Florida: Norquist group cites state’s low taxes. Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) praised Gov. Rick Scott (R)’s tax cuts and Florida’s lack of an income tax. Citing an IRS report showing that thousands of residents of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania moved to the Sunshine State in 2013, ATR said in a release, “Florida is one of nine states that do not tax earned income, and one of only seven that do not tax any form of personal income,” adding that Scott and the GOP legislature have cut taxes some $2.6 billion since 2011 ……. North Carolina: State high court to hear redistricting case. Arguments were heard Monday by the state Supreme Court on a challenge to state lawmakers’ drawing of congressional and legislative district lines. The lawsuit was brought by the NAACP and others, who contend the lines were racially based. The issue went to the US Supreme Court, which sent it back to the state high court ……. Arkansas: Hutchinson wants change in college funding. Noting that the current formula for state funding of higher education is outdated, Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) told the department of higher education that scholarship funding “should be aligned so that at least a portion of the scholarship funds should be directed for targeted populations.” He also said the state needs to increase college degrees for minority students …….
