Latest news with #StateoftheCommonwealth
CNBC
10-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Massachusetts is 2025's Most Improved State for Business boosted by financial independence from D.C.
For 400 years, the spirit of independence has served the people of Massachusetts well. In 2025, it helped the state achieve a turnaround of sorts in CNBC's annual America's Top States for Business study. The Bay State is America's most improved state in this year's rankings, rising 18 spots to No. 20 overall, after staging the biggest drop — falling 23 places — last year. Massachusetts was able to make that U-turn thanks to its relative independence from Washington. With federal budget cuts looming, this year's CNBC study considered their potential impact on each state's economy. Economy is the most important category in 2025, and Massachusetts improved its ranking in the category to No. 15, from No. 40 last year. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, federal funds comprised 30% of Massachusetts government spending last fiscal year. That made Massachusetts the 14th least dependent state on Washington (Wyoming was the least dependent at 19%; Louisiana was the most at 50%). In addition, Massachusetts' federal workforce of about 25,000 people makes up only about half a percent of its total workforce, according to data from the Congressional Research Service. That makes the state's federal workforce the eighth-smallest in the country relative to the total. "We tackle hard problems in Massachusetts. Hard stuff. Wicked hard stuff sometimes," Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, said in her State of the Commonwealth speech in January. She pointed to $1.5 billion in state funding for child care to make up for federal cuts after the pandemic. "We were the only state to fully replace federal support that went away," she said. Massachusetts still lags the nation in access to affordable child care, according to Child Care Aware of America, but it improved its performance this year, helping the state to an eighth-place finish in the Quality of Life category. But independence only goes so far, even in Massachusetts. The state is the third-largest recipient of federal health and science research grants, after New York and California. The Trump administration has taken aim at those grants nationwide, but nowhere more directly than in Massachusetts. Since April, the Trump administration has moved to freeze $3.2 billion in grants to Harvard University and to terminate another $100 million in federal contracts with the 389-year-old institution, accusing the university of liberal bias and of harboring antisemitism. The school has sued to block the cuts, citing the First Amendment, and the university's own efforts to curtail antisemitism on campus. But Christopher Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council — a business organization that has been advocating for the state's tech industry since 1977 — said Harvard is not the only institution threatened by the federal cuts. "We do have a large number of research institutions that are critically important to generating and contributing to our innovation economy here," he told CNBC. "Everyone's feeling the pinch," he added. In May, the University of Massachusetts directed department heads to develop budget scenarios that include 3% and 5% cuts. As of mid-June, the university said it had already received $29 million less in federal research awards than at the same time a year earlier. To blunt some of the impact of the cuts, the university established a matching fund that it says has committed more than $700,000 toward salaries and research funding that would otherwise be cut. But that money is a drop in the bucket, with the university normally receiving $180 million a year in federal research support, including $44 million in so-called "indirect" funding for facilities and administration that the administration has sought to sharply reduce. "Unfortunately, the commonwealth is really not in a position to play the role of savior as perhaps it could if it had been managing its state budget more appropriately," Anderson said. Anderson said that 15 years of what he called "unsustainable" growth in state spending have hobbled Massachusetts at the worst possible time. "At exactly the time when the federal government is cutting back, we find ourselves unable to invest quickly or effectively in the key economic development projects that are driven by powerful innovations like artificial intelligence," he said. Anderson also pointed to the Mass Leads Act, signed into law by Gov. Healey last year, which the High Technology Council supported. The four-year economic development bill purports to include hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for life science, climate technology, and artificial intelligence. While the law sets a goal of $4 billion for economic development, Anderson said only $251 million of that is currently funded due to state borrowing caps. "It doesn't allow Massachusetts to keep up," he said. An analysis by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics found Massachusetts roughly in the middle of the pack when it comes to state support for research and development, ranking 22nd in 2023. While Massachusetts improved its overall ranking in the CNBC study, it still has some serious issues beyond its budget pressures. It is the second-most-expensive state to do business in, behind Hawaii. Wage costs are the highest in the nation; utility costs are the third highest. And the state ranks No. 42 for Business Friendliness, with a heavy regulatory hand. Anderson said the long-term solution to the state's competitive issues might be to take that independent streak a bit further, encouraging research institutions to work more closely with the private sector rather than relying on state support. "This could be the beginning of a new era of collaboration between private sector companies and these institutions," he said. Join the conversation. Didn't see your state mentioned? You can see where it ranked overall, and in all 10 categories of competitiveness, in the full rankings of the 2025 America's Top States for Business.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat Beshear renews push for universal preschool in Kentucky
Gov. Andy Beshear appeared before a joint session of the House and Senate on Jan. 8, 2025 to deliver his State of the Commonwealth address. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Arden Barnes) Gov. Andy Beshear has signed an executive order to establish an advisory committee to explore support for universal pre-kindergarten programs in Kentucky. Beshear, a Democrat, has long supported implementing universal pre-K statewide. He again called on Republicans in the state legislature supermajority to fund such initiatives in his State of the Commonwealth Address earlier this year. However, top Republicans said their caucuses don't have a consensus on the matter. The executive order creates the Team Kentucky Pre-K for All Advisory Committee with 28 members representing experience in business, workforce development and education. Jamie Link, the secretary of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet is the chair of the committee. Other members include Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher, Council on Postsecondary Education President Aaron Thompson and former state lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican. Beshear announced the 'Pre-K for All' initiative with local leaders in Louisville Wednesday. The city launched a five-year plan for universal pre-K last year. The governor emphasized a need to offer all Kentucky 4-year-olds pre-K programs to increase kindergarten readiness. ''We are here, not as Democrats or Republicans, not as part of the right or the left,' Beshear said in a statement. 'Instead, we are here as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, educators and business leaders. We are here because we want the best for our Kentucky kids, the best for our Kentucky parents and caregivers, and we want to build and maintain the best workforce in America.' The Kentucky Center for Statistics says that 53.8% of Kentucky children are not prepared for kindergarten on the first day of school. Beshear also said that 18 states, including Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and West Virginia, offer pre-K access to 4-year-olds — further underscoring that he views the issue as nonpartisan. The advisory committee will hold public meetings throughout Kentucky and create a report on feedback heard by Oct. 15. That's a few weeks ahead of the beginning of the 2026 legislative session, which is when lawmakers will begin debating the next two-year state budget. Beshear, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and senior adviser Rocky Adkins will travel across the state in the coming days to highlight the 'Pre-K for All' initiative.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Healey announces business regulation reductions
BOSTON (WWLP) – Governor Healey is cutting state regulations to make it easier to do business in Massachusetts. This initiative, dubbed 'Massachusetts Means Business,' looks to cut or amend a quarter of all state business regulations to save business owners time and money. Governor candidate Mike Kennealy criticizes Springfield organization over 'disturbing' social media posts The Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation is in charge of these cuts and so far, they have committed to updating Division of Banks regulations to clear red tape, overhauling unit pricing for grocery and retail stores, improving access to cosmetology and barbering education, and updating trail signage regulation at ski resorts, among other changes. One business leader says the main complaint he hears from business owners is about excessive state red tape. 'Just getting their way through the red tape is something that really takes the owner of that small business' eye off the ball of serving their customers,' said President and CEO of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts Jon Hurst. Getting rid of regulations to bolster the economy sounds like a similar mission to that of DOGE, but the governor says her goals are very different and are meant to benefit consumers. 'What we are doing here is, I think, like, really constructive, thoughtful engagement with the business community. What's working? What isn't working? Let's get rid of what's not working,' Healey said. Governor Healey shredded a stack of papers at her announcement, representing how much easier it will be to run a business in Massachusetts. These regulation changes deliver on a promise the governor made in her State of the Commonwealth address in January. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kentucky's average public school teacher pay ranks 42nd in the nation, education group says
A teacher waves to her students as they get off the bus at Carter Traditional Elementary School in Louisville on Jan. 24, 2022, in this file photo. (Photo by) New reports highlighted by the Kentucky Education Association show that pay for public school teachers in the state fell in national rankings again this year. The annual reports from the National Education Association, the national teachers union, examine teacher pay nationwide. This year, Kentucky ranks 42nd in the nation for average public school teacher pay at $58,325 despite a 3.6% increase from the previous year. Last year, the NEA ranked Kentucky as 41st in average teacher pay. The national average teacher salary is $72,030, according to the 2025 data. In a press release, KEA President Eddie Campbell said the organization 'is deeply concerned about the General Assembly's lack of investment in Kentucky educators' pay.' 'Every school district across the commonwealth faces shortages of teachers, substitutes, bus drivers, custodians and office staff nearly every day of the school year,' Campbell said. 'Properly investing in our teachers' pay could help remedy this critical shortage and make Kentucky a competitive destination for educators working in our neighboring states. Until then, Kentucky will continue to struggle with staffing our public schools.' The NEA data also put Kentucky at 48th in the nation for average beginning teacher pay. According to the report, average starting teacher pay is $40,161 after a 2.4% increase over last year's average. Kentucky ranked 45th in average beginning teacher pay in 2024. Additionally, Kentucky classified workers — such as bus drivers, janitorial workers, administrative staff and cafeteria employees — were found to make an average salary of $28,088 per year, ranking 49th in the country even though the average salary increased 3.7% over last year. Salaries for public school employees has long been a political football in Kentucky. Throughout both of his terms, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has called for the Republican-controlled General Assembly to approve raises for public school employees, most recently during his State of the Commonwealth address in January. At the time, Beshear said that Kentucky voters' rejection of a constitutional amendment to allow the state legislature to fund nonpublic schools last fall was 'a mandate to prioritize public education.' However, days later at the annual Kentucky Chamber Day Dinner, Republican House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect, said the state legislature had provided a historic level of K-12 education funding. 'These are the same people that have not provided one single, substantive, creative, thoughtful, intentional policy change to improve education,' Osborne said. 'Because let's be clear, asking for more money is not big. Asking for more money is not bold. Asking for more money is just an ask — and it's not working.'During the 2023 gubernatorial election, then Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron released an education plan that called for raising the base rate pay of new Kentucky teachers to an annual salary of $41,500. Cameron, who ultimately lost to Beshear, is now campaigning for Kentucky's open U.S. Senate seat.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GOP changes to Medicaid in doubt after Democrat Beshear says legislature failed to fund them
Gov. Andy Beshear appeared before a joint session of the House and Senate on Jan. 8, 2025 to deliver his State of the Commonwealth address. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Arden Barnes) This article mentions suicide. The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. Changes the Kentucky General Assembly ordered in Medicaid face an uncertain future after Gov. Andy Beshear said lawmakers failed to fund the legislation. For the second year in a row, Beshear last week sent the House and Senate a letter listing bills that they had passed without providing what Beshear said was the necessary funding. Beshear sent the letter on the next to last day of the 2025 session, listing 11 bills and writing 'there is still time in this legislative session to add appropriations.' The Republican-controlled legislature took no action in response to the Democratic governor's letter, and Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, told reporters Beshear is obligated to carry out laws as enacted by the legislature. 'He wants to make some excuse about, 'oh, you didn't give me the money.' But it's basically: 'yes, you do have the money. Find it within your budgets,'' Stivers said. Among the 11 bills that Beshear said lack 'the appropriations necessary to implement' them is House Bill 695, which directs the Beshear administration to take steps to enact a Medicaid work requirement while prohibiting the administration from making any changes in the $15 billion program without first receiving the legislature's approval. The bill also creates a Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board to look for cost savings in Medicaid. Beshear vetoed the bill and the legislature easily overrode his veto. The clash comes as Democrats in Washington are bracing to fight Republican efforts in Congress to cut Medicaid — a federal-state program that covers health care for low-income people — in order to pay for renewing federal tax cuts. In the letter, Beshear said HB 695 would require rebidding Medicaid managed care contracts, which he said would cost the state $1.4 million, including hiring a contractor to help develop the request for proposal. The bill also is estimated to cost $500,000 in state funds to conduct a managed care long-term service study, Beshear wrote. In his veto of HB 695, Beshear said the Medicaid community engagement requirement, commonly called a work requirement, would 'undoubtedly' cost some adults their health coverage and also spark costly litigation challenging the requirement. Emily Beauregard, the executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health, said health care advocates are concerned about new costs associated with a work requirement. 'One of our concerns all along with HB 695 has been the additional administrative cost it requires to ultimately provide less health care, which isn't a good use of taxpayer dollars,' she said. Beshear's letter to lawmakers last week echoed one he sent the year before, which has sparked a lingering controversy over the state's failure to fund relief for kinship care families. Lawmakers have previously said Beshear has misinterpreted a 2005 state Supreme Court decision that he says precludes the executive branch from spending money the legislature has not appropriated. That decision came out of a cycle when the General Assembly passed no budget. Still, Beshear wrote: 'These holdings are simple: if the legislature creates a policy or program but does not provide funding, it does not intend for the executive branch to perform those services over the biennium. The omission of an appropriation is the same as its elimination.' Beshear also cited a more recent federal court decision. On Friday, Stivers criticized Beshear's handling of the kinship care issue, which resulted in months of back and forth with no solution for families who are raising minor relatives and need more assistance. 'He decided to expand Medicaid rolls, not do kinship care, but then he says he doesn't have the money to do it,' Stivers said. 'He picks and chooses what he wants to do, even though we've told him what to do.' 'We've talked about on this floor all the things he decided to fund without authority, things he does without authority. We send him bills, and it's his obligation to carry out those laws that we change and empower him to execute on,' Stivers said. Most of the funding for Medicaid comes from the federal government. Beshear said 1.6 million Kentuckians are covered by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Beshear's letter to lawmakers also said they had failed to take into account the costs of their decision to protect conversion therapy. House Bill 495 overrules restrictions Beshear had placed on the discredited practice and also prohibits Medicaid from covering transgender-affirming medical care. Beshear estimated it would cost $540,000 to $1.95 million in state funds. 'Flabbergasted:' Help for kinship care families passed unanimously. $20M price tag could derail it. 'Other states with similar laws have experienced an increase in suicide attempts, some by as much as 72%,' Beshear wrote. 'The increase in services expected include an additional six hours of behavioral health counseling and therapy, an increase in pharmacy costs and increased psychiatric hospitalization.' Among other bills Beshear said the legislature failed to fund: Senate Bill 4, which he said would cost at least an estimated $2.5 million to operate a centralized registry of artificial intelligence systems in state government and implement an AI governance process. House Bill 390 to set up an accessible online vehicle insurance verification system, which Beshear said would cost $600,000 to $1.1 million initially and then $750,000 a year to operate. Beshear also said that House Bill 346, exempting emergency temporary internal combustion engines from paying an emissions assessment fee and to retroactively refund some fees would cost the Division of Air Quality $1 million in expected revenue from fees. FILE_4515 (1)
