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National and State Parks Suffering From Budget Cuts

As summer vacation season opens, state and national parks are reeling from budget cuts.

Illinois Follows Nevada with Highest Unemployment

State unemployment numbers fluctuate and once again Nevada tops the country, but the state that comes in second is new.

Sequester's Impact on Unemployment Insurance

This Pew Charitable Trusts report looks at the sequester's impact on unemployment insurance in the states.

Congress May Reverse Some of Sequester’s Cuts to WIC

An effort to keep the federal government open could also deliver relief to pregnant women, mothers and young children in need of food.

Governors Fear Loss of Bond Tax Exemption

A panel of top tax policy analysts has warned the nation’s governors they face an ongoing risk of increased borrowing costs if President Obama and Congress curb or eliminate the tax exemption on municipal bonds to bring down the federal budget deficit.

Why Tax Revision Is an Inexact Science

Several governors are talking about major change in their state tax structures this year. How do they know how much money a revised tax system will bring in? Often, they don’t.

How Federal Funding to States Has Changed

Federal money on average accounts for about a third of state budgets, but the amount varies widely among the states.

States’ Fragile Recovery at Risk

State budgets are finally climbing out of the fiscal hole they’ve been in for the last four years. But Washington isn’t making it any easier for them.

Update: Fiscal Cliff Deal Poses Uncertainty For States

An update on how the sequester and possible future federal spending cuts could impact state budgets.

Arizona Can’t Divert Land Trust Fund, Court Rules

The Arizona Legislature violated the constitution when it tapped a trust fund earmarked for education to help plug the state’s budget gap, the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled.

Surpluses Await Some States in 2013 Sessions

The surpluses that state lawmakers will find waiting for them this year may not go very far.

Brownback's Dilemma: How to Balance the Kansas Budget After Massive Tax Cuts

Kansas made a big gamble last year that huge income tax cuts would eventually bring prosperity. Right now, though, they’re causing painful decisions.

Fiscal Cliff Jitters Could Boost Early State Tax Revenue

When filmmaker George Lucas sold his company and the Star Wars franchise to Walt Disney Co. this fall, he saved hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal taxes by not waiting until next year when higher tax rates are anticipated. He’s hardly alone.

New York, California Seek Ways to Help Fiscally Fragile Cities

Top officials in two of the nation’s largest states have decided they need to do more to avert disaster in communities that are having budget trouble.

Medicaid Trumps `Fiscal Cliff’ as Top State Budget Concern

Medicaid is still the biggest budget worry for the coming year, according to a new survey of state legislative directors to be released soon. Nowhere is the problem larger than in Texas, which faces a $4.3 billion Medicaid deficit.

Q&A: State Health Care Costs

Experts from Pew and the MacArthur Foundation explain why states are seeking to better understand state health care costs and how the State Health Care Spending Project will find and share the answers.

In Massachusetts, Mobilizing Private Investment for Public Good

Massachusetts to tap private investors who want to help pay for money-saving public programs

Hawaii Judge: Online Travel Companies Don’t Owe Unpaid Taxes

Online travel companies that book hotel rooms in Hawaii have not shortchanged the state millions in tax remittances, a state judge ruled Monday, continuing a losing trend for governments challenging the companies’ tax practices.

Alabama’s Largest County Faces Bankruptcy Without State Help

History, a fear of raising taxes, dissuaded Alabama from helping its largest county avoid insolvency

Heat Wave, Budget Cuts Strain Utility Safety Net

Budget cuts and a blistering hot spell wave left states short on cash this summer while tackling high energy demand. Now many worry about having enough heat when winter comes.

Illinois Passes on Pensions, Boots Lawmaker

The Illinois Legislature emerged from a special session Friday with one less lawmaker and no plan to address the state’s soaring pension obligations.

Illinois Lurches Forward, One Budget Crisis at a Time

Illinois faces a series of budget problems, including its latest crisis on pensions. But the drumbeat of bad news makes it easy to miss the big steps the state has already taken.

With VP Pick, Romney Endorses Fed-State Overhaul on Food Stamps, Medicaid

By choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney has endorsed large changes in federal-state relations, particularly in dealings with food assistance and health care.

Dire Warnings in Alabama Budget Vote

Alabama’s leaders want to transfer oil and gas revenues to the state’s beleaguered general fund. But voters have to approve the deal.

Tennessee’s Haslam To Relay Governors’ Wish For Online Sales Tax

A congressional committee will hear testimony Tuesday (July 24) on a bill that could send billions of dollars to the states each year. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Wayne Harper, a Utah state representative, are among those scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to comment on the “Marketplace

States Consider Politically Fraught Welfare Waivers

States consider their options — and the politics — of the federal welfare waivers proposal.

Report: Without Major Overhauls, State Budget Crises Will Linger

A lack of government transparency and a focus on federal budget woes have masked state budget crisis, leaving them largely unaddressed, according to a report released Wednesday. Without major change, the report warns, soaring costs of Medicaid and shrinking tax collections will only worsen the problem.

Pennsylvania Struggles to Help Its Weakest Cities

Pennsylvania has an ambitious program aimed at fixing the finances of troubled cities. In most cases, it doesn’t accomplish a lot.

Gov. Haley’s Budget Vetoes Shutter Arts, Science

Two state agencies that oversee arts and coastal conservation funding in South Carolina were shuttered on Monday, putting 40 state employees out of work after Governor Nikki Haley vetoed $9.5 million in funding for them.

With New Fiscal Year Looming, Government Shutdowns Unlikely

A year after Minnesota’s three-week shutdown, New Jersey is the state that appears at greatest risk of starting the fiscal year without a budget.

Dueling Tax Measures Added to California Ballot

As California struggles to dig itself out of a $16 billion hole, three initiatives up for a vote in November are asking taxpayers to bear more of the cost. But competition between the measures could challenge all of them.

For Many State Budgets, a Year of Relief

With their fiscal circumstances improving this year, many states had the luxury of debating tax cuts and spending increases for the first time since the recession began. Still, the progress is uneven and more challenges loom. Part one of a weeklong series.

Illinois Rushes to Finish Budget, Medicaid and Pension Changes

What may be the nation’s most fiscally troubled state is in the middle of a fateful week.

Kansas and Oklahoma Income Tax Cuts Won’t Reach Zero

Kansas may soon finish a large tax cut and Oklahoma is likely to approve a smaller one, but both will be short of some lawmakers’ initial aspirations: ending the income tax entirely.

High Health Care Spending Seen Driven by Price

Medicaid spending is spiraling along with the rest of the U.S. health care system. A new study concludes prices — not the number of visits to doctor’s offices and hospitals — are driving the increase.

GAO: State Fiscal Gap Seen Worsening as Health Care Drives Spending

State revenues are ticking up, but health care spending will drive increasing discrepancies between revenues and expenses over the short- and long-term, the Government Accountability Office predicts.

Pennsylvania Takes Step Toward Smaller Legislature

By voting to reduce the number of seats by 25 percent, the Pennsylvania House would make one of the nation's costliest legislatures somewhat cheaper.

Legislative Leaders Expect Another On-time Budget in New York

TODAY'S TAKE: State lawmakers in New York are poised to deliver Governor Andrew Cuomo an on-time budget for the second straight year, a rare occurrence in Albany.

Minnesota Considers Easing Budget Gimmick

TAX AND BUDGET BEAT: Last year, Minnesota delayed payments to school districts to close its budget gap. This year, with the budget in better shape, it's thinking about reversing course.

Nevada Governor Moves to Political Center on Taxes

TODAY'S TAKE: Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a Republican elected on a strict no-tax platform, angered conservatives last year when he extended a series of temporary tax increases that were scheduled to expire. On Tuesday (March 13), Sandoval announced that he wants to extend them again.

Laffer's Supply-Side Economics Staging a Comeback

Arthur Laffer, who helped Ronald Reagan write federal tax policy in the 1980s, is a force to be reckoned with these days at the state level. A large group of Republican governors is listening to him.

Federal Credit Downgrade Hurts Colorado Localities

ECONOMY & BUSINESS BEAT: When Standard & Poors downgraded the federal government's credit rating last year, it also caused problems for municipalities in Colorado, where a unique state law governs local investments.

More States Consider Diverting Foreclosure Money

TODAY'S TAKE: Officials in a growing number of states are considering diverting money from a $25 billion foreclosure settlement between big banks and attorneys general to help pay for programs that have nothing to do with housing.

Illinois Governor to Deliver Grim Budget Proposal

TODAY'S TAKE: Illinois faces budget pain that shows no signs of relenting. Governor Pat Quinn wants to shutter prisons and other state facilities, plus cut agency spending by 9 percent.

Brewer Faces a New Budget Fight With Fellow Republicans

TODAY'S TAKE: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer appears headed toward another budget showdown with the Republican-led legislature. Her spokesman called lawmakers' no-growth proposal "short-sighted and reckless."

Will States Use Foreclosure Money for Other Purposes?

ECONOMY & BUSINESS BEAT: The vast majority of the $25 billion foreclosure settlement that state attorneys general finalized with big banks on Thursday (February 9) will go to distressed homeowners. But states could use as much as $2.6 billion of it in other ways.

South Carolina Budget Board's Days May Be Numbered

TAX AND BUDGET BEAT: For decades, South Carolina governors have been trying to consolidate power by killing the state's Budget and Control Board. This year, it may finally happen.

State of the States 2012

States face a tough economic climate in the wake of the Great Recession. Sue Urahn discusses the top three challenges for states in the year ahead.

Chris Swope: State of the States

Christopher Swope, Stateline’s editor, discusses what to watch for in the states in 2012.

As 2012 Agenda Unfolds, to Raise or Cut Taxes Is the Big Question

With the worst of the recession behind them, governors are laying out their priorities for 2012. Republican hopes for tax cuts and Democratic plans for tax hikes will likely dominate the discussion.