NC House Bill 201 introduced on March 5th seeks to repeal the 2012 energy conservation code and reinstate the 2009 energy code. As a home energy auditor working in the weatherization and building science industry, I know what a difference can be made when our homes and places of work are built with energy efficiency as a priority. The Energy Conservation Code put into effect in 2012 marked a great improvement in the minimum acceptable energy efficiency standards for buildings in North Carolina. Buildings are responsible for nearly half of the energy usage in the US, and cause more pollution than our cars. Better energy codes mean lower monthly operating costs for new home buyers and a decreased risk of loan default. Please join me in making sure that our state does not move backwards on this important issue.

Even though the legal age for tobacco purchase in Florida is 18, my son and his friends had no problem making purchases at 15 and 16. Raising the legal age could actually save lives by not giving young people the opportunity to purchase this highly addictive product.

Adopting Daylight Savings TIme year-round would increase productivity and make Californians happier and healthier.

Repeal the requirement to wear a protective helmet while operating a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, or moped on a state highway, county road, or city street

I am a public school teacher in Detroit. I have a degree in children with Cognitive Impairments. I was laid off because my principal (who was never in my room) gave me low grade on my bogus evaluation. Support teachers and stay out of our paychecks and our business.

The annual spraying of 20 billion tons of aluminum, barium, strontium, mercury, and other toxic, carcinogenic, and biohazardous material over cities everywhere (including daily in Boulder County and surrounding areas) is already having devastating effects on humans, the soil, our forests, and most other life forms. The short term effects have shown to be causing me to have respiratory illnesses frequently as a result, as have most people I know-- but the long term effects are deeper, such as Alzheimer's, neurological disorders, and cancer. If the public were adequately informed on this topic most would take appropriate action to put an immediate stop to these destructive activities.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is located in Newtown, CT. Even after the devastating loss of innocent life right here in their own town, this organization refuses to support federal universal background checks. The NSSF is the #2 Gun Lobby in the US. The vast majority of Americans are in favor of federal legislation requiring universal background checks that would close the "gun show loophole" in every state, as well as other "private" transactions that allow people to obtain firearms without a check. The NSSF is fighting against such a change. We demand the NSSF tell Congress and Newtown that it has had a change of heart and supports universal background check legislation.

Outgoing EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, called on the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to establish a Citizen Advisory Committee that would give a forum for participation by non-governmental organizations including environmental, conservation, fishing and community stakeholder groups in the development and implementation of a Gulf-wide restoration plan. This committee is an essential piece of the process, without which the council will lack the important resources and knowledge base of coastal residents and the citizen engagement needed for effective participation in implementing Gulf-wide ecosystem restoration plan. Please take a moment to share your support with your governor.

Coordinated Care Organizations (CCO) were created by the Oregon legislature to provide better services at reduced cost for those on Medicaid (Oregon Health Plan), however these CCO can be private for profit companies that have little accountability to the local community and are not being required to have public meetings or records of what they are planning regarding the health care of our most vulnerable citizens.

My 18 y.o. daughter was arrested for underage consumption with an alcohol level of 0.18, twice the legal limit. She posted bond, was left in a lobby by herself to wait for an adult that she had called to pick her up. She subsequently ended up leaving before the adult arrived and was walking toward the establishment (2-3 miles) where her friends were, but was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. According to police, she was considered an "adult" because she was 18 (although intoxicated), posted bond, so they claimed they could not retain her. To date, there are no laws and/or policies to prevent this from happening again.

The D.C. City Council has introduced a bill that would require all businesses, like Walmart, with 75,000 square feet of retail space or more and at least $1 billion in annual revenues to pay workers $12.50 an hour. Workers in D.C. deserve a living wage, and this bill is a big step in the right direction. By raising wages for workers in large retail workplaces like Walmart, this will impact thousands of D.C. families. Write to the D.C. Council now and urge them to support the Large Retailer Accountability Act of 2013.

Most Progressive initiatives are oriented towards specific policies the legislature has failed to address when what we really need is a change in the constitutional rules of the game. Preferably a seemingly small change that is easily understood and that radically changes the political landscape in a way that undermines centralization is what is needed. We need a state initiative in every state with initiatives, an initiative proposal that basically can be said in two sentences: "All elections to political office in California shall be my majority vote. In cases where no candidate receives a majority instant run offs as are currently the case in some California cities will decide the winner." Imagine the difficulty of the two main parties arguing against majority rule when most Americans hold both of them in contempt. If these initiatives were on as many ballots as possible, and repeated regularly until passed, the issue would remain in the public eye. As both gay marriage and marijuana legalization demonstrate the more these issues are in the public eye the more receptive the public becomes. But unlike gay marriage and marijuana legalization, majority rule is already regarded as legitimate. Advantages I. With majority vote rules for elections a vote for a third party candidate will not help your opposition politically in any sense. If one of the two main parties gets a secure majority, compared with a plurality election the outcome will be the same. But when majorities are not secure the dynamic changes. II. A candidate may need another party’s voters to win. In order to get them he or she has to treat the issues they raise explicitly and would be well advised not to trash their candidate. As a result issues will be discussed that normally would not get discussed. Further, the third party will be treated with a degree of respect, legitimizing it in otherwise skeptical eyes. III. Voters will be encouraged to vote their real preferences, and make the main party candidate a second choice. In doing so I predict we will rapidly see that third parties have a lot more support that currently seems to be the case. This is because under current rules I may prefer Greens or Libertarians or something, but never vote for them because I don’t want to help the other main party. As third parties become more competitive they become more interesting to undecided voters. IV. Because they have a chance, third parties will attract candidates who are in it for more than ego and feelings of self-righteousness. We will get a pool of more competent candidates. This will make them more effective in attacking the positions of main parties. There are no strong progressive organizations with much public visibility in the way a strong third party would be visible. V. Over time ‘third parties’ will get more strongly established in the public eye, win elections, and provide genuine competition to the corporatists. Given current levels of disgust with corporations, banks, and the main parties it might not take much time. VI. Majority vote elections will also be cheaper. Currently most states help finance party primary elections. Primaries were established because we have a two party oligarchy and it is only through primaries that much democracy exists in the US at all. But when many parties exist they can pay for their own primaries if they want them. The financial savings would not be negligible. Here in California as best I can tell a primary costs about $70 million. Let the parties pay for one if they want one.