There are always a few items we’ve read during the week that deserve more attention but don’t make it into our regular posts. So we bundle them for the Friday roundup.
Here’s this week’s bundle:
Wichita Eagle: Brownback says he will sign school finance plan passed by lawmakers
Gov. Sam Brownback says he will sign a school finance bill that passed both chambers of the Kansas Legislature on Friday night with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Brownback, lawmakers and school officials all hope the measure will eliminate any possibility of a school shutdown next month and satisfy a Kansas Supreme Court order for more equitable school funding.
The study, released Wednesday by the Northwest Economic Research Center at Portland State University, projects the measure would trigger a nearly $3.38 billion jump in tax revenue from Oregon’s wealthiest 1,000 businesses next year and then gradually escalate over the next decade to $4.3 billion in 2027. Our Oregon, the union-backed group behind IP 28, paid the research center $45,000 to do the study…The state’s Legislative Revenue Office projects a slightly smaller $3 billion jump in tax revenue next year and then stabilize in that range over five years, which is as far as that forecast goes.
As for employment, the NERC study projects more than 30,000 government jobs would be created within a decade, almost double the state’s estimate. The private sector, on the other hand, would lose roughly 20,000 jobs over 10 years, versus the state’s estimate of 38,200 in half the time.
New Geography: Outer California: Sacramento Sends Jobs (and People) to Nashville
Even in small markets, house prices are prone to explode when demand exceeds supply, due in large part to land use regulatory and environmental law structure that restricts housing even in more remote areas, driving prices up (See William A. Fischel, Regulatory Takings). Figure 3 shows that California house prices in each of the three geographic categories were even more unaffordable during the bubble than today…
But people and businesses are moving to places like Nashville for reasons other than housing affordability…For at least 10 years, CEO Magazine has rated California as having the least favorable business climate. …Data recently released by the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA) indicated that California ranked last among the states in per capita attraction of manufacturing investments in 2015.
Washington Research Council: Auditor: Washington Health Benefit Exchange has reimbursement and reserves issues
Today the State Auditor’s Office (SAO) released a performance audit of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. The main issues uncovered are that the Exchange hasn’t been fully reimbursed by Medicaid for Medicaid services and that it does not have reserves or a long-term financial plan. The audit also notes, though, that the Exchange’s operating costs “appear reasonable.”
Jim Johnson and Kenny Down (op-ed): How the Trans-Pacific Partnership would benefit Washington’s seafood industry
For more than 100 years, Washington state has been home to a large segment of North Pacific and West Coast commercial-fishing and fish-processing operations. North Pacific fisheries alone account for 60 percent of all seafood caught in the U.S., and in 2014 they generated $8 billion in our state and produced approximately $3 billion worth of seafood exports. These seafood businesses support 24,000 Puget Sound jobs and have a tremendous economic impact on our region. Increased international competitiveness through trade agreements like the TPP help ensure these high-paying jobs stay in Washington.
