Taxes
Covering topics such as bonds, cryptocurrency, federal aid and pensions.
States are spending a lot of their federal TANF money on things that don’t help families that need it the most, and work reporting requirements keep too many families from accessing benefits.
To qualify, seniors must apply to their town annually to prove they have incomes low enough to qualify – a maximum salary of $37,400. But, for many, the requirements and processes are convoluted and difficult to meet.
As of mid-February, none of the state’s $2.5 million allotted for detection and mitigation in prisons, jails and other confinement facilities has yet been spent. More than 1,000 inmates across seven state facilities have gotten COVID-19.
Two proposed bills would open the process for local governments to tax residents in ways that aren’t currently allowed. For now, Kentucky’s cities and counties can only impose property taxes, occupational taxes and fees.
Construction and other industries supported by the new federal infrastructure law face labor shortages. Workforce development systems can help narrow that gap by supporting efforts to bring in women and workers of color.
We give subsidies to people who don’t need them, and order the poor to find money they don’t have when they get in trouble with the law.
Professional teams that discriminate against coaches, players and others shouldn’t be getting taxpayer money that would be better spent on the real problems that need more public funding.
The emergency response agency argues that the city improperly rolled back public health orders while the city thinks that the shelters it built for homeless populations should be covered by federal disaster aid.
The governor’s budget and a bill by a Democratic lawmaker would stop the state from charging more than 500,000 Californians a monthly premium for their Medi-Cal health coverage.
The state’s $40 million fund will likely be spent ahead of the Feb. 28 deadline due to the high number of applications. In fact, if all 13,900 applications are approved, the funds will be encumbered.
A bill introduced by the state Senate would require CalPERS and CalSTRS to divest a combined $9.9 billion and prevent future investment in companies considered to have the greatest potential for future emissions.
The funding comes from the bipartisan infrastructure bill and will be used to clean nine “areas of concern” across the state that have damage from industrial pollution, development and agricultural runoff.
State leaders have yet to apply for millions in funding for mental health services made available through the American Rescue Plan Act. 2020 saw a 37 percent increase in statewide opioid overdoses.
The federal Emergency Broadband Benefit was supposed to help connect the unconnected. A new study shows that the program didn't achieve this goal, but local areas can help increase program participation.
To combat inflation, the central bank will be raising interest rates and shedding a big chunk of its $8 trillion bond portfolio. Its actions will ripple through the world of state and local finance.
There are successful models for leveraging natural systems to improve water quality and supplies, enhance biodiversity and blunt the ravages of wildfires. There’s even something we can learn from beavers.
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