finance

Senate passes debt ceiling bill, approves new work requirements for benefits

States will have to meet stricter rules for those receiving food stamps and welfare assistance. Some worry it will actually hamper states’ ability to help people get back to work.

  • By Kery Murakami

Early funding allows states to explore broadband options

Vermont is using its share of the federal Capital Projects Fund for last-mile connections to underserved rural areas and boosting digital equity among disadvantaged residents.

  • By Chris Teale

Automation risks creating a two-tier workforce of haves and have-nots

As workplaces welcome more automated processes, staff members must learn modern skills to thrive in a tech-centric environment.

  • By Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, The Conversation

The pros and cons of the debt deal for states and localities

The deal doesn’t claw back billions of dollars promised under the infrastructure and climate laws, but it does keep federal spending flat and adds work requirements for food stamp recipients.

  • By Kery Murakami

State looks to better assess vendor security

Michigan wants a “security rating snapshot” of contractors as well as a public portal that details their financial risk.

  • By Chris Teale

How feds think data can buy time for people suffering a financial shock

Financial assistance programs need to respond quickly to be effective. The vast troves of government data offer opportunities to shave down that time.

  • By Aaron Boyd

State AG floats ‘nation-leading’ crypto regulation

The legislation would protect investors and consumers by increasing transparency and eliminating conflicts of interest, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James.

  • By Chris Teale

AI project targets hidden tax shelters

By flagging unintended consequences of changes to tax policies, AI researchers hope to shut down tax shelters used by sophisticated tax dodgers.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

How co-ops can deliver faster, less expensive procurement

Because vendors know a long-term contract will be widely available to state and local agencies, they tend to offer better prices and more services, one expert says.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Localize this: Public reporting of opioid settlement cash

As state and local governments are poised to receive long-awaited opioid settlement funds, a recent investigation found many jurisdictions do not have a framework in place to publicly report how settlement money is spent—but should.

  • By Aneri Pattani, KFF Health News

New HUD playbook guides underserved communities in accessing broadband funding

It seeks to help public housing authorities, multifamily owners and operators, and tribes determine how to spend federal broadband money to close the digital divide.

  • By Molly Bolan

Here’s what’s in Biden’s budget plan for state and local governments

The administration, among other things, wants to dramatically increase funding for housing and restore the child tax credit.

  • By Kery Murakami

Republicans want to incentivize states to recover stolen unemployment benefits

The House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill this week that would let states keep 25% of any money they recover that was fraudulently obtained or improperly given out.

  • By Kery Murakami

Demand heats up for grants management solutions

With state and local entities having to track extraordinary numbers of grants, thanks to unprecedented amounts of pandemic-related federal funding, the search for software that can simplify grants management is on.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz
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Treasury reopens ‘help desk’ for states and localities

The call center, which fielded 300 calls and about 2,000 emails a week before it was shut down, provided governments with assistance on the handling of various pandemic-related programs.

  • By Kery Murakami

The worker shortage is real. Could tech help governors close gaps?

Business leaders pointed to high-tech job training and tools like artificial intelligence as possible solutions to the historic shortage of workers.

  • By Kery Murakami

The end is near for outdated government financial reporting

COMMENTARY | Changes to federal law will require state and local governments to do what they should have done years ago for the benefit of investors and other stakeholders.

  • By Michael Granof and Martin J. Luby

A new initiative seeks to help small cities access infrastructure funding

The program will work with communities to assemble strong grant applications that can win some of the billions of dollars available.

  • By Molly Bolan

Real-time data on what muni bond investors think of your city

A new data tool offers a window into how investors are responding to changes affecting the financial outlook of individual governments, including trends like the rise of remote work.

  • By Liz Farmer