Crispus Attucks

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Budget & Tax News
June 2006
'Balancing Budget on Medicaid Providers'
One Illinois lawmaker with firsthand knowledge of the impact of late Medicaid payments and low reimbursement rates is Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson ... (read more)

Analysis: Medicaid's Huge Hidden Costs
In the 40 years since it was created to provide medical care to the needy, Medicaid has expanded far beyond that original mission. In 2004, Medicaid spending ... (read more)

Arizona Governor Proposes 23% Spending Hike
Ever since state budgeters forecast a $1 billion surplus last fall, Arizona politicians have been debating how to use the money. Driven by a strong real ... (read more)

Cigarette Trafficking Grows as Taxes Climb
As cigarette taxes in many states have climbed, so has the illicit cigarette trade. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives made 35 arrests ... (read more)

Cities, States Welcome Private Firms into Public Transportation Projects
With highway transportation networks in dire need of investment, either to keep from crumbling or address congestion, promising developments that offer ... (read more)

Commentary: Blowing Up a 'Damnable Tax'
During his 2006 State of the County address, Oakland County (Michigan) Executive L. Brooks Patterson called for a petition drive and ballot initiative to ... (read more)

County Officials Sound Off on Medicaid
"It's kind of crazy that we don't have a Medicaid cap in place. Property values are fairly low, but our tax rate makes it very difficult to compete from ... (read more)

Georgia Passes Strong Property Rights Protections
The state of Georgia has passed one of the nation's strongest protections against eminent domain abuse by state and local government bodies. On April 4, ... (read more)

High Prices, Taxes a Drag on Airlines Nationally
Higher oil prices, coupled with high state jet fuel taxes, have become a serious threat to the airline industry this summer. Politicians and industry leaders ... (read more)

Illinois Medicaid Takes on New Costs
Illinois' Medicaid program owes $1.5 billion in late payments to pharmacists, doctors, nursing homes, and others, yet in July the state will begin using ... (read more)

Illinois Taxes Hurting Airline Industry
O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, perennially one of the nation's busiest airports, has the dubious distinction of charging the nation's highest ... (read more)

June 2006 Budget & Tax News (PDF)
The June 2006 issue of Budget & Tax News highlights the need for Medicaid reform and the impact of the program on state budgets. Illinois, New York, and ... (read more)

Medicaid Costs Are Busting Budgets for North Carolina Counties
Counties across North Carolina are experiencing budget problems because of high and increasing Medicaid costs. According to the North Carolina Association ... (read more)

Michigan Citizens Hope to Limit State's Spending
Voters in Michigan may get a chance this November to make big changes in state policy and how the state manages its tax revenues. Petitioners across ... (read more)

Michigan Governor Vetoes Repeal of 'Jobs-Killing' Tax
On March 31, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) vetoed a bill that would have accelerated plans to repeal the state's Single Business Tax (SBT). The ... (read more)

Mixed Reviews for Reform
Critics of market-based Medicaid reform claim the plans are "untested" and would result in higher costs and worse health outcomes. "These plans make ... (read more)

New Mexico Vetoes Denounced as Political Payback
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) recently used his line-item veto powers to cut $269 million in spending out of the state's FY 2007 budget. Richardson ... (read more)

NY Legislature Cuts Gov's Medicaid Cost Reductions
In his 2006/2007 Executive Budget, Gov. George Pataki (R) proposed to cut the cost of the state's Medicaid program by about $1.3 billion. However, in its ... (read more)

Pressure for Market-Based Medicaid Reform Rises
Medicaid's skyrocketing expenditures are reaching a breaking point in state budgets, experts say, and state legislatures are responding with sweeping new ... (read more)

Richardson First Governor to Veto Eminent Domain Protection
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) became the nation's first governor to veto legislation aimed at protecting individual property owners from eminent domain ... (read more)

Road to Reform: Medicaid Management Makeover
A recent study, "Medicaid Makeover: Six Tough (and Unavoidable) Choices on the Road to Reform," contends Medicaid would best serve the nation if state lawmakers ... (read more)

State of the Unions
With the immigration debate raging across the nation, unions are mobilizing to exploit the immigrants' cause for political gain. Faced with an unprecedented ... (read more)

Telecom Competition Comes to Ind.
Implementing a plan for sweeping telecommunications deregulation, on March 14 Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) signed into law House Enrolled Act 1279, which ... (read more)

Terrorists Profit from Smuggling
A multimillion-dollar cigarette smuggling operation based in Michigan allegedly helped fund the Hizballah terrorist organization (also known as Hezbollah), ... (read more)

Washington Judge Voids Tax Hikes
Washington state's 2005-07 budget violates Washington's tax and expenditure limit, according to a ruling issued March 17 by Snohomish County Superior Court ... (read more)

Wyoming Has Best Tax Climate, New York Worst: Report
Anyone thinking about starting a new business or relocating an existing business might want to consider Wyoming, which has the nation's most business-friendly ... (read more)