LINCOLN, Neb. – A battle over Title X funding is front and center at the statehouse today. Senators will discuss Gov. Pete Ricketts' mainline budget provision that would restrict funding to Title X clinics that offer abortion-related services, along with other health care.
As a former senator and longtime member of the Appropriations Committee, ACLU Executive Director Danielle Conrad says crafting a balanced budget is hard enough without injecting an unnecessary ideological fight into the debate.
"Women and men who rely on the Title X program, their health and wellbeing [are] at risk by putting forward this really misguided language that can close clinics in our state," she warns. "And it's just so incredibly disappointing and troubling that our governor and his allies would risk the state budget for their own political gain."
Conrad says it could affect 40 clinics and likely result in closures. She notes it offers no budgetary savings for the state and adds that under federal regulations, abortion services are already excluded from Title X funds.
Julie Reno, who served as the state's Title X program manager before retiring, explains replacing closed clinics is challenging given the arduous Title X application process. She recalls asking a southeastern Nebraska agency to offer services in Lincoln when three health-care providers there refused to apply for Title X funds.
"If there are these many challenges in Lincoln, which has a lot of options, I just don't know what's going to happen if the whole state doesn't have Title X available," Reno says.
CEO of OneWorld Community Health Clinics, Andrea Skolkin, says closing Title X clinics would mean gaps in care for many low-income Nebraskans and shift the patient load to federally-qualified health centers.
"We would need increased capacity to do that, either in a number of providers but also, physical space," Skolkin explains. "There would be potentially waits, because even now, sometimes we don't have an appointment available."
Conrad adds that a similar attempt in last year's budget debate was successfully filibustered.
"The Legislature was very clear that these kinds issues should be better dealt with by the Judiciary Committee or the Health and Human Services Committee as part of a stand-alone, substantive proposal; that it was wrong to put these forward as part of budget trickery," Conrad notes.
Regarding the provision, the governor said "Nebraska is a pro-life state, so our budget should reflect our values," and noted it would only stop abortion providers from receiving taxpayer funds through Title X.
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A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point.
The Connecticut Voices for Children report reviewed the state's Tax Incidence Study, in which one of the biggest findings is how property taxes contribute to a regressive system. Because a town's mill rate does not adjust based on a tax filer's income, low- to middle-income residents spend more on housing as a percentage of their budget than those with higher incomes.
Patrick O'Brien, research and policy director of Connecticut Voices for Children and the report's author, pointed out Connecticut could have a more fair tax system by implementing a few policy changes.
"One, eliminate and/or close the state's tax gap, which was shown likely primarily benefits high-income and wealthy tax filers. Two, eliminate and/or reduce regressive tax expenditures. And three, possibly increase personal income tax rates on high-income and wealthy tax filers," O'Brien outlined.
He argued the new revenue could then be used to provide tax cuts for lower and middle-income households, and could help with creating a state-level child tax credit. One thing to note is the state's report was based on data from 2020.
O'Brien acknowledged the state has made changes to its tax system since then but the Connecticut Voices for Children report showed despite the new cuts, the tax system is still regressive.
The report detailed the effects of the state tax system beyond its residents. Connecticut has only recently come in second behind Massachusetts for income inequality.
O'Brien emphasized it is only exacerbated by the regressive tax system.
"This is really hurting the economic well-being of the state's low- and middle-income tax filers, and that, in turn, ultimately ends up hurting economic growth in the state as well," O'Brien contended. "It can have multiple effects that we're trying to address."
The report recommended creating a task force to ensure all future reports from the Department of Revenue Services have all the required information to get a thorough picture of the state tax system. The most recent report faced criticism for lacking some data.
Disclosure: Connecticut Voices for Children contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Children's Issues, Education, and Juvenile Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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While three initiatives received the go-ahead to appear on Washington's November ballot at the end the legislative session last week, three that have already been approved could also have a big impact on the state.
These measures could have an especially big effect on funding in the state. Executive director of Fuse Washington, Aaron Ostrom, said they also have a few more things in common.
"They're all funded by the same Republican mega donor, Brian Heywood, and all sponsored by the MAGA Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh," said Ostrom. "The second thing about them is that all three are deliberately deceptive and misleading. And then the third thing about these three is they all seek to cut billions of dollars in funding for critical public priorities."
The initiatives would repeal the state's capital gains tax, undo the Climate Commitment Act, and would make optional the WA Cares program - which helps people save for long-term care.
Heywood says he's backing these measures because no one in the state is challenging Democrats on taxes and other policies.
Ostrom said the initiative that would repeal the capital gains tax for profits of more than $250,000 - which fewer than 4,000 people paid last year - would leave a big hole in the state's budget, costing nearly $900 million a year.
"Initiative 2109 would repeal the capital gains tax," said Ostrom, "which would take billions of dollars in funding from child care and schools to give a tax cut to Washington's wealthiest."
Supporters of I-2109 say it is essentially an income tax, which is barred in the Washington state constitution. However, the state Supreme Court upheld the tax as constitutional in a ruling last year.
Ostrom said he believes all three initiatives are a threat to the state.
"These three initiatives would devastate funding for our kids and schools," said Ostrom. "They would dismantle our protections against air and water pollution, and they repeal efforts to care for our seniors."
Disclosure: Fuse Washington contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Health Issues, Human Rights/Racial Justice, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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Virginia child advocates are calling on state lawmakers to improve school funding.
The concern grew when several bills focused on building up school mental health failed in their respective General Assembly committees. The state is ranked 48th for youth mental health by Mental Health America.
Cat Atkinson, mental health policy analyst at Voices for Virginia's Children, said given the ongoing youth mental health crisis, now is the time for action.
"Having mental health professionals in our schools creates a space where, one, our young people are able to be where they're comfortable," Atkinson recommended. "They have built relationships with staff and are able to be in their schools, and to be able to have their needs met in a place where they are consistently."
The mental health staff funding bills failed or were continued to the 2025 session due to high costs. Combined, the bills would have called for around $120 million to be spent in the 2025 and 2026 budgets.
Beyond money, a long-term workforce shortage is depriving schools of having proper mental health staff. A KFF report found 48% of schools nationally have insufficient access to licensed mental health professionals.
The funding inconsistencies affect more than just mental-health services. A 2023 report found not only are school divisions getting less funding than most other states, but Virginia is still using the Great Recession as a benchmark for cost-reduction measures.
Atkinson pointed out a lack of funding affects not just schools.
"The trickle-down effect of our state underfunding public schools places a burden on the local communities," Atkinson argued. "Which leaves the quality of our young people's education to depend entirely on the neighborhoods they reside in."
She added the current situation is not equitable because community resources across regions vary significantly, but noted there are other ways to get mental health care in schools.
In 2023, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1300, which requires teachers to get trauma-informed care training every three years. Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Right Help, Right Now plan would also bolster school and community mental health needs.
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