WEDC grilled and chilled in committee

By   /  May 9, 2013  /  Accountability, Budget, Featured, Legislature, News, Politics, State Budgets, Transparency, WEDC, Wisconsin  /  1 Comment

WEDC logo

By Ryan Ekvall | Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON – It was a good news/bad news day for Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. at the state Capitol Thursday.
In one hearing room, legislators grilled WEDC over the results of its most recent unfavorable audit – another black eye on the public-private entity that’s been battered with bad news since its [...]

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WI Finance Committee joins the circus, dredges up more money

By   /  April 30, 2013  /  Budget, Featured, Wisconsin  /  No Comments

circus world

By Ryan Ekvall | Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON – You know it’s a slow day at the state Capitol when the biggest news is that lawmakers have decided to maintain the status quo for the operations of the Baraboo-based Circus World Museum, home of the original buildings of Ringling Bros. circus.
Gov. Scott Walker had asked for $3.7 [...]

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OK lawmakers, Gov. Fallin say income tax cut, workers’ comp reform likely

By   /  April 19, 2013  /  Budget, Featured, News, Oklahoma, Taxes  /  No Comments

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By Patrick B. McGuigan | CapitolBeatOK

OKLAHOMA CITY — Both a major change in state workers’ compensation insurance provisions and a moderate income tax reduction are within reach at the Oklahoma Capitol, top lawmakers say.

The items are key elements in the oft-stated conservative Republican agenda for the 2013 Legislature, which has seemed to be on shaky ground in recent weeks. With the clock ticking for the final weeks of this year’s deliberations, House Speaker

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PA prevailing wage changes advance, despite union, Democratic objections

By   /  April 16, 2013  /  Budget, Featured, Issues, Local Government, News, Pennsylvania, State Budgets, State Government, Taxes  /  No Comments

HAMMERING AWAY: Prevailing wage laws have hit local government budgets hard, and now Republican state lawmakers are looking to chip away at them.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG – A state House committee voted Tuesday to approve two bills that aim to chip away at a costly state mandate.
Prevailing wage laws are another front in the ongoing struggle between unions and governmental entities in Pennsylvania. The unions favor the law because it guarantees higher wages on publicly funded projects [...]

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Feds say sequestration isn’t political, but NM ain’t buying

By   /  March 28, 2013  /  Budget, Energy, Featured, National, New Mexico, News  /  No Comments

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By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – The Obama administration’s cuts in a revenue-sharing payment to New Mexico is ”spectacularly uncooperative,” said the head of the state’s Department of Finance and Administration
In the last several days, the federal government has sent letters to 35 states, informing them it’s cutting federal mineral and energy payments by about $110 [...]

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