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Stephen C. Fehr (Stateline)
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Wednesday, 01 February 2012
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Juneau, AK, USA. High oil prices are a boon for Alaska, whose credit rating recently went up to the coveted triple-A level. But waning oil production, unpredictable prices and looming pension costs remain challenges.
As oil prices go, so goes the fate of Alaska. With prices averaging over $110 a barrel, Alaska is experiencing a revenue boom unlike any other state, allowing it to recover from the recession as “a rock of stability,” as Governor Sean Parnell puts it.
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 Pamela M. Prah (Stateline) Saturday, 21 January 2012 Washington, DC, USA. As state lawmakers gather for their 2012 legislative sessions, taxes are emerging as a key issue, with at least half a dozen Republican governors pressing for sweeping tax cuts and just as many Democrats pushing for tax increases.
One of the biggest tax battles will be in New Jersey, where Governor Chris Christie is calling for an across-the-board 10 percent cut in the state income tax.
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 Christine Vestal (Stateline) Friday, 20 January 2012 Washington, DC, USA. Less than a year from now, states will have to prove to Washington that they are capable of running a health insurance exchange on their own, or the federal government will create one for them.
The way it looks now, only a handful of states are likely to make that deadline.
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 Ben Wieder (Stateline) Tuesday, 17 January 2012 Montgomery, AL, USA. Weeks before Alabama’s legislative session is scheduled to begin, Governor Robert Bentley has sparked debate among legislators about a proposal to use money earmarked for education to fill other holes in the budget.
The Republican governor, entering his second year in office, plans to ask the legislature to approve a constitutional amendment to combine the state’s Education Trust Fund, drawn from income and sales taxes, with the separate General Fund, which pays for oth
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 TS-Si News Service Saturday, 14 January 2012 Washington, DC, USA. After four years of epic budget woes, states are ready for an improved 2012. Some are even poised to add dollars back to programs they wish they never had to cut.
During the depths of the Great Recession, states had to do many unsavory things to balance their budgets.
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 Christine Vestal (Stateline) Thursday, 12 January 2012 Washington, DC, USA. In health care history, 2012 will be remembered for the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the Obama administration’s health overhaul.
But in the states, 2012 will likely be remembered less as an historic turning point than as a gradual continuation of their longstanding struggles to get Medicaid costs under control.
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Pamela M. Prah (Stateline) Wednesday, 11 January 2012 |
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Melissa Maynard (Stateline) Thursday, 22 December 2011 |
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Melissa Maynard (Stateline) Wednesday, 14 December 2011 |
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Pamela M. Prah (Stateline) Saturday, 10 December 2011 |
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 TS-Si News Service Wednesday, 07 December 2011 Richmond, VA, USA. Most states have infrastructure banks, and President Obama wants the federal government to have one too. But as all levels of government look for creative ways to pay for transportation, the debate continues over the effectiveness of this strategy.
In this explainer, Stateline examines how infrastructure banks work generally, how states have used them for different purposes and what could lie in store for them in the near future.
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 Carla Uriona and Mary Mahling (Stateline) Sunday, 04 December 2011 Washington, DC, USA. As Europe’s economic woes deepen, what’s the potential impact on U.S. states? A new report looks at export data to answer part of that question.
Economists are increasingly concerned that Europe’s debt crisis will result in economic contraction across the continent. Will the fiscal pain impact U.S. states? Some states more than others, concludes a recent report by Wells Fargo Securities.
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 Carla Uriona, Sarah Emmans and Liz Gross (Stateline) Wednesday, 23 November 2011 Washington, DC, USA. States depend on Washington for more than direct grant assistance. Federal wages and procurement dollars are a big part of many state economies.
Come 2013, much of that money could be gone.
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 John Gramlich (Stateline) Wednesday, 23 November 2011 Washington, DC, USA. Jefferson County, Alabama, filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in history this month.
In the world of public finance, Orange County, California, has long had an unfortunate distinction: In 1994, the county filed the largest municipal bankruptcy declaration in history, seeking court assistance to restructure $1.7 billion in debt. This month, however, Orange County finally lost its dubious claim to fame.
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 Daniel C. Vock (Stateline) Tuesday, 22 November 2011 Washington, DC, USA. Toll rates are climbing on highways, bridges and tunnels across the country, but it is not just because of the economy. Many big toll hikes are helping to pay for new construction.
Tolls along the Eastern seaboard are going up so much, says Darrin Roth, that in four years, a semitrailer making the four-hour trip from Baltimore to New York City could pay as much as $209.25.
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Pamela M. Prah (Stateline) Friday, 18 November 2011 |
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Christine Vestal (Stateline) Friday, 18 November 2011 |
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TS-Si News Service Tuesday, 15 November 2011 |
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Daniel C. Vock (Stateline) Monday, 14 November 2011 |
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Josh Goodman (Stateline) Monday, 07 November 2011 |
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Pamela M. Prah (Stateline) Thursday, 03 November 2011 |
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Ben Wieder (Stateline) Thursday, 03 November 2011 |
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Maggie Clark (Stateline) Monday, 31 October 2011 |
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Pamela M. Prah (Stateline) Friday, 28 October 2011 |
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John Gramlich (Stateline) Thursday, 27 October 2011 |
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