WI -- Lawmakers will meet in special session beginning December 11 to discuss campaign finance reform. A major item on the special session agenda will be to try rein in the skyrocketing cost of state supreme court races -- the most recent winner of a supreme court election spent a record $5.8 million on her campaign. ttp://www.madison.com/tct/news/259846
Also in Texas, House Transportation Committee Chair Mike Krusee (R) announced his retirement, effective at the end of his term in January 2009. Krusee, a House member since 1993, is rumored to be in line for a gubernatorial appointment once his term ends.
ID - Idaho's legislature has moved into temporary buildings for possibly the next two years while the Statehouse undergoes renovation. The cramped quarters in the temporary buildings may have an impact on the length of the session, and also the lobbying procedures.
RI - Prefiling for the 2008 Session began November 15. The official 2008 legislative calendar has not been finalized, however, the first day of session is New Year’s Day.
DE - Lawmakers were called in for a special session November 27 to swear in Sen. Bruce Ennis (D), who is replacing Sen. James T. Vaughn (D). Several nominations by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner to various state boards and judicial posts were also approved in the one-day session.. Ennis will serve on four Senate committees: Revenue and Taxation, Combat Drug Abuse, Small Business and Veterans Affairs; he will assume Vaughn's chairmanship of the Adult and Juvenile Corrections Committee. http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071128/NEWS/7... [3]
WA - In a one-day special session held November 29, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill to reinstate a 1 percent cap on annual property-tax increases that was tossed out by the state Supreme Court earlier this month. Governor Gregoire (D) signed the legislation November 29, 2007.
IL - Special session ordered this week to work on a financial bailout for Chicago-area mass transit. http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/20393.asp [5]
MD -- Maryland adjourned its special session on Monday, November 19, after reaching agreement on proposals to fix the state's budget deficit. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-assemblystory1119,0,... [6]
WA -- Governor Gregoire (D) is calling lawmakers back to the capital for a one-day special session on property tax issues November 29. http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/276522.html [7]
CO - Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald (D) resigned from the legislature on Tuesday, November 13. Fitz-Gerald wants to focus on running for Congress. Senate Democrats meet today to select legislative leadership positions. Sen. Peter Groff (D), of Denver, is expected to become the new Senate President. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_239... [9]
FL - Florida's government got more bad financial news Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007, as economists forecast tax revenue will be down another $1 billion, mostly because of the prolonged housing slump that has pushed Florida into a recession-like funk. That comes just weeks after lawmakers cut spending during a special session because of an earlier $1.1 billion shortfall. The combined shortfalls represent about 3 percent of the state's original $71 billion annual budget, which covers July 1 to June 30. Further budget cuts may not be needed because of a $1.8 billion reserve, but legislative leaders haven't ruled out calling another special session to deal with the latest shortfall. Another option would be to wait until the regular session begins in March 2008. Health care and education are the state's largest expenditures. http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20071114/APN/711140772 [10]
CA – The Democrats’ healthcare plan passed the Assembly Health Committee last week on a party-line vote of 10-5. Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D) said financing for the proposal is proceeding on a separate, but parallel track with a goal of placing it before voters on the November 2008 ballot.
LA – In Saturday's state legislative runoff elections, Republicans picked up 7 seven seats in the House, but Democrats still hold a slight majority. The House breakdown is now 53 Democrats, 50 Republicans, and 2 Independents. The Senate remains unchanged -- 24 Democrats, 15 Republicans. http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/politics/11565891.html?showAll=y&c=y [11]
MA – Massachusetts would increase its reliance on cleaner, renewable energy under a bill passed unanimously by House lawmakers. The bill creates a Department of Clean Energy to use the $25 million collected annually through small fees on electric bills to pay for energy-saving measures in municipal buildings across the state.
MI - A three-member panel of the State Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday on whether the lawsuit that cancelled the planned Presidential Primary vote on January 15 should be overturned and the primary election reinstated.
In Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) was soundly defeated by Democrat Steve Beshear (D) in the state's gubernatorial election. http://www.kentucky.com/635/story/223268.html [12]
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) easily won reelection over Democrat John Arthur Eaves. http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/SPECIAL... [13]In Virginia, the state Senate is now under Democratic control, after the Democrats stole four seats from the Republicans. Democrats now hold a 21-19 advantage in the Virginia Senate. The GOP was able to maintain control in the state House, although Democrats picked up four seats in that chamber as well. http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-11-07-... [14]
In New Jersey, Democrats picked up one seat in the state Senate to increase their lead to 23-17 in the upper chamber. Democrats lost two seats in the New Jersey state House, but still maintain a 48-32 majority. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj-eln--elections... [15]
In Michigan, the sales tax is still dominating the legislature's work - SB 845 was reported out of House Tax Committee with language to extend the implementation date for the services tax to December 20, 2007. In a separate action, the Senate also passed this week a complete repeal of the services tax.
In Pennsylvania, a plan that might come up on the House floor backed by some lawmakers from both sides of the aisle would eliminate school property taxes through an increase raise the personal income tax by 0.85 percentage points, to a total of 3.92 percent. In addition, the sales tax would be extended to include more services. House Democratic Leaders said that the full House would debate the proposals before the end of November.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Monday, Nov. 5, 2007, ordered all state departments to draft plans for deep spending cuts after receiving word that California's budget is plunging deeply into the red - largely because of the troubled housing market. State officials have warned the governor that the likely deficit for next year has jumped from a few billion dollars to as much as $10 billion, threatening to wipe out the progress Schwarzenegger has claimed in getting the state's accounts in order. http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_7382887?nclick_check=1 [16]
In Georgia, House Speaker Glenn Richardson's (R) is pushing a plan to substantially reduce or eliminate property taxes. However, the hit to state revenues would be made up through new sales taxes on food, prescriptions, and manufacturing equipment. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/printedition/2007/11/07/taxes1107.html [17]
Michigan's Service Tax Repeal Update - While most of the week’s focus in Lansing was on the budget, there was a fair amount of action this week on the Services Tax. First, the Senate passed SB 845, which delayed the implementation of the Services Tax until December 20, 2007. This bill was tie-barred to SB 838, which completely repeals the Services Tax. This action by the Senate was meant to be a signal to the House and Administration that the Senate would like to repeal the tax and is willing to take some time to discuss a replacement of the revenues generated by the Services Tax.
In Illinois, with the ink barely dry on a new state budget, two recently released financial reports already are raising concerns about whether state revenues will keep pace with spending. Both the bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and Comptroller Dan Hynes issued reports warning that income from some state revenues - particularly the sales tax - could be lower than expected. http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/19473.asp [18]
Wisconsin is facing a possible $72 million hole in the budget plan it just signed. In a move described as questionable and a potential time bomb, the state's budget balances on a gamble it will win a court case against the Ho-Chunk Nation. Passed just a week ago, the budget assumes that a court will order the Ho-Chunk to make payments to the state that the tribe says it does not owe. The state Department of Administration estimates the tribe will owe about $72 million in fees under its gambling compact by June 30, 2009. http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/1102wbud.htm [19]
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) has unveiled his budget proposal for the 2008 session, which increases state spending by $900 million over last year's budget. Higher education and children's health care programs are the big winners in Ritter's self-proclaimed "moral" budget. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_239... [20]
In Arizona, battles loom over how to fix a projected $600 million shortfall in the state budget. Agency and program cuts may not be the only options on the table for lawmakers when they convene at the Capitol in January. http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/metro/209968.php [21]
New York's Legislature [22] ended its special session (Oct. 22-23) this week much as it ended its regular session in June - in separate corners, with little agreement, and in a fight over Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D). The Democrat-led Assembly, like the Republican-led Senate in its Monday session, failed to agree on bills that would have provided property tax breaks for seniors, reduce limits on campaign contributions, approve hundreds of millions of dollars in public construction projects, or start to enact pay raises for judges and lawmakers. The Legislature often returns in December for short sessions, when these proposals could be considered again.
In Alaska [23], the special legislative session under way in Juneau is the result of the public corruption probe, as Gov. Palin called it, to remove what she calls the taint of bribery upon the Petroleum Profits Tax. And while legislators focused on oil taxes, they let slide an opportunity to reverse vetoes that the Governor made in the capital budget.
Hawaii [24] Gov. Lingle called the legislature back into session on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. The issues to be discussed are Superferry Service, Extended Sentencing Law, and Nominee Confirmations.
In Florida [25], a legislative standoff over how to deliver billions in property tax relief appeared to worsen after Senate President Ken Pruitt announced that his chamber would not convene until Monday, if at all. Lawmakers have until Oct. 30 to put any compromise plan on the Jan. 29, 2008, ballot for voters to decide.
Illinois lawmakers [26] take indefinite break - they still have unfinished business, but it appears state lawmakers won't be returning to Springfield for at least another week. Aides to Senate President Emil Jones and House Speaker Michael Madigan said Friday, Oct. 19, that they have heard of no immediate plans to reconvene what has become a record-setting overtime session - the original adjournment deadline was May 31.
Two-thirds of Louisiana's [27] 144 state legislative seats are settled, but the remaining contests in the November runoff election will determine whether the Legislature splits between Democratic and Republican control. The Louisiana Senate will stay majority Democratic, though nine of the 39 seats remain to be settled in the Nov. 17 election. But the battle for political control of the House continues.
A book [28] containing issue briefs on topics likely to confront lawmakers during the Kentucky General Assembly's 2008 session is now available in print and online. "Issues Confronting the 2008 Kentucky General Assembly" contains 26 issue briefs prepared by members of the Legislative Research Commission staff. The book is not meant as an exhaustive list of issues that lawmakers will consider, but reflects a balanced look at some of the topics that have been discussed in legislative committee meetings.
And in Michigan [29], "With efforts to repeal the state's new service tax ramping up in the Capitol, changes to another tax paid by business — the new Michigan Business Tax — are being eyed for replacement revenue."
And the Michigan Department of Treasury now has updated information on their website concerning the service tax.
Source URL: http://www.buses.org/node/777
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