Special Reports
California
Governor: Cut School Year 5 Days to Save $1.1 Billion
Los Angeles Times
A proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to shorten the school year by five days is creating panic among educators across California, who say they barely have enough time to fit the state's academic standards into the existing 180-day calendar. State schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said the funding cut, which would save $1.1 billion at a time when the state faces a massive budget deficit, would be "devastating."
Posted Wednesday, Jan. 7
Massachusetts
Governor Seeks Overhaul of Ethics Laws
Boston Globe
Following the recommendations of a 12-member panel formed after a series of scandals roiled the State House, Gov. Deval Patrick proposed a sweeping overhaul of the state's ethics and lobbying laws that would give an array of state authorities unprecedented powers to tap phones, subpoena records and punish corrupt officials.
California
State May Delay Tax Refunds
Los Angeles Times
State officials braced for the possibility of delaying tax refunds to millions of Californians, along with student grants and payments to vendors, as the latest round of budget negotiations between Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators collapsed. As he had promised to do, Schwarzenegger vetoed an $18 billion fiscal package Democrats passed last month.
Corporate Tax Payments Boost Massachusetts Revenue Boston Globe
Massachusetts' tax collections were up $21 million last month from December 2007, but they would have been sharply off without sizable one-time corporate tax payments.
Arizona AG Laying Off Workers Arizona Republic
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said his office is laying off 20 workers, apparently the first agency cuts in response to Arizona's worsening budget crisis.
Posted Tuesday, Jan. 6
Texas
Speaker’s Challenger Claims Victory
Austin American-Statesman
San Antonio Republican Joe Straus III claimed victory in his improbable quest to be speaker of the Texas House at a crowded press conference that took on the air of a coronation. After a weekend of events overran Speaker Tom Craddick's re-election bid, the number of Straus' supporters swelled to more than 100 and Craddick's last-minute fill-in, Amarillo Republican John Smithee, withdrew his speaker bid.
Likely Texas Speaker Signals Big Changes Dallas Morning News
Straus pledged to open the Texas House to allow members—Republican or Democrat—to win the day if they had the best argument and the most votes. To most observers, that means the House will be a very different place.
Arizona
State May Have to Borrow Billions
Arizona Republic
Arizona would have to borrow between $2.5 billion and $5.7 billion as early as February to bridge the state budget through a cash-flow crunch caused by its revenue shortfall. That's the estimate of state Treasurer Dean Martin, who characterized such a move as like "using your Visa to pay off your MasterCard."
N.J. Governor Plans More Big Cuts Philadelphia Inquirer
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's administration released a list of $812 million in spending cuts for the current fiscal year, including major reductions in education funding to towns and state contributions to government workers' pensions.
Colorado Governor Wants ‘Tiered Approach’ to Close Gap Denver Post
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said he is proposing a "tiered approach" to deal with a projected $600 million shortfall for this fiscal year: slashing spending, raiding cash funds and tapping the state's budget reserve in that order.
Posted Monday, Jan. 5
Illinois
Blagojevich Impeachment Vote May Be Near
Chicago Tribune
Amid a revelation that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has revoked Gov. Rod Blagojevich's access to classified security information, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan said he was calling lawmakers back to Springfield this week for a possible vote on impeaching Blagojevich, who faces federal corruption charges.
Lieutenant Governor: ’Fumigate’ State Government Chicago Sun-Times
Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn is asking the same lawyer who prosecuted former Gov. George Ryan to recommend ways to “fumigate” state government. Quinn will name former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins to chair a panel to draw up legislation and other reforms to respond to the litany of alleged wrongdoing tied to Blagojevich.
Impeachment Push Aims to End Paralysis Chicago Tribune
Top Illinois politicians say the acceleration toward impeachment of Blagojevich symbolizes the realization that any attempts to move the state forward—such as dealing with a severe budget crisis and developing job-growing economic plans—cannot progress while the governor is still in office.
Pennsylvania
Governor: End Parole for Repeat Violent Offenders
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Gov. Ed Rendell asked the legislature to end parole for repeat violent offenders and said the state would expand its supervision of such offenders who have already been paroled. Rendell cited the case of a man who he said had been paroled three times before allegedly killing two people in the Philadelphia suburbs last year, as well as the deaths of two Philadelphia police officers allegedly killed by parolees in 2008.
Massachusetts
Police Balking at Enforcing New Marijuana Law
Boston Globe
As Massachusetts officially decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana, many police departments across the state were essentially ignoring the law, saying they would not even bother to ticket people they see smoking marijuana. Police say the voter-passed law, calling for $100 citations for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana, was so poorly written that it cannot be enforced.
The Nation
Democratic Governors Urge Supersized Stimulus
Washington Post
To help offset state budget cuts, a group of Democratic governors urged the federal government to pass a trillion-dollar economic stimulus package, significantly larger than the $675 billion to $775 billion package under discussion in Congress. Governors from Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin said $1 trillion is needed to avoid harmful cuts that could cause long-term economic decline.
Girard Miller on Public Money: Don't squander the stimulus!
Posted Friday, Jan. 2
California
Budget Plan Tries Again to ‘Blow Up the Boxes’
Sacramento Bee
Heeding the maxim that there is opportunity in crisis, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has trotted out as part of his latest $40 billion budget-fixing proposal a new, albeit much smaller, version of his 2004 "blow up the boxes" government-reorganization plan. Included in the voluminous proposal are 17 proposals to combine, cut or realign various boards, commissions and programs.
California Budget Plan Would Slash Prison Population Sacramento Bee
Schwarzenegger's latest budget proposal would reduce by tens of thousands the number of criminals behind bars and under community supervision. Parole would be eliminated for all nonserious, nonviolent and non-sex offenders.
The Nation
More States Mandating Fire-Safe Cigarettes
USA Today
States are circumventing more than 30 years of tobacco-industry opposition to federal safe-cigarette legislation by passing their own laws that require the sale of self-extinguishing cigarettes. The list of states with such laws on the books will expand to 32 in 2009, nearly tripling the number that had such laws at the start of 2007.
Maryland
Report: Reform Political Hiring
Washington Post
Maryland should take a cue from the federal government and create a "plum book" of political appointments available with each incoming administration and consider offering new job protections to some mid-level workers, according to a new report by legislative analysts issued more than two years after lawmakers largely wrapped up an investigation of the hiring and firing practices of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.