Alejandro Garcia Padilla said he would abide by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage after a local court deemed gay marriage unconstitutional. Their concern was that the retailers would terminate their contracts to avoid having nexus and being forced to pay taxes in the state. Energy prices in Massachusetts are among the highest in the nation – hurting residents and businesses. She covered the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary for the Boston Globe. Meanwhile, officials are waiting to see if new charter school oversight laws improve performance – laws passed after Ohio’s charter-school chief resigned for rigging charter sponsor scores. As of July 2014, New Jersey had $40 billion in pension debt, and soon-to-be-released revised figures are expected to be much larger. Asa Hutchinson in GOP primary races. Because of the way government is structured, New York City is a creature of the state. Do it, he said, and he would do everything in his power to withhold shared revenue the cities get from the state. Oregon has always been split with most people living west of the Cascades, but the economic divide between urban and rural areas has also been growing. The problem was traced to a computer coding error that had been flagged by a victim’s family in 2012, but was never corrected by the Department of Corrections. But the mood on the measure, approved by voters in 1992, is changing. in 2016, and will have to be smoothed out before the next session. This flared last year when rural lawmakers tried to redistribute sales tax revenue from more populated to less populated areas. dress@dailypress.com for consumers, providers and taxpayers. Make sure you don’t miss a thing. It has some of the nation’s leading hospitals. St. Louis Public Radio. And that’s just equity. The DuPont Co. has been a crucial employer and point of pride for Delaware for more than a century, with DuPont names over public buildings and major nonprofits all over the state. And in cities such as Charlotte, there’s a problem of what to do about the re-segregation of schools. Emblematic of the other top issues facing the state listed here, the price of inaction and kicking the can down the road for another year has resulted in the need for drastic measures. The Mississippi Economic Council, the state’s chamber of commerce, is pushing lawmakers to raise taxes – they haven’t specified which ones – to produce at least $375 million a year for road and bridge maintenance. Click to Tweet Nevada’s top policy issues, Jon Ralston, Ralston Reports The state Senate last month passed a bill barring “abortion services providers” from contracting with Alaska schools for any purpose, and requiring parental permission before children can take sex-education classes. ajenkins@kuow.org @TNJ_malbright. In 2011, he established Alabama’s first all internet-based news organization, alreporter.com. @davlinnews. Doug Thompson is the political and enterprise editor for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, where he has reported on state government issues since 1998. In that span, paper mills in East Millinocket, Old Town, Bucksport and Madison have closed, and others, including one in Jay, have significantly reduced their workforces. She was the first woman to cover County governments again asked South Dakota lawmakers for another revenue source to offset the costs of incarcerating criminals and caring for the indigent. The energy industry’s slowdown is moderating the state’s robust economic recovery after the recession, and it contributed to a budget shortfall in the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The goal, long-term, is to divert the mentally ill to early treatment, instead of the state mental hospitals and prisons. Now fracking opponents are likely to push the issue again on the 2016 ballot. He was embedded in Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign and reported news from New Mexico and New York’s statehouses prior to landing in the Garden State. The district was taken over by the state for academic deficiencies. a National Press Club award in 1983. That’s a lot of legislation. rramsey@texastribune.org Agriculture – farming and ranching – is a backbone industry in the state. Nathaniel Herz covers government and politics for Alaska Dispatch News, working out of Juneau during the legislative session, and Anchorage for the rest of the year. He has worked for multiple publications on two different islands in Hawaii for nearly 30 years, covering a number of different beats, but always gravitating back to City Hall. New Mexico’s jails are already nearly full, and some lawmakers voiced concern about what they described as a “pro-incarceration” agenda. @bluestein. Obama is the second sitting President to endorse statehood for the district, after President Bill Clinton, but the senate hasn’t considered a bill on statehood since 2014. In 2016, lawmakers took a step toward covering that population, approving a proposal that would cover about 16,000 of the states poorest, giving priority to the chronically homeless, those with drug and mental health issues, and recently released inmates. With Medicaid expansion seemingly off the table, lawmakers spent the session batting around the idea of finding a state solution for the 50,000 to 80,000 Idahoans (estimates vary) who make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to be eligible for subsidies on the state insurance exchange. Kentucky’s public pension systems are saddled with more than $30 billion in unfunded liabilities that will hamstring state funding of public schools and other priority services for years. The current legislative session has already seen the introduction of a bill that follows through on Ducey’s threat. During my senior…” Unlike municipalities, counties don’t get sales tax revenue, or revenue from liquor sales. Click to Tweet Tennessee’s top policy issues, Joel Ebert, The Tennessean Michael has previously worked for the Indianapolis Star, USA Today and Dow Jones. At the beginning of this session, Gov. He is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate. North Dakota has its first open governor’s race in 16 years, which has resulted in a contested race for the GOP nomination. jpmcphaul@gmail.com Plunging energy prices have cut state severance tax collections on natural gas and coal to about 50 percent of projections, creating a $145 million shortfall in the state’s $4.3 billion General Revenue budget. Sam Brownback opposing any new taxes on businesses. Nick Smith has been covering state politics for The Bismarck Tribune since December 2011. The lack of action has cost the state $6 billion in federal dollars. Click to Tweet Delaware’s top policy issues, Matthew Albright , The News Journal/DelawareOnline.com The state’s huge population growth and increasing traffic congestion is driving the conversation. No taxpayer money currently is spent on abortions in Iowa, and pro-choice legislators support the status quo on compromise policy for medical exceptions and funding of women’s health services. They are also looking to revamp funding of drug and mental health courts, and keep confidential juvenile records for minor offenses, so young people aren’t “haunted” by a mistake that affects future opportunities. @ralstonreports. Vermont spends more per student and per capita on pre-K-12 education than any other state. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers are pushing a ballot measure that, if approved by voters, would force the state to make its annual contribution regardless of how much money it has in its coffers, setting the stage for massive budget cuts or tax hikes down the road if the state falls short of revenue. Donnis previously worked for the Providence Phoenix, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, and the Associated Press. That’s when House leadership allowed a vote on the bill. In addition to staggering costs, health problems contribute to low workforce participation, and difficulties in maintaining a quality workforce in order to attract new business investment. Capital News Service There’s a partisan debate as to whether the Republicans who control state government have cut education funding. And the entity that governs the state’s high school sports teams has faced criticism from both sides over its new rules governing how transgender students may participate. She currently works in the Pennsylvania state capitol, where she writes about the governor and legislature. Since the Charleston, South Carolina shooting that left nine black church members dead, several Mississippi cities and counties, and some universities, have stopped flying the state flag. Dialogue has barely touched on spending priorities or revenue ideas; rather the stalemate comes from Gov. Senate Democrats and Dayton, however, oppose that plan, saying it would strain the state budget in future economic downturns. In response to the budget pinch, Martinez’s administration has directed state agencies to take cost-saving steps, including cutting back on non-essential employee travel and outside contracts. But House conservatives are already eyeing potential tax cuts for next year, including potentially eliminating a grocery tax. It’s not the first social issue to dominate headlines. Robert Bentley is in the middle of a media firestorm that threatens his office, after he ordered law enforcement to lie to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office relating to the Hubbard case. Poor districts that do not have the same ability as wealthier ones to raise revenue locally rely heavily on state funding, struggling to provide the same quality of education. She’s also a big fan of mustard and hot sauce. State finance encompasses a number of sub-issues, including falling oil prices, pending litigation over the constitutionality of the state’s school finance system, property taxes, litigation over taxes on certain types of pipelines, slower but still positive growth in the state’s sales tax revenue, and continuing growth in healthcare. Pete Ricketts. @WCAX_Kyle. Declining oil prices have also taken a toll on the state revenue stream, as has a previous administration’s frequent reliance on one-time revenue streams and fund sweeps. While North Carolina is becoming increasingly urban, the legislature is still controlled by rural interests who tend to be Republican. DOT releases year-end airline report, After 75 years, third generation taking over Cardona's Market. But downsizing and proxy battles within DuPont have shocked Delaware, both economically and culturally. In his State of the State speech in January, Republican Doug Ducey dared Arizona cities to adopt ordinances that he didn’t like. In June, state citizens will be voting on changes made last session to the state’s corporate farming law, which dates back to 1932. A conservative board in Douglas County is also taking another look at a school voucher program after an initial effort was blocked by the courts and remains on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Prominent members of both parties are pushing a ballot measure to remove the spending cap, but keep other parts, such as voter approval of tax hikes. Republican Gov. However, the House will be a tough sell despite being considered the more liberal of Vermont’s two chambers. Regardless, this issue impacts agriculture, natural resource extraction, sportsmen and women, and others who come to states like Montana for its wild spaces and wildlife. New Mexico has long had one of the nation’s lowest graduation rates, though it’s improved in recent years.