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Bloggers Train Sites on State Governments
Some of the best sources for information on the California recall election are not newspapers, not television stations and not radio shows. They are blogs. Short for weblogs, these iconoclastic Web sites are a new kind of media, both newsy and personal. Some blogs feature the life of the writer, others technology and the arts. […]
Ridge Says More Security Info on the Way
Speaking at the National Governors Association’s (NGA) annual summer meeting, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said the nation has a long way to go before it is secure and that his department needs to develop better partnerships with state and local officials. “We still have a long, long way to go,” Ridge told the governors. […]
Governors Gather in Indianapolis for Annual Meeting
Officially, education, health care and the economy top the agenda of the annual summer meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA), which this year takes place in Indianapolis. But the California recall election is likely to be the prime topic of discussion. About 35 of the 50 governors are expected to attend the meeting. California’s […]
States Borrowing to Boost Bottom Line
With interest rates skirting record lows and budget deficits approaching record highs, states are borrowing more money in order to close budget gaps, refinance old debt, spur on their economies and build new roads, schools and airports. Over the first seven months of the year, state and local governments borrowed $230.1 billion, which is 18.2 […]
Tax Increases Spur State Revenue Growth
State tax revenue grew 2.3 percent last quarter, capping a year in which revenue across all states grew 2 percent over the year before, according to a report released Wednesday by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Rockefeller analyst Nick Jenny cautioned, however, that the revenue growth is not a sign that state fiscal prospects are […]
Conservatives Urge Spending Restraint
A leading conservative economist is lashing out at the Republican governors of Alabama, Nevada and Ohio for raising taxes, accusing them of “acting like Democrats without the charisma or the heart.” Ohio University professor Richard Vedder told the annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that Republican state officials have been just as […]
Bond Rating Drop Another of States’ Fiscal Woes
State bond ratings have taken a beating over the past two years, costing state governments hundreds of millions of dollars in higher interest payments and adding to long-term budget problems. California is the most recent state to take a hit. Its bond rating was downgraded last week by Standard & Poor’s, one of three major […]
Fiscal Relief Funds Fight Fires Real and Budgetary
Fire suppression in New Mexico, police officers in Maryland and local governments in Wyoming are just a few of the many areas state lawmakers are spending the fiscal relief money they received from the federal government this year. Congress approved the money earlier this year $20 billion to be spread among the 50 states based […]
More States Cut Spending to Balance Budgets
In the face of gaping budget deficits, state lawmakers are cutting programs, including higher education and social services, more often than they are raising taxes, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The report said 31 states cut programs for fiscal year 2004, which began July 1 in […]
Political Groups Give Big, Escape Regulation
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) and Republican Governors Association (RGA) are increasingly powerful players in state and local politics, having spent tens of millions of dollars on elections and issue ads during the past three years, according to a new report from the Center for Public Integrity (CPI). CPI, a non-profit, non-partisan Washington, D.C., research […]
Six States Miss Budget Deadlines
California, Connecticut, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon and Rhode Island all missed budget deadlines as of 12:01 AM Tuesday because of partisan bickering over taxing and spending. In California, state political leaders will start missing paychecks because of it. A handful of other states, including Missouri, New Jersey and North Carolina, flirted with blown deadlines but […]
State Governments Growing in Reverse, Report Finds
For the first time since 1983, state government spending is expected to shrink from one fiscal year to the next, with 19 states predicting negative growth in state government for the fiscal year that begins July 1, according to a report released Thursday. The primary cause of this retrenchment in state spending, which is based […]