On Tuesday, a Michigan judge ordered that authority be returned to the Mayor and City Council of Flint, Michigan stalling the test case of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s plan to replace municipal leaders with corporate financial managers in cities and towns that are failing economically. The order issued by Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie [...]
Federal health care reform is facing more hurdles, this time with states that agreed to move forward implementing requirements before a Supreme Court ruling on the law. Some lawmakers and health insurance advocates in Pennslyvania are pushing back on the state’s plan for its health insurance exchange saying that as currently written the plan skews [...]
California state payrolls are up for 2011 despite massive layoffs and budget cuts. According to data from the Comptroller’s office many state workers got their first full paycheck in years as the state shifted away from forced furloughs and into new cost savings measures like hiring freezes.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is turning his focus to infrastructure for 2012. In an early morning address to local business leaders, the Governor underlined the need to keep his state’s infrastructure in good working condition as a cost saving measure. He also repeated his plan for a New International Trade Crossing bridge connecting Michigan and [...]
Toronto is working on its next city budget with the help of its citizens. City officials opened up part of the budget to public debate and input through a series of outreach initiatives designed to get people more involved in municipal activities. The city held public roundtables, posted an online survey and asked citizens to [...]
Continuing resolutions are a key part of the federal budget process. They allow for the government to continue to meet its obligations on a temporary basis when congress fails to pass a full budget measure. However, when the federal government relies solely on temporary budget measures as it has for quite awhile, programs without automatic [...]
Officials in Arizona are pushing for increased transparency in the state, in the wake of questions raised over dealings between state officials and lobbyists. Secretary of State Ken Bennett and State Representative Kimberly Yee are pushing a new measure that would put more sunlight on the financial disclosure statements and lobbyist filings of the state’s [...]
South Carolina is joining a group of states grappling with how to handle shortfalls in their state retirement systems. The state currently faces a $17 billion gap between investments and long-term pension promises. In addition to the gap, a proposed new rule would require local municipalities to disclose this shortfall on their balance sheets which [...]
In a recent Wall Street Journal article there was a survey in which an overwhelming number of voters desired state government reform. Additionally, I thought it was interesting that 78 percent of those polled felt that the states were in crisis. So I felt that it would be quite timely for me to share my [...]
California plans to start cutting Medi-Cal payments. The state sought federal permission to reduce the amount of money it gives out to cover health care for the state’s low income residents. Under the terms of the plan the state will make a 10% cut in the amount of reimbursements it pays out, a move which [...]
