Fraud and Abuse in Online Payday Lending

Payday loans are short-term loans that are typically repayable by the borrower’s next pay check.  In-store loans account for the majority of the payday lending market.  However, online payday lending has grown substantially over recent years.   


The Pew Charitable Trusts recently released the fourth report in their Payday Lending in America series.  This report focuses on the issues specific to online payday lending and finds that some of the internet-based practices have detrimental effects on consumers.  Some of the report’s key findings include the following:

1. one in three online loans automatically renews, resulting in long-term indebtedness;
2. “30% of online payday loan borrowers report being threatened by a lender or debt collector”;
3. borrowers report aggressive practices such as unauthorized withdrawals from bank accounts (46% of online borrowers reported that lenders made withdrawals that overdrew their checking accounts, twice the rate of in-store borrowers);
4. “[n]ine in 10 payday loan complaints to the Better Business Bureau are made against online lenders, although online loans account for only one-third of the market”; and
5. online payday loans usually cost more than store loans because defaults are more common in online lending.

The report reiterates Pew Charitable Trusts’ recommendations that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau adopt regulatory guidelines to make the small loan market, including online payday loans, safer and more transparent.

Click here to read the full report.

 

California Enacts Insurance Requirements for Uber, Lyft

California law makers enacted, and the governor signed on September 17, 2014, a new law that sets insurance requirements for transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft. Assembly Bill 2293, which becomes operative on July 1, 2015, “requires TNCs to provide insurance coverage or make sure their drivers have coverage during all times the TNC application is on,” according to California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. Under the new law, TNCs or their drivers must maintain $1 million primary insurance coverage from the time the driver accepts a passenger until the time the passenger exits the car. The insurance must cover a minimum of $50,000 for injury to one person, $100,000 for injury to multiple people, and $30,000 for property damage. The California Department of Insurance recently announced it is ready to begin reviewing auto insurers’ policies to be offered to TNCs.

Stop & “Shop” For Behavioral Health

According to a recent New Haven Independent article, the Stop & Shop on Whalley Avenue in New Haven established the nation’s first community behavioral health “help desk” located in a grocery store. In addition to groceries, shoppers can also pick up free information on a variety of behavioral health services, such as stress reduction techniques and tips for improving communication between parents and children.


The helpdesk is one of 12 “hubs” (or “solution centers”) the MOMs Partnership plans to set up throughout the city.  The partnership is a Yale School of Medicine program that works to provide supports and resources for mothers and their families to help reduce stress and increase their overall health and wellness. Hubs will be staffed by “Community Mental Health Ambassadors,” New Haven mothers who serve as liaisons between families and behavioral health resources.


The project was primarily funded from the Hurricane Sandy Supplemental Social Services Block grant to address behavioral health needs of those affected by the storm.

New Report: Bitcoins

OLR Report 2014-R-0290 describes the use of bitcoins as virtual currency, the laws that govern it, and other states' attempts to regulate it.


“Bitcoin” is a form of virtual or digital currency, that allows financial transactions to be conducted on a network using computer codes. It is a form of exchange that operates like a currency but does not have all the attributes of real currency.


There are no federal or state laws that specifically govern bitcoins. However, many existing laws apply to certain virtual currency activities.


Two states, California and New York,  have attempted to regulate the use of virtual currencies. The regulation of virtual currencies has implications for many areas of law, including financial crimes, taxation, labor, campaign finance, and cyber security.


Click here to read the full report.

Walkable Communities Can Stave Off Cognitive Decline

A recent University of Kansas study found that walkable communities keep older adults’ cognition sharp.  And, contrary to popular belief, complex neighborhood layouts do not necessarily confuse older residents — instead they appear to protect cognitive performance over time.

Image Source: i.tokaris via Flickr

The study followed 25 people with mild Alzheimer’s disease and 39 older adults without cognitive impairment for two years.  Using GIS data (e.g., roads, sidewalks, elevation, terrain, distances between locations) on the area around each participant’s home, researcher Amber Watts established a “walkability score” for each participant’s neighborhood.  The walkability score was then compared with participants’ performance on a series of cognitive tests testing attention, verbal memory and mental status.  The results suggest communities built for walking yield better cognitive outcomes for residents. 


Watts thinks that planners and architects could benefit from these findings.  She notes that “[f]eatures of a neighborhood that encourage walking for transportation require having someplace worth walking to, like neighbors’ houses, stores and parks…[f]or older adults, safety is a key issue in walkability…That includes things like traffic lights that give ample time to cross, sidewalks that are in good repair, and benches to stop and rest.”

Has The World Wide Web Become The Wild Wild Web?

Today’s world is more interconnected than ever before. But increased connectivity has increased risk of theft, fraud, and abuse. As people become more reliant on modern technology, they also become more vulnerable to cyber attacks, as criminals exploit the speed, convenience, and anonymity of the Internet. 

In a report released earlier this year, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, estimated that cybercrime costs the global economy more than $45 billion annually, with the more advanced economies, such as the United States, Germany, and China bearing the brunt of the cost.

According to a recent report from Rand Corporation, a nonprofit think tank, “today, malicious hackers have the upper hand. The maturation of cybercrime markets threatens individuals, businesses, law enforcement agencies, national governments, and military services around the world. The deleterious effects on cybersecurity suggest the need for coordinated efforts across the private and public sectors, nationally and internationally, to suppress the black market activity.” The report identifies several strategies to fight cybercrime. Click here to learn about these strategies and read the full report.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data for 2013 Released

Power plants in Connecticut emitted 6.8 million tons of greenhouse gas in 2013, according to data recently released by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). The data includes reports from 19 power plants in Connecticut. The data also includes greenhouse gases from other sources such as petroleum and natural gas systems, refineries, and other facilities. Last year, 20 Connecticut power plants submitted data and emitted a total of 6.6 million tons of greenhouse gas.


Nationwide, over 8,000 facilities reported to GHGRP, including 1,572 power plants. Power plant emissions have generally decreased over the past three years from 2.2 billion tons in 2011 to 2.1 billion tons in 2013.


Highlights of the GHGRP report are available here. For more on greenhouse gases and their relationship to climate change, see OLR Report 2013-R-0388.

Some Cities Look to Build Apps for City Taxis in Response to Uber’s Popularity

The New York Times recently reported that officials in Chicago and New York have introduced proposals to design mobile smartphone applications that would allow users to hail cabs from their smartphones and other devices. These efforts are in response to the increasing popularity of ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft, which allow users to request a ride from an app on their smartphones. In Chicago, efforts to create a mobile application come along with a package of reforms to modernize its taxi industry, which modifies driver lease rates and other regulations.


Uber and companies like it have created controversy since they began approximately five years ago. Taxi and limousine services believe companies like Uber are operating outside of the regulatory scheme and have an unfair advantage; many other officials question the services’ safety, because the drivers who provide the rides are not company employees (although they are background checked) and use their personal vehicles to give rides. As many states and cities look to regulate Uber and other services, they may also look to modernize existing taxi services, because the popularity of Uber makes it clear that many people favor a convenient, high-tech solution for their transportation needs.  

Maryland Legislative Report Ignites Film Tax Credit Debate

A recent Maryland Legislative Services Department report evaluating the economic benefits of the state’s film tax credit ignited a debate about whether the state gets anything in return from credits.  “The economic development activity generated by the film production credit is of short duration,” the report found. “As soon as a film production ends, all positive economic impacts ceased.” Consequently, the report recommends letting the program credit expire on its July 1, 2016 sunset date.

Maryland awarded $62.5 million in credits in FY 12-16, and although they “comprise a small percentage of the total income tax revenue, the number and amount of credits claimed significantly increased over time.”


The report was triggered by a 2012 law requiring the legislature to evaluate certain tax credits. The authors presented their findings to legislators at a December 2 public hearing, during which film industry representatives criticized the report’s conclusions, claiming the legislative analysts “don’t understand how the [film] industry works” and fail to understand “the indirect effect of having a major production in town,” according to a Washington Post article.


Department of Business and Economic Development Assistant Secretary Hannah Byron said the program was modest, focused on tourism, film, and the arts, according to the article. “We’re not looking to be Hollywood of the East. We’re not looking to be California or New York. We’re looking to just keep the infrastructure and keep the jobs and keep what we have.”


The Maryland debate suggests that the tax credit debate is as much about what to expect from economic development programs and when to expect those things as it is about measuring the programs’ results. 

Secretary of the State Releases Turnout Statistics

Slightly fewer than 56% of Connecticut’s registered voters cast ballots in the November election. That’s according to turnout statistics recently released by the Office of the Secretary of the State (SOTS). Statewide, 1,096,509 of the state’s 1,973,332 (55.57%) registered voters cast ballots. Cornwall led the way at 74.77% and was one of nine municipalities to exceed 70% turnout. Conversely, five municipalities fell short of 40% turnout, with Hartford’s 32.18% rate being the lowest.


The 2014 election was also the first statewide election in which people could register to vote and cast a ballot on Election Day (i.e., Election Day Registration (EDR)). According to SOTS, 13,995 voters cast ballots through EDR, which represents 1.3% of votes cast in 2014. New Haven led all municipalities with 616 EDR ballots.


SOTS provides more information and data on each town’s voter here.

Santa on Your Dollar Bill?

Until the U.S. Treasury took over responsibility for printing paper money in 1861, banks across the country issued their own bank notes.  These notes varied widely in color and design.  During the holidays, some even issued notes with pictures of Santa Claus!


These notes lost their value and became collectibles after the treasury started printing money.  A blog from the New York Federal Reserve explains this piece of America’s banking history and has pictures of notes featuring Santa Claus.


Click here to read the full story and see the festive notes.

OLR Backgrounder: Autonomous Vehicles

Although autonomous vehicles (AVs) may seem futuristic, the reality is that the technology that makes it possible for vehicles to operate without a driver is very close to maturity and commercial introduction. Every major automaker is engaged in research in this area and AVs are predicted to be commercially available in five to 20 years.


A new OLR report provides answers to several questions about AVs, which are generally defined as vehicles with the capacity to self-drive without being actively controlled or monitored by a human operator. 


Click here to read the full report.

Justice Department Issues New Guidance Barring Racial Profiling by Federal Agents

Since 2003, the federal government has banned profiling on the basis of race or ethnicity, with an exception for national security investigations. A new policy, released this month, also bars profiling on the basis of religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The policy applies to federal law enforcement officers performing federal law enforcement activities, including national security and intelligence work. It does not apply to (1) federal non-law enforcement personnel, such as the U.S. military, intelligence, or diplomatic personnel, and their activities; (2) interdiction activities near the border or to protective, inspection, or screening activities; or (3) state or local law enforcement officers, except when they are participating on federal law enforcement task forces.


Click here for the complete text of the policy.

Christmas Tree Production in the United States

According to a recent Hartford Courant article, in 2009 Connecticut produced the third-highest number of Christmas trees in New England – 101,000. Vermont and Maine produced more trees, cutting 121,000 and 124,000 respectively.


The largest Christmas tree producing states aren’t in New England, though. That same year, Oregon produced close to five million trees and North Carolina cut more than 2.8 million trees.


The National Christmas Tree Association reports that there are between 25 and 30 million real Christmas trees sold each year in the United States. The most common Christmas tree species are balsam fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine, and white pine.

Hot Report: 2015 Major Issues

The Office of Legislative Research (OLR) has released Major Issues for 2015.


Every year, legislative leaders ask OLR to identify and provide brief descriptions of important issues that the General Assembly may face in the coming session.


The report represents the professional, nonpartisan views of staff in OLR, the Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA), and the Legislative Commissioners’ Office (LCO) regarding possible upcoming legislative issues. It does not represent staff suggestions or recommendations. The office identified issues based on interim studies; research requests; non-confidential discussions with legislators, other legislative participants, and executive branch agencies; and our general subject matter knowledge.
The report lists the issues according to the committee in whose jurisdiction they primarily fall. Since more than one committee may consider aspects of the same issue, descriptions may overlap. Where appropriate, it provides links to OLR Reports and other online documents that contain additional information about particular issues.


Click here to read the full report.

Medicaid Providers Face Pay Cut for Primary Care Services

The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that researches and analyzes U.S. social and economic issues, recently released a report detailing the impending decrease in Medicaid physician fees. As the report explains, “because of long-standing concerns about the level of physician reimbursement in the Medicaid program and its effect on physicians’ willingness to accept Medicaid patients, the [Affordable Care Act included] a mandatory two-year increase in Medicaid fees for primary care services.”  That increase is set to expire in 2015. The federal government covered the full cost of the increase from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014.

The expected fee decrease for ACA primary care services in 2015 varies from state to state; Rhode Island physicians face the most dramatic drop (67.3%). Connecticut provider fees would drop 21.8% in 2015, but according to the report, Connecticut is among fifteen states currently planning to extend the fee increase through 2015. These states cover 15.6% of Medicaid enrollees, while the 23 states that do not plan to extend the increase cover 71.3% of enrollees. (Some states are still undecided.)


The report also notes that it is unclear if the fee increase has led to an increase in the number of providers who accept Medicaid.  According to a related Washington Post article, in Connecticut, the number of Medicaid primary care doctors increased by close to 900 in 2013 (from 2,370 in January 2013 to 3,256 in December).

CDC Finds Most Excessive Drinkers are Not Alcohol Dependent

According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 90% of excessive drinkers are not alcohol dependent. 


The study was based on surveys of over 138,000 adults across the country. The study defined excessive drinking as any of the following within the prior 30 days:

• binge drinking—i.e., having at least five drinks (for men) or four drinks (for women) on the same  occasion at least once; 
• heavy drinking—i.e., having at least 15 drinks per week (for men) or 8 drinks per week (for women); 
• any drinking by respondents aged 18 to 20, if not included in another drinking category; or
• any alcohol consumption by pregnant women.

To qualify as alcohol dependent, the person had to meet at least 3 of 7 criteria (i.e., tolerance, withdrawal, impaired control, unsuccessful attempts to cut down or stop drinking, continued use despite problems, neglecting activities, and time spent in alcohol-related activity) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition.


The study notes that “even among those who reported binge drinking 10 or more times in the past month, more than two-thirds did not meet diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence according to their responses to the survey.”


For more information, read the full report.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Next Juvenile Sentencing Case

In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a number of rulings on the constitutionality of sentences for juvenile offenders.  Most recently, in 2012, the Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment prohibits automatically imposing a sentence of life without parole on offenders who committed homicides while under age 18. While the Court did not prohibit these sentences in all circumstances, it required courts to consider how juveniles are different from adults and how that counsels against a life sentence without parole (Miller v. Alabama, 132 S.Ct. 2455).


In Miller, the Court did not say whether its ruling applied retroactively to inmates sentenced before the Court issued its ruling.  After a number of state supreme courts reached opposite conclusions on this question, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide the issue.  In Toca v. Louisiana, the Court will consider whether someone automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole for a crime committed while a juvenile is entitled to a new sentencing hearing.


The Court granted permission to hear the case on December 12th.  A ruling is likely before the Court’s term ends next June.

Read more about the case in the New York Times.


Read OLR reports on juvenile sentencing:

• 2014-R-0108, Juvenile Sentencing Laws and Court Decisions After Miller v. Alabama
• 2012-R-0290, Summary of U.S. Supreme Court Case on Mandatory Life Sentences Without Parole for Juvenile Homicide Convictions
• 2012-R-0045, Summary of U.S. Supreme Court Case on Life Sentences Without Parole for Juvenile Nonhomicide Convictions

Mystery Parents Take Some of the Mystery Out of Charter School Enrollment

Charter school authorizers in the District of Columbia have taken up a new tactic to attempt to ensure that their charter schools are not turning away students who have specialized needs, such as those with a disability. Modeled on the “mystery shopper” used in retail, staffers pose as parents of students with a disability and call charter schools inquiring about the schools’ enrollment process, according to The Notebook blog in Philadelphia.

According to the blog:

If the school answers all the questions about the enrollment process correctly, it passes. If the school answers any question inappropriately — for example, if it tells the “parent” that the school across the street is better suited for students with disabilities — the charter board calls back again at a later date. If the school gives a wrong answer twice, it gets a warning. And if it fails to address the problem, its charter could be revoked.

The program has been running for three years. In the first year, 2011-12, 11 schools gave inappropriate answers in the first round of mystery calls, and 10 such schools failed to respond appropriately in the second round. By 2013-14, 17 schools gave inappropriate answers in the first round and two did so in the second round, according to the blog. The wrong answers in the second round of 2013-14 were partially attributed to the District’s new single enrollment system.


“We started this because there was a huge perception among the public that charters counseled out students with disabilities,” says Naomi R. DeVeaux, the deputy director for the district’s public charter school board. “We wanted to know if this was true,” the blog quotes her as saying.


The blog notes that Massachusetts has started a similar mystery parent program.

Body Cameras

In recent months there have been many public cries for law enforcement agencies to use body cameras. President Obama recently announced that he would request $75 million in federal funds to distribute 50,000 body cameras to police departments nationwide, as part of a package to improve police relations with the public.  The cameras are seen as a way to improve evidence collection, strengthen officer performance and accountability, enhance agency transparency, document encounters between police and the public, and investigate and resolve complaints involving officers.

But according to a recent Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) report, although the cameras offer benefits, their use also raises concerns, including concerns about misuse and the public’s privacy rights. The report recommends that “before agencies invest considerable time and money” to deploy body cameras, they consider these concerns and consult with frontline officers, unions, prosecutors, community groups, other stakeholders, and the general public. The report suggests that such input will, among other things, increase the perceived legitimacy of a department’s body camera policy.  PERF recommends that agency policies cover the following topics, among others:

 

1. basic camera usage, including who will wear the cameras and where the cameras will be placed;
2. the staff member responsible for ensuring cameras are charged and working properly;
3. recording protocols, including when to activate or turn off the camera and the types of circumstances in which recording is required, allowed, or prohibited;
4. procedures for downloading, storing, and safeguarding the data;
5. the method for documenting chain of custody of the data;
6. how long records will be retained;
7. data access and review;
8. the policies for releasing recorded data to the public;
9. training; and 
10. policy and program evaluation.

States Challenge President’s Immigration Actions

As reported by CNN last week, 24 states (led by Texas) are suing President Obama over his executive actions on immigration announced in November.  (Maine is the only state from New England to have joined the lawsuit.) These states allege that the President’s immigration initiatives violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law.  The lawsuit was filed in a federal district court in Texas.

A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report from November sheds some light on the legal issues surrounding the President’s immigration actions.  The report summarizes the President’s initiative and addresses several other questions about the issue, including (1) the legal authority for the administration’s actions, (2) whether there are constitutional constraints on the executive’s discretionary authority over immigration, and (3) other legal issues that may be raised by the administration’s actions.

The report, which is dated November 24 (four days after the President announced his immigration initiative), states that its “answers are necessarily preliminary.” CRS expects to update this report although their reports are not always publicly available.

Wooden Skyscrapers in the Works

In an effort to find environmentally friendly alternatives to steel and concrete, some architects are turning to wood as their building material of choice.


As noted in a recent NPR article, “wood has long been considered too weak for high rises — not to mention a towering inferno just waiting to ignite.” Architects and biochemists are working to solve these shortcomings. According to the article, researchers are studying wood at the cellular level to see how it could be strengthened. The article also explains that the flammability of tall wooden buildings is actually a misconception. Unlike small homes, massive structures are not flammable “because the surface of timber burns and chars just enough to provide a good insulator that protects the interior.”


Researchers are also trying to improve concrete by studying it at the molecular level. An MIT professor is examining how to make concrete more resilient while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by changing the ratios of concrete’s ingredients. He and his team hope their efforts were result in a stronger, greener building material.

New Report: Threats to Schools

OLR Report 2014-R-0282 explains (1) existing laws that pertain to threats to schools and (2) state agency efforts to track the number and nature of threats made to schools.


When someone threatens to harm a school, the school district takes precautionary measures to protect students and staff including (1) lock-ins (conducting classes while refusing building entrance or exit), (2) lockdowns (confining students and staff to hiding positions in secure rooms), and (3) school closures with class cancellations. State criminal laws and school disciplinary measures are available to punish someone who makes such threats.


SDE is required by federal law to track all student disciplinary offenses reported by Connecticut school districts. SDE data shows a state average of 67 offenses labeled as “school threat/bomb threat” that led to disciplinary action over the last three school years. This number does not capture all threats as it only reflects incidents that resulted in student discipline.


Click here to read the full report.

2014 Connecticut Insurance Market Brief Released

The Hartford Courant reports on the 2014 Insurance Market Forecast, which the Connecticut Insurance and Financial Services Cluster (CT IFS) hosted on November 20 in Hartford. The day brought together more than 350 insurance professionals at this annual insurance convention. This year’s gathering featured the release of the 2014 Connecticut Insurance Market Brief, the latest installment in a series of reports on the insurance industry in Connecticut. The CT IFS collaborated with PwC on the brief, a report that includes executive perspectives and a summary of information and trends on the sector, including Connecticut’s 200-year insurance history.


According to the brief, Connecticut’s insurance industry is one of the world’s largest. There are 110 domestic insurance and 1,288 non-domestic insurance entities doing business in the state. “Insurance continues to be a keystone in Connecticut’s economy, representing 2.8% of the workforce, 5.6% of the payroll, and 5.7% of the gross state product.” Also, “according to the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, one new job in the insurance industry adds an additional 1.73 jobs to the Connecticut economy.”

New Report Compares the Property Tax Burden Among the States

In 2013, the median-value home in Bridgeport bore the highest tax burden when compared to such homes in the nation’s other urban areas, according to a latest annual report comparing property tax burdens across the nation. The report, which was prepared by the Minnesota Center For Fiscal Excellence and the Lincoln Land Institute, measured tax burdens by comparing the amount of taxes paid on a property against the property’s resale value.

Image Source: http://bit.ly/1ulTRuK

Applying this measure, the report found that the New England region, with its heavy reliance on the property tax to fund municipal services, had the highest residential property tax burden, followed closely by Midwestern urban areas and Mid-Atlantic rural areas. The burdens were lowest in the South and West.

So, should we all move to Georgia or Arizona? Not so fast. The property tax is just one component of a state’s overall tax system. Some states, for example, allow municipalities to levy sales, income, and other taxes besides property taxes. Consequently, “some locations have relatively high property tax levies because those local governments are more dependent on ‘own-source’ revenue (revenue they raise themselves) or have limited non-property tax options available to them,” the report stated. Other factors that mitigate residential property tax burdens include levying income and sales taxes to fund local government and policies that require some types of property, such as factories and shopping malls, to bear more of the burden than homes and apartments.

CT Ranks 5th in Percentage of Jobs that Require Bachelor’s Degrees

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Career Outlook, 21.7% of Connecticut’s jobs typically require a bachelor’s degree.  And only three other states, plus the District of Columbia, have larger concentrations of jobs for college degree holders: D.C. (32.2%), Massachusetts (22.7%), Virginia (22.3%), and Maryland (22%).  According to BLS, Connecticut has a particularly high concentration of actuaries, aerospace engineers, and marketing managers. 


Nationwide, 18% of jobs require a bachelor’s degree and the employees in those positions earn a $68,190 median annual wage.  The median annual wage for bachelor’s degree positions in Connecticut is $78,880.


Connecticut’s 2.9% of jobs that require doctoral or professional degrees (e.g., law or medical degrees) were also in the top 10 nationally, behind D.C. (8%), New York (3.5%), Massachusetts (3.5%), Vermont (3.2%), Rhode Island (3.2%), Maryland (3.1%), and Delaware (3%).  

Is the Stick Shift an Endangered Species?

Only about 10% of the motor vehicles built in North America have manual transmissions (stick shifts), down from about 35% in 1980, according to an Associated Press article. The article says that some of the country’s best-selling vehicles, such as the Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion, don’t even offer stick shift models.


Manual transmissions were all there was until 1939, when Oldsmobile premiered the automatic transmission. But manuals were still the transmission of choice for many drivers, who preferred their lower cost and the better gas mileage they provided. But improvements in automatic transmissions have closed these gaps, according to Jack Nerad, the senior editor of Kelley Blue Book, who is quoted in the article.  “The manual transmission has become kind of a dodo bird,” he says. 

Proposed Medicare ACO Rule Delays Penalties An Additional Three Years

According to a recent Kaiser Health News article, a new rule proposed by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would give Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) an extra three years before they face penalties for poor performance.


ACOs are voluntary networks of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers that coordinate care for Medicare patients. They assume medical and financial responsibility for their Medicare patients’ care and are eligible for bonuses when they coordinate care, reduce Medicare spending, and meet certain benchmarks. Underperforming ACOs are subject to penalties, however most have a three-year grace period that allows them to earn bonuses while being excused from these penalties.

According to the article, the new proposed rule would extend this grace period to six years. However, those ACOs taking advantage of the grace period can only keep up to 40% of their Medicare savings, instead of the 50% they are allowed to keep during their first three years.

The proposed rule also establishes a new Medicare ACO program, “Track Three,” that would allow participating ACOs to keep up to 75% of their Medicare savings. Those that exceed Medicare spending benchmarks would be responsible for up to 15% of excess spending, instead of the current 10% maximum.  The new program is similar to the “Pioneer ACO Model” program, a high-risk Medicare ACO pilot program that ends in 2016.

The proposed rule is open for public comment until February 6, 2015.


For more information on Medicare ACOs, see OLR Report 2014-R-0238.

Marijuana Breath Test

Although Colorado and Washington allow recreational marijuana use, a driver in either state can be charged with driving under the influence (DUI) if he or she has five nanograms or more of THC (i.e., tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana) in his or her blood (COLO. REV. STAT. § 42-4-1301 and WASH. REV. CODE § 46.61.506).

According to a recent USA Today article, police in both states rely on blood tests to determine whether someone has been smoking marijuana or consuming it. Washington State University researchers are developing a marijuana breath test that police could use when deciding whether to arrest a suspected impaired driver.  Because the breath test will not be able to pinpoint the level of THC in the body, follow-up tests would still be needed for evidentiary purposes, as with drunken driving cases.


The Washington State University research team plans to finish testing a prototype marijuana breath test by the end of this year and begin human testing in 2015, per the article.


According to a previous USA Today article, the federal government has recently completed an experiment aimed at identifying the level of marijuana that impairs drivers.
  

New Report: Changes in the Mandated Reporter Law Since 2011

OLR Report 2014-R-0286 describes changes the legislature has made to the law on mandated reporters of child abuse since 2011.

The legislature has made several changes to the law since 2011, including making it a crime for (1) mandated reporters to fail to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Children and Families or (2) someone to intentionally and unreasonably interfere with or prevent a mandated reporter from reporting such suspected abuse or neglect. It also expanded the list of mandated reporters to include youth camp directors, youth athletic coaches, directors and trainers, all Department of Public Health employees, and certain employees of the Office of Early Childhood.


For more information, read the full report.   

Proposed Change to Federal Regulations Would Affect State Authority Over Special Education Modifications

According to the Federal Register, since 2007 federal regulations have allowed states to modify academic standards and develop alternative standardized tests for special education students, changes that were meant to give them the flexibility needed to assess these students when reporting their academic progress to the federal government (as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Law).

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) proposed eliminating states’ authority to modify  special education curriculum standards and testing requirements (78 Fed. Reg. 52467-71 (Aug. 23, 2013)).


DOE offers two reasons for these proposed changes. First, the new general assessments developed by state consortia since 2007 are more accessible to students with disabilities, and they will yield results that are more valid, reliable, and fair.  (Connecticut joined the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which designed a new test aligned to the Common Core State Standards, in 2010.)  Second, research shows that more accessible general assessments can promote high expectations for students with disabilities when paired with appropriate support and instruction. Consequently, DOE anticipates that modified standards and tests will no longer be needed.


The notice and comment period for the proposed regulations has closed.  Final action is scheduled for January 2015.

Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund is Now Accepting Applications for Matching Grant Voucher Program

This past session, the legislature passed a bill creating the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund (CMIF). CMIF was intended to provide Connecticut manufacturers with resources to meet demand for their products and strengthen the state’s manufacturing sector.

Governor Malloy recently announced the approval of a $3.5 million matching grant voucher program as a part of CMIF. The voucher program, funded by the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and administered by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), provides financial assistance to eligible Connecticut manufacturers to help them undertake innovative projects that will improve productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness. The program will award grants in amounts from $5,000 to $50,000, and grant recipients must match awards dollar for dollar. Recipients may use grant funds for many different purposes, including accessing technical experts, training employees, developing prototypes, and improving processes.

CCAT is administering the program on a first-come, first-served basis, and those interested must submit an application on CCAT’s website to be placed in the queue for funding consideration. For more information on the program, including eligibility and application requirements, visit CCAT’s website.

Thousands Apply for State Veterans’ ID

More than 6,270 Connecticut veterans have applied to participate in the state’s veterans’ ID program, according to the New Haven Register. The program allows veterans to place an American Flag symbol on their state-issued driver’s license or identity card to indicate their veteran’s status. The symbol is intended to help businesses and service providers verify a veteran’s status for certain discounts, programs, and services.


The symbol is issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), but veterans must first apply to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to have their veterans’ status verified. For information on how to apply for the veterans’ ID, see DMV’s website.