Taxes
Covering topics such as bonds, cryptocurrency, federal aid and pensions.
States’ overall fiscal cushions are quickly eroding, leaving states with fewer resources to address widespread current and projected budget imbalances.
A new state law caps class sizes from kindergarten through third grade at 20 students, fourth through eighth grade at 23 and high school classes at 25. To implement the law, the city will need to employ an additional 17,700 teachers.
Attractive investment returns could accompany economic development if local public pension systems join forces with angel investors to capitalize on a marketplace void.
The White House has announced the single largest infusion of funds into the Continuum of Care program, while also including grants for legal services and job training for veterans and “boot camps” for VA medical centers and public housing agencies.
California legislators agreed to provide additional operating support for transit agencies facing big budget gaps. San Francisco area lawmakers are looking to raise bridge tolls to make up some of the difference.
The $380 million plan will turn a portion of the Marin County, Calif., prison into a Scandinavian-inspired rehabilitation center, including a new education and vocation space. However, the plan does not commit to a set number of prison closures.
The state will devote nearly $150 million to overhauling the state’s reading and writing instruction to improve poor reading test scores. Advocates believe it to be a long-term commitment to students.
The expansion of the Deferred Retirement Option Program will allow career government workers and educators to draw pensions while continuing to work for eight to 10 years but will cost the state an additional $350 million annually.
The costs of treating cancer are soaring, just at a time when some states are moving to save money by cutting Medicaid enrollment. It’s sure to worsen health-care inequality.
State lawmakers must develop a plan for dealing with a potential multibillion-dollar budget hole that stems from misuse of COVID-era funds for unemployment benefits. But some still believe there could be room for tax cuts.
Hackers managed to break into CalPERS and CalSTRS, the two California retirement systems, and have stolen Social Security numbers, birth dates and other sensitive information for 769,000 retirees. The attack came from a breach in a contractor’s cybersecurity system.
The federal infrastructure dollars are available, but it’s unclear whether small-town water systems that need the money most will get help.
A judge ruled that the state’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey did not have the authority to inflate the estimated cost of a ballot measure to restore abortion rights from $0 to $12.5 billion of state funds.
Most American households don’t save enough for retirement, so some states are pushing private employers to make it easier through state-sponsored payroll withholding plans. Getting the structure and strategy right is crucial.
This year, at least 10 states have implemented or expanded programs for vouchers and other state private education subsidies. There are currently voucher and similar programs in 32 states and the District of Columbia.
A new book by Yale law professor David Schleicher explores the benefits and drawbacks of various responses to state and local debt crises. It’s a trilemma that leaders will face again and again, Schleicher says.
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