Posts By Jeff Smith

Walker creates Free Market Health Care office, still looking for challenges to HCR

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker continues to define his position on health care reform. On Friday, the Governor signed an executive order creating the office of Free Market Health Care. The office will be tasked with handling the state’s response to new federal health care reform requirements. According to the executive order, the office will beRead… Read more »

New survey finds retirements, talent shortages hamper state IT shops

In a survey announced this week, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) said that continued declines in the states’ IT workforce will challenge service delivery and productivity in the coming years. Although respondents indicated that the weak economy has kept many workers at their jobs, an “inevitable tsunami of turnover,” should beRead… Read more »

Update: Governors plead for cooperation in addressing state, federal deficits

Earlier this week, CivSource reported that the National Governors Association sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to keep the states’ fiscal environments in mind when looking at ways to close the federal deficit. This letter came on the heels of growing chatter, coming from conservatives, about the increasing likelihood of states filing forRead… Read more »

Arizona launches school choice website

Arizona launched a new website focused on school choice in the state. Arizonaschoolchoice.com is designed to show all of the school choice options available to parents in their area. The website is a key part of the Governor’s, “Four Cornerstones of Reform Plan,” which she claims will empower parents when they make education choices forRead… Read more »

New Jersey goes after business in Illinois

Yesterday, New Jersey launched a print and audio campaign designed to attract business from other states and its first target was the state of Illinois. The campaign, which attacks Illinois 67% increase in income tax rates and 46% increase in corporate tax rates is calling on the business community there to relocate. The ads includeRead… Read more »

Ilinois signs comprehensive state Medicaid reform into law

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed new legislation that will establish comprehensive Medicaid reform in Illinois. The new reforms are designed to allow the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) to expand coordinated care in Illinois, offer a more efficient prescription drug program and crackdown on waste, fraud and abuse. The reforms are expectedRead… Read more »

Governors plead for cooperation in addressing state, federal deficits

In a letter to Congress yesterday, the National Governors Association (NGA) requested that federal officials follow a handful broad “principles” in reducing the state-federal deficit. The letter comes amid rising concerns from some Congressional leaders that states are in danger of needing bailouts or initiating bankruptcy procedures. According to the NGA, twenty-nine new governors areRead… Read more »

Minnesota to accelerate permitting, environmental review

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has signed an Executive Order that requires the Commissioners of the Department of Natural Resources and the Pollution Control Agency to “move at the speed of commerce,” by accelerating and simplifying their environmental review and permitting processes. The Governor claims that the changes are needed in order to make the stateRead… Read more »

New York City launches collaboration community – ‘Simplicity’

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the city will be launching its own internal collaboration community last week. The community will run on Spigit’s crowdsourcing software and represents the largest city project of its type. The Mayor announced the project as part of his State of the City Address. CivSource spoke with SpigitRead… Read more »