WHAT’ S GROWING IN RURAL AMERICA? PAGE 29 October/November 2016 A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE LEGISLATORS NAVIGATE ELECTION 2016 BALLOT INITIATIVES CHILD CARE FAMILY ACTS I’m developing innovative technology that recycles nuclear fuel to generate electricity. With nuclear energy, we can have both reliable electricity and clean air. Leslie Dewan Technology Innovator, Forbes 30 Under 30 We Can’t Reduce CO2 Enough Without The world has set ambitious clean air goals and American innovators, like Bill Gates, Leslie Dewan at Transatomic Power and Jose Reyes at NuScale Power, are developing advanced nuclear energy technologies to reduce carbon emissions. Nuclear energy produces 63% of America’s carbon-free electricity and they know it has a distinct role to play to meet future energy and clean air goals. LEARN MORE nei.org/whynuclear #whynuclear CLIENT: NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute) PUB: State Legislatures Magazine RUN DATE: July/August SIZE: 7.5” x 9.875” Full Page VER.: Leslie - FP Ad 4CP: OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 VOL. 42 NO. 9 | CONTENTS A National Conference of State Legislatures Publication Executive Director William T. Pound Director of Communications Karen Hansen Editor NCSL’s national magazine of policy and politics Julie Lays Assistant Editor Kevin Frazzini FEATURES DEPARTMENTS Contributing Editor Jane Carroll Andrade Online Magazine Candidates, Campaigns and Coattails Page 8 SHORT TAKES PAGE 4 Ed Smith Mark Wolf By DANIEL DIORIO and TIM STOREY Connections, support, expertise and ideas from NCSL Advertising Sales The effect this year’s wild race for the White House will have on Manager state legislative contests is difficult to predict. TRENDS PAGE 5 LeAnn Hoff (303) 364-7700 Protecting privacy with facial recognition technology, housing [email protected] the homeless, raising the legal age for buying tobacco, passing Contributors “Right to Try” drug bills and counting the firearms—excluding Jonathan Griffin Karmen Hansen handguns—in every state Anne Teigen Art Director Bruce Holdeman STATELINE PAGE 16 What’s happening around the nation—from NCSL President Senator Mike Gronstal a new pay equity law in Delaware to return- Majority Leader Iowa for-deposit bottles in Oregon and lane- NCSL Staff Chair splitting by motorcyclists in California Raúl E. Burciaga Director, Legislative Council Service TOOLBOX PAGE 24 New Mexico MAKING IT WORK Denver Office 7700 East First Place Three tips for smoothing out the sometimes Denver, Colorado 80230 rocky relationships between nonparitsan and (303) 364-7700 partisan staff Washington, D.C., Office 444 N. Capitol St. ©2016 BRUCE HOLDEMAN NEWSMAKERS PAGE 26 N.W., Suite 515 Washington, D.C. What Voters Face Page 13 A look at who’s making news under the 20001 domes (202) 624-5400 By WENDY UNDERHILL and PRINCESS UMODU In November, citizens will determine much more than who the State Legislatures (ISSN 0147-0641) is next president will be. STATESTATS PAGE 29 published 10 times a year by the National A snapshot of rural America Conference of State Legislatures. Who’s Watching the Kids? Page 18 ©2016, All rights By JULIE POPPE AND ROBYN LIPKOWITZ YES, NO, MAYBE SO PAGE 30 reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part Low-income parents face the threat of falling off child care This month’s ethics question: Do you know the without permission is prohibited. Requests assistance with a raise or promotion. real you? for permission to reprint may be emailed to Julie Lays at: julie. THE FINAL WORD PAGE 31 [email protected]. It’s All Relative Page 21 Opinions expressed By MEGAN McCLURE Meet Raúl E. Burciaga, Director of the New Mexico in this magazine do not necessarily Serving with a family member presents both challenges and Legislative Council Service and NCSL Staff Chair reflect NCSL policy. State Legislatures is opportunities. “The staff is usually in the best position to help new indexed in the PAIS legislators understand the importance of not giving Bulletin and Expanded Academic Index. SL ONLINE away legislative power.” Annual subscription rates: U.S.—$49; NEW! Dive deep into transportation and marijuana policy, with foreign—$55; teachers—$25 (promo everything you need to know all in one place. One dive, lots to code SLMTEA). Single copy: $6.50. catch in the new Deep Dive section at SL Online, where you can Periodically, NCSL also find more information and links to resources on most of the rents mailing labels to other organizations. If topics covered in this issue. you prefer your name not be included please send a written request. Go to ncsl.org/magazine Postmaster: Send address changes to: State Legislatures magazine, 7700 East First Place, Denver, CO STATE LEGISLATURES 3 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 80230. SHORT TAKES ON NCSL NEWS SUMMIT NCSL Legislators and staff from all 50 states gathered in the Windy City in August for NCSL’s 2016 Legislative Summit. The more than 100 sessions on pressing policy topics, expert speakers, robust exhibit hall and plentiful of professional and social networking events make the Summit the largest gathering of state lawmakers in the country. Be sure to EXPERTISE visit ncsl.org/magazine to find resources from the sessions and to view the eight sessions that were streamed. And “If voters don’t save the date! Next year’s Summit is Aug. 6-9 in Boston. know how to vote, they vote no.” —Wendy Underhill, referring to ballot Below, Idaho Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill measures, on WNYC. queries “Abe Lincoln,” who answered only in the real Lincoln’s words. “Assessing every child in reading and in math, every year in 3rd through 8th grade.” —Lee Posey on requirements Above, NCSL’s new president, Iowa Senator Mike from the No Child Left Behind Gronstal, with our president-elect, South Dakota law that remain in ESSA, the new Senator Deb Peters. New Mexico Senator Michael education law, on Prairie Public Sanchez was elected vice president and Raúl E. Broadcasting. Burciaga, director of the New Mexico Legislative Council Service, is staff chair. “There's [been] Below, Colorado Representative Jonathan Singer a fair amount of speaks at the Business Meeting, where members set activity on this the agenda for NCSL’s work on behalf of states in front compared to Washington, D.C. previous election cycles.” —Jackson Brainerd on raising the minimum wage, in the Washington Examiner. CAPITOL FORUM BIG BIG ELECTION IMPACT Ryan Blair, New York Senate digital director, above left, accepts the Online Democracy Award from immediate past staff chair Karl Aro. CAPITOL FORUM | 2016 DEC. 6-9 | WASHINGTON D.C. Find out what the outcome of the elections will mean for the states at the NCSL Capitol Forum, Dec. 6–9 in Washington, D.C. Learn the latest on important issues including the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, workforce development, unmanned aerial systems and the new term of the U.S. Supreme Court. Register Demographer James Johnson shares today at www.ncsl.org/forum. what the country’s growing minority The Bipartisan Bike Ride gets attendees up early to network and and elderly populations could mean for see the sights every year. society and public policy. OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 4 STATE LEGISLATURES TRENDS Smile, the Camera’s on You ameras, ubiquitous in today’s visa applications, as well as several states’ world, catch you while you’re driver’s license and mugshot databases. In shopping, traveling, banking, at least 41 states and the District of Colum- Ceating and doing just about bia, facial recognition is used to prevent everything else. And not only do businesses driver’s license fraud. and government film us, we film ourselves. Like with many new technologies, how- We take selfies with our friends and family ever, there are privacy concerns. In Illinois wherever we go. We upload them to social and Texas, legislators tried to balance the media sites, “tag” the faces of our friends so legitimate business and government uses they can share the photos with their friends, of this technology with consumers’ privacy and on and on. rights. The laws address how “biometric Now, with the refinement of facial rec- identifiers” (retina or iris scans, fingerprints, ognition technology, we can do even more voiceprints, face scans, etc.) should be with these photos. By comparing character- collected and stored and require obtaining sponsor of the bill, says he technology has istics, such as the distance between eyes, the written consent before using an identifier. such “an invasive quality to it that I just length of the nose and the angle of the jaw A spate of lawsuits followed. Consumers wanted to open up this conversation” about of a face in a photo to millions of photos in claimed companies like Shutterfly, Face- its uses. a database, the technology can help thwart book and Google broke the law by failing to Carl Szabo, a senior policy counsel identity thieves, identify terrorists, locate obtain their consent. Some lawmakers have at NetChoice, an association for online missing people, catch underage drinkers considered amending these laws to exempt companies, says that because “the legisla- and stop problem gamblers. It can help facial recognition. In Connecticut, lawmak- tive process cannot move at the speed of businesses target their marketing and catch ers amended a bill under consideration this technology,” the industry has recently pub- shoplifters. And, it can make life a little year to require notification rather than con- lished privacy guidelines for the use facial easier and more enjoyable for photo fanat- sent. It would require businesses to post a recognition. They recommend businesses: ics and social media followers who just sign in a “conspicuous location” that reads: Be transparent about using the technology; want to share photos with their friends. “This establishment uses facial recognition ensure the data are kept secure; and give The FBI compares images with more technology to capture and store images of consumers some control over how that than 30 million files in the U.S.