Some Arizona Republicans Pushing a State Tax Hike for Education

Arizona State Capitol

Arizona State Capitol EQRoy/Shutterstock

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Unemployment up in Illinois … Firefighters experiment with body cameras … What’s the future of the soda tax in Philadelphia?

For the first time in over a decade, some Republican lawmakers in Arizona are supporting a sales tax increase. The revenue from the hike would be earmarked for education, and would bring in an additional $400 million every year. "There is no greater priority for the future of our state than thoughtfully, flexibly and strategically funding Arizona’s schools," Kelli Ward, head of the state Republican Party, wrote in a op-ed supporting the plan. The tax hike would still have to be approved by voters on a 2020 ballot, and while Republican party leaders are supportive of it, not all legislators in the party feel the same. “I don’t know if my district is ready for another increase, even if it’s just to refer it to the ballot for a vote,” Republican Rep. Kelly Townsend said. On the other hand, Pennsylvania Republicans are backing expansion of a business tax credit that provides scholarships for students to attend private school. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington state (where Democrats are in the majority in both houses) passed a tax hike on Amazon and Microsoft to fund higher education and in Oregon a $1 billion tax plan for public schools won key committee approval and heads to the full House. [Arizona Capital Times; FOX 10 News Phoenix;]

SODA TAX STRUGGLES | Philadelphia’s soda tax has been one of the more divisive issues during Mayor Jim Kenney’s tenure. Now, the Philadelphia Inquirer has found that many City Council candidates for the May 21 primary election are opposed to the tax (although some of those in opposition say they wouldn’t scrap it without an alternative funding source). The tax, a signature item for the mayor, pays for pre-K programs and schools, as well as a program to improve parks and libraries. An effort to impose a 2-cent per fluid ounce tax on sugary beverages has been shelved in California, as soda taxes also failed this year in a number of other states. Many bills may fail at the state level due to pressure from American Beverage Association lobbyists, who spent over $1 million fighting the measure in California. [Philadelphia Inquirer; Governing; KJZZ; Kaiser Health News]

UNEMPLOYMENT | A new report indicates that joblessness is on the rise in Illinois, but state officials are arguing that the statistics are a good sign for local economies. The unemployment rate increased in 13 out of Illinois’ 14 biggest metro areas, with the Chicago area showing the only drop in unemployment. Officials noted that where unemployment increased, however, so did available jobs, as most counties created several thousand jobs in the past year. Earlier this month, the Economic Policy Institute reported that the black unemployment rate in Illinois, at 8.8%, is over twice that of the white unemployment rate, at 3.4%. Only Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia have higher black unemployment rates. [Illinois News Network; Public News Service]

BODY CAMERAS | Though police are more well known for wearing body cameras, firefighters in Sacramento are now experimenting with the digital tools. In an effort to provide better training, departments in the California city are now using body camera footage to improve their response to stressful rescues. They are also posting the footage online so that departments across the country can learn from their strategies. [CBS Sacramento]

MINIMUM WAGE | The Minnesota Senate passed a bill that would prevent localities from increasing their minimum wage above the state-set level, in a rebuke to Minneapolis, which set its own minimum wage at $15 two years ago. Republican leaders in the legislature say the measure is necessary to prevent a patchwork of local laws. Advocates for local laws note the difference in cost of living between major cities like Minneapolis and smaller towns throughout the state, where the minimum wage of $9.86 an hour for larger employers and $8.04 for smaller employers might be more appropriate. [Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal; Pioneer Press]

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.