Every state imposes a tax on cigarettes, but those taxes vary considerably. States with the lowest taxes on cigarettes include Missouri (17 cents per pack), Virginia (30 cents per pack) and Louisiana (36 cents per pack), although both Missouri and Virginia are among the few states that allow counties and cities to impose an additional tax on cigarettes (in Missouri, from 4 to 7 cents and in Virginia , 2 to 15 cents). Fourteen states plus the District of Columbia impose a $2.00 or greater tax on a pack of cigarettes, with the biggest taxes in New York ($4.35 per pack plus $1.50 per pack in New York City), Rhode Island ($3.50 per pack) and Connecticut ($3.40 per pack). The U.S. median tax is $1.36 per pack.

A team of subject matter experts who are tasked with drafting an EMS Licensure Compact will meet for the first time next week in Washington, DC.  The meeting is being convened jointly by CSG’s National Center for Interstate Compacts and the National Association of State EMS Officials. 

According to a recent Stateline article, while the health benefits of state cigarette taxes are “undeniable,” the impact on state revenues is less clear cut. A main contributor to this murkiness is the fact that smugglers (both dedicated and casual) are taking advantage of differing state tax rates on cigarettes. Because the tax differential can be quite wide between various states, smugglers are able to buy cigarettes at a cheaper rate in a low tax state, drive to a high tax state and sell it at below “market value” and pocket a profit. Charles Mulham, an ATF agent and New York public information officer, told Stateline that "in the past few years, as taxes have gone up, you do notice it (the increase in smuggling)”.

The Pew-MacArthur Results First initiative, a project of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, works with states to implement an innovative cost-benefit analysis approach to policy evaluation that helps them invest in policies and programs that are proven to work. This webinar takes a look at how Results First works and why using this approach to policy decision-making can lead to better, more efficient use of scarce state dollars while simultaneously ensuring that outcome goals are being met or exceeded.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 29 states set new records for export sales and 35 states saw an increase in merchandise export growth in 2012—20 of whom saw growth rates of five percent or more.  Nationally, exports increased 4.5 percent from 2011 to 2012. The value of total goods and services exported in 2012 reached a record $2.2 trillion nationally and supported 9.8 million jobs.

Here’s what should scare anyone concerned about the state of the nation’s infrastructure after last week’s collapse of the I-5 bridge over the Skagit River north of Seattle: that wasn’t even one of the bridges in particularly bad shape and it wasn’t in one of the states particularly known for bridges in bad shape. And while that incident—and the subsequent collapse of a highway overpass in Missouri—has once again kick-started the calls for additional funding to shore up crumbling infrastructure, analysts believe they are unlikely to have much impact in prompting policy makers to take action.

While most states reimburse employees for work-related use of private vehicles at the federal rate set by the Internal Revenue Service, some states vary in their reimbursement rates. Thirty-six states in 2013 reimbursed public employees for work-related use of their own cars at the mileage reimbursement rate set by the IRS—56.5 cents per mile.

We may have overlooked a key demographic shift as we stumbled into the 21^st century. At some point in the prior decade, poverty in the suburbs began to grow at a faster rate than poverty in central cities. The number of suburban poor grew by 64 percent between 2000 and 2011; that’s more than double the rate for cities. This new, dispersed poverty offers some fresh challenges for policy makers. Being away from the bustle of the city was always the point of suburban living but this creates a unique transportation barrier as the poor are now  farther away from their jobs and traditional programs which serve them.