Taxes & Budget |
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AK: Facing prison, Kohring blames government but says his conscience is clear
By Dan Joling, The Associated Press, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Facing a prison sentence of 3 1/2 years, a former Alaska lawmaker said he's broke and has lost respect for the U.S. government, but that his conscience is clear.
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AK: Kohring sentenced to 3 1/2 years
By Sean Cockerham, Anchorage Daily News (registration)
A federal judge sentenced former Wasilla state Rep. Vic Kohring to 3.5 years in prison Thursday for taking bribes in a scheme to keep Alaska oil taxes down.
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AL: Senate blocks grocery tax bill
By Sebastian Kitchen, Montgomery Advertiser
Democrats in the Alabama Senate fell one vote short Thursday of bringing up a bill that would remove the state sales tax from groceries by no longer allowing Alabamians to deduct the federal income taxes they pay from their state income taxes.
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AZ: Land auction raises concerns
By Peter Corbett, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
An Arizona land auction for a Pinnacle Peak resort site has neighbors worried that development would reduce access to an adjacent hiking trail.
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CA: GOP lawmakers offer ideas for tackling deficit
By Mike Zapler, The Mercury News (San Jose) (registration)
With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set to unveil his revised budget next week, Republican legislators on Thursday announced a series of proposals they said would save money and help the state run more efficiently.
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CA: Perata drops 'Dump Denham' campaign
By Steven Harmon, Contra Costa Times (registration)
After millions of dollars raised and spent and a long trail of acrimonious campaigning, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said Wednesday he is dropping his bid to recall Sen. Jeff Denham, saying he worried it would get in the way of fixing the state's precarious fiscal condition.
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CA: Big MTBE settlement to benefit California
By David R. Baker, San Francisco Chronicle
Chevron Corp. and other big oil companies have agreed to pay $422 million to settle a major lawsuit over the gasoline additive MTBE, and much of the money will go to plaintiffs in California.
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CT: Special session expected on conveyance tax
By Christopher Keating, The Hartford Courant (registration)
Cities and towns have nothing to fear. That was the word from the state Capitol on Thursday as Democratic lawmakers and Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell said they expect the legislature to convene a special session so that municipalities can continue receiving $40 million from an extension of the tax on real estate sales.
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CT: Democrats plan special session
By Ted Mann, The Day (New London)
Democratic lawmakers said they are committed to calling the state legislature back in for a special session this spring, citing their desire to extend a critical source of revenue for cities and towns.
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FL: Crist has a $2.4-billion change of heart
By Steve Bousquet, St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Charlie Crist said "God bless Gov. Chiles" as the 2008 Legislature drew to a close last week, thankful for $2.4-billion in reserves made possible by the late Lawton Chiles.
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HI: Options to gas-tax holiday sought
By B.J. Reyes, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
While gasoline prices continue to set new highs both nationally and locally, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation say Congress should explore options other than a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline tax to try to bring down costs.
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ID: 'Win-win' situation
By Nate Poppino, The Times-News (Twin Falls)
In April, the Idaho Water Resource Board announced it had completed its $26 million purchase of the Pristine Springs fish farm operation, a multi-party deal it said would solve surface water mitigation calls and provide the city of Twin Falls a way to solve its arsenic issues.
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IL: Forby -- Governor had talked about moving state jobs out of Springfield
By Bernard Schoenburg, The State Journal-Register (Springfield)
State Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, whose district could get the nearly 150 Illinois Department of Transportation jobs that Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration wants to move out of Springfield, said Thursday that Blagojevich told him in the past he wanted to move state jobs out of the capital city.
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IL: Will the capital city be able to gamble on racing?
By Doug Finke, The State Journal-Register (Springfield)
Harness racing up to nine months a year at the Illinois State Fairgrounds could help raise money for fairground improvements and the Sangamon County emergency dispatch system, according to Rep. Raymond Poe.
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IL: 'Pay-to-play' ban goes to full Senate but hits a snag
By Jeffrey Meitdrodt and Ray Long, Chicago Tribune (registration)
A Senate panel unanimously approved a ban on "pay-to-play" for state contractors Thursday despite a last-minute threat from Senate President Emil Jones to add a provision proponents said would derail the legislation.
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IL: Pay raise feud gets personal
By John Patterson, Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)
The debate in the General Assembly over pay raises for lawmakers got personal Thursday, with a Senate Democrat chastising another for her wealth and blaming state representatives for using the Senate to get their money.
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IL: NIU's Cole Hall to be remodeled
By Nguyen Huy Vu, The Associated Press, The State Journal-Register (Springfield)
The head of Northern Illinois University said the school has a $7.7 million plan to remodel the lecture hall where five people were slain by a suicidal gunman on Valentine's Day.
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KS: Session marked by little progress
By Tim Carpenter, The Topeka Capital-Journal
State political leaders on Thursday assigned praise and fault for the outcome of the 2008 legislative session the day after House and Senate ended the four-month marathon.
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KY: Tuition increases scaled back
By Art Jester, Lexington Herald-Leader
Facing some of the angriest public remarks by a group of Kentucky university presidents in memory, a panel gave the initial vote of approval Thursday to higher tuition at the state's public universities and community colleges, including five institutions whose requests were cut.
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KY: Group urges cuts in some tuition hikes
By Nancy C. Rodriguez, The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Five of Kentucky's higher-education institutions -- including the state's community and technical college system -- should not be allowed to raise tuition and fees as much as they propose.
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LA: Roads chief says program bankrupt
By Will Sentell, The Advocate (Baton Rouge)
Louisiana's road-building agenda will suffer because a special program for 16 projects has gone bankrupt, state Transportation Secretary William Ankner said Thursday.
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LA: Board finds no conflict in roles
By Jen DeGregorio, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
The Louisiana Board of Ethics said Thursday that Sean Cummings, a private developer who also leads a city agency called the New Orleans Building Corp., can continue to steer two public developments because he does not have a "substantial" financial interest in the projects.
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LA: Tuition increase battle likely
By Will Sentell, The Advocate (Baton Rouge)
Bills that would increase tuition at the LSU and Southern University law schools breezed through a House committee Thursday, but both are expected to trigger controversy later.
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LA: BRAC backs Jindal plans
By Gary Perilloux, The Advocate (Baton Rouge)
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber formally backed several initiatives of the Jindal administration this week to ramp up state economic development efforts, including requests for $307 million more in deal-making money for big projects and a nearly $8 million increase to the Governor?s Rapid Response Fund.
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LA: Tax break vote set
By Michelle Millhollon, The Advocate (Baton Rouge)
Lawmakers delayed a decision Thursday night on legislation that would eventually eliminate the state income tax.
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LA: Panel adds few projects to budget
By Jan Moller, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
A House committee added a smattering of new projects to the state's annual construction budget late Thursday before moving it to the full House for more debate.
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LA: Little left in tank for 2 local projects
By Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Two New Orleans area projects to be financed by a special 4-cent state gasoline tax are in jeopardy because the revenue being generated is not enough to keep up with soaring construction costs, the head of the state's transportation agency said Thursday.
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MA: College endowment tax is studied
By John Hechinger, The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Massachusetts legislators, demonstrating a growing resentment against the wealth of elite universities in tight economic times, are studying a plan to levy a 2.5% annual tax on the portion of college endowments that exceed $1 billion.
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MA: State agency seeks to cover 30,000 more uninsured
By Jeffrey Krasner, The Boston Globe (registration)
The authority overseeing the state's healthcare law is exploring ways to cover an additional 30,000 uninsured residents, a step that could increase the annual cost of the program by more than $250 million within a few years.
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MD: Union won't back slots
By The Sun Staff, The Sun (Baltimore)
Breaking with the state teachers union, the Montgomery County Education Association voted Wednesday night not to endorse Maryland's slot machine gambling referendum, according to a news release from Marylanders United to Stop Slots.
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MD: Divided over slots
By Sean R. Sedam, The Gazette (Gaithersburg)
Large organizations are having as difficult a time with the issue of bringing slot machine gambling to Maryland as the General Assembly had in bringing the issue to the November ballot.
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MI: Detroit cops seek state aid
By Mark Hornbeck, The Detroit News
Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings found herself in the awkward position Thursday of asking state lawmakers for $1 million to help run her crime lab, only a couple of weeks after shutting down the lab's firearms section for incorrectly classifying evidence in a double homicide.
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MN: State GOP still trying to clean up its books
By The Associated Press, Brainerd Daily Dispatch
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Even as the state Republican Party calls DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken to task over problems with his personal finances, the party continues to try to clean up its own bookkeeping problems.
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MN: Minn. pays victims of bridge collapse
By Brian Bakst, The Associated Press, The Boston Globe (registration)
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A close-knit coalition of Minneapolis bridge collapse victims - some in wheelchairs and others still wearing casts - looked on yesterday as Governor Tim Pawlenty signed a $38 million package to compensate them for their injuries and losses.
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MO: MU faculty members voice concerns over cuts
By Danny Lawhon, The Columbia Missourian
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The frustrations of some MU faculty members over a shortage in state funding and a proposed plan to increase faculty salaries by freezing teaching positions were heard at a special meeting Thursday afternoon.
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MS: Barbour wraps up Gaming Summit
By Mary Perez, The Sun Herald (Biloxi)
Gov. Haley Barbour will call up the bill to place a moratorium on casinos during the upcoming special session, but will call the tax-incentive bill for casinos only if it has the needed support.
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MS: Governor slammed by Dems
By Ana Radelat, Hattiesburg American
WASHINGTON - House Democrats on Thursday questioned Gov. Haley Barbour's use of billions of dollars in Hurricane Katrina recovery grants, saying too little was done to rebuild low-income rental housing and help low-income homeowners.
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MS: Barbour signs bill killing reservoir boating fee
By Staff Reporters, The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson)
The boating fee for Ross Barnett Reservoir is officially dead. Gov. Haley Barbour today signed the appropriations bill funding the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District without change. The bill forced the District to repeal the fee, which was to be effective July 1.
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MS: $600M port plan taken to task
By Dave Montgomery, The Sun Herald (Biloxi)
WASHINGTON -- Mississippi's plans to transfer $600 million from post-Katrina housing assistance to restore the Port of Gulfport came under scrutiny in a congressional hearing Thursday as three lawmakers said the diversion hurts efforts to provide desperately needed housing for the state's poor.
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MT: Hardin jail defaults on bonds
By News Services, Billings Gazette
HARDIN, Mont. -- An empty $27 million jail in Hardin has defaulted on its bonds, as the city heads to court Friday to try to get out-of-state inmates into the facility.
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MT: Auditor declines regents' request
By Charles S. Johnson, Billings Gazette
The state legislative auditor said Thursday he cannot conduct a performance audit of two Montana student loan groups as the Board of Regents requested last week.
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ND: Students debate sales tax
By Jon Knutson, The Forum (Fargo) (registration)
The public debate on the proposed half-cent Cass County economic development sales tax will be settled by voters on June 10.
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NH: Cigarette tax likely to stay flat
By Norma Love, The Associated Press, Concord Monitor
House budget writers proposed delaying a potential 25-cent cigarette tax increase yesterday to see if a pending tax increase in neighboring Massachusetts will drive smokers to New Hampshire despite high gas prices.
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NJ: Legislation on new water tax is delayed
By Joe Donohue, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
A legislative committee yesterday delayed action on a bill that would ask voters this fall to dedicate a new water tax to finance $150 million in annual purchases of new parks and farmland. Lawmakers said they need time to consider also using the money for historical preservation projects.
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NV: Lawmakers to see budget cuts
By The Associated Press, Nevada Appeal (Carson City)
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons will submit a package of budget cuts to lawmakers for their approval to satisfy the requirements of state law, his attorney says.
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OH: Dann's ethics form for Washington trip missing
By Laura A. Bischoff, Dayton Daily News
As a state senator, Marc Dann railed against then-Gov. Bob Taft for failing to disclose golf outings and other freebies on his annual financial disclosure statements filed with the Ohio Ethics Commission.
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OK: House passes electric utility measure
By Tim Talley, The Associated Press, The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) (registration)
Legislation that would authorize investor-owned electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives to serve new customers in annexed areas of cities was approved by the Oklahoma House Thursday despite opponents who said it could harm municipal power companies.
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OK: Lawmaker encourages disaster funding
By The Associated Press, The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) (registration)
A state lawmaker is encouraging the Legislature to approve a plan to secure state dollars for emergency disasters in Oklahoma.
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PA: Montco proposes novel funding plan for road project
By Diane Mastrull, The Philadelphia Inquirer (registration)
With federal and state funding prospects looking grim, Montgomery County officials have devised an unorthodox plan to pay for a road linking downtown Norristown to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a $160 million project considered essential to the community's long-delayed revitalization.
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RI: Tribe ready for share of state's gambling money
By Katie Mulvaney, The Providence Journal (registration)
After refusing for more than two years, the Narragansett Indian tribe is now ready to accept its share of the state's gambling revenue if Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas can get clarification about precisely how the money can be used.
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SC: House plan will run out of gas
By John O'Connor, The State (Columbia)
Maintenance at S.C. State University will have to wait, and school buses will run out of fuel by spring, under a tighter House budget passed Thursday.
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SD: Tax break would bring no relief
By Rebecca Bentz, Capital Journal (Pierre)
While a summer holiday from gas taxes might seem like a relief for financially strapped South Dakotans, it would do more harm than good, according to state Sen. Alan Hoerth and former Clinton administration Energy Secretary Federico Pena.
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TN: Bredesen focuses on schools but tightens belt
By Colby Sledge, The Tennessean (Nashville)
Gov. Phil Bredesen maintained his dedicated stance to state education on Thursday as he discussed the elimination of new funding for K-12 schools and a reduction in current funding for colleges and universities.
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TN: Officials revisit tuition increases
By Erik Schelzig, The Associated Press, Knoxville News Sentinel (registration)
Higher-education officials say they hope to keep tuition increases below 10 percent despite a $55 million cut in state funding.
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TN: State of Tennessee will shed 2,000 jobs
By Theo Emery, The Tennessean (Nashville)
State workers welcomed news from Gov. Phil Bredesen on Wednesday that his administration hopes to use voluntary buyouts rather than layoffs to trim the payroll by about 2,000 employees.
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US: Facebook safeguards will protect young users
By The Associated Press, CNN.com
HARTFORD, Conn. - Facebook, the world's second-largest social networking Web site, will add more than 40 safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyberbullies, attorneys general from several states said Thursday.
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VA: Group critical of gas, sales tax ideas
By Chelyen Davis, The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg)
With the governor preparing to unveil his transportation proposal next week, a group yesterday warned that the two types of tax increases being debated by Democrats would both disproportionately hurt the poor.
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