Route Fifty

A recent Polco survey found that just 6 in 10 adults 50+ said their community is an excellent or good place to retire, and only 4 in 10 said the local services available for aging individuals were excellent or good. The findings highlight areas where local and state policies can improve. Learn what can be done to help older adults thrive.

This week Dan Vock looks at California Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order pushing cities to clear homeless camps. Plus: California’s gig worker law upheld, active shooter drills banned, pickleball named a varsity sport and more news to use from around the country.

COVID-era unemployment insurance fraud is estimated to have cost state governments up to $135 billion, the US Government Accountability Office reported last year. To combat the latest schemes, James Cotter, director of the Integrity Data Hub at the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, said continued efforts to modernize state unemployment systems and enhanced information sharing are the two best ways to get the problem under control. NASWA has tried to bolster information sharing between states, which often have disparate systems. Cotter said the association’s Integrity Data Hub, which allows states to submit unemployment claims to a database and then crossmatches them against other state data, has helped prevent around $4 billion in improper payments, and has conducted more than 64 million identity verifications. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/e6eai8AB #pandemicfraud #unemploymentinsurance #data #fraudprevention #stategovernment #publicfinance #dataanalytics

From deficit and pollution reduction to creating a fairer tax code, the stated goals of the climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, have been well-publicized. With this far-reaching piece of legislation also comes a slew of financial operations, tweaks and opportunities that organizations can embrace. Arguably the most notable—yet often overlooked—feature of the IRA is what it means for state and local governments … and their tax returns. Until the implementation of the IRA, states and localities generally had not had the distinct pleasure of filing tax returns, writes Jack Reagan at UHY LLP, Certified Public Accountants. However, under the IRA, certain costs that many governments regularly incur as they transition from traditional to “greener” infrastructure qualify for refundable tax credits if they file a tax return. Click the link below to learn about a few of the key opportunities that state and local governments should look for ahead of next year’s filing deadline, as well as best practices for taking advantage of them: https://lnkd.in/efPGdkbU #taxes #publicfinance #IRA #taxcredits #irs #greentax #stateandlocal

A relic of horse-and-buggy days in state constitutions is still causing havoc, hampering disaster relief efforts, inviting political chicanery and possibly even affecting Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of a running mate in the upcoming presidential election. Quinn Yeargain, a Michigan State University law professor who studies state constitutions, found that half of the states have rules in their charters that strip governors of their power as soon as they leave their home state. Instead, the lieutenant governor steps in whenever the governor is on a trade mission, attending a conference or simply taking vacation. These rules could have big implications beyond in-state politics, particularly in North Carolina if Harris wanted to pick the term-limited Gov. Roy Cooper for the vice presidential slot on the Democratic ticket this fall, Yeargain said. If the Democratic governor were to leave the state to campaign, it would leave Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican, in charge. Robinson, who is running to succeed Cooper in the country’s most competitive gubernatorial race this fall, is a controversial figure in North Carolina politics. Learn more from Dan Vock here:

State budgets are expected to shrink substantially in fiscal year 2025 as the post-pandemic era of surging revenue, record spending and historic tax cuts comes to a close. According to new data released by the National Association of State Budget Officers, or NASBO, total general fund spending is expected to decline to $1.22 trillion, a more than 6% drop from estimated levels in fiscal 2024, which ended for most states on June 30. On the revenue side, 2025 is expected to mark the first real—albeit minimal—increase after several years of state tax cuts played a role in shrinking collections. Total revenue in the new fiscal year is expected to increase 1.6% to $1.2 trillion, following an estimated 0.8% decrease in 2024, adjusted for inflation. That’s an improvement from fiscal 2023, when state revenue fell 5.9%, according to NASBO. “The flattening of state revenue growth that began in fiscal 2023 and continued into fiscal 2024 can be attributed to a combination of tax policy decisions, as most states adopted tax cuts (both one-time and recurring) in recent years,” the NASBO report said, adding that “economic factors, including a weak stock market performance in calendar year 2022, slower growth in consumption, and slowing of inflation” also contributed. Learn more from Liz Farmer from The Pew Charitable Trusts here:

Millions of Americans still lack access to the internet and the skills to leverage it. The Federal Communications Commission puts that number at 7.2 million people. An independent review of FCC data found it to be closer to 42 million people. Whatever the true number, Congress and President Joe Biden have designated around $90 billion in funding—spread across a plethora of initiatives through the infrastructure law and American Rescue Plan Act—to close the digital divide. On Wednesday, the federal government rolled out one of those programs. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that more than $910 million is now available under the Digital Equity Act’s Competitive Grant Program which is part of Biden’s “Internet for All'' initiative. The grant program, according to Davidson, aims “to support projects that help people in need obtain the skills and the technology necessary to reap the full benefits of the digital economy regardless of their background, zip code or circumstances.” Under the notice of funding opportunity, eligible applicants include city and county governments, tribal governments, nonprofits, community anchor institutions, local educational agencies and workforce development organizations. The 2021 infrastructure law mandates that funding goes to help underserved communities, such as low-income households, aging populations, incarcerated individuals, veterans, people with disabilities, people with language barriers, racial and ethnic minorities, and rural inhabitants. Learn more at Route Fifty:

True government innovation takes a lot—strong leadership, organizational buy-in, talented industry partners, new technologies and, of course, individual change agents. That's why we're so excited about this year's Rising Stars Awards—a joint effort of Nextgov/FCW and Route Fifty—showcasing the up-and-comers who are driving change across federal, state and local governments, as well as emerging talent at contracting firms. We're looking for early-career phenoms whose leadership, innovation and all-around extra effort are having a powerful and positive impact. Anyone in the government technology community is eligible—military and civilian, career and political, contractor, academic and association expert alike. Nominees must be less than 10 years into their government IT careers, and winners are chosen for their impact, so be sure to explain what a nominee did and what all that work accomplished. Nominate a Rising Star and highlight their innovate work at the link below:

States are introducing anti-immigration laws that criminalize illegal entry into the U.S. The policies suggest an attempt to invite the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a 2012 decision that blocked Arizona from using local police to enforce federal immigration law, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress, or CAP. "These states are enacting legislation that openly defies the limits of their authority, spreads fear and confusion throughout their communities, and wastes resources crafting and defending patently unconstitutional legislation,” wrote Tom Jawetz, a senior fellow for immigration policy at CAP. “Courts should continue to rule swiftly against these laws and prevent them from taking effect.” The Republican-backed laws in Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas are part of a larger effort by GOP officials to address what they believe is a migration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal courts have put all three laws on hold, finding that the states were improperly trying to usurp the federal government’s power over immigration. Learn more at Route Fifty: https://lnkd.in/e3EmjfAv #immigration #antiimmigation #GOP #texas #oklahoma #iowa #scotus #deportation

“Our 2023 financial report is 311 pages long,” says Ken Guy, finance director for King County, WA. “I compare that to Boeing’s 2023 financial report, [which] is 141 pages. Our financial report is twice as large, and I have to ask, why is that?” Guy is one of a growing number of state and local financial officials who are distraught over what they see as an avalanche of new accounting requirements every year for their annual comprehensive financial reports. This vast sea of data and documentation is required by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) to receive a clean audit based on generally accepted accounting principles. Joel Black, GASB chairman, is aware of these issues and points to some steps that the board is taking address the situation. “The first thing,” he says, “is that our agenda is smaller. We have created a higher bar before we [explore] a new standard, so the number of standards we’re looking at is half the size of what it was a few years ago.” Read more about the obstacles of financial reporting here: https://lnkd.in/eYNR9giZ #financialreporting #publicfinance #stateandlocalgovernment #accounting #cpa #auditing #data