Capitol Comments

The education policy team at CSG held the Common Core State Standards Policy Roundtable in Sacramento yesterday, July 20. The meeting was held in conjunction with the California Department of Education and funded with generous educational support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

As the national unemployment rate hovers around 9.5% and with state unemployment rates as high as 14.2%, states are hemorrhaging money from their unemployment trust fund accounts - the funds states use to pay unemployment benefits. Every month, more states are forced to borrow from the federal government to keep those trust funds afloat and last week, the tab for states hit just over $39 billion.  

China officially passes the United States as the world’s largest energy consumer, according to the International Energy Agency, although the US is still the world’s leader in energy consumed per capita by a considerable margin.  However, that per capita gap is expected to decrease as the Chinese economy becomes wealthier and consumers purchase more energy intensive products.

Kansas Senator Vicki Schmidt will be making a presentation about the Prescription Drug Monitoring compact at the National Conference of State Legislators Legislative Summit July 28 in Louisville, KY.  The compact, which was developed by CSG’s National Center for Interstate Compacts, aims to allow states to share prescription drug data across state lines.  Senator Schmidt, who chaired both CSG’s advisory committee and drafting team, has been instrumental in the compact’s development.  CSG staff will also be available during the session should any questions come up about the compact. 

Download Sen. Schmidt's Power Point Presentation:  Prescription Drug Monitoring Compact