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liz-farmer

Liz Farmer

Liz Farmer, who formerly covered fiscal policy as a Governing staff writer, helps lead the Pew Charitable Trusts’ state fiscal health project’s Fiscal 50 online resource, focusing on budgets, fiscal distress, tax policy and pensions. A former research fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s Future of Labor Research Center, Farmer holds a bachelor’s degree in American history, film and television production from George Washington University and a master’s in journalism from the University of Maryland.

The landmark decision could boost state governments' revenues by tens of billions of dollars a year. But first, they have to decide how to take advantage of it. Some hope the ruling will spur Congress to pass national rules.
Lawsuits are costing governments millions, and, in some cases, forcing them to shut down departments.
Thanks in large part to a steady economy, states are finishing 2018 better than they expected.
State unemployment insurance trust funds were decimated during the last recession. A decade later, many still don't have the funds to weather the next downturn.
A decade ago, most sought two or three ratings before selling their bonds. Not anymore.
The IRS wants to thwart state efforts to avoid the new cap on state and local tax deductions. It's unclear whether that would be legal -- or effective.
New research provides a formula to help cities and counties know what to expect, financially, when drug deaths spike.
A new requirement forces states and municipalities to annually report the terms and amount of loans they have taken directly from banks. It's a growing source of financing for many public entities.
It's already stirring anger among corporations, and nearby cities are trying to capitalize on that.