State budgets

Texas continued its record-setting pace in October with monthly sales tax revenue growing 7% year-over-year to $2.82 billion.

The New Jersey Department of the Treasury released $53.7 million of $104.8 million in suspended transitional aid.

Jared Polis proposed a $34.5 billion budget, including $13.8 billion for the general fund.

The federal government has been operating on a stopgap budget since the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year but President Trump has declined to give any assurance he will agree to another one past Nov. 21.

Andrew Rein president of the watchdog Citizens Budget Commission, tells The Bond Buyer's Paul Burton why New York City voters on Nov. 5 should vote yes on ballot Question 4, which calls for a dedicated rainy-day fund. The state must also approve the change.

Optimistic investment assumptions are the primary cause of public-sector pension plan underfunding, according to a report by Hilltop Securities.

State Treasurer Randy McDaniel said the state’s efforts to increase reserves, eliminate structural deficits, improve pension finances, and diversify the state’s economy are working.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's administration says the forecast shows that Illinois needs to change its income tax structure.

The taxing and regulating of a new product that's ingested into the lungs to deliver nicotine is dealt with under federal, state and local laws. William Cox explains Kroll Bond Rating Agency's thoughts about vaping and the associated revenues for governments. John Hallacy hosts.

A Senate committee has approved a bill requiring remote sellers to collect the state's 6% sales tax. It could generate $700 million in new revenue.

Andy Byford, president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's transit division, wrote a letter of resignation before rescinding it.

The state avoided a government shutdown, enacting a budget that came with over 100 line item vetoes by the Democratic governor.

Climate expert Alan Rubin of Blank Rome LLP discusses resiliency and recovery funding mechanisms, rating agency dynamics and how states and cities can cope effectively. Paul Burton hosts.

The state aid will be especially helpful for cash-strapped municipalities that are already charging customers high water rates, Moody's said.

Massive borrowing for essential projects in the face of a projected deficit spike is a dilemma as its $51.5 billion capital program undergoes scrutiny.

Spending and economic strains loom as challenges for the state government, S&P Global Ratings’ Carol Spain said in a recent presentation.

The Bourne and Sagamore bridges over the Cape Cod Canal are functionally obsolete, according to their owner, the Army Corps of Engineers.

The strength of the state’s credit profile, coupled with a supply-demand imbalance for tax-exempt bonds, has helped the state in the market, a new report says.

William Glasgall, Senior Vice President and Director of State and Local Initiatives at the Volcker Alliance, sits down with Chip Barnett and Lynne Funk to talk about why states should bolster their rainy day funds.

Charter schools' typically modest unrestricted reserves and limited operating margins leave them vulnerable if state aid stops flowing, said S&P Global Ratings.