State Budget Shortfalls — November 18, 2011
This week’s update: http://www.statebudgetsolutions.org/the_williams_report/detail/state-budget-update-november-18-2011
Legislators of both parties allow bureaucrats to report a budget shortfall as the difference between what the governor wants to spend (not the current budget) vs the revenue forecast. We have not found any state that reports a shortfall as the difference between the current level of spending and the revenue forecast. Thus, most shortfalls are highly inflated and in most cases are the results of overspending in previous years.
California: $13 billion state budget shortfall over next 18 months that will trigger an automatic $2 billion in spending cuts on January 1, 2012. Washingtonpost.com. November 16, 2011. Revenue in October was $810.5 million below plan. For the first four months of the fiscal year, revenue is $1.5 billion below the level forecasts in the budget. Reuters.com. November 10, 2011.
Connecticut: Legislature’s budget office estimates state budget shortfall as high as $53 million this year. Rep-am.com. November 14, 2011.
Illinois: Lawmakers reject Governor’s plans to close seven state facilities to save money. Businessweek.com. November 10, 2011.
Minnesota: Lawmakers okay changes that could drop 65,000 from Medicaid. JSonline.com. November 10, 2011.
New York: Governor Cuomo’s office now projects up to a $3.5 billion state budget shortfall for the next fiscal year. Bloomberg.com. November 14, 2011.
Virginia: State faces between $885 million and $1.5 billion state budget shortfall for FY 2013-14. Timesdispatch.com. November 15, 2011.
Recent State Budget Deficit Updates:
State agencies prepare for budget cuts. Washingtonexaminer.com. November 11, 2011.
State Budget Solutions Report reveals aggregate state debt exceeds $4 trillion. Statebudgetsolutions.org. October 24 2011.
Colorado: $500 million shortfall. Chronicle, September 20, 2011.
Florida: $2 billion shortfall for the next fiscal year. Sunshine State News, October 7, 2011.
Illinois: $8 billion. Chicago Tribune, September 26, 2011.
Washington: $2.5 billion. Center of Budget and Policy Priorities, June 17, 2011.
Wyoming: $437 million surplus forecasted as of June 30, 2012. Powell Tribune, September 27, 2011.
Updates on State Transparency Websites: NCSL. September 12, 2011.
Information by State:
Alabama
A $1.8 billon General Fund budget approved by the Alabama Senate on April 7 will require most agencies, except prisons and Medicaid, to get by on less money and will wipe out funding for many museums and tourist attractions. The budget provides no raises for state workers and is based on them paying more for retirement and health insurance. But it will allow them to keep their yearly longevity bonuses and not have furloughs, although layoffs remain likely. Forbes.com. April 8, 2011.
Alaska
Legislature passes $9 billion total budget including about $7 billion in state funds. The compromise put more money toward Gov. Sean Parnell’s idea of paying for college scholarships for high-achieving high school graduates. A previous version of the operating budget had split $9 million in scholarship money between needs-based scholarships and Parnell’s merit scholarships, $4.5 million each. The final bill contained $6 million for Parnell’s plan and $3 million for needs-based assistance. Alaska Dispatch. May 4, 2011.
Arizona
Governor signed budget that eliminates state budget shortfall. Spending in the next fiscal would total $8.3 billion. That’s below the current year’s $8.5 billion and Brewer’s proposed $8.9 billion. The budget restored transplant coverage — eliminated amid much controversy last fall — as part of a major revamp of the state’s Medicaid program that also include enrollment freezes that would reduce the number of people in the program by about 138,000 over the next year. Other elements of the plan include proposed new fees for smokers and obese people who don’t work with their physicians and meet goals. The changes would save the state a projected $500 million to help close a $1.1 billion budget shortfall. Arizona Republic. April 8, 2011.
Arkansas
The Arkansas House gave final approval Friday to a $4.6 billion budget for the coming year that increases spending for public schools and prisons but keeps state workers’ salaries flat. On a 74-13 vote, the House gave final approval to the Revenue Stabilization Act, which sets spending priorities for the coming year based on expected revenues. It now heads to the governor’s desk. The centerpiece of the tax cut package was a half-cent reduction in the grocery tax advocated by Beebe. The cut, which takes effect July 1, is expected to cost the state nearly $21 million in the coming year and will reduce the rate from 2 percent to 1.5 percent. Beebe had initially told lawmakers that the grocery cut was the only one the state could afford, but later agreed to other cuts - including a used car sales tax cut and an annual sales tax holiday - in a compromise with the Legislature. In order to help pay for the additional tax relief, Beebe dropped a proposal to grant state employees a 1.86 percent cost-of-living raise and instead kept their pay flat. Beebe also reduced his spending proposals for most state agencies. Arkansas online. April 2, 2011.
California
Governor Brown vetoes performance budget bill. Sacbee.com. October 10, 2011. Veto message calls it a “siren song of budget reform.” Office of the Governor, October 9, 2011.
California’s revenue forecast is down $705.5 million in the first three months of the FY 2012. Reuters.com. October 10, 2011. California’s budget faces new legal challenges as two groups sue the state. LA Times.com. September 28, 2011.
Democrats in Sacramento have lost a bid to block automatic spending cuts if state revenues fall short of projections next year. Governor Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would let lawmakers propose alternative cuts. Democrats in the legislature are increasingly worried that the state revenue will fall at least a billion dollars short of projections. A billion dollar shortfall would trigger mid-year budget cuts for California courts and higher education. In a worst-case scenario, a $2 billion shortfall would trigger cuts to public schools. Democratic lawmakers wanted to compel the state finance director to consult with them on alternatives to the automatic cuts in this year’s budget. But Brown opposes changes to the state’s spending plan that might scare Wall Street and undermine California’s newly improved credit rating. He vetoed the Democrat’s bill. Brown’s veto message says California has a “no gimmicks, on-time” budget. The Governor asks, “Why undermine the plan that has earned widespread respect and help stability California’s finances?” Lawmakers will find out in December whether the state will have to pull the trigger on more cuts. Scpr.org. September 16, 2011.
Colorado
Colorado lawmakers will likely have to cut another $400 million to $500 million next year as the state continues trying to dig out of the economic downturn, the governor’s economic team said on September 20. Chron.com. September 20, 2011.
Governor Hickenlooper signed the budget compromise bill on May 6 to help cover a $1 billion state budget shortfall. Colorado.gov. May 6, 2011. Final compromise included diverting tobacco funds to any health care program (SJR 11-009) increasing employee contributions to pensions by 2.5 percent and decreasing employer contributions by 2.5%. UCdenver.edu. May 9, 2011.
Connecticut
Twenty-two State Troopers are expected to lose their jobs. Governor Malloy announced $135 million budget cuts to help balance the two-year budget. Blogs.courant.com. September 6, 2011.
Unions overwhelmingly ratify concession package to balance state budget. Registercitizen.com. August 18, 2011.
Legislature, meeting in special session, gave Gov. Malloy only a portion of the additional authority he sought to cut $1.6 billion from the budget. “Our goal has been achieved: Connecticut has a budget in place that is balanced honestly, with no gimmicks,” Malloy said in an emailed statement. “To be clear, that’s not a reason to celebrate. The $1.6 billion deficit we just closed involves a lot of pain for a lot of people in the form of thousands of layoffs and deep spending cuts.” The legislators are gambling that SEBAC, the coalition of state employee unions, can deliver on its promise to salvage concessions voted down last week in voting by individual unions. SEBAC’s board has delayed indefinitely what was expected to be a pro forma acceptance of those votes. It is to meet again today. “If they choose to ratify the agreement that was recently turned down, and if they do so in a timely fashion, much of the pain that’s been inflicted over the past few days can be reversed,” Malloy said. “If they end up not ratifying the agreement, then the budget we now have in place is the one we’ll live with for the next two years.”CTMirror.org. July1, 2011.
Delaware
Lawmakers on June 29 sent Gov. Jack Markell a $3.5 billion budget to run the state for the next year, with one day to spare in this year’s legislative session. Delaware online.com. June 29, 2011.
Florida
S&P credit rating upgraded to AAA-stable from AAA-negative. News-journal.com. August 18, 2011.
State may avoid budget shortfall next year. Miamiherald.com. August 31, 2011.
Governor Scott vetoes $615 million from state budget. Floridatoday.com. May 26, 2011. -Legislators settle on budget deal that covers $4 billion state budget shortfall. The agreement will require public employees across the state - including teachers, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies - to start paying 3 percent a year toward their pension costs. Gainesville.com. April 26, 2011.
Georgia
Gov. Nathan Deal signed an $18.3 billion budget on May 17 that increases health insurance premiums for state employees, slashes funding for Georgia’s college system and cobbles together money to go after tax cheats. The governor used his line item veto power to strike funding for 11 bond projects in the university system worth more than $40 million. Businessweek.com. May 18, 2011.
Hawaii
Moody’s downgrades Hawaii’s General Obligation Bond Rating. Hawaii Reporter. May 17, 2011.
The Hawaii Legislature has passed a two-year state budget that aims to eliminate the state’s $1.3 billion projected state budget shortfall and pay for rising demand for government services. The budget approved May 3 totals $11 billion in the fiscal year that begins July 1 and $10.9 billion the following year. The general fund portion of the budget, over which lawmakers have the most control, amounts to $5.4 billion next fiscal year and $5.6 billion the following year. The budget relies on about $600 million in tax increases and another $600 million in cuts to Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s requests. Another $200 million comes from the state’s savings, most notably its hurricane relief fund. Businessweek.com. May 3, 2011.
Idaho
The Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee (JFAC) adopted the Governor’s revenue estimate of $2,359.1 million and after legislative action and transfers to and from other funds that were approved during the 2011 session the ending balance is projected to be $39.4 million ($10.6 million lower than the Governor’s recommended ending balance). Other transfers for FY 2011 included: $30.1 million from the Budget Stabilization Fund; $48.8 million from the Economic Recovery Reserve Fund; $1,505,500 from other dedicated funds; and $1 million of General Fund was transferred to the Military Division for the Disaster Recovery Fund. The 2011 session included new legislation that provides for transfers from dedicated accounts to the General Fund to help balance FY 2012. These transfers included: $21.9 million from the Non-Endowed Millennium Fund, $8 million from the Liquor Control Fund, $7 million from the Permanent Building Fund, and $1 million from other dedicated funds. The Governor recommended and the Legislature concurred to continue two months of health insurance premium holiday for both the employer and employee. Both the two-month premium holiday and any increase in the cost of benefits will be offset by the available health insurance reserves for FY 2012. The Legislature provided for an overall 2.2 % omnibus General Fund reduction for all agencies and departments. Idaho Legislature, 2011.
Illinois
The state owes on 166,000 unpaid bills worth $5 billion with more than half of the bills overdue by more than a month. AP. October 15, 2011.
Budget deficit hits $8.3 billion despite tax increase. Bloomberg Businessweek.org. September 26, 2011.
As debt crisis looms at state level, IL identified as a ‘sinkhole’. Chicago sun-times. August 14, 2011.
Governor wants to close seven state facilities and lay off 1,900. Chicagotribune.com. September 8, 2011.
Governor Quinn confirms he will lay off government workers despite his agreement with labor unions not to do so. ABClocal.go.com. September 6, 2011.
Moody’s hits IL budget over unpaid bills, pension funding. Chicago Business.com. August 12, 2011.
Arbitrator rules Governor must give workers pay raises. State is considering a court appeal. Forbes.com. July 20, 2011.
Indiana
Governor Daniels signed $29 billion state budget on May 10. If state reserves exceed 10 percent of budgeted spending, half the extra money would be used for pension funds and half would be given back to taxpayers. The budget spends less than it takes in and leaves the state with $1 billion in reserves. It gives modest increases to public schools, though critics say the school funding formula included in the budget will hurt some districts, especially the smallest of Indiana’s school districts. Bloomberg Business Week, May 11, 2011.
Iowa
The Iowa Legislature beat a midnight deadline with hours to spare on Thursday, finishing work on a $5.99 billion state budget and resolving a dispute over taxpayer money that could be used to pay for some Medicaid abortions. DesMoinesRegister.com. June 30, 2011.
Kansas
Legislature approved a $13.8 billion budget plan to fund state government in the next fiscal year. The package would erase a budget shortfall that at one point approached $500 million, and create a $50 million cash cushion on June 30, 2012, without raising taxes. LJWorld.com. May 13, 2011.
Kentucky
House adjourns expecting veto from Governor. MurrayLedger.com. March 28, 2011.
Louisiana
The $25 billion state operating budget is on its way to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s desk after the Louisiana House gave its final approval Tuesday, wrapping up the Legislature’s biggest order of business with two days remaining in the session. Nola.com. June 21, 2011.
Gov. Bobby Jindal ordered a partial freeze Monday on state spending for travel, supplies, contracts and other operating services in most state government agencies for the remaining two months of the fiscal year. Jindal’s executive order was issued to help free up some money in state agencies that could be carried over to the next 2011-12 year to help lessen the blow of a more than $1 billion state budget shortfall. Executive Office Governor. May 9, 2011.
Maine
Governor orders state agencies to find $100 million in cuts in anticipation of losing federal funds due to the deficit reduction plan recently passed by Congress. BangorDailyNews. August 4, 2011.
Governor LePage signs $6 billion state budget. Pressherald.com. June 20, 2011.
House lawmakers gave preliminary approval on June 15 to a two-year, $6.1 billion budget for state government after rejecting attempts to change a compromise negotiated over several months by the budget-writing committee. The House voted 120-26 to send the budget bill to the Senate, which is expected to take it up for the first time later on June 15.The budget proposes to freeze and then cap at 3 percent the cost-of-living adjustment for state employees and retirees. But the 3 percent COLA would only apply to the first $20,000 of pension income.Bangordailynews.com. June 15, 2011.
Maryland
The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee met with the Department of Legislative Services to address viable options to raise revenue to help to close an estimated $800 million transportation budget shortfall. Options discussed include raising the state’s fuel tax rates, adding a 6 percent sales tax on fuel purchases, or increasing other taxes and fees. The commission has recommended that the Maryland General Assembly approve $520 million in tax and fee increases to pay for road improvements and transit. Landlinemag.com. September 16, 2011.
Governor warns of more budget cuts, tax increases— spells out a world where the pie’s not big enough and the revenue is not big enough. Bowiepatch.com. August 22, 2011.
The Maryland General Assembly has enacted a $32 billion, balanced budget for the state, three days before the end of its 90-day legislative session. The new budget takes effect July 1, 2010. The final budget differs little from the version proposed by Governor Martin O’Malley in January. Its total is slightly less than the budget for the current year, whether measures in terms of total budget (0.9% reduction) or state general funds (0.3% reduction). The proposed budget leaves the state with projected cash balance of $829 million at the end of fiscal year 2011. This includes the 5% “Rainy Day Fund” and $195 million in general fund surplus. Even so, projections for future years show shortfalls of $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion each year for 2012 through 2015. While the budget enacted by the legislature is balanced, it depends on payments from the federal Recovery and reinvestment Act, and on transfers from special funds. Ongoing revenues support only 86% of general fund expenditures. Marylandpolicy.org. April 9, 2011.
Massachusetts
The Legislature approved the $30.6 billion budget on a 150-2 vote in the House and a 33-4 vote in the Senate, sending it to Governor Deval Patrick, who will have 10 days to review it and issue vetoes. Boston.com. July 1, 2011
The budget that will limit the collective bargaining rights of teachers, police officers, and firefighters in an effort to ease the cost of health insurance for cities and towns. Perhaps the most contentious proposal targets unions in an attempt to save cities and towns at least $100 million annually in health insurance costs. The budget includes no new taxes and instead cuts deeply across a range of state services, hitting the poor, the elderly, and the disabled. Patrick agreed to many of the cuts in his budget proposal released in January. Boston.com. July 1, 2011.
Michigan
Detroit prison to close and 2,000 face layoffs to fill state budget shortfall. DetroitFreePress. September 29, 2011.
New state budget on way to Governor as Legislature passes $47.4 billion budget four months before the fiscal year begins on October 1. The plan cuts the state’s minimum per-pupil foundation allowance for public schools to $6,846, a drop of roughly 6 percent. That cut includes a $300-per-student reduction. There’s also a $170-per-student reduction that’s already on the books but was not felt this school year because the drop in state funding was filled with extra federal funds. State aid to universities will drop 15 percent across the board. Universities would lose more state aid if they don’t limit tuition increases to roughly 7 percent this fall. State aid to community colleges will drop by about 4 percent. The social safety net also takes a hit. Most able-bodied welfare recipients face a stricter four-year lifetime limit to receive benefits. Lansing State Journal. May 26, 2011.
State burns $1.1 billion in future tobacco cash for about half as much money now. Businessweek.com. November 8, 2011.
Moody’s lowers Minnesota outlook to negative on strained finances.Online.wsj.com. August 1, 2011.
Governor Dayton signed a new budget on July 20, ending the nation’s longest state government shutdown in the past decade. ABCnews.go.com. July 20, 2011.
After weeks of crippling political deadlock, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders reached a budget deal to end the longest state government shutdown in U.S. history. The deal raises the revenue Dayton sought — $1.4 billion — but without raising taxes, which Republicans opposed. Instead, it reaches back to an earlier GOP offer to rely primarily on more borrowing from schools and from the sale of tobacco bonds. The House and Senate could return in special session to vote on a final budget as early as July 18. Dayton shocked some Democrats and other supporters earlier in the day when he said he was dropping his push to raise taxes on high earners and instead would accept a June 30 GOP offer that featured a $700 million money shift from K-12 school spending and roughly $700 million in tobacco revenue bonds. Startribune.com. July 15, 2011.
Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers have given final approval to next year’s state budget. The total spending package comes to about $5.5 billion. House and Senate members had to vote on dozens of separate spending bills that make up the budget. Some small cuts were made for community colleges, mental health, and the homestead tax exemption but there was heated debate over funding for education. Education will not get cut as much as the governor wanted. WJTV. April 4, 2011.
Missouri
Next fiscal year will be only the third time in 30 years the state government has reduced spending year over year now that Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has signed the $23.29 billion budget for fiscal 2012, starting July 1. Nixon signed the budget, which will reduce total expenditures by at least 2.1 percent, on June 10. The state is expected to spend $23.8 billion this year. Nixon also announced Friday that he plans to withhold $172 million to make sure the budget is balanced. Missouri Watchdog reported all funds fell year over year by 4.7 percent in 2003 and 2.8 percent in 1984. Spending increased 508 percent from $3.9 billion in 1981 to an estimated $23.8 billion for this fiscal year. Missouriwatchdog.org. June 10, 2011.
Montana
Governor signs budget that cuts spending of “general fund” money by more than 6 percent, compared to the current two-year budget period that ends in June. But the budget deal fully restores about $100 million in federal money for programs largely aimed at the needy that Republicans tried to cut - prompting some in the GOP to oppose the compromise. Billingsgazette.com. May 13, 2011.
Nebraska
Lawmakers approved a two-year spending plan that cuts state agency budgets but leaves nearly $300 million in Nebraska’s cash reserve without raising taxes. The budget bills cleared their third and final reading and advanced to Gov. Dave Heineman. The package would set general fund spending at roughly $7 billion over the two-year budget period that begins July 1. The package closes a budget gap that, earlier in the session, had been projected at nearly $1 billion. Changes to the state’s school funding accounted for $410 million in savings spread over the next two fiscal years. The proposal would pull $105 million from the state’s cash reserve to balance the budget, but leave $299 million. BusinessWeek. May 12, 2011.
Gov. Brian Sandoval and legislative leadership reached a budget deal to extend the so-called sunset taxes, called that because they were meant to sunset in 2011, to help fill the state’s $2 billion state budget shortfall for the next two-years. The deal also eliminates part of the modified business tax, which was one of the sunset taxes. In this deal, the taxes and fee changes will stay in place until July 1, 2013. It is expected to bring $620 million to the state.
New Hampshire
State workers approve contract that saves nearly $50 million by freezing wages and changing health care benefits. Concordmonitor.com. August 30, 2011.
Budget becomes law without Governor’s signature. Governor concluded a showdown veto would not lead to a better budget. Nashautelegraph.com. June 25, 2011.
New Jersey
Citing the state’s failure to make full pension payments and its sluggish economic recovery, Fitch Ratings downgraded New Jersey’s bond rating a notch, ranking it among the lowest in the nation. The move could make it more costly for the state to borrow. Nj.com. August 18, 2011.
Gov. Christie vetoed $900 million from the $29.7 billion budget including vetoing Democrats efforts to restore funding to public assistance programs. NJ.com. July 1, 2011
The Democrat-led state legislature passed a budget on June 29, the eve of the state’s budget deadline, but Republican Governor Chris Christie immediately rejected the deal. “The Democratic budget passed today by the Senate and the Assembly is unconstitutional in its present form based on hundreds of millions of dollars in spending that is unsupported by constitutionally certified revenue,” Christie said in a statement issued by his office.” At this time, the governor can’t be certain if the remedy is the line item veto or whether he needs to consider sending it back to the legislature,” the statement said. The Democrats’ spending plan, which was passed by both houses on June 29, increased spending on schools and for a handful of smaller programs. The Democrats also approved a tax on the state’s highest earners. Christie vetoed a so-called “Millionaires’ Tax” last year and is expected to do the same again.Reuters.com. June 30, 2011.
New Mexico
State budget shortfall grows to $452 million. BloombergBusinessWeek.com. November 11, 2010.
New York
New York’s largest state employees’ union (Civil Service Employees Association) accepts wage and benefits concessions sought by Gov. Cuomo. Savings from the five-year contract are expected to total $73 million this fiscal year, part of the $450 million in cuts that Mr. Cuomo’s budget counted on extracting from the state work force. And the governor’s office projected that if other unions agreed to the same terms total savings for the state would amount to $1.6 billion over five years. State forecasts $4.6 billion state budget shortfall by 2015. Empire.wnyc.org. August 3, 2011.
Medicaid overhaul saves $600 million in six months. TimesUnion.com. October 6, 2011.
Even as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sent layoff notices to the first of 3,496 employees he is vowing to let go, leaders of New York’s second-largest union of state workers said Wednesday that they did not intend to ask their members to reconsider the proposed contract they had rejected. NYTimes.com. September 28, 2011.
North Carolina
Senate voted 31-19 to override Governor Perdue’s veto of the budget on June 15. Earlier the House had voted 73-46 to override the Governor’s veto. CharlotteObserver. June 15, 2011.
Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed the $19.7 billion budget, despite Republican legislative leaders’ confidence that they have enough override votes. The legislature passed its budget and sent it to Perdue about a week ago. She had until Tuesday to act. “I will not put my name on a plan that so blatantly ignores the values of North Carolina’s people,” she said today in the Capitol’s old Senate chamber. “I cannot support a budget that sends the message that North Carolina is moving backwards, when we have always been a state that led the nation.” No North Carolina governor has ever vetoed a budget. Newsobserver.com. June 12, 2011. The House passed the $19.7 billion dollar state budget on June 4, and the Senate ratified the bill, sending the first Republican-penned state budget in more than a century to the desk of Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue. WNCT.com. June 4, 2011.
North Dakota
The budget increased general fund spending by 20 percent over the next two years due to an accounting maneuver. The biennial budget that lawmakers approved includes several big-ticket spending items, such as $370 million in road repairs and another $342 million to reduce local property taxes. But those projects were paid for through a special account financed by excess oil-tax revenues - rather than the general fund - allowing Governor Jack Dalrymple and the Legislature to mask their effect on overall spending until after lawmakers had approved a two-year general fund budget on April 28. “Those programs were financed by a fund for surplus oil taxes that has often been used as a piggy bank for favored projects,” the AP reports. “The Legislature abolished the fund, which is called the Permanent Oil Tax Trust Fund, and ordered that the money be transferred to the general fund.” The result is that the $3.3 billion budget that Dalrymple originally proposed in December became a $4.1 billion budget by the time it was approved by lawmakers. Stateline.org. May 2, 2011.
Senate Republicans unveiled a revamped $55.7 billion state budget Tuesday, touting increased funding for local governments, school districts, in-home care for the elderly and efforts to combat prescription drug abuse.
Ohio
Ohio privatized a portion of the state’s prison system for $72.7 million. Rueters.com. September 1, 2011.
The House voted 59-40 along party lines on June 29 to give final approval to a new two-year, $55.8 billion budget that contains considerable changes for local governments, schools, Medicaid and state prisons. The bill was sent to Gov. John Kasich, who plans to sign it June 30, the final day of this fiscal year. It will take effect July 1. Columbia Dispatch.com. June 30, 2011.
Oklahoma
Senate passes budget on May 18 but without a key component of the budget agreement to allow the Department of Transportation to sell $70 million in bonds in exchange for diverting $100 million in road funds to other areas of state government. This proposal failed 23-21, short of the 25 votes needed to pass the legislation. This proposal will be reconsidered later this week. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn by May 20. Tulsaworld.com. May 18, 2011.
House approves $6.5 billion budget on May 13. A major part of the budget that begins July 1 is a proposal that authorizes the Legislature to move $100 million from a road and bridge fund at ODOT to help shore up a $500 million hole in the state budget. In exchange, ODOT is allowed to issue a $70 million bond issue for transportation projects. The bill narrowly passed the GOP-controlled House on a 51-45 vote, barely receiving the 51 votes needed for passage in the 101-member House. Democrats are upset about deep cuts to agency budgets, particularly cuts to education that total close to 5 percent. AP May 13, 2011.
Oregon
State faces added budget pressures as labor settlement comes in $43 million higher than expected. Oregonlive.com. September 22, 2011 Lawmakers opened the 76th Legislature facing a $3.5 billion gap between projected revenue and the estimated cost of continuing business as usual for two more years. They bridged the gap and crafted a $14.7 billion two-year budget that left schools, social safety net programs and just about every other government service far short of their desired levels. They did not raise taxes. Budget writers said they did the best they could with a bleak outlook, giving schools a stable funding floor that won’t be reduced and protecting some services for seniors and the disabled that once looked doomed. They left unspent more than $400 million of projected revenue, but also created a spending plan that relies on ambitious savings goals in health care. Washingtonexaminer.com. July 1, 2011.
Pennsylvania
The Legislature gave final approval on June 29 to a $27.15 billion budget that will cut spending by three percent from the current fiscal year. The budget is due to be signed by Governor Tom Corbett on June 30 and the state’s fiscal year begins July 1. Corbett is among a new class of Republican governors that have made a splash in states like Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida by calling for major cuts in government spending and tax breaks. Reuters.com. June 30, 2011. This is the first budget completed on time in nine years, and the first budget decrease since the economy sank following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to legislative staff. Philly.com. June 28, 2011.
Rhode Island
The Senate approved a $7.7 billion state budget on June 29 and sent the budget to the Governor. Highlights of the proposal include: A new 7 percent sales tax on the purchase of non-prescription drugs, software and videogame downloads, smartphone applications and sightseeing tours. The new taxes would go into effect Oct. 1 and would raise an estimated $17 million in the next fiscal year. Increased monthly premiums for families on Medicaid whose income places them above the poverty line. A family of four living on an income of $33,000 would see their monthly Medicaid premium rise from $61 to $91. Boston.com. June 29, 2011.
South Carolina
Legislature approved a $6 billion state budget on June 22 that cuts spending on programs for the poor, gives businesses an unemployment tax break and will send schools slightly more money per student than they received this year. The GOP-dominated House approved the proposed compromise by a narrow 57-54 vote with both Democrats and Tea Party-leaning Republicans opposing it. The Senate, also majority Republican, followed hours later with a 24-17 vote. TheState.com. June 22, 2011
South Dakota
Legislature passes balanced budget to eliminate state budget shortfall for FY 2012 on March 11, 2011. Capjournal.com. March 14, 2011.
Tennessee
Thousands of Tennesseans will get an extension of their unemployment benefits under the $30.78 billion budget approved by the General Assembly on May 21. The Senate voted 32-0 and the House passed it 96-0. The budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 also includes $71 million for disaster relief from recent storms and flooding and a hospital assessment fee supported by the industry that would raise $449 million. It is designed to draw another $871 million in federal matching funds. A balanced spending plan is the only legislation that the General Assembly is required to pass each year under the state constitution. The spending plan includes a 1.6 percent raise for state employees, their first pay hike in four years.
Texas
State agencies began laying off employees, with almost 6,000 jobs expected to be lost in the current two-year budget cycle. UPI.com. July 13, 2011.
Must-passed budget bill revived and approved by House and sent to Governor. The bill contains the public school finance overhaul, which uses a new, complicated formula to equitably distribute the $4 billion reduction in expected funding. It also contains provisions that balance the state budget, which is mandated by the Texas Constitution. Chron.com. June 28, 2011.
Utah
The approved budget adds back all but 1 percent of the 7 percent in cuts made earlier in the session. SB2, sponsored by Senate Budget Chairman Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, was approved by both the Senate and the House and now goes to Gov. Gary Herbert for his action on the estimated $12 billion spending plan. Some areas of state government including higher education will see spending sliced by 2 percent or more, but public education emerged not only intact but with additional funds for enrollment growth. Deseretnews.com. March 8, 2011.
Vermont
The approved budget eliminated a $176 million state budget shortfall through a combination of cuts; revenue adjustments and an improving state economy that boosted the state’s tax yield by an unanticipated $29.1 million. Savings were derived in part through $12 million in concessions by the state employees’ union; a $38.6 million cut in human services programs; $4.1 million in avoided unemployment insurance interest payments waived (for at least the time being) by the federal government; and $1.7 million in miscellaneous cuts. The budget is also balanced by not transferring $23 million from the state’s General Fund to the Education Fund, meaning that local property taxpayers will likely have to pick up the slack in fiscal year 2013 or search for cuts that amount to about 2 percent statewide as part of the Challenges for Change mandate. A recalculation and extension of the state’s tax on health care providers (like Porter Hospital), which amounts to about $5.9 million spread among all hospitals in the state, a boost in the cigarette tax (of 38 cents per pack) that will generate $3 million more than current taxes, were in addition to another $24.2 million in new revenue. Addisonindependent.com. May 12, 2011.
Virginia
Governor announces $544.8 million budget surplus. Washington Post.com. August 18, 2011. House and Senate unanimously passed amendments to the state’s $80 billion budget , ending the 2011 General Assembly one day late. The compromise blueprint through June 2012 offers more aid for public schools, for the profoundly disabled and for state and local government pensioners. It also provides state aid to break the meteoric rise in tuition at state-supported colleges and universities. Wtvr.com. February 27, 2011.
Washington
Voters approval of privatization of liquor may open doors elsewhere. Stateline.org. November 9, 2011.
Democrats may float tax hike in special election to patch budget. News Tribune. September 28, 2011.
Governor calls 30-day special session starting November 28 to solve a $2 billion state budget shortfall. The Olympian. September 16, 2011.
Governor notifies agencies to prepare for 10 percent cuts. Seattle Times. August 8, 2011.
West Virginia
West Virginia lawmakers passed an $10 billion state budget on March 18 that includes public employee pay raises, retiree bonuses and additional money for mine inspectors. The budget bill is about $134 million larger than what Governor Tomblin proposed when the regular session began in January. Charleston Gazette.com. March 18, 2011.
Wisconsin
Governor’s commission finds $260 million in potential budget savings for taxpayers. Watchdog.org. July 14, 2011.
The Senate passed the budget on a party line 19-14 vote on June 16. The Assembly passed an identical version earlier in the day on a 60-38 vote, with all Republicans voting for it along with one independent. No Democrats in either house voted for it. Walker and Republicans support expanding vouchers beyond the city of Milwaukee. The budget would allow vouchers in Milwaukee County and the city of Racine, but language was removed that would have permitted them in Green Bay.
Wyoming
$437 million surplus projected for June 30, 2012. Chron.com. September 22, 2011.
