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As the Great Recession finally vanished in the rear-view mirror, states realized a return to fiscal stability in 2013. But many states also found 2013 to be a year of living dangerously as they struggled with increased pension debts of their own making...

Budget & Taxes STATES RUSH TO LAND BOEING: After Washington machinists rejected a contract last month that would have guaranteed Boeing's planned 777X airliner would be built in that state, the company decided to explore other options for its...

Budget & Taxes Oil Price Collapse Pressures State Budgets The collapse of oil prices is taking a toll on energy-producing states. As job losses mount in the nation’s oil patch, depressed oil and commodity prices are having a ripple effect...

Budget & Taxes NY GOV CUOMO PROPOSES $2B IN TAX RELIEF: Last week, ahead of his State of the State address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced a $2 billion tax relief proposal that sent the clear message New York's status as a high-tax state will...

Budget & Taxes Brownback Makes Big Cuts to KS University System Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) announced plans for a 3 percent immediate cut to the state university system after tax collections came in well below projections last month. The...

Budget & Taxes POSITIVE STATE FISCAL HEALTH TREND CONTINUING: The improving fiscal conditions that characterized most states in fiscal 2013 are continuing in fiscal 2014, according to the National Association of Budget Officer's latest fiscal...

c Budget & Taxes FL JUDGE SIDES AGAINST STATE IN PENSION CASE: A Florida circuit court ruled last week that Gov. Rick Scott (R) and Republican legislative leaders' decision last year to cut public employee salaries to offset the state's...

Budget & Taxes STATES' FISCAL HEALTH CONTINUING TO IMPROVE: State fiscal conditions are continuing their slow and mostly steady improvement, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures' Spring 2012 budget update. For the...

Budget & Taxes WV COMMITS TO PAYING DOWN PENSION DEBT: West Virginia's unfunded pension liability - estimated at $10 billion last year - is one of the highest per capita in the nation. But the state became a standout on the issue in a very...

Budget & Taxes LANDLESS TRIBE SEEKING CASINO IN OK: Construction was halted on the Kialegee tribe's Red Clay Casino in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma last month after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in response to a lawsuit claiming...

Budget & Taxes STATES' MEDICAID COSTS RISING FASTER THAN SPENDING: The National Association of Budget Officers (NASBO) and National Governors Association's (NGA) most recent survey of state fiscal health is not particularly encouraging...

Budget & taxes CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS CALL OUT STRUGGLING US STATES: As economic turmoil returned this month to Greece and Spain, key Republicans in Congress issued a tough message for struggling U.S. states. "Recent experience on Wall Street...

Budget & Taxes STATES DIVERTING FORECLOSURE SETTLEMENT MONEY: Last month, the nation's five largest mortgage lenders signed a $25 billion settlement with the attorneys general of 49 states addressing loan servicing abuses that contributed to...

Budget & taxes NY RAISES TOP TAX RATE: This month New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) agreed to do what he had repeatedly said he would not: raise taxes on his state's highest earners. Under the agreement passed by the Legislature, those making over...

Budget & Taxes TOLL ROAD REBELLION IN MD: Many Maryland motorists appear to have little respect for the state's toll roads. Thousands are repeatedly blowing through the state's E-ZPass lanes without an E-ZPass transponder. One car...