More Bad News from Kansas Budget Analysts; Illinois Attorney General Charges Gas Utility of Bilking, Fraud

Here’s some of what we’ve been reading today…

TOPEKA, Kansas: More of the same economic news from Gov. Sam Brownback’s Sunflower State. The Kansas City Star reports that revenue estimates for the current year were “revised down” by $159 million this week. The newspaper called it “a hit so stunning” that the administration was forced to adjust its budget on the fly, moving around $124 million, including $48 million from transportation, just to cover state bills. And there’s no relief in sight. The new forecast for next year includes revised estimates that drop revenue totals by another $194 million. Minority party Democrats and moderate Republicans quoted by the paper seemed exhausted with the governor’s economic vision. “We’ve drained the state’s coffers,” said House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs from Kansas City. Overland Park Republican Stephanie Clayton said the tax plan, which has slashed income tax rates as a way to boost growth, “has driven Kansas consumers over the border, decimated funding for transportation and economic development and sent the signal nationwide that our state is in chaos.” [Kansas City Star]

CHICAGO, Illinois: Attorney General Lisa Madigan is calling on the Illinois Commerce Commission to investigate Peoples Gas, reports The Chicago Tribune. Madigan says that, in order to complete a $5.7 million merger with a Wisconsin Energy Corp., the utility hid the details of a skyrocketing over-budget project to replace 2,000 miles of aging leak-prone iron pipes.  

The Tribune:

Peoples has known since at least January that the projected cost of the project had ballooned from $2.6 billion to more than $8 billion, an audit published by the ICC at the end of September revealed. That would cost each Peoples Gas customer around $7,700 over the life of the project, Madigan's office says. Even a $4 billion project would double Chicago customers' base rates, Madigan has previously said.

The Illinois Citizens Utility Board joined Madigan’s petition and also asked the Commission to completely re-evaluate the People’s Gas pipeline project. [The Chicago Tribune]

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico: Lawmakers in the Land of Enchantment are exploring how best to address a string of murders carried out by teenaged shooters this past summer, reports The Albuquerque Journal. Republicans have introduced legislation that would allow cities to establish curfews and that would toughen penalties for crimes against teens. Democrats will attempt to boost mental health programs and raise pay for police and other public safety workers. Under the proposed curfew bill, city and county officers could detain minors out at night or during school hours. The New Mexico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said the curfew law would violate young people’s civil rights. [The Albuquerque Journal]

BILLINGS, Montana: City Engineer Debi Meling is scheduled to update the city council next month on how the art and science of traffic engineering will be applied to city streets in the coming years, reports The Billings Gazette. Balancing safety and fluidity takes a measure of instinct, she said. “It is never as straightforward as I would like. We have to look at things that aren’t concrete and numerical.” Meling is looking to hire a third city traffic engineer. According to the newspaper, there are 4,633 intersections in Billings: 1,922 are four-way stops; 1,375 have at least one stop sign; roughly 160 are “governed by a traffic signal.” The rest of the intersection are “uncontrolled.” Old approaches to establishing speed limits no longer apply. The limits “used to be put in place at the 85th percentile,” reports the paper—the speed at which 85 percent of drivers comply. Now the limits are calibrated according to considerations about merging capabilities, crosswalk usability and the proximity of schools and bus stops. “We are going to be stepping back and taking a good hard look at what we need to do … at how we do what we do,” said Meling. [The Billings Gazette]

BISMARCK, North Dakota: State employees are bristling and so are legislators, who are looking to tighten laws around the Peace Garden State’s recruitment and retention bonus program after learning that Gov. Jack Dalrymple in June divvied up $100,000 in bonuses to four members of his staff. The Fargo Moorhead Forum reports that Senate Minority Leader Mac Schneider, D-Grand Forks, said Democrats and Republicans at the capitol feel the bonus program is intended for positions such as oil-and-gas regulators, nurses and highway patrol officers—talented workers in key positions who often are lured away to better-paying options in the private sector. "Never did any of us discuss or even contemplate that tens of thousands of dollars would be going to political appointees," Schneider said. [InForum]

(Photo by Gage Skidmore / Flickr.com)