State Expenditure Report

This annual report examines spending in the functional areas of state budgets: elementary and secondary education, higher education, public assistance, Medicaid, corrections, transportation, and "all other". It also includes data on capital spending by program area, as well as information on transportation fund revenue collections.

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Staff Contact

Brian Sigritz
202-624-8439
bsigritz@nasbo.org

 

Overview: Fiscal 2021-2023

    • In fiscal 2023, estimated total state spending (including general funds, other state funds, bonds, and federal funds) rose 6.5 percent, driven by increased spending from state funds (general funds and other state funds combined), while federal funds slightly declined.
      • In fiscal 2022, total state spending grew 4.6 percent, once again due to spending growth from state funds.

    • Federal fund expenditures declined 1.7 percent in fiscal 2022 and 1.8 percent in fiscal 2023, although their levels remained elevated compared to pre-pandemic totals.
      • Year-over-year declines in fiscal 2023 were largely related to states having expended much of their federal COVID-19 aid in preceding years, while fiscal 2022 declines were partly due to the high baseline established in fiscal 2021 and reduced unemployment insurance benefit payments.

    • General fund spending grew 14.3 percent in fiscal 2022, the highest growth rate in the 37-year history of the State Expenditure Report, while in fiscal 2023 general fund spending growth slowed slightly to 11.3 percent.
      • The strong general fund spending growth derives from two consecutive years of double-digit revenue growth in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, as well as more modest revenue surpluses in fiscal 2023.

    • Among program areas, Medicaid saw the largest spending increase in fiscal 2022 at 11.5 percent, while transportation had the highest growth in fiscal 2023 at 12.9 percent.

    • General funds once again represented the greatest share of total state spending in fiscal 2023 at 38.0 percent.
      •  Fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022 marked the only two years in the history of the State Expenditure Report when federal funds surpassed general funds as a share of total state spending.

    • In fiscal 2023, total state spending was 40.7 percent higher than fiscal 2019’s pre-pandemic level, demonstrating the continued impact of federal COVID-19 aid and the recent growth in state tax collections.

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