Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners — Thursday, April 14
Apr 14, 2011
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Stalled state budget talks may mean extended legislative session
House and Senate leaders made it official Wednesday: Budget talks have unraveled between the two sides.
Blog: Florida among states with tax loophole costing millions
States and local governments are losing roughly $275 million to $400 million in revenue each year because of loopholes exploited by online travel companies, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Lawmakers working to approve a state spending cap
House lawmakers are advancing a proposed constitutional amendment that has already cleared the Senate to put new limits on the power of future legislators to tax and spend.
Speaker: Florida CEOs not seeking corporate tax cut
No Florida CEOs that House Speaker Dean Cannon said he has talked to have asked for the corporate income tax cuts Governor Rick Scott has been pushing as part of his job-creation agenda.
Governor presses lawmakers for more dramatic overhaul of government worker pensions
Governor Rick Scott fired-off another challenge Tuesday to fellow Republicans in the Legislature — ridiculing House and Senate public pension proposals for not going far enough.
Telecom firm seeks property tax refunds from Lee County
CenturyLink has won a court judgment that it’s entitled to a $215,000 refund for its 2002 Lee County tangible property tax bill and possibly millions more for overpayments in subsequent years.
Bill would allow advertising on school buses
School buses might be the next place you see advertising in a proposal to raise money for education in a time of shrinking government budgets.
Committee OKs bill on union dues and gov’t pay
A bill prohibiting state and local governments from deducting union dues from public-employee paychecks if the money is used for political activity was approved on Wednesday.
Florida lawmakers may redo federal budget amendment
Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos wants a do-over for a resolution seeking a constitutional convention to pass an amendment requiring the federal government to balance its budget.
Supreme Court split to cost millions
Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham says that a legislative plan to overhaul Florida’s courts will “permanently disable” the state’s justice system.
Florida Senate panel forces casino expansion plan to fold for session
An attempt by Las Vegas’ largest casino operators to bring resort-style casinos to Florida appeared all but dead Wednesday as a Senate committee killed the bill, rejecting promises that the effort could bring new jobs and revenue.
Blog: Budget speak for dummies
The House and Senate have passed rival versions of the state budget and the negotiations between Republican leaders have already begun, although out of sight and quietly right now.
Educators at odds over value of standardized tests
Florida students will spend nearly 40 hours on state standardized testing throughout their academic careers – not including test preparation, retakes or new end-of-course subject exams.
5 large states, 5 different paths to fix budgets
California’s governor wants to maintain temporary tax increases to keep $9 billion a year flowing to the state treasury.
Taxes can vary widely from state to state
Every spring, millions of Americans rush to the post office to file their taxes before the April deadline.
New York Senate says it won’t deal on tax cap bill
New York’s Republican Senate leader, accusing the Assembly of foot dragging, said Tuesday he would not negotiate any changes that he feels would weaken a bill intended to cap the growth of property taxes at 2 percent.
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