The Pew Charitable Trusts

A new study of which states are more likely to have residents moving up or down the earnings ladder has been released, and Kentucky is among the nine Southern states that have economic mobility below the national average. more

Economic Mobility of the States is a new interactive tool that captures the findings of the first analysis of Americans’ economic mobility—their movement up and down the earnings ladder—at the state level, including data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Users can click the map to see where in the country Americans are most likely to move up rather than down, and where they are most likely to move down rather than up. more

While nearly every other state is done with the once-a-decade redrawing of its political districts, Kansas Republicans can’t seem to come to an agreement. more

A report by the Pew Center on the States concludes that 13 states are leading the way in generating much-needed answers about tax incentives’ effectiveness. Twelve states have mixed results. Half the states have not taken the basic steps needed to know whether their incentives are effective. The study highlights a wealth of promising approaches states have taken to help lawmakers find those answers.

Business groups, especially in agriculture, are pushing several state measures to aid immigrant laborers who are in the country illegally. But many of those efforts are treading on uncertain legal ground. more