Taxes & Budget news Subcribe to Taxes & Budget news |
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By Kimberly Leonard, Special to Stateline.org
States are digging into their federal stimulus money to help finance community colleges, where rising tuition, soaring enrollment and budget cuts threaten to shut students out of the system.
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By John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff Writer
States are spending too much stimulus money on new road construction and not enough on public transit projects, a national advocacy group claims in a report issued Monday (June 29). Meanwhile, Michigan and California consider teaming up to solve their prison problems and North Carolina and Rhode Island face off with Amazon.com over taxes.
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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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AL: 123,046 in Alabama still waiting for tax refunds
By Phillip Rawls, The Associated Press, Montgomery Advertiser
The longest U.S. recession since World War II has caused Alabama's tax collections to plummet so badly that more than 120,000 taxpayers are having to wait for their state income tax refunds.
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AR: Lottery Commission votes to join Powerball
By John Lyon, Arkansas News Bureau
The Arkansas Lottery Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to join the multi-state Powerball games, tickets for which may go on sale in the state as soon as this year, the state's lottery director said.
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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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CO: New Colorado auto fees stir shock, anger
By Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post
Yolanda Suazo's voice and hands shook as she pointed to papers indicating she had just paid $393.37 to register her 2007 Chevy Trailblazer — almost $100 more than she had expected.
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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: Study says Hawaii's road-related crash costs among nation's highest
By Staff Writers, The Honolulu Advertiser
A study released yesterday that says deficient roadway conditions contribute to more than half of U.S. highway fatalities — a substantially more lethal factor than drunk driving, speeding or non-use of seatbelts — lists Hawaii as among the states with the highest road-related crash costs.
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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 dips into savings to balance its budget
By Jason Clayworth, The Des Moines Register
Vastly different estimates were released Wednesday on how Iowa ended its fiscal year this week, but all projections indicate that Gov. Chet Culver will have to use cash reserves to balance the state budget.
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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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IN: State colleges preparing new tuition rates
By The Associated Press, The Indianapolis Star
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Now that Indiana lawmakers have approved a new state budget, public colleges and universities can start calculating their tuition rates for next year.
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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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MD: State Medicaid coverage, costs grow
By Sarah Fisher, The Sun (Baltimore)
A year into a new effort to expand health coverage, recession-weary Marylanders are flocking to the state's Medicaid program in numbers far greater than expected, costing the state $50 million more in the process.
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MI: Michigan fat and getting fatter
By Megha Satyanarayana, Detroit Free Press
Michigan adults are the ninth-fattest in the nation, and the state is spending about $3 billion a year dealing with related health problems, according to a report released Wednesday by a national health care foundation.
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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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MT: State tax revenues fall under forecast
By Charles S. Johnson, Billings Gazette
State general fund tax collections for the fiscal year ending Tuesday are less than what lawmakers projected, but it's too early to say by how much, the Legislature's chief revenue forecaster 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: NH's books continue to show red ink
By The Associated Press, Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover)
New Hampshire's books continue to bleed red ink. The latest revenue report for June shows the fiscal year ended $292 million below the estimates developed two years ago. Receipts for June were $33 million below estimates, thanks mostly to poor business tax receipts.
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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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NJ: Pact averts layoffs, keeps schools open
By Staff Reports, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
Gov. Jon Corzine has agreed to abandon plans to close 18 regional schools the state operates for students with learning disabilities under the amended contract members of the Communications Workers of America ratified this week.
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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: NDOT seeks bids for stimulus projects
By Brendan Riley, The Associated Press, Nevada Appeal (Carson City)
The Nevada Transportation Department has met a deadline for seeking bids for $70 million in road projects, ranging from highway repaving to historic V&T Railway work and an antelope and deer overpass, being funded by federal stimulus dollars.
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NY: $2 million settles kickback
By Andrew McIntosh, The Sacramento Bee
A California financial company on Wednesday agreed to repay $2 million to New York state's giant public pension fund after one of the company's former partners was implicated in paying a kickback to secure investment deals from the fund.
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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: Glitches arise with change in lottery
By James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch
Lottery players experienced problems yesterday, particularly in cashing their winning tickets, as the Ohio Lottery launched a new gaming system that's supposed to save money and process tickets more quickly.
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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: Online game lets citizens decide how to balance the state budget
By Ann Belser, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Keystone Progress, a liberal public interest group, has created a computer game giving citizens the (virtual) power to balance the Pennsylvania budget. You can raise income taxes, cut spending on preschool and kindergarten programs (little kids don't vote) and even close corporate tax loopholes without any lobbyists tracking you down.
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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: 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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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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US: Highway conditions contribute to over half of fatal auto crashes
By Ashley Halsey III, The Washington Post
If it is your fate to die in an auto accident this holiday weekend, the odds are you'll hit an ill-positioned bridge, tree or pole, or encounter some other highway hazard, according to a study commissioned by an industry group that advocates for boosting spending on road construction.
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US: Pension funds to lead suit against bank
By Reuters, The New York Times
A group of five public pension funds, including state funds in Ohio and Texas, have won the right to lead investor class-action lawsuits against the Bank of America Corporation over its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Company.
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US: Facing deficits, some states cut summer school
By Sam Dillon, The New York Times
COCOA, Fla. — Nearly every school system in Florida has eviscerated or eliminated summer school this year, and officials are reporting sweeping cuts in states from North Carolina and Delaware to California and Washington.
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US: States, districts in delicate dance on stimulus
By Alyson Klein, Education Week
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is clear: States are on the hook for advancing education improvement goals spelled out in the law as a condition for receiving up to $100 million in economic-stimulus aid to education.
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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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WV: W.Va. Turnpike board OKs toll increase
By Michelle Saxton, Charleston Daily Mail
Drivers will start paying higher tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike next month of $2 for passenger vehicles and $6.75 for five-axle commercial trucks under a motion approved Wednesday by state turnpike officials.
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