CSG Midwest

Through either statutory provisions or legislative rules, most states in the Midwest have policies to ensure that lawmakers understand the monetary impact of proposed bills on local governments.  A 2013 CSG Midwest survey of nonpartisan legislative service agencies (which provide these fiscal estimates for lawmakers) highlighted the different policies employed by the region’s legislatures. In some instances, fiscal notes are only prepared upon request.

When do minor political parties qualify to have their candidates appear on state ballots? The answer varies widely across the country, depending on each state’s set of ballot-access requirements. Ohio became the latest state to change its law with this fall’s passage of SB 193. Two days after the bill was signed into law, the Libertarian Party of Ohio challenged the measure in federal court. The legal showdown comes less than a decade after a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s previous rules were too restrictive.

Strategies to help veterans find jobs continue to expand in the Midwest, with Michigan, Iowa and Kansas among the states establishing new programs or policies in recent months.

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Not far from the North Dakota state Capitol in Bismarck stands a sleek, glass-covered building that, at first glance, belies its historic ties to the state’s progressive-era roots.

Despite its modern façade, however, the Bank of North Dakota — the nation’s only state-owned and state-operated bank — stands in part as a testament to the agrarian revolt that engulfed the young state and eventually ushered in a sweeping series of government reforms almost 100 years ago.