Monday Quick Hits: Hot Policy Topics for This Week

North Carolina:

Education:
Tuesday, January 8 and Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee 643 LOB
This oversight committee will meet at 10:00 AM on Tuesday and 9:00 AM on Wednesday. The two day agenda includes presentation on drop out prevention, testing, and chart schools.
Link to agenda:
http://www.ncleg.net/documentsites/committees/JLEOC/Committee%20Meetings/2007-2008%20Committee%20Meetings/January%208-9,%202008/Jan%208-9,%202008%20agenda.pdf

Transportation:
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
21st Century Transportation –Prioritization and Efficiency Subcommittee
This committee will be meeting at 10:00 AM. 421 LOB

Juvenile Justice:
Corrections, Crime Control, and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee Joint Legislative
This committee will meet at 10 AM 544 LOB

Ethics:
House Select Committee to Investigate Alleged Misconduct Against Representative Thomas Wright.
This committee will meet at 1:00 PM 643 LOB
This meeting was originally scheduled for January 3rd. Due to the passing of Representative Edith Warren’s husband it was rescheduled.
The committee is charged with reviewing the evidence of misconduct against Representative Thomas Wright.

Federal:
Congress:
Congress is still in recess. The House of Representatives is scheduled to reconvene on January 15th and the Senate will follow on January 22nd.

The White House:
The State of the Union Address is scheduled for Monday, January 28, 2008. President Bush’s administration will release its Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Request on February 4th.

Medicaid:
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to publish a clarification to its December 28, 2007 Federal Register notice which appeared to announce the abolishment of its 10 regional offices. Aware that the notice had created some confusion, a CMS official indicated that the announcement was referring to internal organizational codes that have been abolished, not the regional offices.

Education:
Tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act. With the initial five year authorization already expired, the Congress and the Bush Administration are still far away from an agreement on how to improve the program and the outcomes for students. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings will lay out her policy goals for 2008 in an address on January 10 at the National Press Club. Check the Department’s web site – www.ed.gov - for the text of her address after it is delivered.


Special Thanks to DPC for the Federal Update.