Hi,
The states that are reported to be in the best shape financially are
Florida, Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee,
Utah, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Two major studies on the fiscal health of states have been released
recently. As you obviously suspected, both of them show that most
states face serious fiscal problems in the coming year.
In fact, according to the National Governors Association report,
"nearly every state is in fiscal crisis."
Here is an excerpt from the association's press release:
State Budget Outlook Remains Bleak
"WASHINGTON - Saying states face the most dire fiscal situation since
World War II, the National Governors Association and the National
Association of State Budget Officers released a report today that
concludes many states have exhausted budget cuts and drawing down
rainy-day funds and that the most difficult decisions still lay
ahead."
http://www.nga.org/nga/newsRoom/1,1169,C_PRESS_RELEASE^D_4693,00.html
You can find a copy of the NGA's report here:
The Fiscal Survey of States
http://www.nga.org/cda/files/NOV2002FISCALSURVEY.pdf
The report doesn't have any simplified list of which states are in
more trouble than not, partly because, as the report points out, most
states have yet to make decisions as to how they will deal with the
budget problems. Thus it isn't known, for example, which states that
face deficits will have to make serious cuts in higher education.
Most state legislatures are beginning their sessions next month, and
that's when the budget decisions will be made.
But I believe you will find the report informative if you take the
time to peruse it. The report lists numerous figures, including past
and expected revenues and expenditures. There also are brief
state-by-state reports about recent budget changes as well as what
proposals different states are looking at.
If you're looking for a quick answer as to which states are in less
trouble than others, I suggest looking at this summary of a report by
the National Conference of State Legislatures. An excerpt follows:
New National Survey Reports State Budgets Fall $17.5 Billion Short
"Two-thirds of states report declining revenues and more than half of
states face expenditures that exceed levels projected in their fiscal
year 2003 budgets, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures' (NCSL) State Budget Update. ...
"The outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year is bleak, with 38
states concerned or pessimistic about revenue performance. Only 10
states report a stable or optimistic outlook -- Florida, Hawaii, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West
Virginia, and Wyoming."
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/press/2002/pr021122.htm
Unfortunately, a copy of the report that the legislative organization
based that summary on isn't available to the general public. The
above page provides, however, an e-mail address that you can use to
find out how to get the report. The full report also is available to
members of the news media, though.
To be perfectly honest, however, I'd dispute at least part of the
summary given above. I know from personal knowledge that Washington
state is facing some serious budget problems (having more to do with
highways than with education, however), and I remember reading about
some Florida budget problems that were an issue in the governor's race
there. But if you can get a copy of the report, you may have a better
idea of how serious these problems are. I also came across a news
story saying Utah was having state budget problems. Maybe it's just
that those 10 states aren't as in bad of shape as the others.
Another source you should check out is Stateline.org. If you follow
the links on the right side of the following page, you will find
articles about how various states are handling their budget woes.
Taxes/Budget
"State lawmakers are starting to turn to tax and fee increases to
close seemingly ever-increasing gaps in state budgets."
http://www.stateline.org/issue.do;jsessionid=8cac0h39w1?issueId=122
You can also find budget news from many states on this page:
State News Roundup
http://www.stateline.org/roundups.do
I hope this fully answers your question.
Best wishes,
mvguy
Search strategy: It went to news.google.com and did a search for
"state budgets" (without the quotes).
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=state+budgets&btnG=Google+Search
I read through appropriate articles and found references to the above
reports, which I then found by finding the home pages for the
government associations.
You also may find some other relevant articles using the following
Google News search: state budgets "higher education"
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=state+budgets+%22higher+education%22&btnG=Google+Search |
