Gov Mark Dayton's budget increases state spending by 8.5% over the current budget, the largest budget increase ever proposed by a Minnesota governor.

Gov. Butch Otter is pressing Idaho legislators to create an Idaho Health Exchange. He is doing so despite previously issuing an Executive Order to the contrary and the many drawbacks to doing so. The governor's request would be taxpayer funded, but it also comes at the expense of state sovereignty.

California lawmakers from both parties are concerned by the past rushing of legislation and a result they are asking voters to pass a state constitutional amendment requiring all bills to be in print and online for 72 hours before final passage

When asked to find budget cuts for the coming fiscal year, Georgia's State Board of Pardons and Paroles relied on technology and found innovative ways to save money.

Several proposed supermajority for taxes constitutional amendments have already been introduced. The question remaining is what, if anything, lawmakers will do with the bills.

The Center for State and Local Government Excellence's latest publication is just another on a long list of documents buying the company line put out by governments across the country. Until state and local governments recognize the scope of their pension liabilities, the hole will grow deeper and more and more taxpayer dollars will be needed to fill it back in.

To help prevent union strong-arming that fleeces taxpayers, we should know precisely what public union officials are demanding and what government employers are offering in any collective negotiation about employment terms and conditions.

Gov. Inslee: We will provide efficiency, effectiveness and transparency. We will introduce performance metrics where it counts, giving us the data we need to fix what's broken, cut what we don't need and replace rhetoric with quantifiable results.

And it isn’t just individuals who must reconfigure budgets, the states are looking at smaller “paychecks” as well.