Finance
Managing public finance has become a demanding aspect of state and local government, especially as economic health fluctuates and outside forces create revenue instability. Articles on taxes, budgets, pensions and bonds help to bring insight to finance management at the state and local level.
Work requirements remain on the table but Congress will not cut the matching rate for the Affordable Care Act expansion or impose per capita limits on states.
The governor’s two-year plan would put the budget over $10 billion for the first time, a $900 million increase over the current cycle’s funds. It includes $58 million for free school meals, $400 million for transportation and more.
Washington’s biggest county has proposed a requirement that retailers in unincorporated areas accept up to $250 in cash for a single transaction and would prohibit marking up prices for cash-paying customers.
CARES. ARPA. IIJA. These bills and more have put billions into the state and local government market. We break down the major federal funding packages and how they’re being put to use.
The state’s comptroller announced an additional $6 billion to the state’s projected budget surplus, sparking discussions about how to spend the cash. Including the surplus and transfers, there will be $188.2 billion in funds.
They will help fund energy-saving and climate projects for businesses and homeowners. Congress’s approval of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund could supercharge green banks across the nation.
Sports betting in the state became legal on Jan. 1 and many hope that the industry will bring in millions in tax revenue for Ohio schools and increased revenue for other businesses. But some are worried about addiction.
The Employer Coalition of Louisiana, composed of Laitram, Edison Chouest Offshore, Excel Group, Grand Isle Shipyard and more, will work to help its customers pay less for the same quality of health-care coverage.
Disinflation and economic deceleration will dominate state and local budgets and investments. Cash is king, at least for a while. Payroll costs will outrace revenues. It’s going to be a year for muddling through.
Inflation punished Wall Street and Main Street, and public financiers who ignored it squandered billions. Congress passed two bills important to states and localities. And pensions took a hit, but taxpayers won’t feel that pain for years.
Despite the high-profile collapse of crypto trading platform FTX, the Legislature’s Work Group on Blockchain Matters has established a master plan to propel the state to the forefront of the $5 billion industry.
When the governor-elect was serving as Montgomery County commissioner, he streamlined the county’s half-billion-dollar retirees pension plan. Some wonder if the state’s retirement plan will get a similar redo.
Approximately 20 percent of households have some amount of medical debt, and they are disproportionately Black and Latino. A few local governments have teamed up with a nonprofit to unburden their residents’ finances.
The Department of Revenue has launched an online system that allows taxpayers to view their state tax obligations and payments. Officials expect the state to save $10 million annually with the new platform.
Health-care systems across the nation are sending inaccessible medical bills and notices to blind Americans, and breaking disability rights laws by doing so. So far, the patients are the ones being punished through lost time and money.
Federal legislation requiring machine-readable reporting has its critics, but it would go a long way toward modernizing how data is collected, used and shared. It also could lower borrowing costs for states and localities.
Inflation is pressuring state and local employers to grant big cost-of-living increases. But they’ll need to keep in mind the prospect of diminishing revenues in coming fiscal years.
The Legislature wants to create a pool of money that will give a minimum of $4,000 to every child born under the state’s Medicaid program. The program would cost about $150 million annually.
The Business Outlook Survey found that 75 percent of respondents believe that the state’s leaders have fallen short in improving affordability for businesses; 82 percent said the state is somewhat unaffordable for companies.
Nearly one-third of state senators sponsored legislation earlier this year to phase out state income tax over the next 10 years, though the bill is unlikely to pass. The state received $10.8 billion from income taxes last year.
The 77 Committee is allowed to accept unlimited funds because it is not bound by the same city ethics rules that the Chicago mayor must abide by. The committee cannot coordinate with Lightfoot or political campaigns.
States and local governments should craft coordinated policies that promote housing construction and first-time ownership. A winning formula includes tax relief for buyers and rebated permit fees for builders.
Ned Lamont and Bob Stefanowski spent more than $30 million, a record-breaking amount. But the high expenditure may trigger a review of the state’s election spending limits.
Maine’s largest city has proposed funding for affordable housing, employee retention bonuses, an addiction medicine program, health care for the homeless and more.
A report from the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development found that, for the last seven years, the state has performed “at or near the bottom” in employment growth, unemployment, net migration and GDP.
Voters in San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif., approved new taxes on vacant dwellings. Meant to tame speculation and increase supply for renters, the measures have raised revenue in other cities but the impact on housing markets remains unclear.
Some workers are forced to turn down a raise to avoid losing eligibility for public assistance benefits or they may receive a pay hike that doesn’t compensate for the lost benefits. These benefit cliffs have widespread effects.
It contributed $13.64 billion to the state’s economy last year, accounting for 152,000 jobs and a 1.6 percent increase in GDP. RV camping contributed the most of all outdoor activities, exceeding $700 million in value.
A statewide clean-energy lending program in Ohio stalled last year before making any loans. Lawmakers want to add consumer protections in case the program resurfaces.
States are sending billions out to households in one form or another. But states don’t print money; they just shuffle it around. The payments amount to a rounding error in the overall inflation picture.
On Monday, Nov. 7, the city’s aldermen voted on whether to pass Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2023 budget, which had received some pushback for not including funding for a Department of the Environment and including annual raises for future mayors.
