Michigan's ‘Stealth Move’ to Improve Vaccination Rates
Shutterstock
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Otter vetoes Idaho grocery tax repeal; Boston mayor declines Canadian bet; and a strange New Jersey mayoral dispute.
PUBLIC HEALTH | Anti-vaccination activists in Michigan claim the state used a “ stealth move ” to implement rules aimed at improving the state’s dismal unvaccinated ranking , which was the fourth-worst for kindergarteners in the nation four years ago. State officials, “ without much fanfare ,” moved away from loose rules that made getting a vaccination exemption relatively easy and required families to meet with county public health officials prior to getting a waiver for their children. Since Michigan’s new rules went into place, the number of vaccination waivers has dropped by 35 percent . [ Kaiser Health News ]
STATE LEGISLATURES | Idaho Gov. Butch Otter , a Republican, vetoed on Tuesday a repeal of the state’s sales tax on grocery food. “The costs of this particular proposal are too high and the potential for imminent financial need too great for the small amount of tax relief it would provide,” the governor wrote in his veto message. Otter was widely expected to reject the measure. Also on Tuesday, the governor let a $320 million funding package for road and bridge upkeep in Idaho take effect without his signature. [ Idaho Statesman ]
Bills moving through the Texas Legislature would define fantasy sports as “ games of skill ” and not chance, paving the way for for-profit fantasy sports in the Lone Star State. [ Austin American-Statesman ]
In Oklahoma, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee gave a thumbs up to a bill that would allow the display of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the State Capitol , despite concerns that it would be unconstitutional. [ Tulsa World ]
TAXATION | The Kentucky Budget Office is seeking outside counsel to provide a “report of possible taxation options available at both local and state levels" by September 30. The procurement advertisement dovetails with Gov. Matt Bevin’s stated plans to call for a special session on tax and pension reform later this year . [ Courier-Journal ]
CITY HALLS | In Richmond, Virginia , local leaders are in the middle of budget negotiations , with members of the City Council considering amendments that would boost police and fire pay , keep vacuum leaf collection and avoid cutting library hours . [ Richmond Times Dispatch ]
Kalamazoo, Michigan, has plans to devote $10 million of $70.3 million in local donations to community-building projects mostly focused on addressing poverty and helping young people in the city. “All of this work starts with ending poverty,” said Kalamazoo City Commissioner Shannon Sykes . "We can spend a lot of money on making great improvements to our city than address poverty, but the problem is we (would be) displacing folks. I feel like I'm looking at a lot of spent money and I'm looking at what is left for our desire to address generational poverty.” [ Crain’s Detroit Business ]
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is refraining from mayoral sports playoffs wagers this year after a string of bad luck in previous years, including when he had to wear a Denver Broncos jersey after the New England Patriots lost in 2014. With the Boston Bruins facing off against the Ottawa Senators , the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Canada’s capital is standing in for Walsh, putting a Boston Cream Pie on the line in a friendly wager with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson . [ CBC News ]
It’s hard to succinctly summarize this ongoing dispute involving a New Jersey town mayor and a local “gadfly” who has used social media to focus “attention on the mayor with crude and crass posts,” including a photo from an election night victory that “was altered to make the mayor resemble black entertainer Flavor Flav.” But it’s led to an spitting and poking incident during a town meeting that was captured on video and an official assault complaint. [ Lehigh Valley Live ]
NEXT STORY: ‘Yes Means Yes’: Grappling With Teen Sexual Assault