State Budgets

Diablo Canyon nuclear plant

Funding Allocated to Extend Life of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant

In order to to ensure that the lights stay on, the California legislature approved allocating up to $75 million to extend the life of the state's sole remaining nuclear plant and four natural gas powered plants, to the chagrin of environmentalists.

July 11, 2022 - CALmatters

Missouri

Surveying the Fiscal Nightmare for Cities and States

Governing takes a tour through the fiscal impacts of a suddenly cratered economy and an ongoing public health crisis.

June 3, 2020 - Governing

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

28.3 Million Acres of Public Land at Risk in Alaska

The Trump administration is working on multiple fronts to liquidate public land in Alaska as the state struggles to balance its budget.

September 16, 2019 - Center for American Progress

Southern California

Courts May Fine Cities That Fail to Build Housing in California

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed his first budget, the state's largest ever at $215 billion. Housing activists will be pleased to learn that it has, to use Newsom's terms, both "carrots and sticks" to compel cities to produce more housing.

July 1, 2019 - The Sacramento Bee

Lombard Street San Francisco

California to Study a Ban on Sales of Cars with Internal Combustion Engines

California Assemblyman Phil Ting has tried unsuccessfully for the last two years to end the sale of new gas and diesel-powered passenger motor vehicles by 2040. He achieved some success by securing funds in an approved budget bill to study a ban.

June 19, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Fracking

Michigan Gov. Whitmer Proposes 45-Cent Gas Tax Hike in First Budget

Gretchen Whitmer has outdone the new Democratic governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, who proposed a 20 cents tax hike. Like Walz's budget, gas tax revenue would replace some general funds directed to road spending, thus benefiting other state programs.

March 21, 2019 - Detroit Free Press

Highway 65 Construction

Proposed Gas Tax Hike Exposes Minnesota's Road Subsidy

After Minnesota's new Democratic Gov. Tim Walz proposed a 20-cents gas tax hike over two years, even leaders in his own party were caught off-guard, but one-third of the tax increase will replace the diversion of general funds to roads.

March 14, 2019 - Minnesota Public Radio News

Wisconsin State Capital

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers Proposes Gas Tax Hike

The eight-cents-per-gallon gas tax increase is one of several measures in the Democrat governor's first budget that marks a major departure from the the tenure of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

March 8, 2019 - Wisconsin Public Radio

Illinois Highway 90

Sale of Illinois Tollway Considered to Pay Pension Debt

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has a $134 billion problem in unfunded pension liabilities. Along with several other measures, his administration is considering selling state assets, including the Illinois Tollway, to fill the hole.

February 19, 2019 - Chicago Tribune

Orca in Washington

Washington State Budget Makes Puget Sound Orcas a Priority

Southern Resident orca numbers are distressingly low. The proposed budget would fund a number of measures to help the whales.

January 4, 2019 - Crosscut

Times Square New York

A Strong Voice of Support for Value Capture to Fund Subway Repair

In an opinion for City & State, Kathryn Wylde, president of the nonprofit Partnership for New York City, makes the case that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority should be allowed to tax properties where value is enhanced by subway proximity.

March 28, 2018 - City & State

Oil Rigs

Report Details Strategies for Energy States to Weather Booms and Busts

Some states relied more on the most recent energy boom than others, and some prepared more for the inevitable bust. A report by the Brookings Institution recommends actions for energy states to build resilience in the face of boom and bust cycles.

May 4, 2016 - Governing

Lacking a Budget—Illinois to Borrow $480 Million for Road and Transit Projects

Citing the critical economic need for road construction and transit improvements, Gov. Bruce Rauner will conduct a general obligation bond sale later this month.

January 6, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

As Oil Prices Fall, Alaska Considers an Income Tax

Not only might Alaskans have to pay a state income for the first time since 1980, three years after the Trans-Alaska Pipeline was completed, but Alaska Permanent Fund checks might drop 50 percent to cope with falling crude oil tax revenue.

December 29, 2015 - The New York Times

Los Angeles Traffic - The Newhall Pass

California Governor Brown's Conflicting Road Budget Priorities

When his father was governor, California was awash in federal highway dollars. Now Jerry Brown's administration contemplates a risky tax hike, juggling the need for road improvements with a clean, transit-oriented agenda.

July 7, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

California Transportation Spending Gets Boost from Budget Revision

A short term increase in spending hides California's annual structural deficit of almost $6 billion—money needed to maintain the state's roads and bridges.

May 17, 2015 - San Jose Mercury News

Op-Ed: Transportation Funding is Only One Part of a Fair Budget

A guest column on the Saporta Report offers a reminder of the many critical public needs that compete with transportation funding for state dollars.

January 27, 2015 - Saporta Report

New Taxes could Drive up the Cost of Conservation in Maine

Maine trails only three states in total acreage of land protected by conservation. A new plan to end the property tax exemptions for nonprofits, however, could make that work much more difficult.

January 25, 2015 - Portland Press Herald

'Hidden Gas Tax' or Not—California's Cap and Trade Policy Starts a New Era

Will California gas station see queues at their pumps on Dec. 31 as motorists seek their last fill-up before gas prices soar 15 cents per gallon, as AB 69 supporters warned? The bill died in the state legislature on August 22.

August 29, 2014 - Los Angele Times

California Bullet Train

Calif. Governor Signs Game-Changing Budget for HSR, Transit, and Affordable Housing

Jerry Brown signed a $156.3-billion budget on June 20 that marks a new day for greenhouse gas-reducing transportation and sustainable communities projects due to new revenues from the state's cap and trade market now and, particularly, in the future.

June 21, 2014 - TransForm

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