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.
Hospital associations say more rural facilities will close if Medicaid cuts go through. Potential aid includes changes to matching rates and provider taxes.
A former elections supervisor is alleged to have used election security funds to cover up personal spendings. Along with a lack of oversight, officials also have to sign nondisclosure agreements. “It’s political corruption.”
The state has spent $43 million suing the Trump administration, resulting in billions of dollars in savings. Since Trump took office, the attorney general’s office has filed over 90 lawsuits against the administration.
The state’s Census fund has more than $1.3 million that hasn’t been spent. Advocates want the money to be spent to encourage hard-to-count communities to participate in the 2020 Census as the Sept. 30 deadline draws near.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham defended her executive orders allowing up to $30 million in coronavirus response spending after a legislative inquiry questioned her authority to do so. Only $1.1 million has been spent so far.
President Trump remains opposed to a bailout for "poorly run states." The administration may end up agreeing to help, but warnings about dire spending cuts have not yet prompted action.
For local governments coping with the fiscal pressures brought on by the pandemic, it might seem that now is the time. But public leaders first should ask themselves some important questions.
The Legislature has approved an IT bond bill that aims to improve cybersecurity and technology use in several sectors. The bill includes $50 million for remote learning technology and $20 million for police body cameras.
Last February, Stockton, Calif., began providing 125 of its residents with a monthly payment of $500 as an economic experiment. Now the idea is gaining national traction as lawmakers see the benefits of stimulus payments.
Europe is heading in that direction. If the idea begins to catch on here, states and localities will need to be at the federalism policymaking table to share in the revenues.
Some states have put millions of relief dollars into unemployment insurance trust funds to keep business taxes as bay. But some think the money would be better spent directly assisting workers and local governments.
As Congress considers a possible second round of coronavirus relief funds, many companies are wondering about the efficiency of the Payment Protection Program if there were errors in their first round of loans.
Amid calls to reduce police funding, a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that in 2017, police spending per capita recovered to its pre-recession peak after years of steady increases.
The House Appropriations Committee has approved billions of dollars for the 2021 fiscal year budget. There is a wide range of expenses that cover many types of technology, including broadband and artificial intelligence.
The emergency has underlined outdated procedures and rules that hamper effective, efficient public purchasing. There are principles for creating better systems that can outlast the current crisis.
Washington's wrangling over the politics of public education will put our kids and communities at risk unless politicians face up to fiscal and physical realities. They need to get it done now.
Mitch McConnell is expected to introduce new legislation next week for another relief package that would include a second round of stimulus checks for Americans. But they might not be as generous as the first round.
Gov. Justice was asked to use a ‘cautious’ spending approach when it came to the $1.25 billion that the state received after he announced plans to devote $100 million of the COVID-19 funds towards highway repairs.
Gov. Jim Justice reallocated half of the funds that were going to the Division of Highways to broadband expansion. But health officials and lawmakers are concerned that none of the money is going to health departments.
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To help contain the virus and keep people safe, the pandemic drove an urgent need for consistent and trustworthy information from government leaders.
The state’s approved budget protects teachers from layoffs for now. But the state also approved a law that hopes to ensure high educational standards as many school districts consider remote learning for the fall.
The $1.5 trillion plan aims to fix roads and bridges, upgrade transit systems and expand railways and ports. The bill will also give $100 billion to broadband expansion and $25 billion to the U.S. Postal Service.
As they rebuild their education, health-care and tax systems after the devastation of COVID-19, they can take important steps that can significantly narrow income and wealth disparities.
Despite federal scaremongering about state and local pensions, the problem for now isn't their balance sheets. It's the budget vise that is likely to tempt some public employers to cut funding corners.
In April, Gov. Newsom launched an initiative to increase COVID-19 testing accessibility for rural towns and disadvantaged neighborhoods. The state will no longer fund new testing sites, even as infections increase.
The fiscal year begins in most states and cities on July 1. Without further federal aid, many will have to re-examine just-passed budgets for cuts down the road.
Nearly half a million residents currently live without high-speed Internet. As people work and learn from home, there is an urgency for connectivity. “Education cannot be effective or available without broadband.”
As Wyoming faces its largest revenue decline in state history, Gov. Gordon asks departments to plan for a 20 percent cut to budgets while some lawmakers are worried the stimulus money isn’t being used fast enough.
Charter schools in New Orleans have applied for federal loans through the Payroll Protection Program, receiving anywhere from $97,000 to $5.1 million. Public schools are ineligible for the same loans.
Trump wants to cut $127 million from the Biological Threat Reduction Program and redirect the funding toward “more pressing defense initiatives.” Bipartisan concerns have been raised about the proposal.
The program, a cluster of tax loopholes, is making fat cats fatter without doing much about racial inequities and urban joblessness. There are ways to reform it to benefit those it was touted to help.
