State Budget

Notes on the 2009-2011 State Budget Bob Williams, Senior Fellow for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, has been speaking to groups around the state about the 2009-2011 state budget, focusing on the behind-the-scene games played by the legislature to balance the budget. His findings are as follows.

The state budget was balanced by: Using $3 billion in federal stimulus money. These are one-time funds, so the lack of them will create a major hole in the next budget, in 2011;

A one-time raid of $252 million from other funds, creating another major hole in 2011. Some of these fund raids may be illegal without separate legislation to authorize them;

Raising nearly $500 million in new taxes and fees; and

Taking more than $448 million from the state pension system. The manner in which this fund was raided lowers the contributions by local government and state and local employees to the pension system, and will create an additional $1.2 billion hole in the pension system.

It's a great article- see full text at:
http://www.effwa.org/main/article.php?article_id=2842