The Ferguson Group Blog

Wednesday News Roundup

Every Wednesday, the TFG Blog posts a series of articles published over the previous week that discusses topics of interest to local governments. Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup! 

Conference on Water Resources Legislation Described as Headed Toward April 30 Finish

Lead conferees are optimistic they can complete work on the WRDA bill by the end of April.  Previous statements by lawmakers on the conference committee, namely Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), suggest the biggest issues have been resolved, leaving only a few key issues left to conciliate. Read More…

Tax-Break Revival Said to Get U.S. Senate Committee Vote

The Senate Finance Committee could vote as early as the week of March 31 on extending dozens of currently expired tax provisions. Several tax breaks are under consideration, including the popular research and development tax credit and the wind energy production tax credit. Legislators have yet to decide whether to extend the breaks through the end of 2014 or 2015. Read More…

Where the Minimum Wage Has the Least Buying Power

Governing Magazine calculated adjusted minimum wages for more than 300 U.S. cities, showing the real buying power the minimum wage has in those cities.  The idea of raising the minimum wage to a “living wage” has gained attention in Washington, however, not enough attention for federal action to be taken. Local governments are now the ones taking the initiative. Read More…

Punishing Putin Fuels Energy-Export Drive in Congress

As a result of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the U.S. and international community have taken swift action to condemn the Kremlin, and Congress is considering loosening energy export restrictions in a move to lessen European dependence on Russian oil and gas, further punishing the superpower.   Three Congressional committees are holding hearings this week to consider exporting more oil and gas overseas, as many in Congress have concerns about how the move could affect us consumers and manufacturers. Read More…

California Experiments with Crowdsourced Legislation

A California Assemblyman is breaking ground in the legislative process by experimenting with crowdsourcing to draft legislation. The project allowed constituents to draft their own language, make suggestions, and edit bill language. The project has helped create draft language for a new probate law. Read More…

Unemployment Extension Vote Likely Delayed Until Next Week

In the midst of a packed schedule, the Senate will likely not hold a final vote on the unemployment benefits bill until next week.  Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said the Senate will consider the legislation after debate on Ukraine legislation. Read More…

Wednesday News Roundup

Every Wednesday, the TFG Blog posts a series of articles published over the previous week that discusses topics of interest to local governments. Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup! 

Time, Not Money, At Issue for Race to Top States

Eleven of the twelve states participating in the $5 billion Department of Education Race to the Top Program are struggling, but unlike most government program awardees, they aren’t struggling with budget constraints.  These states are asking for an additional year to address the program requirements, saying that four years is just not enough time to properly implement the new standards.  Read More…

New Orleans’ Winning Strategy in the War on Blight

In just three years, New Orleans went from perhaps having the country’s worst blight problem (an estimated 43,755 properties in 2010), to now being considered a national model for blight reduction. Since 2010, New Orleans reduced the number of blighted residential properties by about 13,000.  Read More…

Can Data Sharing Between States Keep People Out of Prison?

 A new program funded through the Bureau of Justice Assistance in conjunction with the National Governors Association aims to show high-level state officials how they can share information between departments and states to reduce prisoner recidivism, save money, and increase public safety. The three participating states will aim to establish a policy framework other state governments can use as they begin to share information between themselves and other governments. Read More…

Municipalities Increasing Parks and Recreation Budgets

An American City and County analysis shows that many local governments increased their parks and recreations budgets from 2012 to 2013.  Their analysis lists the top five municipalities with the largest parks budget increases.  More spending on parks and recreation may signify a rebound in local government budgets. Read More…

White House Announces New Climate Change Data Website

On Wednesday, the White House announced the creation of a new website that will play host to troves of climate data housed at different federal agencies.  The initiative aims to make information about climate change more accessible to all the communities, industries, individuals, and other interested parties trying to adapt to global warming. Read More…

Wednesday News Roundup

Every Wednesday, the TFG Blog posts a series of articles published over the previous week that discusses topics of interest to local governments. Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup! 

Supreme Court Deals Setback to Rails-to-Trails Movement

On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wyoming’s Marvin Brant, who filed suit against the government after the U.S. Forest Service told him that the government still retained the railroad’s right of way across his land, and thus had the right to build a bike path. The decision could mean trouble for the popular “rails-to-trails” movement. Read More…

Obama Moves to Boost Number of Workers Eligible for Overtime Pay

This week President Obama will look to boost the number of workers who earn overtime pay by updating regulations that exempt lower-level professionals from making overtime. Read More…

Government Infrastructure Spending Spills Over Into Local Economies

In a new report released by the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), researchers conclude that government-supported infrastructure projects have a positive “spillover” effect on local economies. That is, for every dollar spent on transportation infrastructure, the local economic growth is between $1.5 and $2.  Read More…

Hospital Preparedness Budget Cuts Could Severely Impact Emergency Response

The FY 2014 spending bill passed by Congress in January includes more than $100 million in cuts to the Health and Human Services’ Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP).  The nearly 30% funding cut could potentially have severe impacts on the ability of communities to respond to disaster situations.  Read More…

Wednesday News Roundup

Every Wednesday, the TFG Blog posts a series of articles published over the previous week that discusses topics of interest to local governments. Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup! 

Obama 2015 Budget: $3.9 Trillion

On Tuesday, the President released his FY 2015 budget request, ringing in with a price tag of $3.9 trillion dollars.  The President’s budget, however, is always very different from what Congress ends up authorizing.  FY 2015 will be no exception.  Read More…

DOA Budget May Have Life after Death

It is a well known fact that the President’s budget is not the end all for any fiscal year spending plan. What the President’s budget request does do is impact the political debate as Democrats and Republicans work to develop their own budget proposals. But even a budget that is considered “dead on arrival” has some ideas with a shelf-life beyond this week.  Read More…

City-Branded Gift Cards Used to Stimulate Local Economy

This spring, the City of New Haven, Connecticut will introduce a reloadable “Shop Dine Park” gift card that can be use at over 280 local businesses.  The City hopes to stimulate the local economy by making downtown parking and shopping a little easier.  Other cities throughout the country have had similar ideas. Read More…

Highest Minimum-Wage State Washington Beats U.S. in Job Creation

In 1998, Washington voted to raise the state’s minimum wage and link it to the cost of living. In doing that, Washington’s wage has climbed to the highest in the country; meanwhile job growth in the Evergreen State continues to outpace the national growth rate. This trend lends itself to the national debate on raising the minimum wage, where many argue that a wage increase would cause sizeable layoffs. Read More…

With Merger Pending, Comcast Expands Internet Program for the Poor

On Tuesday, Comcast announced it will expand its internet access program for poor families, and also announced more than $1 million in grants to help connect even more Americans to the internet. Comcast has a history of public service, spending more than $165 million to promote computer literacy issues alone. Although no one is passing judgment about their motives, Comcast is awaiting government approval of a merger with Time Warner Cable. Read More…

New Round of TIGER Grants Announced

Exciting News from the US Department of Transportation!  On Feb. 26, the Department released the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the next round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant Program, which is also known as “TIGER VI.” A total of $600 million is available for grants in this round of TIGER, which is a $50 million increase over the TIGER V round. The NOFA is very similar to the last round, except that there is a set-aside this time of up to $35 million for planning grants. These grants should be especially attractive for smaller communities and projects that are not far enough along in the environmental process to qualify for a TIGER construction grant. Another important change is the far longer length of time this round in which TIGER awardees will have to obligate their federal money (the shortness of which in the last round was something the Department wished to rectify).

The deadline for TIGER VI applications is April 28, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. EDT and you can download the NOFA on the TIGER website at: www.dot.gov/TIGER.