Sunday, July 10, 2005

The Fiscal Survey of States  Report from the National Association of State Budget Officers and the National Governors Association - "While the revenue shortfalls facing states in recent years have subsided and short run forecasts are sunnier, most states still face budgetary challenges driven by a backlog of expenditure demands and Medicaid, finds the newest edition of the Fiscal Survey of States. Revenues exceeded original budget projections in 42 states and three others met their target. Only five states revenue were below their budget projections. For the first time in several years, 2005 aggregate state spending aligned with the historical state spending trends with a growth at 6.6 percent. The 27-year average is 6.5 percent." See also the 2003 State Expenditure Report from NASBO, which found that "Medicaid expenditures continue to grow, crowding out other categories of state spending... The data show that in fiscal 2003, Medicaid accounted for 21.4 percent of all state spending, closing in on K-12 education spending, which was 21.7 percent."