Weekly Policy Clips (September 11-17, 2006)

Arizona: Napolitano creates new board to prevent DPS racial profiling

Gov. Janet Napolitano has formed a special advisory board to ensure that the state Department of Public Safety does not engage in “racial profiling.”

Members of the panel will review all of the agency’s policies and procedures related to traffic stops and vehicle searches.

Potentially more significant, they also will be able to review all DPS records to see if DPS officers are using race as a factor when determining which motorists they pull over.

Formation of the board is not the governor’s idea: Attorneys for the state agreed to its formation to settle a five-year-old lawsuit that charged that DPS officers were more likely to stop blacks and Hispanics.

The board will be made up of four representatives who will be chosen from existing gubernatorial black and Hispanic advisory commissions. There will be three people on behalf of the people who sued, with two members of the general public.

No DPS employees are allowed on the board. And it cannot have more than two members from law enforcement or prosecuting agencies.

The deal, approved in July, requires DPS to collect “meaningful” data on its traffic stops for the next three years. That includes the race of those involved.

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Kansas: Kansas Receives $750,000 for Anti-Domestic Violence Efforts

Domestic violence remains a problem in Kansas, with thousands of incidents reported to law enforcement each year.

To coordinate efforts to stop domestic abuse, Governor Kathleen Sebelius and a coalition of law enforcement, corrections, judiciary and victim assistance groups have received $754,026 from the federal government.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our state,” Sebelius said. “We’ll be able to provide coordinated and consistent training to professionals working to end domestic violence, which will improve our ability to help victims and punish offenders.” ….

[The partners] partners will establish a comprehensive training curricula regarding domestic violence for professionals in the criminal justice system. The purpose is to provide uniform training for all professions of the criminal justice system serving victims and offenders from the time of a 911 call reporting the incident, through the investigation, arrest, prosecution, probation or parole and release of the offender.

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Maine Governor Unveils New $7 Million Energy Loan Program

Maine Governor Baldacci unveiled … another innovative program from his Administration to assist Maine families in meeting this winter’s home heating bills. The new $7 million Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) provides low interest rate energy improvement loans to Maine’s working families.

“This is welcome news to Maine homeowners who are concerned about the high cost of heating their homes this winter, and in paying for their overall energy needs,” Governor Baldacci said. “MaineHousing estimates that HELP may enable homeowners to cut their yearly energy consumption by up to 20 percent.”

The MaineHousing (Maine State Housing Authority) program provides loans of up to $15,000 at an interest rate as low as one percent to homeowners with incomes up to 115 percent of the area median income. Loans are used to invest in improvements.

Loans are made at one percent interest to homeowners who make improvements suggested by a certified energy auditor, and at three percent interest to those who do not use an energy auditor. The cost of the energy audit may be included in the loan.

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Montana: Schweitzer eyes new oil refineries

The Schweitzer administration has hired a consultant to gauge support in seven Montana towns for new, industrial-sized refineries that could process crude oil from Canada’s growing oil-sand development.

The communities being considered are Miles City, Glendive, Sidney, Wolf Point, Glasgow, Havre and Cut Bank/Shelby.
“This is an important opportunity that we’re going to start exploring,” said Evan Barrett, Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s chief business officer.

The consultant was hired last week and will visit with residents of the communities and will prepare a report by November, Barrett said.

He outlined the effort Thursday while updating a legislative committee on the Schweitzer administration’s push for energy development in eastern Montana.

Oil sands in northern Alberta are producing two-million barrels of crude oil daily and the industry hopes to increase that volume to six-million barrels in the coming years, Barrett said.

That oil will be transported by pipeline to the United States for refining and Montana could be the site of new refining capacity needed to handle the volume, he said.

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Oregon & Washington Governors Announce Major Economic Conference

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and Washington Governor Chris Gregoire jointly announced … that The Competitive Institute (TCI) has selected Portland as the site of its October 2007 Global Conference on Competitiveness.

Barcelona-based TCI is a not-for-profit alliance of industry cluster practitioners. TCI’s mission is to improve living standards and the local competitiveness of regions throughout the world, by fostering cluster-based development initiatives. (www.competitiveness.org)

The five-day conference, co-chaired by the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department and the Portland Development Commission, will include an academic summit, industry cluster tours, keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and a gala dinner to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of TCI. Five hundred attendees from around the world are estimated to participate in the conference.

According to Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, the conference theme of “Collaboration, Innovation, and Sustainability” will highlight Oregon’s strengths. “These are the foundations of our competitiveness strategy,” said the Governor.

“We view the TCI conference as a way to showcase our successes, examine our policies, and gain insight from experts around the world.”

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Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Announces Agreement With Germany’s Leading Industrial State To Share Alternative Energy Opportunities

Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced an international agreement between Pennsylvania and Germany’s leading industrial state to attract more foreign investment and job creation in the commonwealth’s energy sector.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia calls for exchanging ideas and information on alternative energy issues and mutually enhancing economic opportunities between the governments.

“The innovations that are leading our societies to new economies based on clean sources of energy are emerging from states such as Pennsylvania and North Rhine-Westphalia—- not solely through federal governments,” Governor Rendell said. “This budding relationship with one of Europe’s industrial powerhouses will add to what we can accomplish in providing reliable sources of clean energy both for our residents and businesses and for the world at large.”

The relationship between commonwealth government agencies and North Rhine-Westphalia began earlier this year when North Rhine-Westphalia officials sought out international trade representatives with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

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West Virginia: Energy Industry to Fund Plan for West Virginia Coal Conversion Facility

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III… announced that leading industry consultants will develop a plan and conceptual design for a coal-to-liquids manufacturing facility in West Virginia.

The industry-funded plan will support the governor’s Coal Conversion Initiative, a public/private partnership to make West Virginia a leader in alternative uses for coal.

“Coal is a versatile fuel source that can be converted to a number of different uses, including diesel fuel, chemicals and other products. This plan will focus on the technical elements and basis for moving forward with a coal conversion facility in West Virginia,” Manchin said.

“Through the West Virginia Coal Conversion Initiative, we will contribute to American energy security and independence and to West Virginia’s economy. This plan will provide a foundation for the private sector to advance development of West Virginia’s first coal-to-liquids manufacturing facility,” the governor said.

The plan is sponsored by American Electric Power subsidiary Appalachian Power Co., as well as by Energy Village, a non-profit organization that promotes energy-focused economic development. The plan will be developed by American Electric Power Service Corporation, with key inputs provided by Worley Parsons, GE Energy and CONSOL Energy. Worley Parsons is a global engineering and consulting firm. GE Energy, a division of the General Electric Company, is a provider of coal gasification and related coal conversion and power generation technologies. CONSOL Energy is the largest U.S. producer of coal from underground mines.

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Wisconsin: Enormous progress made to prepare state for emergencies

Are Wisconsin citizens safer today than before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks? Definitely. Probably. Maybe.

Those mixed observations come from experts in law enforcement, political policy and emergency planning as the fifth anniversary of the tragedy approaches.

But all agree on this: Governments and emergency officials in Wisconsin are much better prepared to respond to another terrorist attack — or a natural disaster or infectious disease outbreak — than before Sept. 11, thanks to millions of dollars spent on planning, training and new equipment and a new focus on preparedness.

“Are we better prepared than five years ago? The answer is unequivocally yes,” said Dennis Maki, a medical professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Council on Public Health Preparedness since 2002.

“Are the threats greater? The answer to that is also yes. On the question are we safer, I think we are safer. Are we as safe as we would like to be? Are we totally safe? Absolutely not,” Maki said.

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