Budget Blog

As of July 8, 42 states have enacted a full-year budget for fiscal 2021. States are currently contending with revenue losses and increased spending demands related to COVID-19 as they work to finalize or adjust their fiscal 2021 budgets. In addition, states continue to monitor developments at the federal level to see if additional federal aid will be provided, helping to lessen the need for more drastic cuts to essential services that would impact state residents and dampen the nation’s economic recovery. As noted in a recent NASBO blog post, states have begun taking initial steps to balance their budgets, including ... More

Download PDF State Fiscal Outlook: Pre- & Post-COVID-19 Today, NASBO released its Spring 2020 Fiscal Survey of States . In a typical year, this report reflects the fiscal health of state governments based on governors’ budget proposals for the upcoming fiscal year, and these proposals usually align closely with the expenditure and revenue plans ultimately adopted by states. However, this is not a typical year. The Spring 2020 Fiscal Survey reflects state fiscal conditions before the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, and therefore does not capture the current fiscal state of the states. ... More

As expected, April tax collections fell sharply with many states experiencing year-over-year declines of at least 50 percent, as highlighted in the below state-by-state press articles. The precipitous drops were brought on by a combination of states shifting their tax deadlines to July 15, and the economic impact of the coronavirus. Tax Deadline Shifts On March 21, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that the federal income tax filing deadline would be extended from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020. Following this federal action, 40 states also chose to extend their state ... More

Download PDF The COVID-19 pandemic is placing significant stress on state budgets while also drastically reducing revenue sources that fund critical services to citizens. This blog outlines where states get their money from, what they spend this money on and the decisions that must be made during an economic downturn when there is not enough revenue to cover expenses.   State Revenues: Where Does the Money Come From? States collect revenue from a variety of sources, mostly in the form of taxes and fees. States use these revenues to pay for critical services that people depend on, including schools, roads, ... More

Budget offices in 33 states are preparing their fiscal year 2021 governor’s budget recommendations for consideration during the upcoming 2020 state legislative sessions (the other 17 states already enacted their 2021 budgets through a biennial budget process). Three states with biennial budgets are also preparing their fiscal year 2022 budgets. One overriding constraint on those budgets is the amount of revenues available to cover the spending decisions. For state budgets, better revenue conditions have finally arrived over the past two fiscal years – after two previous fiscal years of muted growth in tax receipts. ... More

On October 2-4, budget officers from 26 states, the Virgin Islands and District of Columbia gathered in Washington, DC for our 2019 Fall Meeting. Below are key takeaways from the meeting along with links to speaker presentations. Preparing for the Next Recession: A Reflection on the Federal Fiscal Policy Response During the Great Recession Moderated by Tracy Gordon, Senior Fellow, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center Stan Czerwinski , former Director, Strategic Issues, Government Accountability Office Tom Mullaney , State Budget Officer, Rhode Island Department of Administration – Budget Office Ray ... More

Forty-six states began fiscal 2020 on July 1 (New York began its fiscal year on April 1, Texas began on September 1, and Alabama and Michigan begin on October 1). Forty-seven states proposed new budgets for fiscal 2020 (30 states considered an annual budget, while 17 states debated a biennial budget covering both fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021). Last year, 3 states enacted budgets covering both fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020. Unlike last year, when only two states did not have a fully enacted budget on July 1, seven states this year did not have a fully completed budget at the beginning of their fiscal year (Massachusetts, ... More

In 2018, NASBO released the first edition of a new resource, Statewide Initiatives to Advance the Use of Data & Evidence for Decision-Making: A Working Inventory . This compilation was intended to catalog state government efforts to use data and evidence in decision-making through performance management systems, data analytics, evidence-based initiatives, process improvement strategies, and performance budgeting methods. States continue to make progress in this arena, harnessing administrative data, greater access to research clearinghouses, partnerships with universities and foundations, and other tools ... More