The Pew Charitable Trusts - State and Consumer Initiatives about Federal Impact

Forest Service Tries to Claw Back Funds from States

The U.S. Forest Service thinks it has found a way to meet its sequester target – by asking states to return money to Washington.

Delay in Implementing Sequester Forces Deeper Unemployment Cuts

Unemployment benefits were already on the chopping block thanks to sequestration. But in three-dozen states, the pain for the long-term unemployed is even greater because states have been slow to enact the across-the-board federal cuts.

Federal Road Fund Could Go Broke by 2015

With federal transportation money drying up, will the burden fall to the states?

Balancing State and Federal Roles in Boston Bomber Case

Accused Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged with federal crimes of terrorism that carry the potential for a death sentence. Does it matter that Massachusetts doesn’t have the death penalty?

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.

Obama Budget Calls for More Competitive Grants

The White House budget, released Wednesday, envisions making states compete with one another for a host of federal grant programs, similar to the Race to the Top education program.

States Rack Up Victories in Bids to Collect Online Sales Taxes

After more than a decade of trying, state officials think they may get to collect billions of dollars of taxes on online sales soon. Find out why.

Sequester's Impact on Unemployment Insurance

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

Sequester Will Force Universities to Scale Back Scientific Research

The sequester is already limiting the amount of money universities can offer to graduate students.

Arizona’s Border Fence Still Faces Obstacles

After nearly two years of preparation and with more than a quarter million dollars of private donations in hand, Arizona officials still have not unveiled a plan to build a border fence. But a state lawmaker who is leading the effort said that will soon change.

Sequester Cuts at Justice Department Threaten Local Drug Investigations

The partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C. threatens to curb drug investigations in rural communities.

How Federalism Could Doom DOMA, But Save State Bans

Supporters of same-sex marriage are optimistic after this week’s Supreme Court arguments, but some worry about a narrow ruling.

Florida Governor Knocks Obama for Unpaid Port Bill

Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants more than just a presidential visit to Miami’s port; he wants the federal government to pay its share of the bill for big improvements under way at Florida’s biggest ports.

Justices Appear Skeptical of Defense of Marriage Act

A majority of the court seemed skeptical of whether the federal government could justify refusing to recognize state-allowed same-sex marriages.

DOMA: The Supreme Court Justices in Their Own Words

Roll over each Justice to see what they said.

Prop 8: The Supreme Court Justices on Gay Marriage in Their Own Words

Supreme Court justices heard arguments Tuesday in the first of two cases that could dramatically alter the divergent paths the states have taken on gay marriage. See their comments during the arguments by rolling your mouse over each justice.

Legislatures Consider Limits on Prisoner Deportations Through Secure Communities

As Congress considers major revisions to federal immigration laws, legislators in a few states are trying to curb the federal government’s power to deport immigrants who land in jail.

Divided Court Confronts Gay Marriage

The justices appeared split over same-sex marriage, but the outcome of the case remained unclear.

Supreme Court Will Review Michigan’s Affirmative Action Ban

The nation’s highest court will decide whether a Michigan affirmative action ban passed by voters in 2006 can prevent colleges and universities from using race when they decide which students to admit.

AGs Split Ahead of Gay Marriage Arguments

Gay marriage has divided the states, and as the Supreme Court takes up arguments this week, attorneys general are as divided as the public.

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.

Supreme Court Probes Arizona Voter Registration Law

The Supreme Court justices dissected Arizona’s challenge to a federal voter registration law during arguments Monday, even as they seemed to avoid the broader issues of states’ rights versus federal authority underlying the case.

Voter Registration in Supreme Court Spotlight

It’s gotten less attention than the challenge to the Voting Rights Act, but an Arizona challenge to the National Voter Registration Act could upset elections administration around the country.

Nullification: Old Arguments Against Feds Get New Life

States challenging Washington is not new, but Second Amendment worries have breathed new life into a movement championing a wider range of topics than ever before.

Congress Debates Highway Safety Funding Cuts

Budget battles on Capitol Hill could cost states federal money to fight distracted driving and to roll out graduated licenses for teen drivers.

The 5 States Most Vulnerable to Sequestration’s Education Cuts

Automatic federal budget cuts will slash more than $1 billion in K-12 education dollars this year, paring everything from Title I money for low-income students to school improvement initiatives.

Price tag of Sequester to States: $6 Billion

The belt-tightening from Washington begins in earnest, but states still aren’t sure just what the sequester will mean for them.

The Sequester and the Department of Defense

Of all the states, Virginia stands among the most vulnerable to the $43 billion in defense cutbacks that will make up a significant portion of the anticipated cuts known as sequestration, according to a Stateline analysis.

Automatic Defense Cuts Will Deal Blow to States

A Stateline analysis shows automatic defense spending reductions will hit defense contractors hard. This sector comprises as much as 8 percent of some state economies.

Sequester Will Impact States

Pew's Anne Stauffer, an expert in the federal-state fiscal relationship, discusses the challenges policymakers face and how the sequester impacts states differently.

States in Recovery: Revenues

For nearly half the states, recovery is tenuous, with revenues still below peak levels before the recession.

Deep Divide Apparent as Supreme Court Considers Voting Rights Act

The justices divided along ideological lines in the Voting Rights Act case, leaving the outcome in doubt.

Supreme Court to Weigh States’ Rights vs. Voting Rights

States’ rights will once again take center stage at the Supreme Court Wednesday as arguments are heard over a challenge to the Voting Rights Act.

States with Heavy Military Presence Hurt Hardest

The White House published a 50-state list of potential impacts from the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. States that rely heavily on military spending would be hurt worst.

Federal Grants to States Subject to Sequester Vary Widely Across Program Areas

How budget cuts under the sequester could impact states.

States, GOP Lawmakers Eye Tougher Election Laws

The run-up to the 2012 elections was one of court battles and legislative jockeying over Republican-backed voter ID and elections laws that critics called bald-faced attempts to suppress turnout and disenfranchise Democratic voters.

Obama Sends $50.5 billion Sandy Relief Package to States

Federal aid is finally headed to the Atlantic Coast states, three months after Hurricane Sandy ravaged their shores.

Social Issues Challenge State-Federal Relationship

States have leapt ahead of Washington on key social issues, ushering in a new era of stress between the two levels of government.

Update: Fiscal Cliff Deal Poses Uncertainty For States

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

Uncertainty from Washington Continues for States

States trying to craft their budgets for the upcoming year will have to wait until March for more details from Washington.

Northeast Governors Outraged About Sandy Aid Delay

Frustration boiled over on Wednesday, the day after the U.S. House, finishing up a compromise to avert the nation’s “fiscal cliff,” scrapped a vote on the $60.4 billion relief plan approved last month by the Senate.

‘Cliff’ Deal Answers a Few Questions for States

Congress averted the much-feared “fiscal cliff” late Tuesday, passing a legislative package to be signed promptly by President Obama. The deal answered a few burning questions for state governments, but many still linger.

Congress Likely to Postpone Online Sales Tax Collection

A bipartisan group of state elected officials has pushed hard for federal legislation that would allow states to require the collection of sales taxes on internet purchases. For now, though, that effort hasn’t overcome congressional gridlock.

The Impact of the Fiscal Cliff on the States: Sequestration

The scheduled across-the-board cuts to federal defense and nondefense spending would have both direct and indirect impacts on states' budgets. This interactive tool highlights various indicators of states' vulnerabilities to the sequester.

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.

The Fiscal Cliff and Unemployment Insurance Benefits

Among the expiring tax provisions and scheduled spending cuts included in the fiscal cliff is the end of certain federally funded unemployment insurance (UI) benefits at the end of 2012. While the expiration of these benefits would have little direct effect on state budgets, it could affect economic activity in the states. Those impacts would vary depending on current unemployment rates and overall economic conditions within each state.

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.

After Obama Vow, Washington Weighs Role in Election Management

President Obama has brought renewed attention to the issue of voting difficulties around the country, and in the process has set in motion a variety of proposals to change election law.

Supreme Court Takes Up Gay Marriage Cases

The high court has accepted two gay marriage cases for its spring term. One case, out of New York, concerns whether the federal government can deny benefits to gay couples married in states that allow same-sex marriage. It will also review California’s ban on same-sex marriage.

In Fiscal Cliff Talks, Governors Get White House Seat

A group of governors on Tuesday called for Washington to find a solution — any solution — to the nation’s budget woes as the federal government’s so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ grows nearer.