Budget Blog

As of July 17, 46 states have enacted full-year budgets for fiscal 2018. In 3 states, the legislature has yet to finalize the budget (Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin). Rhode Island and Wisconsin have statutory continued budget authority in place until a new budget is enacted. In Oregon, most agency spending bills have been approved and the governor is reviewing a few appropriation bills; a continuing resolution is covering the remaining agencies. Additionally, in at least 10 states, the legislature has met, or is currently meeting, in special session to resolve budget differences. 46 states began ... More

The President’s fiscal year 2018 budget request to Congress includes many elements that shift more responsibility to state and local governments or modify some longstanding fiscal federalism practices through funding eliminations or major reductions. Below are statements pulled directly from the Administration’s budget documents produced by the Office of Management and Budget and the individual Departments, and written testimony on the budget from Administration officials. New State Financial Requirements SNAP - First-time State Funding Match Shift to States - $191 billion from 2020-2023 ... More

On April 27-28, NASBO held a Medicaid Roundtable in Washington, DC in collaboration with the Kaiser Family Foundation. With budget directors and health care analysts from 35 states and territories in attendance, we had a robust discussion on a wide range of health care issues with a focus on Medicaid and state budgets.   The important role Medicaid plays in state budgets was discussed including how state budget officials look at Medicaid funding relative to other budget priorities. A number of states mentioned that the forecasted costs of the present Medicaid program were treated similarly to debt service ... More

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is expected to reveal its scoring this week of the House Republican proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. One key feature that matters greatly to state budgets will be CBOs forecasts of the annual growth in Medicaid spending per enrollee and the annual growth in the Medical Consumer Price Index (CPI). In the current legislation, Medical CPI is applied to 2016 spending per enrollee to establish the federal fiscal year 2019 target per capita amounts for each states five enrollment groups (elderly, blind and disabled, children, non-expansion adults, and expansion ... More

State of the State speeches this year have been influenced by both the current fiscal and political landscape. Governors are contending with not only slow revenue growth and constrained spending, but also federal uncertainty in a number of areas including the possible repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, the consideration of federal tax reform, and discussion regarding various infrastructure proposals. Although many states are facing tight fiscal conditions, governors highlighted a number of new proposals designed to help states grow and address current challenges. Click here to read an overview ... More