Public Policy Matters - February 15, 2011

In this issue:
This Week at the Capitol	Children's Advocacy Day
Pay Now or Pay Later	Stay Informed
Obama's Budget Plan

This Week at the Capitol

United Way of Kentucky is watching three bills that may see action this week:

Body Mass Index (BMI) Monitoring - Senate Bill 32 and House Bill 89:
Kentucky currently ranks third in the nation for childhood obesity. Two bills have been filed this session to address the issue: Senate Bill 32 (sponsored by Senator Denise Harper Angel) could be voted on this week in the Senate Education Committee. House Bill 89 (sponsored by Rep. Tom Burch and Rep. Addia Wuchner) will be heard in the House Education Committee this morning.

House Bill 182 - Cap Interest on Payday Loans at 36% APR:
Payday loans in Kentucky carry annual interest rates of 400% APR. Rep. Darryl Owens filed House Bill 182, which seeks to protect consumers from the pitfalls of high-interest payday lending by enacting a 36% interest rate cap on payday loans, in line with the protections afforded United States military personnel. HB 182 is scheduled for a hearing and a vote in the House Banking and Insurance Committee tomorrow.

Other activity of interest:
HB 81, the school meal program bill, passed the House on Friday and moved to the Senate.
HB 120, the educator evaluation bill, passed the House on Friday with two amendments.
HB 225, the dropout prevention bill, passed the House on Thursday with amendments (read the Governor's comments).
HCR 13, the resolution to establish a Legislative Task Force on Childhood Obesity, is posted posted for passage today.
SB 3, the charter schools bill, which passed the Senate on Jan. 7, moved to the House Education Committee on Feb. 4.

Have questions? Contact Terry Tolan or Kevin Middleton for more information on UWKY's public policy agenda.

Pay now or pay later...
An article by Lucinda Nord, Indiana Association of United Ways

Research has proven that early childhood development programs (birth to age 5) produce substantial educational, social and financial benefits for children and their communities. A new analysis from the Pew Center on the States quantifies the "pay-later price tag" in Paying Later: The High Costs of Failing to Invest in Young Children.

According to the report, "When we fail to invest early, children suffer from a range of problems--they are at higher risk for being abused, becoming teen mothers, dropping out of high school and misusing alcohol and illegal drugs. They are less likely to be healthy and more likely to be criminals."

Consider a few comparisons from the analysis:

Pay Now	Pay Later
$1,000 - Nutritional support during pregnancy from the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program prevents unhealthy births.	$10,000 - A low birth weight baby incurs additional medical bills totaling thousands of dollars.
$9,000 - The Nurse-Family Partnership program reduces child abuse and neglect by improving the parenting skills of low-income women expecting their first child.	$30,000 - An abused and neglected child requires substantial spending on health care and social services like foster care.
$10,000 - Children prepared for school success by quality pre-kindergarten programs are less likely to drop out of high school.	$250,000 - A high school dropout's lower earnings create costs for public assistance programs and efforts to offset the dropout's reduced contribution to society.

Learn more about the Partnership for America's Economic Success. Also read last year's study, The Costs of Disinvestment: Why States Can't Afford to Cut Smart Early Childhood Programs.

Obama's Budget Plan Calls for Cut in Charitable Tax Deduction

Yesterday, President Obama proposed to sharply limit the value of charitable tax breaks taken by wealthy people. The budget proposal for the fiscal 2012 year reduces the amount people can write off for all types of itemized deductions by 30 percent. The new fiscal year begins October 1, 2011. Read the full article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy here.

Support Kentucky's Kids...Children's Advocacy Day 2011 is this Thursday!

The 7th Annual Children's Advocacy Day at the Capitol is this Thursday, February 17, 2011. Over 1,000 advocates and kids are headed to Frankfort to tell legislators that it's time to invest in Kentucky's youth! Its not too late to join them...register today! Click here for more information.

Where: The Capitol Rotunda, Frankfort, KY
When: Thursday, February 17, 2011
Check-in/Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. EDT on the second floor.
Rally begins at 10:00 a.m. EDT in the Rotunda.

Stay informed and get involved!

Information on the status of each bill lawmakers are considering is available on the Bill Status Line, (866) 840-2835. A taped message containing information on legislative committee meetings is updated daily at (800) 633-9650.

Use your voice! To leave a message for any legislator, call the General Assembly's toll-free Message Line at (800) 372-7181.

People with hearing difficulties may leave messages for lawmakers by calling the TTY Message Line at (800) 896-0305. ¿Habla usted español? (866) 840-6574

You can also write any legislator by sending a letter with the lawmaker's name to: Capitol Annex, 702 Capitol Avenue, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.

Public Policy Matters is a service of United Way of Kentucky. For more information on UWKY's public policy platform, visit uwky.org/policy.html.