Category: State Talk

Kentucky held a special legislative session ending on Sept. 10, during which legislators challenged the power of the Governor.

During the 2020 onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the legality of several governor’s emergency orders came into question.

In Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear shuttered schools, businesses he deemed non-essential and gyms in his effort to fight the virus. As the days wore on, he instituted a statewide mask requirement for businesses to open back up.

Kentucky freshman legislator Adrienne Southworth quickly filed a bill in response — Senate Bill 158 — which would prohibit any law, regulation, executive order or mandate from requiring a facial covering. The bill died in the Senate health and welfare committee.

As the session wrapped up, Beshear’s emergency powers were curtailed. The Kentucky Supreme Court ended the ongoing state of emergency that began in March 2020 in August. A three-day special session began on Sept. 7.

The mask mandate was removed in public schools as legislators passed SB 1. The legislature passed SB 2 which requires mask mandates to be delivered by businesses and local governments rather than by the governor. This bill also prohibited the state from instituting a visitor ban at nursing homes. Senate bills 1 and 2 were enacted despite Governor Beshear’s veto.

“What did they do?,” Governor Beshear said in a press conference. “They punted on first out.”

Senate President Robert Stivers disagreed.

“Why do you say we have punted when virtually all school systems have voted to continue the mask mandate?” Stivers said. “We felt that it would be better for local people to make local decisions. We didn’t punt anything.”

SB 3 was signed into law. SB 3 will utilize $69 million federal dollars to fight the pandemic in Kentucky.

In a surprise twist for the Republican-run legislature, House Joint Resolution 1 extended the Governor’s ability to declare a state of emergency until Jan. 15, 2022.

by Dakota Thomas

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act[1] — also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package — was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021. The bill contains $1.2 trillion in total funding ($550 billion of which is new spending) for various infrastructure purposes, including roads and bridges, broadband, drinking water resources, airports, electrical vehicles and more. In this brief, analysts at The Council of State Governments break down the $73 billion in funding allocated for power grids and utilities improvements and the $12.5 billion for electric vehicle chargers and buses, through the lens of state needs. Power grid and utility improvements are tied as the third largest funding source in the bill.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will add a total of $256 billion to the national deficit. While it is difficult to know the full macroeconomic effects of the bill, Moody’s Analytics provides estimates of the effects on employment and the gross domestic product by the infrastructure package.

Funding Breakdown

States are eligible to apply for the competitive grants and revolving loan programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act listed here. Other programs, like the Weatherization Assistance Program, are open to applications from individuals or other stakeholders (e.g. hydroelectric plants). 

Power Grids

• Funds the creation of four clean hydrogen hubs to generate electricity – $8 billion.
• Subsidizes current nuclear power plants – $6 billion.
• Establishes new competitive grants to enhance resilience of the electrical grid – $5 billion over five years.
• Adds funding to the Weatherization Assistance Program – $3.5 billion in fiscal year 2022.
• Creates competitive grant for modernizing energy infrastructure – $3 billion over five years.
• Establishes revolving loan fund for replacement or enhancement of electrical transmission lines – $2.5 billion over five years.
• Adds funding to and expands the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program – $550 million in fiscal year 2022.
• Establishes competitive grants for enhancing energy efficiency in schools, including improvements, repairs or renovations to lower energy costs – $500 million over five years.
• Allocates funding for capital improvements to existing hydroelectric power facilities to improve grid resiliency, dam safety and lower environmental impact – $553 million.
• Adds funding to incentivize hydroelectric power generation – $125 million.
• Creates a transmission facilitation program for eligible projects like creating or replacing transmission lines, increasing transmission capacity or connecting microgrids to larger corridors – $50 million over five years.

Electric Vehicles (EVs)

• Establishes federal funding for EV charger infrastructure – $7.5 billion.
• Establishes federal funding for EV school buses – $5 billion.
• Establishes grants for states for battery processing – $3 billion over five years.
• Creates an EV working group to provide recommendations on integrating EVs into the energy system and orders a demonstration project to use EVs as decentralized energy storage and a study of the environmental impacts of EV use.

For a breakdown of estimated electric vehicle charging infrastructure formula funding by state, see the chart below. Note that figures are estimates and do not include the competitive grants for which states, territories and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply.

Sources and Resources

• CSG briefs on the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Roads and Bridges and Broadband Infrastructure. 
• Statement from The Council of State Governments on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package.
• Legislative Analysis for Counties and statement on infrastructure bill passage from the National Association of Counties.
• Statement on infrastructure bill passage from the National League of Cities.
• Report from Utility Dive on bill contents.
• Breakdown of the bill’s contents from CNN, JD Supra and The Washington Post.
• Estimates of macroeconomic effects of the infrastructure package from Moody’s Analytics.
• White House Fact Sheet.
• Read the full text of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act here.

EV Charging Infrastucture Funding

Data Source:  White House State Fact Sheets

Note that figures are estimates and do not include the competitive grants for which states, territories and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply.

[1] Also commonly known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework.”

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act[1] — also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package — was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021. The bill contains $1.2 trillion in total funding ($550 billion of which is new spending) for various infrastructure purposes, including roads and bridges, broadband, drinking water resources, airports, electrical vehicles and more. In this brief, analysts at The Council of State Governments break down the $163.5 billion in funding going to public transit, rail, airports and ports and waterways improvements. State by state fact sheets are available with preliminary estimates of funding to be allocated by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Funding Breakdown

Passenger and Freight Rail

• Funds for Amtrak to eliminate the maintenance backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor and extend rail service past the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions – $66 billion.
  • Grants to Amtrak for track improvement and train purchases – $22 billion.
  • Intercity Passenger Rail federal-state partnership grants establishing new and renovating existing corridors – $36 billion.
  • Additional funding to the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail – $5 billion.
  • Additional funding to the Railroad Grade-Crossing Elimination Program to eliminate hazards at railway-highway crossings – $3 billion.
• The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorizes possible additional investments of $36 billion for rail by 2026, but these funds require separate Congressional approval.

Public Transit

• Increased baseline levels of funding in contract authority (a form of mandatory budget authority) from the Mass Transit account of the Highway Trust Fund for transit programs administered by the Federal Transit Administration – $19 billion.
• State of Good Repair grants to transit agencies to support maintenance, replacement and rehabilitation projects – $5 billion.
• Capital Investment Grants to support new and expanded commuter and light rail, bus and ferry service – $8 billion.
• Funding to improve mobility for seniors and individuals with disabilities by removing barriers to transportation service and expanding transportation mobility options – $2 billion.
• Funding to state and local governments for the purchase or lease of zero-emission and low-emission transit buses under the Low-No Program – $5 billion.

Airports, Ports and Waterways

• Funding for the Airport Improvement grant programfor runways, gates and taxiways– $15 billion.
• Creating the Airport Terminal Improvement program to improve air traffic control infrastructure – $5 billion.
• Funding for waterway infrastructure to mitigate the impact of extreme climates and improve port and waterway infrastructure – $17 billion.

Safety

• Funding for the Safe Streets and Roads for All program which provides grants to cities, metropolitan areas, towns and tribal areas that face disproportionate impact from crashes – $5 billion.
• Creating the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation grant program for projects that advance smart city or community technologies to improve transportation safety – $500 million.
• Funding for Pipeline Safety Modernization grants – $1 billion.
• Funding for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Data and Enforcement – $700 million.
• Supporting Safe Driving Behaviors – $1.1 billion.
• Increasing the Highway Trust Fund to invest in road and vehicle safety improvement and appropriating funds to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to regulate truck and bus-related industries – $2.2 billion.

Sources and Resources

• CSG briefs on the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Roads and Bridges and Broadband Infrastructure. 
• Statement from The Council of State Governments on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package.
• Legislative Analysis for Counties and statement on infrastructure bill passage from the National Association of Counties.
• Statement from the National League of Cities.
• Report from Utility Dive.
• Highlights from Mass Transit Magazine.
• Breakdown of Safety Programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.
• Breakdown of contents from CNN and The Washington Post.
• Estimates of macroeconomic effects of the infrastructure package from Moody’s Analytics.
• White House Fact Sheet.
• Read the full text of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act here.

Funding allocation by state

Data Source:  White House State Fact Sheets.

Note that figures are estimates and do not include the competitive grants for which states, territories and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply.

[1] Also commonly known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework.”

by Mary Elizabeth Lonergan 

Nov. 15-21, 2021, marks National Apprenticeship Week, a week dedicated to celebrating the important value apprenticeships provide workers and the economy. Registered Apprenticeships offer participants relevant work experience along with providing skills and necessary credentials.  

Apprenticeships provide opportunities for all — particularly women, youth, people of color — justice-involved individuals and individuals with disabilities to contribute to America’s industries. 

“Apprenticeships are an invaluable pathway for workforce development,” said Casandra Hockenberry, senior policy analyst for The Council of State Governments. “Employers are able to recruit, develop and retain highly skilled workers. We are seeing the market for apprenticeships grow in new and exciting way. Increasing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility can bring so many more workers into the economy while exploring emerging markets creates more jobs in both the public and private sector.” 

Hockenberry and other members of the CSG team devote much of their time to supporting apprenticeships in the U.S. 

CSG works with state leaders and policymakers to develop and implement public sector apprenticeships in their states. Through this work, CSG has created a consortium that will convene during the CSG 2021 National Conference in Santa Fe in December. This work will provide states to share ways apprenticeships have positively impacted their workforce and help other states design a blueprint to create one in their state. This meeting will be held on Dec. 4 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.  

 
CSG is also hosting an apprenticeship webinar to be held on Nov. 16. Participants can register here: https://csg-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_d_9Tik-iTxa4N7LcT9erEw. 

To find more National Apprenticeship Week events in your area, visit www.apprenticeship.gov/national-apprenticeship-week.  

Christina Gordley is a mother of five, works hard at her job as a senior policy analyst for The Council of State Governments and does it all while her husband, William Gordley, is deployed with the Army National Guard, where he serves as a sergeant first class working in communications and signal support systems. In other words, she’s a superhero.

William has served in the Army for 17 years. This is the family’s third deployment, and Christina says she’s learned how to ask for help when she needs it.

“You have to try and make your needs known, and that is not always easy,” she said. “I have to rely on my friends and family, and right now I have a supportive work environment that’s helpful to provide flexibility and support when needed. You have to realize you can’t juggle it all.”

Christina said she often moves into survival mode, which is not always the same as thriving.

“The kids understand that they have a different challenge than most of their classmates,” she said said, pointing to the difference between National Guard families and those families living on a military base.

“You kind of feel like an island sometimes,” she said. “It can be overwhelming at times.”

Christina wants people to understand that a deployed spouse is not simply a spouse traveling for work. For instance, she always answers when her husband calls because if she misses the call, it might not come again for days. She said that can sometimes be an interruption at work or at social activities. “When you want to talk to somebody, they are not always there,” she said.

For Christina’s family, Veterans Day takes on a special meaning.

“For our children, they are normally in school and the school recognizes them,” she said. “They have a sense of pride in their father and the role they play in service to the country.”

Christina says it’s a chance to smile and talk about her spouse, and she’s especially thankful for her role at CSG on Veterans Day.

“What is helpful is having a supportive work environment that CSG provides,” she said.

By Mary Elizabeth Lonergan

Dequnoas Lee is new to The Council of State Governments, but his heart already fits the mission.

Lee, an operations coordinator for CSG South, served as an active-duty sergeant in the United States Army and now serves in the Army Reserve.

He joined the military in 2008 after looking for his next challenge.

“It was life-changing,” Lee said. “At the time, I was in school, and I wanted to be in school, but (also) didn’t. My parents were like ‘You have got to figure something out.’”

Lee did not want to immediately jump into the workforce and so he weighed his options.

“The only thing I could think of at that point was the military, because they have a lot of great benefits as far as buying a house and as far as education, so I felt that was the smart choice at the time,” he said.

Lee was able to accomplish huge goals in the military.

“The thing I am most proud of is I went in as an E-1 and came out of AIT as an E-3, and basically nobody really ever does that, so that was one of the highlights of my life,” he said, referring to the Advanced Individual Training soldiers complete to learn job-specific skills.

Lee said Veterans Day is a time to recognize all those who served in the military.

“Veterans Day to me means honoring those who served their country,” he said. “Veterans Day is about those who served… and giving back to those who served.”

Today, Lee has found a home at CSG.

“I wanted to work at CSG because I wanted to work in government without being in government,” he said with a laugh. “Basically, when I came in, it was nothing but love shown to me and throughout the time I’ve been here it’s been like a family environment. At this point, it’s something that I love to get up and come to work.”