Topic: Pew Center on the States

Governors urge action to avoid tumbling off 'fiscal cliff' (+video)

Six governors met Tuesday with President Obama, urging timely resolution of the tax and spending negotiations. If automatic cuts go into effect, states stand to lose 18 percent of federal grant money.

Tax VOX Fiscal cliff: Will the states tumble, too?

Fiscal cliff talk has been mostly focused on what would happen to the federal budget and the national economy. But what impact would the fiscal cliff have on individual states?

Voting fraud in Election 2012: How common is it? (+video)

The son of Rep. Jim Moran has resigned from his father's campaign for apparently condoning voter fraud. In the lead-up to Election Day 2012, both Democrats and Republicans have had such episodes.

Opinion: In Pennsylvania, the Rosa Parks of voter ID faces down GOP voter suppression

A Pennsylvania court will hear a suit challenging the state's voter ID law, which requires a volume of voter qualification proof not present in a Supreme Court ruling that upheld voter ID. Leading the charge: a 93-year-old black woman. If she loses, Republican voter suppression wins.

Public-employee pensions face a rollback in Calif.

The pensions of public employees have long been considered untouchable. Some politicians are saying those obligations are trumped by the need to provide for the public's health and safety.

Cover Story US prison inmates returning to society: How will they be received?

States, eager to save money and adopt alternatives to incarceration, release inmates in record numbers. Is society ready for the surge? 

Cover Story No child left alone: Volunteers mentor children of inmates

With 2.3 million inmates behind bars in the US, the goal of volunteers in mentor programs for the 2.7 million children of prisoners is: No child left alone. Despite government cuts in funding, the programs continue.

The Monitor's View: Young people, post recession: Ready to launch?

Post-recession data and the government's pro-elderly policies don't give much hope to Millennials. Yet they remain surprisingly optimistic.

Illinois leading states facing a pension crisis

In a crisis that built up over years of paying in too little, Illinois's pensions were only half-funded by 2009, according to a new report. They're the worst offender, but they're not alone.

Opinion: How red-ink states should make tough budget decisions

How states handle painful budget choices will have a deep impact on millions of Americans. Too often, states resort to across-the-board cuts that hamstring effective programs and preserve duds. Instead, using results-based analysis gives citizens the best return on their tax-dollar investment.

Around the US, rallies lend moral support to Wisconsin public workers

Public employees protesting Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to weaken collective bargaining in Wisconsin have been joined by steelworkers, teamsters, nurses, airline pilots, and other private sector workers. In state capitals around the country, supporters rallied as well.

Emptier prisons: Inmate population drops for first time in 40 years

The number of inmates in state prisons declined in 2009 after a long upswing. Efforts to control skyrocketing corrections budgets are a key reason.

States cap workers benefits to reduce shortfalls: Is your pension fund at risk?

States' pension fund holdings are short $1 trillion. Illinois's answer: Cut benefits for state workers. But even that might not be enough.

Want a balanced federal budget? Cut state workers' pay.

On average, state workers make $39.66 an hour, have traditional pensions untouched by stock market moves, and are laid off at one-third the rate of private-sector workers. Considering concerns about the federal budget, are government jobs too cushy?

Pew Center on the States: Top eight states with worst pension woes

State pension funds are $1 trillion short, according to the Pew Center on the States. How does your state stack up?

Oregon voters raise taxes on wealthy, businesses

Oregon voters Tuesday approved Measures 66 and 67 that would raise taxes on the wealthy and on businesses. The vote suggests Americans may be willing to accept some types of tax hikes even in these hard times.

Judge delays Oklahoma plan to post abortion details online

An Oklahoma law would require women having an abortion to fill out an anonymous questionnaire, the results of which would be made public. A legal challenge to the law will be decided Feb. 19, a judge said Friday.

The Monitor's View: An opportunity in prison budget cuts

States can release many nonviolent inmates safely and find other ways to reduce costs.

Report: 'Green' jobs outpacing traditional ones

The "green" energy and transportation sector is emerging as a vital part of the US economy, though still small compared with oil and gas, says a new study.

The Monitor's View: Doing time – outside prison

States can move more offenders into supervised programs while still protecting the public.

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The Monitor's View: One way to cut prison costs

"Drug courts" could be an alternative to mandatory minimum sentences. State general-fund spending on corrections has risen 127 percent in two decades, according to a recent report.

Battles rage over new voters

Legal disputes loom as the political parties spar over voter lists, new registrations.

These banks step in to avert foreclosure

A handful of community-development institutions offer modified interest rates to at-risk borrowers.

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