Opinion
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Del. Governor Plans State Salary Cuts
Opinion -Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D) is proposing a temporary 8 percent across-the-board cut in salaries for all state employees, which he projects will save the state about $91 million in fiscal year 2010. -
New Federal Tax on Cigarettes Could Hurt State Tax Revenues
Opinion -State budget officials nationwide are bracing for the fiscal impact of a 156 percent increase in the federal tax on cigarettes.On April 1 the federal excise tax on cigarettes soared from 39 cents to $1.01 a pack. -
Georgia Telecom ‘Slush Fund’ Escapes Reform
Opinion -Georgia lawmakers recently had the chance to stand up for taxpayers and stop an outdated telecommunications subsidy program that’s fraught with waste and abuse. -
HITECH Increases Exposure of Personal Care Records
Opinion -When presidential candidate Barack Obama talked about computerizing medical records, the plan sounded benign. He said it would give “doctors and nurses easy access to all the necessary information about their patients. -
Fluoride Wars Recounts Public Health Controversy
Opinion -The new book The Fluoride Wars: How a Modest Public Health Measure Became America’s Longest Running Political Melodrama, by R. -
Fewer Alaska Doctors Take New Medicare Patients
Opinion -Fewer than 20 percent of physicians surveyed in Alaska’s largest city are accepting new patients covered by Medicare, according to a study by the University of Alaska-Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research. -
Virginia Spam Law Rejected by U.S. Supreme Court
Opinion -One of the nation’s strictest anti-spam laws will not be reinstated after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal urging the high court to declare Virginia’s Computer Crimes Act constitutional. -
Net Neutrality Advocates Push to Add Mandate to Stimulus
Opinion -As the government prepares to set rules for doling out $7. -
Stimulus Funding for States Could Bolster Status Quo
Opinion -Education funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law this winter by President Barack Obama, includes spending for pre-K-12 programs and specifically allocates $2. -
Nevada Bill Aims for Big Per-Pupil Spending Hike
Opinion -A bill introduced in the Nevada state legislature this spring proposes requiring the state to increase its K-12 spending to match the national average of $9,332 per student. That’s about $2,000 more per student than the state currently spends. -
Bill Aims to Shake Up Nevada Education Structures
Opinion -The Nevada Senate is considering a bill that would significantly change the bureaucratic structure of the state’s education system. -
Texas Poised to Expand Charter Schools
Opinion -With more than 17,000 students statewide currently on waiting lists trying to get into charter schools, two bills pending in the Texas state Senate are ready to deal with the demand. -
Parents, Children Rally for School Choice in DC
Opinion -Approximately 2,000 people gathered in the District of Columbia on May 6 to deliver to the city and Congress more than 7,400 petition signatures protesting the end of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. -
RAND Study: Charter Schools Don’t Hurt Traditional Schools
Opinion -A new study by the RAND Corporation found charter schools do not harm conventional public schools and charter students are more likely to graduate high school and go on to college than other public school children. -
Obama’s Budget Builds on Bush’s Precedents
Opinion -President Barack Obama has introduced his federal budget plan for the coming years, and it includes large increases in spending, taxes, and debt.Building on spending precedents set by President George W. -
Union ‘Card Check’ Bill Stopped in U.S. Senate
Opinion -Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has blocked a vote on the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as “card check,” once again putting himself at the center of the debate. -
Maryland Mulls Takeover of Money-Losing Racetracks
Opinion -Marylanders own many money-losing enterprises, including a golf resort in the western mountains and real estate in Baltimore City that the state can’t rent, sell, or subsidize. The state may add another failing business to its portfolio: racetracks. -
Massachusetts Gov. Patrick Proposes Tax Hikes Galore
Opinion -Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick (D) has proposed an array of tax hikes in a bid to plug an estimated $1 billion hole in the state’s $28 billion 2010 budget. -
Tax and Spending Limit Amendments Pick Up Steam
Opinion -Amendments limiting increases in taxes or spending by state and local governments will likely be appearing on ballots in at least two states over the next two years. -
Utah Overhauls Health Care
Opinion -Utah Gov. -
Fla. Preventive Care Study Sparks Debate
Opinion -The state of Florida could save an estimated $700 million if some of the state’s 3. -
Controversial Medicaid Fraud Bill Voted Down in Maryland
Opinion -A Maryland bill supporters said would help crack down on Medicaid fraud in the state was defeated by a 24-23 vote in the state Senate. -
West Virginia Bill Would Make ‘Cyberbullying’ Illegal
Opinion -A West Virginia state senator has introduced a bill to make it a crime to send harassing or abusive emails “which are false and designed to entice or encourage other people to ridicule or perpetuate the untruth about that person. -
2009 June School Reform News: Rallying for Choice in DC
Opinion -The June 2009 issue of School Reform News reports on a May 6 rally that attracted some 2,000 people to the nation’s capital, where parents and children alike expressed support for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program.