U.S. States Face Ongoing Deficits

U.S. states have identified more than $51 billion in revenue deficits for the next fiscal year less than a month after wrapping up their annual budgets, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government reported.

Among the worst projections for fiscal 2011 are California at $15 billion, New Jersey at $6 billion and Florida at $5 billion. In the current fiscal year, U.S. states totaled $160 billion in budget gaps, the report said.

“States push large parts of fiscal problems into later years,” Donald J. Boyd, senior fellow at the institute, told a Governmental Research Association convention in Washington, D.C., July 27. “It can take three or four years before finances recover, even if economic recovery comes sooner.” (more)