Taxes
Covering topics such as bonds, cryptocurrency, federal aid and pensions.
Now 25,000 members strong, financially secure and long blessed with thoughtful leadership, the Government Finance Officers Association is poised to address the challenges to come for those who manage the public purse.
The Department of Lands has signed an agreement with federal and tribal partners making the state more responsible for wildland-urban interface areas, which are known to attract costly wildfires and have little building regulations.
Congress has authorized billions, but there’s a problem: New infrastructure planning frequently relies on historical flood patterns for its benchmarks rather than forecasts of changing risks as the climate warms.
The state Senate passed a bill that would allocate millions more for public school funding annually, sending the legislation to the House for review with less than one week before the end of session.
The Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which provides direct funding to cities to make street improvements, is accepting applications. Other grants for transportation infrastructure are open or opening soon as well.
State and local financiers now face interest rate markets that anticipate decelerating inflation and a weaker economy. Public treasurers and debt managers need fresh ideas, agility and prudent strategies.
The program that provides state-funded health insurance to adult undocumented immigrants was first estimated to cost $220 million. But three months later, that price tag has ballooned, complicating the state’s budget debates.
Mayor Sheng Thao hopes that her proposed two-year budget will help fund the programs she promised to voters during her campaign while also merging city departments to eliminate redundancy and reduce overhead.
The New York governor’s budget proposal includes changes to the state’s bail laws and a continued effort to crack down on gun violence, but her previous housing plan was left out.
The last two state budgets included full payments to the pension fund of roughly $7 billion each year, the first time that’s been done in a quarter century. The Democratic governor’s latest budget proposal includes another full payment of $7.1 billion.
The GOP-controlled Legislature has promised to try and override many of Kelly’s vetoes, which cover a variety of issues including transgender rights and income tax rates. The governor sees her re-election as a mandate to check legislative excesses.
The program was among the more than 100 bills that Wes Moore signed into law, including approval for the $63.1 billion Maryland budget, fixes to the 529 college savings program and agencies for racetracks and water systems.
Big-box retailers are using a controversial legal argument in their assessment appeals. As the courts sort it out and some legislatures step up, there’s a role for government associations to help strengthen the hands of local tax authorities.
Most of the people who buy lottery tickets are the very ones who can ill afford to squander their money in such a manner. Yet lotteries are likely to continue to expand, given how effective they are in generating revenue for states.
A four-bill package will renew the Alabama Jobs Act and Growing Alabama Act and will increase the caps on benefits that can go to companies. The package will also require the state to publicize the benefits paid to companies.
The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the state $3 million, and the Portland metro area $1 million, to develop strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop clean energy economies.
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