States paying new attention to children

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Governors and legislators return to work this month with renewed interest in the needs of their youngest citizens, bringing a slew of ideas on health insurance and education.

Expanding health coverage to all children is emerging as a goal in many states, even as debate continues over how to provide care to all the uninsured, adults and youngsters alike.

"This is not only an economic crisis. It's a human crisis and it demands action now," Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, said last week. He promised to reduce the cost of care for families and businesses, and is pushing hard to expand the state's health insurance program to cover all children.

Similar expansions are being proposed in Minnesota and California, where a top legislator wants to extend coverage to all children and GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has also said he wants to make strides on health care.

Demands for more emphasis on education, already one of the biggest chunks of state budgets, are getting louder. Courts in Arkansas, Illinois, New Jersey and many other states have ordered legislators to craft more equitable funding systems. And parents and educators are pushing for greater early education, including kindergarten and pre-kindergarten classes.

"This is the year we make an absolutely irrevocable commitment," said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican who has vowed to establish statewide, full-day kindergarten. Minnesota, South Carolina and Washington state are also looking at statewide early childhood programs.

One reason for the new ideas is that most states are now on solid financial ground, with the economic downturn of the first years of the decade long past. Most are seeing healthy revenue and relatively strong financial reserves, though some analysts are warning that there are worrying signs of weakness ahead.

That financial freedom is spurring new calls for tax cuts, including rebates or cuts in property taxes in Minnesota, New York and North Dakota; a reduction in income taxes in Alabama and Nebraska; a cut in taxes on groceries in Arkansas; and a lowering of gasoline taxes in Indiana.

Ethics reform and campaign finance are expected to be big topics of discussion from Alaska to New Jersey.

Some states want to ban all meals or gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers, after a year in which scandals in Washington were one of the biggest factors in the election.

"These types of perks create an overly schmoozy atmosphere in which the concerns of the average citizen seem a little remote," said Oregon House Speaker-elect Jeff Merkley, a Democrat. "We need to assure the citizens of this state that we are here doing their business for them."

Illegal immigration is sure to be back, with a slew of get-tough bills in several states. In Texas, one proposal would bar the babies of illegal immigrants from receiving state benefits such as food stamps, health care or public housing. Critics say that undermines the concept of "birthright citizenship," which grants citizenship to anyone born in the country.

Debates over gay rights are brewing. Legislators say they will pursue gay marriage in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Washington state. In Arkansas, some hope to reinstate a ban on gay foster parents that the state Supreme Court overturned last year.

Other big issues bubbling up include alternative energy, identity cards, obesity and eminent domain.

But just getting the job of legislating done is a worry among lawmakers in Nebraska, where voter-approved term limits swept out nearly half of the state's 49 senators in the last election, said longtime Sen. DiAnna Schimek.

She said she is not sure whether such a large group of rookies will be able to tackle the challenges.

"That's the $64 million question," said Schimek, an 18-year veteran who lost her bid for speaker to a 31-year-old senator elected three years ago. "I don't feel certain of the answer."