Southern Legislative Conference
SERVING THE SOUTH
Publications
Regional Resources
Issued periodically throughout the year, SLC's Regional Resources series provides background and status information on a wide array of public policy issues currently being addressed by the Conference's standing committees and by state legislatures across the South. Recent publications in this series have dealt with the U.S. farm bill; No Child Left Behind Act; landfill gas as a fuel source; and aging inmate populations.
Comparative Data Reports
These reports are prepared annually by select SLC states' fiscal research departments. Because the reports track a multitude of revenue sources and appropriations levels in Southern states, they provide a useful tool to legislators and legislative staff alike as they determine their own state spending. The reports are presented each fall and analyze state tax structures and revenue forecasts, adult correctional systems, K-12 educational systems, state transportation programs and Medicaid spending. These reports are prepared under the auspices of the Conference's Fiscal Affairs & Government Operations Committee.
SLC Special Series Reports
Prepared several times annually, these reports are designed to give in-depth treatment to a key issue or governmental problem with which Southern states are grappling. Recent reports in this series include Innovative Programs in Funding State Homeland Security Needs, Doing the Math: Southern State School Finance Systems, and From Blues to Benton to Bluegrass: The Economic Impact of the Arts in SLC States. Earlier Special Series Reports have addressed the implications of the trade relationship between Latin America and the South; telecommunications; redistricting; aging inmate populations; legislative committee structure and staffing patterns; and language diversity in Southern schools.
Previous Featured Publications
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State Section 529 PlansAmericans understand the value of a college education and have continued to prepare financially for the costs of post-secondary schooling even as the economy has slowed. Almost every state in the South offers parents an opportunity to save for college through Section 529 programs, tax-preferred accounts named after the section of the tax code created by the IRS to authorize their special treatment under federal law. These programs take the form of prepaid tuition plans which allow participants to “lock in” current tuition at state schools college savings plans structured investments designed to realize gains in excess of tuition increases under normal circumstances.In recent years, both types of Section 529 plans have faltered, due to a poor investment climate and rising tuition. When most programs were instituted, there was an unfailing optimism in the potential for the stock market to continue to expand and create returns that would outstrip any increase in tuition which historically ranged below 5 percent, making the extension of this state guarantee a risk of a presumably remote nature. As tuition skyrocketed and the stock market failed, however, states have been forced to reconsider the guarantee extended to prepaid tuition plans, and college savings plans are not keeping up with rising costs. This SLC Regional Resource offers a look at recent trends and events on state section 529 plans within the SLC member states. |
 | Meth: Resurgence in the SouthThe Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) has been tracking the issue of crystal methamphetamine production, distribution and use for almost a decade. In 2001, the SLC published a report, Methamphetamine Production and Abuse in Southern States, which examined the rise in popularity of the drug from the early- to mid-1980s and assessed its impacts on Southern states.This 2010 update, an SLC Regional Resource, examines the health, public safety, environmental, sociological and economic effects that crystal methamphetamine continues to have on Southern states. Further, the report demonstrates the advantages of stiffening ephedrine purchasing laws, such as requiring a prescription or a photo ID, or limiting the amount of the product that can be purchased during a certain period of time; examines the use of monitoring systems for tracking ephedrine product purchases; assesses the effectiveness of interstate cooperation and data sharing; and provides information on how states can continue to address the revival of this terrible drug |
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the Panama Canal Expansion and SLC State PortsThe more than 360 commercial sea and river ports dotted across every state remain a critical cog in the vast and complex transportation machinery encompassing our nation. Not only do these ports effectively connect the individual states, they are a crucial link between the United States and the rest of the world. In this era of increasing globalization, the decisive roles played by ports as the gateways to both domestic and international trade cannot be overemphasized. This SLC Special Series Report reviews how the renewed focus on export growth and increased international trade dovetails with the ongoing expansion of the Panama Canal. Vessels loaded with cargo traveling through the Panama Canal remain a critical component in overall U.S. trade and, consequently, the ongoing expansion of the Canal will impact, albeit disproportionately, the various U.S. ports from the West Coast to the East Coast to the Gulf Coast. Given these divergent impacts, the particular effects on the SLC ports remain of great interest to policymakers, port officials, corporate/industry executives and interested others in the region. |
 | Creating Value: Recycling in the Southern StatesAdvocates of landfills long have argued that a comprehensive recycling system is not an economically viable solution to the increases in municipal solid waste created by a growing population. In this regard, the states of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) of The Council of State Governments (CSG) have demonstrated that this presumption is incorrect and that, even in rural areas with low population densities, the jobs, supply chains and manufacturing facilities created by investment and participation in the recycling industry deliver significant, direct economic rewards. With strategically located primary collection points, community education and relatively few tax incentives, SLC states have promoted economic development and allowed local markets to deliver the goods necessary to supply the thriving recycling manufacturing industry of the South and negate the need to import these commodities from outside sources. This SLC Regional Resource focuses on the economic analyses of recycling, especially in the SLC states, and the viable solutions that Southern states have realized with regard to the recycling of municipal solid waste components. Further, by providing a 15-state compendium of the executive agency programs and legislative actions in the Southern region, this report offers a baseline for interstate comparison. |
 | Water Allocation and ManagementWater, both as a resource and a commodity, is a pivotal variable in the equation relating to the future health and vitality of the United States. Americans are accustomed to turning a faucet to access, what is assumed to be, limitless amounts of fresh, clean water. However, the resource does not adhere to lines drawn on a map, and population growth and other factors that increase demand for water do not necessarily coincide with areas where it is plentiful. Due to increased consumption, along with pollution, diversion and depletion of the region’s finite water supply, the South is running out of freshwater sources. For a number of years, the Southern Legislative Conference has been examining Southern states’ policies regarding water allocation and withdrawals. This Regional Resource investigates the continuing trends that have played a role in the South’s numerous water crises and explores ways in which states can better develop policies regarding withdrawal, regulation, diversion, and conservation of water resources. (Read the full report here) |
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Autism and SchoolsAccording to recent research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in 100 children is affected by an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The disorder has has an overall growth rate of 1,148 percent in the past decade in some parts of the country, presenting overwelming challenges to schools, healthcare, and social services agencies charged with providing care and support to individuals with autism and their families.In addition to providing background on ASD and insight into recent research findings on effective therapies, this Regional Resource delivers an overview of activity across the region on a number of key policy areas, including insurance mandates for autism coverage and statewide autism commissions. Furthermore, this report addresses the fiscal costs of serving children with ASD. Finally, Autism and Schools offers a perspective on recent efforts to establish a national network for autism and steps that have been taken in Southern states to support individuals with ASD and their families to realize their full potential. |
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Mortgage Meltdown: The Financial Impact of the
While the coda to the economic turmoil precipitated by the collapse of the housing sector and the eventual damage wreaked on every aspect of the U.S. economy still remains a great unknown, there is no doubt that the adverse consequences stemming from this recession have not been experienced for at least a generation. A major contributory factor in the economic recovery from the 2001 recession was the impressive performance of the housing and construction sectors in practically every state in the country. An assortment of revenues related to these twin sectors began to play an increasingly important role in state revenue inflows. The latest Special Series Report from the SLC hones in on the extent to which the 16 SLC state revenue inflows were reliant on the housing and construction sectors between fiscal years 2002 and 2008, key economic indices related to the slowing economy (both nationally and in the SLC states), the origins of the crisis and how our economy lurched toward its current undesirable position and details on the remedial measures enacted in the SLC states in response to this growing crisis. (Read the full report here) |
 | Human Trafficking: Preventing, Prosecuting and ProtectingEvery year, the global $10 billion dollar human trafficking industry deprives individuals of their human rights and freedoms, increases global health risks and fuels the growth of organized crime. Centering around the most vulnerable, exploited and dehumanized people in the world, human trafficking affects women and children, as well as men and boys, and is carried out for a variety of purposes, most notably forced labor and sexual servitude. It is a problem that has endured for centuries, despite modern efforts by countries throughout the world to thwart the heinous practice. While the United States has, in many ways, been an international leader in this regard, the problem persists. Individual states are now taking up the responsibility of assessing how this practice affects people who live within their own borders and what they can do to further combat this problem. (Read the full report here) |
 | High Speed Rail: Update from the Southern StatesEven as high-speed rail has advanced tremendously in parts of Asia and Europe, rail travel in the United States has languished as the American love affair with the automobile, the impressive interstate highway system and affordable air travel ensured that America’s rail system did not progress into the 21st century. However, this scenario is in the process of undergoing a radical transformation as a result of efforts initiated by the Obama Administration to include $13 billion as seed money to fund up to 11 high-speed rail corridors connecting densely populated areas of the country. On June 17, 2009, the Administration released guidelines for states and regions to apply for federal funds under the ARRA with deadlines of July 10, 2009 (pre-application), and August 24, 2009 (final application). Based on these federal initiatives, it now is possible to envisage a range of positive outcomes as a result of this renewed focus on 21st century rail travel in the United States. (Read the full report here) |
 | Access to Capital in the Black BeltThe Black Belt is a string of counties that stretches from east Texas, through the deep South, and up into eastern Virginia. It is the largest, poorest, most rural region in the country. Educational attainment is lower in the Black Belt as well, particularly among the black population, and there is an exceptionally high number of female-headed households. Financial institution penetration in the region is low, even when compared to other rural communities. Each of these factors contributes to the next and creates a circle of interdependence that is confounding in its complexity. Extending access to capital throughout the Black Belt is seen as key to breaking cycles of poverty and underdevelopment in the region. This Regional Resource explores the steps states and private organizations have taken to build capital and capital readiness in rural communities, with a particular focus on the Black Belt and the challenges specific to this part of the South. (Read the full report here) |
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Issue Alert: Mid Year Education Budget ReductionsDeclining tax revenues and increasing costs of operations combined with recent turbulence on Wall Street have plunged state finances into turmoil. For schools, which receive much of their revenue from property taxes, the long and precipitous drops in housing prices and turmoil in the mortgage sector have caused further budgetary pressure. In light of these events, many states have reduced already conservative revenue projections and reassessed their approved budgets. In the face of budget shortfalls, states across the region are reviewing their spending plans for the current fiscal year to determine where cuts can be made.This Issue Alert highlights recent school budget actions as of mid-October 2008. |
| Protecting the Investment:
Historically, state governments have not been directly involved in school construction, which has been funded primarily out of local obligation bonds and tax revenues. However, this is not universally the case. A handful of states have made investments in school facilities, particularly recently. These investments have mostly addressed what are seen as discrepancies in the quality or capacity of school facilities among districts. State funding for facilities may be either one-time investments designed to clear a building backlog or ongoing funds to encourage planning, measured construction or ongoing maintenance. (Read the full report here) |
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 | Landfill Gas to FuelDaily, there are millions of tons of municipal solid waste deposited into thousands of landfills and other dumping sites. The decomposition of organic material in these places—typically food and paper products—results in the production of methane and other greenhouse gases. Landfill gas (LFG) typically is made up of 50 percent methane (CH4) and 50 percent carbon dioxide (CO2), with small amounts of non-methane organic compounds often present. |