Stateline

Recent Articles

• Arizona Can’t Divert Land Trust Fund, Court Rules
• Jan 10, 2013
• The Arizona Legislature violated the constitution when it tapped a trust fund earmarked for education to help plug the state’s budget gap, the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled.

• Feds Give States More Time to Comply with REAL ID Law
• Jan 9, 2013
• Only 13 states issue driver’s licenses that comply with the federal Real ID law, but states that do not will have at least six months to bring their licenses up to those standards.

• Bullet Tax Proposals Reemerge in Gun Control Debate
• Dec 28, 2012
• Legislators in a number of states are taking a second look at bullet tax proposals in the wake of the Newtown shooting.
• 9 Comments

• Scrutinizing Economic Development Agencies
• Dec 28, 2012
• Several states have experimented in recent years with the idea of turning their economic development agencies over to semi-private management. Many of these organizations are struggling to balance job creation with public accountability.

• Online Sales Tax Collection Bill Unlikely to be Voted on Soon
• Dec 27, 2012
• Despite bipartisan support the Marketplace Fairness Act, as the online tax legislation is known, is unlikely to pass as part of any fiscal cliff deal.
• 4 Comments

• State Education Funding On Trial, Again
• Dec 21, 2012
• Ten states have school finance challenges working their way through the courts, and four other states recently wrapped up legal challenges. But school-funding advocates have found that winning a lawsuit doesn’t necessarily improve the quality of education.
• 1 Comments

• State Officials Propose Ways to Detect Cities' Fiscal Troubles Before They Worsen
• Dec 17, 2012
• Top finance officials in California and New York are proposing closer state-level scrutiny of local government budgets to help prevent the distress that has plagued many cities, towns and counties over the last few years.

• States Begin Giving Driver’s Licenses to Young Immigrants
• Dec 12, 2012
• The practice of granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants has become rare in recent years, and the issue had dropped off most legislative agendas before the federal action thrust it into states’ laps once again

• Fiscal Cliff Debate Puts Jobless Benefits at Risk
• Dec 3, 2012
• At the end of this year, unemployment benefits that were greatly expanded during the recession are set to expire unless Congress acts to extend them.

• Downwind Delaware Seeks Relief From Cross-State Pollution
• Nov 30, 2012
• Delaware’s top air regulator has challenged federal officials to find a way to limit harmful pollution blowing across state lines.

• States Grant Utilities Extra Rate Increases
• Nov 29, 2012
• Under intense pressure from Wall Street, public utilities in a growing number of states are charging customers upfront for costly upgrades to aging gas, water and electric systems. It’s a shift in financial obligation that’s rankling consumer advocates, who say companies are shirking their basic responsibility to keep infrastructure up to date.

• Concerns Mount over State Handling of Mortgage Funds
• Nov 28, 2012
• States have siphoned mortgage settlement funds for purposes seemingly outside the realm of housing, raising some red flags.

• The Last Tax-Free Cyber Monday for Online Retailers?
• Nov 26, 2012
• As states are estimated to lose out on as much as $23.26 billion of revenue today, a coalition of small business leaders is lobbying Congress to require most online retailers to collect sales taxes.
• 1 Comments

• Study Shows Most Innovative States
• Nov 19, 2012
• An ambitious new study judges how innovative states are relative to one another and how their willingness to innovate has varied over time, reports Stateline.
• 1 Comments

• Puerto Rico Unlikely to Become 51st State
• Nov 15, 2012
• Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno is pressing President Obama and Congressional leaders to get the ball rolling on statehood for the island commonwealth, after his push for the island to become a state received a historic level of support from voters.
• 3 Comments