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...State Budget Update: July 2009 National Conference of State Legislatures 23 pages...
...Gist: Kudos to California! On July 20, the Golden State finally cobbled together a plan to bridge its $26.3 billion budget gap, leaving North Carolina, Connecticut and Pennsylvania as the only states that have not yet reached an agreement. But before lawmakers start slapping backs, they should know that next year's budget crunch could be even tighter. Thanks to dwindling revenues, paltry collection rates and the economic storm soaking taxpayers, the $142.6 billion budget shortfall that states faced during the 2009 fiscal year is but one hurdle in a longer financial gauntlet, according to this bleak assessment from...
Highlight Reel: 1. On reaching 2009 budget agreements: "Some might think that state lawmakers are uttering a collective sigh of relief now that most have their new budgets in place, but that is not the case. Dread is more like it. If FY 2010 budgets follow a pattern similar to the ones in the past two years, new gaps will emerge after the fiscal year begins-in fact, some states already are reporting new shortfalls just weeks into the new fiscal year...
...hurdles ahead in 2011 and 2012: "Nearly two-thirds of the states already project a budget gap in FY 2011. Of the remaining states, many note that it is simply too early to know if a gap will occur, although several indicated that one is likely. The size of these projected gaps raise warning sirens-loud ones. Several states will need to close double-digit budget gaps yet again...
...agreed to press House leaders to include in the bill a provision that would take the job of setting Medicare rates out of the hands of Congress and give it to an independent agency. Presumably, that agency would have more expertise and be less susceptible to political pressure. Obama Budget Director Peter Orszag has called such a move a "game changer" that could bring down health-care costs, though no one has a precise estimate of how much could be saved...