The United States’ water infrastructure is aging. Federal surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022 found that the country’s drinking and clean water systems will need more than $1.2 trillion in repairs, maintenance, and upgrades over the next two decades. The bulk of this investment will be financed at the local level through higher water rates, which have not kept pace with rising operations and maintenance costs.
The share of states’ total revenue coming from federal funds declined again in fiscal year 2024, continuing a drop from pandemic-era peaks. The decrease largely reflects an uptick in state-generated revenue—particularly from taxes and other funds—alongside the phaseout of federal COVID-19 aid. Looking ahead, the federal share is likely to remain below pandemic highs, although changes in federal policy and fluctuations in state tax collections could swing it in either direction.
Federal funds have consistently played an important role in state budgets, accounting for more than a third of state revenue in recent years. However, recent changes in federal priorities—including funding pauses and spending reductions—have introduced uncertainty about how and to what extent federal funds support state programs and activities.
Tens of millions of Americans don’t have access to workplace retirement benefits, threatening their future financial security and burdening state budgets. In the last decade more than a dozen states and cities passed legislation establishing automated savings programs designed to help workers save for retirement. Also known as auto-IRAs, work and save, and secure choice, these programs allow small businesses to recruit and retain workers by offering a no-cost retirement benefit. And when workers are more financially secure, they are less reliant on taxpayer-funded government programs, better able to withstand financial shocks, and more likely to save for their future.
New Mexico made national headlines in the fall by announcing that it would become the first state to provide no-cost child care for all families. The state is expanding eligibility even as others are scaling back their child care ambitions and broader spending initiatives in the face of mounting budget pressures.
In one of the world’s most urbanized coastal environments—the waters around Hong Kong—pressure from human activities is threatening the vulnerable Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, known locally as the Chinese white dolphin.
This year, more than 2 million Americans will hear the words "you have cancer." That's 5,500 people each day—about one every 15 seconds. And as upsetting as that phrase might be, even more distressing is the word that often comes next: chemotherapy.
Tens of thousands of Indiana residents have used land contracts to purchase homes, farms, and other properties over the last two decades. Land contracts—sometimes referred to as “contracts for deed” or “land installment contracts”—are often risky and costly for buyers.
A growing number of mostly small and midsize cities struggling with new housing production have begun providing preapproved building plans to developers as part of a broader effort to lower the cost of building new homes in their communities. A preapproved plan is a reusable set of design specifications and blueprints that has already been approved by a local government agency and is available for builders to use either free or for a nominal fee. One key goal of these programs is to shorten the preconstruction approval process.
Grants from the federal government represent a significant but often overlooked part of state budgets. In state fiscal year 2023, federal funds were the second-largest source of state revenue, after tax collections, accounting for 36% of the 50 states’ combined total revenue.
Federal funds have consistently played an important role in state budgets, accounting for more than a third of state revenue in recent years. However, recent changes in federal priorities—including funding pauses and spending reductions—have introduced uncertainty about how and to what extent federal funds support state programs and activities.
In this episode of “After the Fact,” join us as we visit Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., to discover how the university is combining clean energy innovation with inclusive design. We hear from technical and policy experts, and one student intern on the project team, who explain how microgrids can make communities more self-sufficient, especially in the face of increasing electric grid failures and extreme weather events.
