislativeAcademy.aspx.
Colorado Lawmakers Address Youth Mental Health
Suicide is a leading cause of death for Colorado youth and young adults, according to the state’s Department of Public Health & Environment. State leaders are responding with at least $30 million in new funding that would add crisis beds and suicide prevention programs, walk-in crisis centers, mobile crisis centers, staffing and more, according to the Colorado Sun. Other bills passed this session require insurance providers to cover an annual mental health checkup for kids (HB 1068) and allocate funding for online mental health screenings and follow-up sessions for one year (HB 1258).
In May, Children’s Hospital Colorado declared a mental health state of emergency. In a press release, the hospital said isolation and stress caused by the pandemic have exacerbated anxiety and depression in youth and young adults. During the past two years, the hospital has seen a 90% increase in demand for behavioral health treatment.
“Right now, Colorado’s children uniquely need our help,” said Jena Hausmann, the hospital’s CEO. “It has been devastating to see suicide become the leading cause of death for Colorado’s children. For over a decade, Children’s Colorado has intentionally and thoughtfully been expanding our pediatric mental health prevention services, outpatient services and inpatient services, but it is not enough. Now we are seeing our pediatric emergency departments and our inpatient units overrun with kids attempting suicide and suffering from other forms of major mental health illness.”
State Government Snapshot
As champions of excellence in state government, The Council of State Governments knows the importance of the work that is accomplished by all three branches in Capitol buildings across the U.S. and its territories. Learn more about who is serving now and take a peek into the history of our state houses. With a total of 60 lawmakers, the Alaska legislature is the smallest bicameral state legislature in the U.S. and the second smallest of all state legislatures — only the 49-member unicameral Nebraska legislature is smaller.
Minnesota
has the largest state House with 400 members
P.B.S. Pinchback,
an African American, was the first minority elected to the office of the governor. After he was elevated from lieutenant governor in 1872, he served as governor of Louisiana for just under one month before his term ended.
44 women have served as governors in 30 states. Of the 44 women governors, 30 were first elected in their own right, three replaced their husbands and 11 became governor by constitutional succession. 20 states have never elected a woman as governor in her own right.
2
women have served as governor in Puerto Rico
1has served as governor in Guam
Arizona is the first state where a woman succeeded another woman as governor and the first state to have four female governors.
Nellie Tayloe Ross
was the first woman elected as governor in 1925. She won the Wyoming special election to replace her deceased husband.
Jonathan Jasper Wright
was the first Black justice of a state supreme
The first Black attorney in Pennsylvania, Wright was appointed to the South Carolina Supreme Court in 1870.
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