Source: AP/Newark Star-Ledger | New Jersey |
April 15, 2013
At the end of a four-year phase-in, households earning up to $400,000 would receive an income tax credit equivalent to 10 percent of their property tax bill. Last year, New Jersey homeowners paid had the nation's highest average property tax bill of $7,900.
A nearly decade-long effort to require Massachusetts employers to offer paid sick days is gaining momentum as lawmakers pass similar proposals across the country.
Source: AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Nation |
April 15, 2013
Several dozen states are looking for an alternative to the GED high school equivalency test because of concerns that a new version coming out next year is more costly and will no longer be offered in a pencil and paper format.
Source: Newark Star-Ledger | New Jersey |
April 15, 2013
While local pension costs will grow in the new state budget, the bill would be $540 million higher without reforms that forced public employees to pick up a greater share of the pension costs and stopped cost of living adjustment for retirees.
A decade into the school accountability movement, pockets of resistance to standardized testing are sprouting up around the country, with parents and students opting out of the high-stakes tests used to evaluate schools and teachers.
Source: Chicago Tribune | Illinois |
April 15, 2013
Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady survived a move to immediately oust him as party chairman over his support for same-sex marriage, but top state GOP leaders approved a succession strategy that could find him replaced within the next six weeks.
Kentucky’s pension reform signed into law this month marks a positive step but should not be heralded as a cure-all to the state’s massive underfunding problem, a major ratings agency said Friday.
China spent 77.6 billion on overseas investments last year. Governor Jerry Brown would like to see them contribute funds to California's troubled high-speed rail project, which faces a shortfall of 55 billion.
A three-judge federal court on Thursday rejected Gov. Jerry Brown's attempt to avoid the court's order to reduce California's prison population. They also threatened to find state officials in contempt if they do not further reduce prison populations.
Source: Chicago Tribune | Illinois |
April 12, 2013
The Illinois House approved a measure that would ask voters whether to eliminate the job of lieutenant governor. The bill's sponsor says the job is a "luxury" that the cash-strapped state cannot afford.
According to the new White House budget, the administration expects to spend about $606 billion on subsidies -- about 27 percent more than the $478 billion projected in the president’s budget last year.
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Nation |
April 12, 2013
Around the nation, housing agencies are tightening their belts and often putting a freeze on new Section 8 vouchers for low-income people in the wake of the sequestration.
As school districts across the country consider placing more police officers in schools, some are raising alarm about what they have seen in the schools where officers are already stationed: a surge in criminal charges against children for misbehavior that many believe is better handled in the principal’s office.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | Nation |
April 12, 2013
In Tennessee, welfare benefits may be reduced for families whose children get bad grades in school. In Pennsylvania, the legislature is considering a bill that requires drug tests for all welfare recipients.
In this Mercer Report, you’ll learn how different organizations plan to tackle the new requirements of ACA and discover where most employer concerns are focused, who expects to be hardest hit, and how different health plans and Medicaid may impact overall costs.