81.  In 1890, New York became the first state to use the electric chair, on the grounds it was less cruel than hanging.

82.  In April, Massachusetts became the first state to ban picture tubes found in televisions and computer monitors from landfills and incinerators.

83.  In April, the Assembly and the Senate passed a bill that would have made New York the first state to set fire-safety standards for cigarettes.

84.  In 1970, California became the first state to honor King with a school holiday.

85.  In 1976, New Jersey became the first state in the country to start a contaminated site cleanup program, pioneering on very difficult terrain, Barrett said.

86.  In 1990, Washington became the first state to practice community notification.

87.  In 1990, when California became the first state to regulate the field, an estimated 20,000 products were making such claims.

88.  In 1991, New York became the first state in the nation to release surgeon-specific death rates for coronary bypass surgery.

89.  In 1994, Mississippi became the first state to file a Medicaid-related lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

90.  In 1995, California became the first state to require all hospitals and clinics to develop procedures for screening patients to detect domestic violence.