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“Educate Yourself about School Funding”
Check out our K-12 Education Section for the latest news on what governors are proposing for school funding in FY2013. Missouri's Gov. Jay Nixon wants to increase school funding. Gov. Perdue in North Carolina wants to raise the sales tax to get more money for educaiton. Get the latest news and see what solutions are available here.
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“Reality-Based Budgeting: How to permanently resolve state budget gaps”
To read SBS President Bob Williams' explanation of what reality-based budgeting is, how it works, and how it can prevent overspending by ensuring efficient and effective delivery of essential services by your state government, click here.
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“ALEC's State Budget Reform Toolkit”
ALEC's State Budget Reform Toolkit will advance a set of budget and procurement best practices to guide state policymakers as they work to solve the current budget shortfalls. SBS President Bob Williams was one of the authors of the toolkit, which assists legislators in prioritizing and more efficiently delivering core government services.
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“Reduce State Spending”
States must adopt fundamental reforms by: establishing priorities through "Reality-based Budgeting," privatizing, forcing government contractors to compete and increasing transparency.
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“Adopt Fundamental Reform”
States must adopt fundamental reforms and establish priorities through “Reality-based Budgeting.” Scrap the current budget. Priorities and performance must drive budget allocations. Crafting a sustainable budget requires legislators to address four key questions at the start of every legislative session. Read them here.
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“Reject Tax Increases”
Policy makers must reject tax increases that kill jobs and hurt the state's economy. States must hold the line on taxes by rejecting increases on personal and corporate income taxes, permanently limiting taxes, maximizing non-tax revenues and by collecting upfront on the tobacco settlement.
Pensions
Louisiana state pension proposal features 'cash-balance' plan, later retirement
Gov. Bobby Jindal rolled out a proposal Wednesday for a massive overhaul of state employee pension systems that would move some new workers to a 401(k)-style plan, increase the retirement age for some existing employees and require increased contributions from some in the existing systems.
Connecticut Eyes Pension Overhaul
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy on Monday called for pumping up payments into the State Employees Retirement System, one of the nation's most under-funded public pension funds.
Plan shakes state system
Billions of dollars are at stake in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to shift new public workers into 401(k)-like individual retirement plans.
SC House panel considering changing its drafted pension reform proposal; no legislation yet
Last month, the subcommittee approved a draft proposal to require public employees to work 30 years and be at least 62 years old to draw full retirement benefits. Employees currently have to work 28 years for full retirement, and there are no age requirements. But the panel yesterday directed a consultant to re-calculate how changes to its proposal would affect the system's solvency.
Cuomo Proposes New York Fiscal 2013 Budget of $132.5 Billion
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a fiscal 2013 budget of $132.5 billion that closes a $2 billion deficit in part by finding $1.14 billion in agency savings and centralizing purchasing and human resources.
In the News
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Examining the Constitutionality of State Pension Schemes
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Louisiana state pension proposal features 'cash-balance' plan, later retirement
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Bill would cap spending by state at last year's level
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Shrinking State Court Budgets: Not Just A New York Thing
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Del. gov proposes $3.5B budget with no tax hike
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Private-prisons bill advances in Florida Senate
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Republican lawmakers say work on state budget lags
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State Budget Deficit Grows to $144.5 Million
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State Budget Issues
Click on any of the issues below for in depth analysis, learn how it is factoring into the budget debate in your state and find our solutions.
The Williams Report Launches
SBS President Bob Williams compiles the recent developments in state budgets, pensions and collective bargaining on a weekly basis. SBS has now combined those three updates into The Williams Report, a comprehensive ovewiviw of the latest headlines and information from all 50 states.