Officials in Arizona are pushing for increased transparency in the state, in the wake of questions raised over dealings between state officials and lobbyists. Secretary of State Ken Bennett and State Representative Kimberly Yee are pushing a new measure that would put more sunlight on the financial disclosure statements and lobbyist filings of the state’sRead… Read more »
An announcement earlier this month that the federal government will not establish a national health benefits standard to go along with requirements in the new health care reform law is already impacting some state insurance exchanges. Oregon exchange director Howard “Rocky” King, called the decision “a grenade.” The Obama administration is giving states broad latitudeRead… Read more »
Governor Nicki Haley of South Carolina is in hot water over emails deleted by her office. The Charleston Post and Courier uncovered the deleted emails after asking for emails from both her office and the state Department of Health and Human Services. The emails returned from the Department showed responses from the Governor which hadRead… Read more »
A new report from the University of Missouri charges that term limits in the Missouri legislature are actually doing more to damage the legislative process in the state than help it. The report, The Impact and Implication of Term Limits in Missouri, covers a variety of legislative process areas that have been impacted by termRead… Read more »
Pennsylvania is taking a more aggressive role in the price its residents will pay for their health care coverage. Governor Tom Corbett will be signing a bill that gives state regulators the authority to deny rate increases on health insurance for small business policies if they are deemed to be excessive. The bill was theRead… Read more »
California and Ohio are making broadband news. California has been approved for just under $900,000 in broadband planning funds for the next three years. Ohio’s broadband project is being held up by a lack of fiber. The hold up comes as the results of moves at the federal level to more strictly monitor and approveRead… Read more »
IT, Health Care and Mobility are three key focus areas for state and local government going into 2012 and beyond. All three areas have the potential to save governments millions and improve service delivery but they can also cause significant short term headaches in this era of austerity. CivSource spoke with Joe Doherty, EVP &Read… Read more »
Maryland is creating its first long-range plan for sustainable growth. “PlanMaryland,” is the culmination of state mandate first outlined in the 1970s. The plan is designed to combine smart growth projects more effectively with state government programs to facilitate a coordinated public and private process. During the coming year, state agencies will work to identifyRead… Read more »
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie campaigned on promises of bringing increased transparency to New Jersey. Early on in his administration he launched a transparency website designed to highlight public information from state offices. Despite that, New Jersey last year the state comptroller issued a blistering report highlighting just how opaque the state really is. Now,Read… Read more »
New York will be reducing a payroll tax designed to help pay for public transportation that effects small business owners and the self employed. The move was announced on the heels of another announcement that the state will be giving regional councils $785 million to support job creation. The Cuomo Administration hopes that by takingRead… Read more »