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Archive of South Carolina on Thursday March 12, 2009
AGs optimistic on better state-fed relations
State attorneys general, who this month attended their first meeting with new U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, say they are hopeful they can forge better relations with Washington, D.C., on environmental protection, sex offender policy and other subjects that became state-federal battlegrounds during the Bush administration. Read More
States consider trans fat bans, menu labeling
As Americans get heavier and state economies sink, states are introducing legislation aimed at curbing obesity and promoting good nutrition, while saving money in the long run on health care costs. Read More
US: Ed. Dept. outlines conditions for stimulus use
The eagerly awaited federal guidelines on some $100 billion in stimulus funding for education aim to pump money out quickly, while giving the U.S. Department of Education leverage to demand improvements from states and districts. Read More
US: Education data systems get big boost in stimulus
Buoyed by $250 million in federal stimulus funding that's been set aside for data systems, some leading education number-crunchers say it's time for states and districts to take the next step: figuring out how to use the information they collect on academic performance to improve student achievement. Read More
US: Powerball, Mega Millions explore agreement
Lottery behemoths Powerball and Mega Millions are discussing a possible arrangement to sell tickets for both games in the 42 states where they now operate alone. Read More
Report: State tax revenue takes a dive
The blitz of bad fiscal news from the states continues – unless you live in North Dakota. Total tax collections in at least 35 states slipped in the last three months of 2008, and for the first time since 2002, revenue from all three major sources – personal income, corporate income and sales – declined. But North Dakota saw sales tax collections jump 14.4 percent, says a new report released today (March 12). Read More
US: Border option -- armed soldiers
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said Wednesday that his administration is examining options to deal with deteriorating security conditions on the Mexican border, including the deployment of the National Guard if violence continues to spill over into American cities. Read More
SC: Sanford -- Stimulus decision fiscal, not political
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will try to force the Obama administration to decide whether he can use $700 million in economic stimulus funds to pay down a state debt load he describes as among the worst in the South. Read More
SC: SC unemployment hits 10.4 percent in January
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Thousands of job seekers streamed into a convention hall in South Carolina's vacation mecca for an annual tourism job fair Wednesday, but they found only a fraction of hiring taking place compared with past years. Read More
SC: Sanford's stand on stimulus sparks showdown
Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday his decision to reject spending $700 million in federal stimulus money on budget needs isn't a political maneuver but a belief that the state "should not spend money you do not have." Read More
SC: ESC, officials work on plan to rescue unemployment fund
Should employers whose workers file few unemployment claims pay more in taxes to help bring the state's troubled unemployment trust fund back to good health? Or should benefits for the state's jobless be cut back to provide more money for the fund? Read More
SC: House passes budget, but more cuts on way
The state House gave final approval Wednesday to a $6.6 billion budget that uses $1 billion in federal stimulus cash. Read More
SC: Sanford wants to use part of federal stimulus money to trim state's debt
Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday he will ask to use about 25 percent of the federal stimulus money scheduled to come to South Carolina to pay down the state's debt. Read More
SC: Obama to weigh Sanford's request
Gov. Mark Sanford holds a placard Wednesday at Fox Music in North Charleston as he discusses his views on federal stimulus money. If Obama refuses Sanford's request, as expected, then state lawmakers will decide whether to override the governor yet again. Read More
SC: S.C. bleeding jobs at alarming rate
South Carolina has the fastest growing unemployment rate in the country, and economists do not see an end to the cycle of job losses spreading across the state. Read More
SC: Legislators take aim at date violence
As high school hallways and the entertainment press are abuzz about the alleged beating of pop star Rihanna at the hands of her pop star boyfriend, Chris Brown, some state lawmakers plan to send a message that dating violence is never acceptable. Read More
US: New battle lines on stem cells
ATLANTA—Faced with a new federal policy that opens the door for more embryonic stem cell research, conservatives have geared up for a political battle at the national and state level that goes to the core of their beliefs about the sanctity of human life. Read More
SC: Sanford rejects federal funding
Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday that using federal money to balance the state budget come July could "destabilize" the S.C. economy over time. Read More
SC: SC jobless rate soars in January
South Carolina's unemployment rate soared to its highest level in more than a quarter century in January. During the first month of the year, unemployment was 10.4 percent, a 1.6 percent jump from the revised 8.8 percent rate for December 2008, the S.C. Employment Security Commission announced Wednesday. It was the state's highest rate since April 1983, when it reached 10.7 percent. Read More
US: Jobless rate in 4 states goes past 10 percent
WASHINGTON -- A growing number of states suffered double-digit unemployment rates in January, and others are close behind, buttressing fears that the national jobless rate could hit 10 percent by year's end. Read More
US: Governors mind political currents in steering stimulus funds
The stimulus package may be old news in Washington, where Congress and the White House have moved on to other legislative battles. But in the states, political warfare over stimulus funds is just getting under way, and it will be fought in the shadow of the looming 2010 and 2012 election seasons. Read More
SC: More need, less help
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The scenes here are now familiar in places deeply bruised by the recession: The Salvation Army gets so many calls from people desperate for help with overdue utility bills that, one morning, its phone system crashed. Read More
US: GOP governors face fights on stimulus
Republican governors who opposed the economic stimulus package and suggested they would refuse some money are sparking tension within their states -- and, in one case, pitting Republicans against each other. Read More
States applaud new stem-cell funding
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Bills would boost spending transparency
State lawmakers, facing new scrutiny over their spending decisions, are increasing government transparency by posting their budgets and spending online. Read More
Tracking the recession: States boost foreclosure programs
The Obama administration has lots of company in its effort to slow home foreclosures. States have been coming up with solutions of their own. Read More
States shave workforce to save money
State employees, once thought to have one of the most secure jobs with the best benefits, are increasingly worried as the recession deepens and states look to trim their salaries to balance their budgets. Read More
Govs split over expanding jobless benefits
Out of a $787 billion economic recovery package successfully launched by the Obama administration this month, a $7 billion fund to expand unemployment benefits to a half-million more people has become a lightning rod for opposition by a group of Republican governors. Read More
Govs' Q & A: Rethinking prison time
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Program moves vets from Medicaid
As states are forced to tighten their belts, some might look at a Washington state program that transfers the cost of eligible veterans' health care, particularly long-term care, from Medicaid to the federal VA system. Read More
Study finds disparity in corrections spending
States spend seven times more money on prisons than on probation and parole, even though the vast majority of the 7.3 million people now under correctional supervision are not behind bars, according to a Pew Center on the States report, the first detailed survey of state corrections spending since 2002. Read More
Tracking the recession: Stimulus holds states accountable
Besides the money, the economic stimulus package is asking states for the first time to prove how many jobs they are creating and how they are spending the money. Read More
Obama plan stresses state priorities
President Obama proposed abrupt shifts in several state-related policies with his budget blueprint released Thursday (Feb 26). His administration recommended capping carbon dioxide pollution nationwide, directing more money to pre-kindergarten, constructing more water treatment plants, offering more help to released prisoners and overhauling the financial aid system for college students. Read More
Court cuts trigger blunt warnings
The budget emergency facing state governments has produced an uncommon alliance of advocates — from business leaders to public defenders and chief judges — who, in blunt terms, are urging state lawmakers not to slash funding for the courts. Read More
SC: Summary of the state of the state address
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), who has clashed with the Republican-controlled Legislature in the past over what he saw as its reckless spending, told lawmakers Jan. 14 that with the recession the state needed to rein in spending. Read More |
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