ProGov21 Policy Library

The Case for Extending State-Level Child Tax Credits to Those Left Out: A 50-State Analysis

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Children & Families

The current federal Child Tax Credit (CTC), which provides up to $2,000 per child, is designed to provide an income boost to parents or guardians of children and other dependents. However, many low-income families do not receive the full benefit of the federal credit due to an earnings...

Work Innovation and Opportunity Act and Job Quality

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year -

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source CLASP

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

Through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), local governments can leverage training funds to improve job quality. This guide recommends using WIOA plans to offer employment incentives including higher wages, paid leave, reliable and flexible schedules, and career...

State Itemized Deductions: Surveying the Landscape, Exploring Reforms

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

Thirty states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) allow a broad category of tax subsidies known as itemized deductions, used to reduce taxpayers’ taxable income. Itemized deductions are regressive, offering the largest benefits to higher-income taxpayers and little or no benefits...

2019 San Francisco Ordinance 001-19 Requiring Project Labor Agreements for Public Works and Improvement Projects

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) California

Source City and County of San Francisco

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This resolution establishes a "right to counsel" program that would provide Milwaukee County residents facing eviction or foreclosure with no-cost legal representation. It also authorizes an appropriation of $916,576 from the County's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to fund...

Moving Toward More Equitable State Tax Systems: A “Who Pays?” Follow-Up Report on Tax Policy Options for Advancing Equity and Addressing Income Inequality

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Public policies are contributing to the widening income and wealth gap. This report provides recommendations that policymakers can take to improve their constituents’ lives and their states’ economies through tax policy. It explains the importance of favoring taxes on income and wealth...

2017 Seattle Ordinance 125339 Taxing the Rich

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) Washington

Source Seattle City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This ordinance imposes an income tax on high-income residents, particularly individuals with total income above $250,000 per year. It also outlines payment methods and deadlines, describes eligibility for credit, establishes an examination process, issues amnesty and penalties for...

Building Back Better Means Raising Wages for Public-Sector Workers

Type Article

Year 2022

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

Local governments can use federal recovery funding to invest in their workforces and prevent employee turnover. This article examines public-sector employee wage data and finds that increasing wages for local government employees can mitigate gender and racial pay gaps. It highlights...

2021 Milwaukee Resolution 21-506 Establishing a Right to Counsel Program

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2021

Level County

State(s) Wisconsin

Source Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Housing

This resolution establishes a "right to counsel" program that would provide Milwaukee County residents facing eviction or foreclosure with no-cost legal representation. It also authorizes an appropriation of $916,576 from the County's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to fund...

Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Policy Areas Economic Justice

No two state tax systems are the same. This report provides detailed analyses of the features of every state tax code and assesses their fairness by measuring effective state and local tax rates paid by all income groups. The report concludes the following findings: the majority of...

Executive Orders Extending Property Tax Relief Programs for Veterans, Older Adults, and Individuals with Disabilities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town, County, State, National

State(s) All States

Source Office of Legislative Research

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This report provides an overview of the Executive Orders (EOs) that suspend recertification requirements for recipients of certain property tax relief programs for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and veterans and their family members. In particular, this report focuses...

The Property Tax Circuit Breaker: An Introduction and Survey of Current Programs

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2007

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This report provides an introduction to property tax circuit breakers and describes the main features of circuit breaker programs currently being administered in eighteen states. Some of the features discussed include eligibility restrictions (based on whether the taxpayer is a homeowner...

Property Tax Circuit Breakers in 2019

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Residential property taxes are regressive, requiring low-income taxpayers to pay more of their income in tax than wealthier taxpayers. In order to make residential property taxes more affordable, state lawmakers can pursue a “circuit breaker” approach, in which taxpayers earning below...

Raising Revenue Through Municipal Corporate Taxation

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, State

State(s) All States

Source Local Progress

Policy Areas -

The 2017 partisan tax reform law accelerated the United States’ rising inequality by slashing taxes of wealthy individuals and corporations and expanding the federal deficit, ultimately straining municipal budgets. In order to restore fairness to the tax code and generate revenue...

Enforcing Job Quality Requirements for States and Cities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2024

Level City or Town, State

State(s) All States

Source EARN

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Across the U.S., workers and their communities continue to grapple with historic levels of inequality. States and cities must harness the full potential of infrastructure spending by attaching and enforcing robust job quality requirements on all federally funded projects. This memo...

Racial Equity and Taxes in Southern States

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

Generally, southern states levy taxes in a way that worsens racial and economic equity. Most southern states raise less revenue than states in other regions, leading to underinvestment in people and places. This lack of revenue contributes to staggering levels of poverty, particularly...

Property Tax Circuit Breakers: Fair and Cost-Effective Relief for Taxpayers

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2009

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

Property tax circuit breakers provide households with direct property tax relief that increases as household income declines. In addition to analyzing the advantages of circuit breakers, this report outlines the basic types of property tax circuit breakers and examines whether eligibility...

Navigating Legal Pathways to Rate-Funded Customer Assistance Programs

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town, State

State(s) All States

Source University of North Carolina Environmental Finance Center

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

Low-income families are significantly burdened by rising water utility rates. This guide explains how water and wastewater utilities can establish payment assistance programs even when facing state-level regulatory restrictions. It also features utility-level case studies that exemplify...

The Case for Progressive Revenue Policies

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2019

Level City or Town, State, National

State(s) All States

Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

The United States needs to address growing inequality and raise more revenue to fund critical public investment. One way to accomplish both goals is to enact legislation that raises taxes for high-income or high-wealth households. This infographic includes figures that demonstrate...

Can Hospitals Heal America's Communities?

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source The Democracy Collaborative

Policy Areas Community Development, Health

The United States spends significantly more money on healthcare than any other nation. Despite this fact and despite significant improvements in the quality of healthcare over the last century, the nation's relative standing in health outcomes and life expectancy continues to erode....

Women at Work Five Years Since the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Any Progress?

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2025

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Institute for Women's Policy Research

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Women's employment was disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, especially women of color. While occupational gender segregation fell after the pandemic, it only recovered when jobs in childcare centers did, and it has started to rise again for parents of young children. Local...

Strategies for Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating Grow-Your-Own Teacher Programs for Educators

Type Act or Session Law

Year 2017

Level School Board, School District

State(s) All States

Source Department of Education

Policy Areas Education

School districts are struggling to hire and retain highly qualified educators. Grow-your-own (GYO) teacher programs recruit and train teachers from within communities to bring racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity and skills such as bilingualism into schools. These programs are often...

Miami-Dade County ordinance prohibiting retaliation against nonessential employees for complying with County evacuation orders

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2018

Level County

State(s) Florida

Source Miami-Dade County

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Economic Justice

Section 8B-11.1 of the Miami-Dade County Code makes it unlawful for an employer to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against a non-essential employee who complies with County evacuation or emergency orders. This ordinance, passed in the wake of Hurricane Irma, aims to protect workers'...

Congestion Pricing Program · NYC311

Type Act or Session Law

Year 2025

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source -

Policy Areas Community Development, Environment & Natural Resources

New York City's congestion pricing program, also known as the Central Business District Tolling Program (CBDTP), officially began on January 5, 2025. The program is intended to reduce traffic congestion by charging vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street a toll. Authorized...

Seattle Bill 034 - Late Fee Cap for Overdue Rent

Type Act or Session Law

Year 2023

Level City or Town

State(s) Washington

Source Seattle City Council

Policy Areas Housing

Seattle's City Council passed Bill 034 to cap late rent fees at $10. The new bill also prohibits landlords from charging other auxiliary fees and is intended to reduce compounding debt for people struggling to pay for housing. ...

King County Code 12.20

Type Act or Session Law

Year 2022

Level County

State(s) Washington

Source King County Government

Policy Areas Housing

Large rent increases in King County, WA left families struggling to find affordable housing. Protections were implemented to ensure notice of rent increases, limit move-in costs, cap late fees, and more. ...

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