NEWS

JULY 1, 2009

Calif., other states face tough budget choices

State lawmakers feel heat as begin new fiscal year without a budget

Legislators in more than a half-dozen states, their revenues evaporating in the recession, are frantically working to stave off government shutdowns and devastating service cuts. California failed to meet a midnight deadline and now may need to issue IOUs instead of paying bills.

Furloughscut into state services

With states facing a $121 billion shortfall in the next fiscal year, a growing number of them have turned to squeezing their workforce for savings, and effects are being felt, both great and small.

Health care reform details begin to emerge

Employers would have to pick up at least 72.5 percent of the cost of health insurance premiums for full-time employees under the health care reform bill being considered by the House.

Patrick stresses upside of tax hikes

Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday that he will sign more than $1 billion in tax increases, ending a months-long standoff with the Legislature and ensuring Massachusetts residents will pay more for everything, from satellite dishes to cheeseburgers.

School vouchers study finds little difference between public schools, private schools

Supporters often say school vouchers are lifelines to low-income students trapped in subpar public schools. But academically, students using vouchers to attend private schools in Florida are doing no better and no worse than similar students in public schools, says a study ordered by the state Legislature.

Getting DNA tests may turn easy for inmates

Pennsylvania lawmakers might be asked to allow prisoners better access to genetic tests that could prove their innocence. The Senate-commissioned Committee on Wrongful Convictions is due to release a report by summer's end that could recommend changes in state law, possibly making it easier for convicts to get DNA testing. Some prosecutors oppose such a change, fearing it would flood the system with frivolous requests.

State budget deal calls for a tax overhaul

Arizonans would see a switch to a flat income tax, get a chance to vote on a sales-tax increase and see smaller state government as part of a budget agreement reached between Gov. Jan Brewer and GOP legislative leaders.

Georgia to overhaul health and social service agencies

For years, Georgia’s health and social service agencies have lurched from crisis to crisis. People wait months, if not years, for something as simple as a copy of their birth certificate. Georgia routinely ranks among the worst states for diabetes, obesity and infant mortality. The state’s psychiatric hospitals are under federal scrutiny for the poor care of their patients. On July 1, the tide of frustration and failure is set to turn, say state officials.

Schools' Healthy Example Could Shape a National Policy

It didn't seem like a radical idea at the time. First, Ginger Gray, the food service director for Kenton County, Ky., schools, took away fried potato chips, offering students baked versions instead. Next, she phased out fruit drinks such as Kool-Aid in favor of 100 percent juices. She considered serving baked french fries. But they got soggy and unappetizing fast. And there's one thing that every school food service director knows: You don't mess with the fries.

Green jobs make up 3 percent of Oregon's work force, report says

Green jobs account for 3 percent of Oregon's private, state government and local government employment, the Oregon Employment Department said in a report released today. The report, based on a survey of employers, found 51,402 green jobs in Oregon in 2008, spread across 226 occupations. The jobs came in fields such as energy efficiency, renewable energy and environmental cleanup and restoration. Three industries accounted for 47 percent of Oregon's green jobs: construction, wholesale and retail trade, and administrative and waste services.

Democratic Lock Seen on 2013 Albany Senate

Albany gridlock got you down? Well, worry no longer, the end is in sight — the State Senate should be back in business by 2013. An analysis of population shifts since this decade began suggests that Democrats are poised to gain as many as six seats when legislative districts are reapportioned after the 2010 census. That would give them an ample margin to untangle the 31-to-31 tie that has stalemated the Senate for three weeks.

Senate approves referendum on state name change

Voters will consider in 2010 a proposal to drop "Providence Plantations," the controversial phrase conjuring up for many images of Rhode Island's role in the slave trade, from the state name. The full Senate on Friday approved adding a referendum on the November 2010 ballot asking voters whether they are willing to change Rhode Island's formal name from "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" to simply "Rhode Island."

Weekly wrap: Feds release long-awaited stimulus job guidelines

From the minute President Obama declared that the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package would save or create 3.5 million jobs, state officials have been confused about how to count those jobs.

Tracking the recession: States target jobs

While the Tennessee Legislature was slashing programs and laying off 700 state employees to close a budget gap last week, Gov. Phil Bredesen was touring a manufacturing company in the Swiss village of Birr.

Ten States Race to Finish Budgets

Ten states were scrambling Monday to pass budgets before a Tuesday deadline, with a handful -- including Arizona, Indiana and Mississippi -- facing the possibility of partial shutdowns if their legislatures don't act in time.

Wary Banks Hobble Toxic-Asset Plan

The government's plan to enable banks to dump troubled assets is facing troubles of its own.
Markets initially rallied when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced in March a two-pronged plan to offer favorable government financing to entice investors to buy bad loans and toxic securities from banks.

Obama Wary of Tariff Provision

President Barack Obama said the House bill curbing greenhouse-gas emissions that passed by a close vote Friday represents "an extraordinary first step," but said he had doubts about a provision to impose tariffs on goods from countries that don't match U.S. efforts to combat global warming.

States can investigate nationally chartered banks

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday in favor of state authorities being able to investigate practices of nationally chartered banks.

Souter to Bid Goodbye to Supreme Court

It's Justice David Souter's last day on the Supreme Court and he'll be ruling on a case familiar to the woman nominated to replace him. It's a reverse discrimination case filed by white firefighters in New Haven, Conn. They argued they were discriminated against when the city tossed out the results of a promotion exam because too few minorities scored high enough on it.

Madoff sentenced to 150 years

A federal judge sentenced Bernard Madoff, the convicted mastermind of the largest and most sweeping Ponzi scheme ever, to the maximum sentence of 150 years in federal court Monday.