At at time when states are doing all they can to try to attract new industries, many policymakers are looking to the film industry as a potential force for job creation. States across the country are attempting to lure film and television production with a mix of tax cuts and other promotions.

But Florida Republicans have potentially handicapped the economic stimulus of their program with a heavy dose of conservative censorship:

Movies and TV shows with gay characters could be ineligible for a "family-friendly" tax credit in Florida under a little-noticed provision tucked into a $75 million incentive package that Republican House leaders hope will attract film and entertainment jobs to the state.

The bill would prohibit productions with "nontraditional family values" from receiving a so-called family-friendly tax credit. But it doesn't define what "nontraditional family values" are, something the bill's sponsor had a hard time doing, too.

"Think of it as like Mayberry," state Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando, said, referring to The Andy Griffith Show. "That's when I grew up — the '60s. That's what life was like. I want Florida to be known for making those kinds of movies: Disney movies for kids and all that stuff. Like it used to be, you know?"

Much of the concern for language stems from the fact that no one knows exactly what it means.

When specifically asked about potential state money for a television show with gay characters, Precourt told reporters, "That would not be the kind of thing I'd say that we want to invest public dollars in."

But other policymakers refused to go that far, and some weren't prepared to offer a definition at all.

Already members of the Florida Senate are indicating that they will not take up the 'nontraditional family values' language, leaving the proposal's future in doubt.

While the Washington State Senate considers a Democratic-sponsored jobs initiative, Democrats in the State House are stepping up to support working families in other ways.

Speaker Frank Chopp -- a DLCC Board Member –- kicked things off a few weeks ago by leading the charge against a new ballot initiative to privatize the state-run worker’s compensation insurance system:

House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said it would be "an absolute tragedy" to privatize the state-run workers' comp system, which has been in place for decades.

"That would be a disaster, and I hope to God the public also agrees on this," Chopp said Thursday.

Washington’s labor leaders prefer the state-run system because it provides more generous benefits than some private plans would, and the plan’s low overhead and efficient operation make it much cheaper compared to costs in other states.

Then late last week, the State House voted to grant collective-bargaining protections to workers at some childcare centers receiving state subsidies:

This measure, House Bill 1329, stirred much controversy in 2009. It passed the House but died after the majority there rejected changes made by the Senate.

House Democrats expect the outcome will be different this time because they are apparently willing to accept revisions pushed by senators a year ago.

If passed by the Senate, this bill would fulfill a promise that slipped through the legislative cracks last year.

Senate Democrats in Washington are focusing on an agenda designed to boost job creation and put the economy back on solid footing in the state:

The plan zeroes in on five elements: Helping small businesses, putting people to work on infrastructure projects, retraining an additional 6,000 workers for high-demand jobs, green jobs and attracting investment in research.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown told reporters, "Our strategy is like a bull's-eye, putting the existing jobs and businesses that are essential to our recovery at the center, and rippling steadily outward toward the jobs of the future that are the key to our competitiveness over the long term."

The 2010 regular session began in the state on January 11th.

With his state still grappling with high unemployment, Indiana Speaker Pat Bauer -- a DLCC Board member -- is calling for a major new infrastructure investment as a way to create jobs.

Four years ago, lawmakers created the Next Generation Trust Fund with money generated from leasing the Indiana Toll Road to private operators for $3.8 billion. The fund now holds more than $500 million.

Speaker Bauer wants to take a significant portion of that money and use it to repair the state's crumbling bridges:

"We believe we ought to put the money to work . . . instead of letting the banks lend it out and make interest," Bauer said. "We have, like, over 60 percent of our bridges in this state that are considered dangerous, decrepit. We ought to start fixing those. We should do that now and put people to work, and we do have the money."

Predictably, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels thinks the state is already doing enough.

Despite the recession beginning to ease, Wisconsin’s Democratic legislators know their constituents still face a tough economy. But the State Senate’s Democratic Caucus is determined to make next year’s legislative session all about jobs -- starting with a package of job-creation bills unveiled on Monday:

One of the proposals would spend $2 million to increase partnerships between businesses and the University of Wisconsin.

Tax credits that can be claimed for those who make investments in startup companies would be increased under another idea.

Other bill would create a $2 million tax credit for businesses that pay university or technical college tuition for their low-income employees.

The hallmark of the Democrats’ initiative is its focus on leveraging private investments, rather than relying entirely on tax dollars, and it’s exactly the kind of innovative approach Wisconsinites expected when they elected Democrats to lead their state legislature.

Back in April, Florida’s legislative Republicans refused to accept nearly $444 million in federal funding for the state’s unemployment system – money that would have shored up the unemployment trust fund at a crucial time and helped prevent a business tax hike in the middle of the recession.

This week, the Republicans’ stubbornness came home to roost as Florida’s unemployment trust fund officially went broke. For now, the state will be forced to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government to keep the system running, but just as we warned in April, paying back that money will cause heavy tax hikes on Florida businesses:

Replenishing the fund won't be pain-free.

Employers will feel a bigger sting under changes lawmakers made this spring to the unemployment compensation tax system.

How much more employers will pay is based on a complicated formula that takes into account such things as the number of workers a business has laid off, its size and the number of years it has been paying into the system.

Of course, it wasn’t just the DLCC, media analysts, and Democratic legislators warning that this would happen; Republican Governor Charlie Crist opposed the decision too. But instead of accepting free money from the federal government, legislative Republicans chose to raise taxes to pay back borrowed money, all while denying extra help to Florida’s unemployed workers and their families.

As we also noted back in April, Floridians deserve better than this.

Michigan Democrats are hitting the road this week, using a series of press conferences and town hall meetings to blast State Senate Republicans for blocking efforts to accept federal help for Michigan’s unemployed workers. The federal funding, totaling $138 million over two years, would offer temporary relief to workers undergoing job training programs or those who’ve only managed to find part-time employment.

All across Michigan, Democratic leaders are making the case for why the extra help is sorely needed:

The state expects 99,059 unemployed workers to run out of benefits by the first week in January, including 25,689 in Wayne County, 10,884 in Oakland County, and 10,158 in Macomb.

"It's really pretty horrific," said Dan Farough, spokesman for the House Democrats and Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township. "One hundred thousand people will have exhausted their unemployment benefits by year's end.

"This will hit local communities hard if we don't get something passed."

In addition to pumping $138 million in the state economy, the Democratic plans would also boost the economy by generating a more skilled workforce and eliminating the unemployment system’s penalty for accepting part-time jobs. And with the federal stimulus package footing the entire bill, the plan is a clear win-win for the state. Nevertheless, Senate Republicans have spent months blocking a vote on the measure.

This debate over Democratic plans for unemployment benefits is providing the clearest illustration yet that Michigan Democrats are the ones offering ideas and solutions, while the Republicans offer nothing but obstruction and broken promises to working families. That’s a lesson the state’s voters will not soon forget.

The national recession is causing enormous pain for thousands of West Virginia families, and the state’s Democratic lawmakers are working overtime to make sure those families get the relief they need:

Gov. Joe Manchin will call legislators into a special session to consider extending jobless benefits, spokesman Matt Turner said Thursday.

Under the federal stimulus package, states with high unemployment rates can receive extra federal funding to give unemployed workers up to 20 additional weeks of benefits.

Because of the way the state's unemployment compensation laws are written now, the state can't get those federal funds, Turner said.

Because the extended benefits will be entirely paid for by the federal stimulus package, this action will bring millions of dollars into West Virginia’s economy without costing anything to state tax-payers. And with the state’s unemployment rate closely tracking the national average at 9.4%, that relief and economic impact are sorely needed.

Improving broadband internet access is one of the best ways to encourage economic growth in rural areas, and the Massachusetts legislature is working hard to make broadband part of the state’s solution to the economic crisis.

Hot on the heals of a $40 million rural broadband initiative passed in last year’s legislative session, lawmakers on Tuesday passed new legislation to unlock Massachusetts’ share of federal stimulus money targeted at broadband expansion -- totaling $7.2 billion nationwide. Democratic legislators quickly praised the measure:

The funding is particularly important to efforts to expand broadband in the many underserved areas in Western Mass., according to information provided by Rep. Denis E. Guyer, D-Dalton, and Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield.

(…)Downing, a major proponent of 2008 legislation that established the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, helped to shepherd this stimulus-related proposal through the Senate on Tuesday. The federal funding could double the amount the institute has to work with.

"Passage of this legislation puts Massachusetts in a solid position to gain access to federal funds that will assist MBI with its mission," he said. "Today, reliable broadband service is not considered a luxury — it is a necessity for continued economic development, engaging educational opportunities, higher property values and advanced public safety initiatives.

"Pairing available federal funds with state bond monies will further our efforts to ensure all currently unserved and underserved communities will soon be plugged-in to a reliable high speed Internet connection."

The bill itself contains mostly technical and logistical changes (e.g. allowing communications cables to be placed underneath Interstate 91 in Western Massachusetts), many of which were necessary to fully access the stimulus money.

Michigan Republicans have followed their ideological peers in Virginia by blocking a vote on a bill to accept $140 million in federal stimulus money for the state’s unemployment system. Like the Virginia bill, the Michigan legislation would have allowed some laid off part-time workers to receive benefits as a condition for accepting the federal funds.

Democrats slammed the Republican Senate leaders for blocking the plan, which would have boosted the local economy and helped thousands of Michigan families weather the recession:

State Senate Democratic Leader Mike Prusi said the Senate should act before beginning a two-week break.

"These bills have sat long enough," says Prusi, "Thousands of people are going without unemployment benefits because we refuse to act in this chamber, and I think now is the time to act before the we break for the summer, before we let these families go without the unemployment benefits that support them and support their children."

Republican behavior on this issue is especially infuriating because unemployment funding is such a major concern for the state. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country, and the state’s unemployment system is more than $2 billion in debt -- far and away the heaviest debt burden of any unemployment system in the country. And the money to fix the system simply doesn’t exist because Michigan has seen catastrophic declines in sales, income, and corporate tax revenue since the recession began.

Michigan voters should be outraged that Republican senators won’t set aside partisanship and ideology to help their state. Instead, they’re determined to reject $140 million in federal money in the middle of a recession that’s hitting Michigan harder than any other state.