#state-appropriations

#state-appropriations

Trillions flow into the United States government on Tax Day, yet a significant share is directed toward war and defense contractors, rather than essential services.

Without the half-percent sales tax increase, which would generate an estimated $9 million per year for the city's general fund if voters approve it this November, Berkeley could face deeper cuts including shuttering a fire station, laying off police officers and reducing hours at city pools and recreation centers.

The so-called pork-barrel grants are not awarded on a competitive or transparent basis, and most get disbursed outside the normal budget process, meaning state lawmakers never vote on the individual recipients.

The FPPC wants to know if county government funds were used on Measure A campaign mailers, following complaints from the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association and Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County.

The Uber-backed plan to lower car insurance rates has drawn criticism from legal professionals and crash victim advocates who say the legislative changes would strip crash victims of rights while misstating the drivers of high costs. Hochul and the car insurance industry have argued that fraud and "jackpot" payouts have increased costs for insurance companies so much that they can't reduce premiums.

"If we don't get what we need [in terms of extra government help] then a Section 114 Notice will come in, which is effective bankruptcy. We'd then get administrators come in, in effect - they'd then make a plan for where the money gets spent in Worcestershire. It would be a catastrophe. We're going to have to halt projects that were put into the budget by the previous administration, things that maybe were 'nice to have', but we can't afford them."

If you live in Illinois, you pay a greater percentage of your income in taxes than almost anyone of any income stratus anywhere in the country. That's not right,

"softening,"

Starting this summer, most college programs will have to show that their students earn more than someone with only a high school diploma to avoid being cut off from federal funding, as part of a new accountability measure. Congress created the earnings test known as Do No Harm when it passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer. The Education Department is still working to finalize the regulations that outline how it will work.

If you live in Illinois, you pay a greater percentage of your income in taxes than almost anyone of any income stratus anywhere in the country. That's not right,

The interchamber tensions between Democrats are becoming a regular feature of funding fights in the second Trump term. Lawmakers, strategists and voters alike exploded in anger last March when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a handful of colleagues allowed a spending package to move forward amid the Elon Musk-led DOGE assault on federal agencies. In November, tempers again flared when a handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to end a record 43-day shutdown.

MONTEREY - The city of Monterey declared a fiscal emergency to place new tax measures on the ballot this summer. The Monterey City Council met Tuesday, continuing the discussion of the city's $10 million deficit that they are trying to rectify through the 2026-2027 fiscal year budget, which starts in July. The council voted unanimously to declare a fiscal emergency, which city officials said was needed in order to place new tax measures on the ballot.