Texas constitution defeated
Texas voters have defeated a proposed
new state constitution. The action left the
state with a century-old document.
Pregnancy discrimination
The U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a
Utah law which denied unemployment benefits to women during a
period beginning three months prior to
childbirth and ending six weeks after
delivery. The law was based on the presumption that all such women are unable to
work. The court insisted that such a
determination had to be done on. an individual basis.
Interstate garbage
New Jersey's Supreme Court has upheld a
1973 law which banned the dumping of
garbage from out of state into New Jersey.
The court rejected a ruling by a lower court
which asserted an interstate commerce
conflict.
Only in English
The high court in Massachusetts has ruled
that official notices sent out by state courts
and administrative agencies need only be
written in English. The court stated that it
was the responsibility of those receiving such
notices to secure translations.
Two states predict deficits
New Jersey Treasurer Richard Leone
announced that his state faces an $891
million deficit in the coming year's budget.
He indicated that only with new taxes could
existing programs be properly funded. At
the same time Connecticut Gov. Ella T.
Grasso announced that her state was faced
with a deficit of $77.5 million. She indicated
that one way of dealing with the crisis would
be to increase the 35-hour work week of state
employees to 40 hours.
Gov. Mandel indicted
Marvin Mandel, governor of Maryland,
was indicted by a federal grand jury on
charges of mail fraud and bribery in late
November. The governor maintained his
innocence and indicated he would seek an
immediate trial.
Arizona v. New Mexico
Arizona has filed a suit with the U.S.
Supreme Court against New Mexico over
the latter's passage of an electrical energy
tax. Arizona is arguing that New Mexico's
electrical energy tax, which applies to the
generation of electrical energy within New
Mexico, is a burden upon interstate
commerce because it does not distinguish
between in-state and out-of-state consumption./ C .P.R.
April 1976 / Illinois Issues / 15