State politics Subcribe to State politics |
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By Philip Rucker, The Washington Post
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford defied calls for his resignation yesterday from GOP leaders, insisting he will remain in office even as his political fortunes dimmed in the wake of his admission that he secretly traveled abroad to meet a mistress.
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By Irene Jay Liu, Times Union (Albany)
Gov. David Paterson has elevated the Senate stalemate from a "conflict" to a "crisis." The governor didn't make much news today in his Red Room press conference, except to say that he has issued proclamations for special session every day at 3 p.m. through July 6 — which means that the Senate will be in Albany through the holiday weekend.
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AZ: Brewer rips budget, calls special session
By Dan Nowicki, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
Under the pressure of a looming government shutdown, Arizona lawmakers struggled with political angst, sleep deprivation, hurt feelings and growing distrust as they completed last-minute work on a budget that would keep the doors to state offices open even as the doors to the Arizona Senate were briefly locked.
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CA: State IOUs to bring uncertainty
By James P. Sweeney, The San Diego Union-Tribune
For only the second time since the Great Depression, California prepared yesterday to start paying bills with IOUs as likely recipients braced for the fiscal uncertainty ahead.
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CA: Frustration reigns as budget crisis deepens
By Brian Joseph, The Orange County Register
A day after state lawmakers and the governor missed their budget deadline, resolution appeared nowhere in sight as the projected deficit grew to $26.3 billion and a distraught Assembly Speaker Karen Bass stormed out of a closed-door meeting with state leaders.
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CA: The State Worker -- 'Furlough Fridays' for all? Not so fast
By Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee
Most state employees started work Wednesday morning knowing that their pay in coming months will be nearly 5 percent less than June's, since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has added a third monthly furlough day to the two they've endured since February. That's right, "most."
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CA: Schwarzenegger hopes IOUs sway budget debate
By Kevin Yamamura, The Sacramento Bee
If the stigma of issuing IOUs triggers a budget deal in the coming days, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger might find redemption in his strategy of quashing a stopgap solution that would have avoided those non-cash payments.
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CA: State IOUs loom as foes' battle lines harden
By Michael Rothfeld and Shane Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times
After trying for weeks to fix a state budget gone out of control, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers stood frozen in conflict Wednesday with the state at the brink of a meltdown.
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CO: Colorado Governor's mansion grounds spruced up
By Colleen O'Connor, The Denver Post
Five little girls talked garden talk with first lady Jeannie Ritter on Wednesday afternoon. They discussed snails and lady bugs and worms, and helped fill flower pots on the front porch of the Governor's Residence.
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DE: Budget is done, but sniping isn't
By J.L. Miller, The News Journal (New Castle-Wilmington)
A bleary-eyed Gov. Jack Markell signed a package of tax increases, spending reductions and an employee furlough plan into law just before sunrise Wednesday, but not before blasting Republicans for what he called their lack of "bipartisan cooperation" in helping resolve the historic revenue shortfall.
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HI: Rethink furloughs, Hawaii state Senate president urges
By Derrick DePledge, The Honolulu Advertiser
State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa has urged Gov. Linda Lingle to consider alternatives to her furlough plans, including a 5 percent across-the-board pay cut for state workers or one furlough day a month for the next two years, instead of three days.
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HI: Veto of Hawaii excise tax on online retailers likely to stand
By Derrick DePledge, The Honolulu Advertiser
Gov. Linda Lingle's veto yesterday of a bill that would apply the state's general excise tax to Mainland retailers with Internet links to Hawai'i will likely stand, after state lawmakers said they will not attempt an override because of a technical flaw.
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IA: Iowa residents join other states with the right to sue
By O. Kay Henderson, Radio Iowa
Iowa is joining the rest of the nation in giving individual citizens the right to sue in consumer fraud cases. The new law took effect yesterday, July 1st, and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says it replaces a law that originated in the Middle Ages.
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IL: Illinois budget work on hold
By Kurt Erickson, Quad-City Times
It will be at least two weeks before Illinois gets a budget on the books. Under a plan that emerged Wednesday, lawmakers will return to the Capitol on July 14 in hopes of breaking a logjam that has left the state without a way to pay its bills.
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IL: Tax increase showdown set in Springfield
By John Patterson, Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)
Setting up a showdown over tax increases, Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday vetoed part of the state budget lawmakers had approved, saying it would have forced "disgraceful and shameful" cuts to Illinoisans who need state help the most.
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IL: Pat Quinn vetoes partial Illinois budget, as huge shortfalls loom
By Kevin McDermott, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday carried out his threat to veto a partial state budget sent to him by the Legislature because it doesn't contain a tax increase that he says is crucial to overcoming a massive deficit and keeping the state running for a full year.
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IL: Illinois starts its fiscal year with a veto
By Rick Pearson and Ray Long, Chicago Tribune
The state's new budget year got off to a politically dubious start Wednesday when Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed what he called an inadequate plan to fund human-services programs and vowed a renewed push for an income tax increase.
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IL: Parents fear loss of child care in budget impasse
By Pete Sherman, The State Journal-Register (Springfield)
RIVERTON — About five years ago, Molly Neal took custody of two grandchildren. One reason she did was that the state of Illinois would help pay her childcare costs. Today, Neal says, she doesn't know whether the state will keep that promise.
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IL: Quinn vetoes budget; workers will be paid
By Doug Finke, The State Journal-Register (Springfield)
Following through on his threat, Gov. Pat Quinn Wednesday vetoed part of the new state budget, triggering a return to Springfield later this month for lawmakers.
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IN: Daniels -- Special session worth it
By Patrick Guinane, Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)
Gov. Mitch Daniels calls the roughly $150,000 cost of the special legislative session that ended Tuesday night "a great bargain" for Hoosier taxpayers, but the General Assembly's top Democrat says Gary schools had a better deal on the table in late April.
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IN: Ind. governor says special session was worth it
By Mike Smith, The Associated Press, The Indianapolis Star
Indiana taxpayers came out ahead in the special legislative session because it resulted in a two-year budget that increases overall funding for public schools while preserving much of the state's reserves, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Wednesday.
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IN: Governor and key lawmakers tell city to live with CIB plan
By Bill Ruthhart, The Indianapolis Star
Don't even think about coming back to us for any more help. That was the message top state lawmakers and Gov. Mitch Daniels delivered to Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the legislature passed a plan city officials said fails to generate enough revenue to solve the financial woes of the Capital Improvement Board.
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KS: Governor to reveal budget plan
By The Associated Press, The Topeka Capital-Journal
Educators and officials in Kansas are awaiting word from Gov. Mark Parkinson about how he plans to balance the state budget.
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KS: Community colleges sue regents
By The Associated Press, The Topeka Capital-Journal
DODGE CITY, Kan. — Three community colleges have sued the Kansas Board of Regents claiming unequal funding for some of their vocational and technical programs.
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KS: Planned parks budget cuts draw fire
By Brent D. Wistrom, Wichita Eagle
City parks employees, three state representatives and a few others sharply criticized a proposal to privatize parks maintenance Wednesday at a first-of-its kind public discussion about the city's dire budget situation.
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MS: PSC minus spending plan
By Elizabeth Crisp, The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson)
Disagreement over the size of the Public Service Commission's staff left it as the only state agency unfunded as the fiscal year began Wednesday.
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NC: Easley's appeal may be doomed
By Eric Ferreri, The News & Observer (Raleigh)
N.C. State University is highly unlikely to negotiate a settlement with former first lady Mary Easley, who earlier this week indicated she will appeal her firing, the university's new leader said Wednesday.
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NC: Perdue -- Indecision costs $5 million a day
By Mark Johnson, The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Gov. Beverly Perdue urged the legislature Wednesday to agree on a state budget, taking what she called an "in-your-face" approach in warning that North Carolina is missing out on $5 million a day in budget cuts and tax increases.
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NH: Official -- Contracts will be tough
By Lauren R. Dorgan, Concord Monitor
The state's chief negotiator charged with hammering out a new union contract with state employees said yesterday that he hopes to seal a deal within a week, but it's difficult for the state to offer either long-term promises or contract sweeteners amid an ongoing recession and severe budget crunch.
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NV: Tax increases denounced
By Ed Vogel, Las Vegas Review-Journal
In what seemed like a political campaign message, Gov. Jim Gibbons said Wednesday that the "Buckley/Horsford Tax Increase of 2009" will hurt the Nevada economy and citizens who already are suffering because of the recession.
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NV: Judge refuses to toss lawsuit against Gov. Gibbons
By Ken Ritter, The Associated Press, Nevada Appeal (Carson City)
LAS VEGAS — A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit by a former cocktail waitress who accuses Gov. Jim Gibbons of accosting her outside a Las Vegas restaurant in October 2006 and of orchestrating a cover-up when she went public.
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NY: It's Dem payback vs. mayor
By Fredric U. Dicker, Columnist, New York Post
After years of watching Mayor Bloomberg bankroll Republican control of the Senate, hearing his high-handed lectures on congestion pricing and seeing him back a primary against one of their own, Senate Democrats unexpectedly got their chance to take revenge.
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NY: Libous evades 'Aponte's militia'
By Elizabeth Benjamin, Columnist, Daily News (New York)
The Senate gaveled in and gaveled out today for the ninth extraordinary session ordered by Gov. David Paterson since the June 8 coup, and members of the warring factions managed to spend two minutes in each other's company without incident.
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NY: Senate deadlock hits New York schools
By Suzanne Sataline, The Wall Street Journal
New York City officials scrambled Wednesday to re-create a system of school governance that hasn't existed in seven years after a deadlocked state Senate failed to renew the mayor's control over public schools before a Tuesday deadline.
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NY: Senate inaction is hurting many towns across state
By Nicholas Confessore, The New York Times
New York City marshals can no longer enforce financial judgments. The City of Yonkers cannot send out property tax bills to homeowners. And in the Town of Deerpark, in Orange County, local officials cannot issue bonds that the town is counting on to balance its budget.
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OH: State explains estimate of slot-machine revenue
By Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch
Senate Republicans plan to grill officials in Gov. Ted Strickland's administration today on how they calculated revenue estimates from proposed electronic slot machines, saying there are more questions than answers.
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OH: Dueling hearings -- slots vs. more cuts
By Mark Niquette, Catherine Candisky and Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch
As Ohio enters its second day with an interim state budget, the political gamesmanship has escalated with dueling hearings today in an increasingly partisan stalemate.
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PA: Drug company's case reaches top state court
By Staff Reports, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear legal arguments from a pharmaceutical company about whether a Texas law firm whose founder donated $91,000 to Gov. Ed Rendell's campaign can continue to represent the state in a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer.
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PA: Pa. universities fighting for U.S. stimulus funds
By Bill Schackner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Penn State University wants the Obama administration to stop Gov. Ed Rendell from reclassifying it and three other state-related universities as non-public and ineligible for $42 million in federal stimulus aid.
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RI: Lt. Gov. Roberts bows out of race for governor
By Steve Peoples, The Providence Journal
Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts will not run for governor in 2010, according to a surprise announcement Wednesday afternoon that squelched widespread speculation the Cranston Democrat would compete for Rhode Island's most powerful elective post.
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RI: R.I.'s higher education chief steps down
By Jennifer D. Jordan, The Providence Journal
Tuesday marked the last day for Jack R. Warner, Rhode Island's higher education commissioner since 2002. With his departure, Rhode Island lost three education leaders on the same day.
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RI: Sex-offender bills stall in R.I. Assembly
By Michael P. McKinney, The Providence Journal
Lawmakers introduced at least 14 bills dealing with sex offenders this session. With the General Assembly in recess, five have made it through either the House or Senate, but not both.
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RI: Senate commission to study marijuana decriminalization
By Katherine Gregg, The Providence Journal
Weeks after legalizing the sale of marijuana to sick people, lawmakers have voted to explore how much Rhode Island might collect in revenue if it were to make all sales of marijuana legal and impose a "sin tax" of $35 per ounce.
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SC: Sanford has his state cringing
By Jim Davenport, The Associated Press, The News & Observer (Raleigh)
South Carolina residents, and the simply curious around the world, have watched Gov. Mark Sanford's lovelorn saga unfold, the central character spewing an odd script that would seem more appropriate for a soap opera than state government.
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SC: Governor's new tactic -- Not talking
By Glenn Smith and Yvonne Wenger, The Post and Courier (Charleston)
As calls for his resignation mounted Wednesday, Gov. Mark Sanford finally decided to clam up about his Argentine mistress and other extramarital transgressions, ending a weeklong purging that has gutted his marriage and political career.
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SC: If Bauer moves up, who takes his place?
By Robert Behre, The Post and Courier (Charleston)
If Gov. Mark Sanford were to resign, it would affect the man many feel is actually the most powerful official in state government: Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell.
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SC: If Bauer moves up, who takes his place?
By Robert Behre, The Post and Courier (Charleston)
If Gov. Mark Sanford were to resign, it would affect the man many feel is actually the most powerful official in state government: Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell.
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TN: Ex-GOP chief - Don't judge me by anti-Obama tactics
By Bill Poovey, The Associated Press, The Tennessean (Nashville)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Former Tennessee Republican chairwoman Robin Smith said Wednesday that a state GOP news release that used Barack Obama's middle name, "Hussein," and showed him in traditional African clothing should not be used to question her leadership during her run for Congress.
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TN: Tennessee offered GM $20M package
By The Associated Press, The Tennessean (Nashville)
Gov. Phil Bredesen said the state's offer to General Motors to build its new small car at the Spring Hill plant was a $20 million incentive package, and it obviously was not enough.
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TN: Top GOP gubernatorial candidates raise $6.3M
By Erik Schelzig, The Associated Press, The Tennessean (Nashville)
The top three candidates for the Republican nomination for Tennessee governor said they have combined to raise $6.3 million through the first six months of the year.
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TN: Suit tries to block Tennessee's guns-in-bars law
By Lucas L. Johnson II, The Associated Press, The Tennessean (Nashville)
A lawyer for plaintiffs suing to stop a law that allows handguns to be carried in Tennessee bars and restaurants that serve alcohol says the legal action is necessary to maintain a safe environment for patrons.
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TX: Texas Senate passes agencies bill
By Jim Vertuno, The Associated Press, The Austin American-Statesman
The Texas Legislature convened a special session Wednesday and immediately took steps to extend the life of several key state agencies.
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TX: Road bond, sunset bills nearing quick passage
By Ben Wear and Mike Ward, The Austin American-Statesman
Legislators, many of them tanned and exhibiting a relaxed, schools-out air Wednesday, ripped quickly through two of the three issues that Gov. Rick Perry put on their special session plate.
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TX: Deal in works on private toll roads
By Mike Ward, The Austin American-Statesman
Faced with growing legislative opposition to privately built toll roads, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst told reporters just a few minutes ago that a deal is in the works to continue approval for a limited number of projects.
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TX: Highlights from the Texas special session
By The Associated Press, The Austin American-Statesman
A special session of the Texas Legislature is in full swing. Lawmakers convened the special session Wednesday and immediately took steps to extend the life of several key state agencies.
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US: State budget woes worsen as deadline arrives
By Deborah Tedford, National Public Radio (Audio)
States across the country got their 2010 fiscal years off to a bumpy start Wednesday, as some faced shutdowns with their budgets in limbo and others braced for deep cuts after passing bare-bones plans to deal with recession-driven revenue shortfalls.
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UT: Huntsman gone but is still in charge
By Lisa Riley Roche, The Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has made only a single public appearance, at a brief ceremony more than a month ago, since announcing in mid-May he would resign as soon as he's confirmed as U.S. ambassador to China.
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VT: Smokers wince at tax increase
By John Briggs, Burlington Free Press
Cigarettes in Vermont cost a quarter more a pack and $2.50 more a carton, and the 6 percent state sales tax applies for the first time to liquor, all the result of legislation that took effect Wednesday. Liquor? No big deal, beverage store proprietors said. Cigarettes? That's another story.
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WA: Aid case increase adds to budget shortfall
By Brad Shannon, The Olympian
More Washington residents will receive Medicaid and children's health assistance in the next two years than earlier forecast, creating a $250 million shortfall in the state's already-strained budget.
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WA: Time to stock up on your favorite liquor
By Olympian staff, The Olympian
State workers are scrambling to fix a distribution problem that has crimped the flow of alcohol to customers across the state, as liquor stores and restaurants are gearing up for one of the busiest weekends of the year.
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WI: Neumann files for gubernatorial run
By Brian Moon, Wisconsin Radio Network
The Republicans have another candidate who is officially running for Governor. Although Mark Neumann is a former US House member, he is actually touting his work in the private sector over the past decade.
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WI: Clerks prepare for domestic partnerships
By Bob Nelson, Wisconsin Radio Network
County clerks around Wisconsin are scrambling to comply with a provision under the state budget that recognizes same sex partnerships and affords some of the same protections as marriage.
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WI: Wisconsin to recognize domestic partnerships
By Stacy Forster, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
With the budget signed Monday by Gov. Jim Doyle, Wisconsin has become the first state with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions to put in place domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.
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