Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed a fiscal plan that includes a 4% statewide seasonal sales tax, effective through 2034, as part of his plan to bring Alaska’s state revenue and expenses in line for the long term. If adopted, the sales tax would be Alaska’s first statewide, general-purpose levy since state legislators abolished Alaska’s income tax in 1980.
Roadmap 4 Innovation (R4I), a newly established nonprofit organization, announced its official launch on Jan. 28 to ensure continued access to technical assistance, training, and business support for California manufacturers and entrepreneurs. R4I builds on the legacy of California Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC), the former state MEP Center. It has a renewed focus on building a workforce-of-the-future model that creates a reliable, scalable pipeline of job-ready and future-ready manufacturing talent across the state.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order on Feb. 5 that directs his state’s roughly two-dozen regional universities and community colleges to "phase out tenure" and instead employ faculty members on renewable contracts "tied to teaching effectiveness, student completion, job placement, and economic alignment.” Those professors who are currently tenured at the affected academic institutions along with tenured faculty at Oklahoma’s research universities, will continue to retain their tenure pending successful mandatory performance reviews by their respective institutions over the next five years
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive directive that halts the issuance of H-1B visas without permission of the state’s Workforce Commission through the end of the 2027 (May 31, 2027) legislative session. As part of the directive, all visas to the Texas public universities and state agencies are frozen, with the governor ordering the agencies and higher ed institutions to submit detailed reports to the commission involving the number of new/renewed H-1B visas, job titles, countries of origin and visa expiration dates, as well as documentation showing that efforts were made to provide qualified state residents opportunity to apply for positions held by H-1B visa holders.
