State Policy Reports

State Policy Reports is rich with information about the 50 states. Published twice a month (except in August and December when it is published once), each issue covers a variety of topics including trends in state spending, the quarterly index of state economic momentum, federal aid to states and state tax burdens.

January 2012, Volume 30, Issue 2

State Tax Collections: Generally Good News

The Rockefeller Institute released a new quarterly summary of state tax collections, covering the third calendar quarter of 2011 (July-September). Tax collections for that quarter offered generally encouraging news but also some cause for concern.

Letter to the Editor: PAYGO Revisited

Iris J. Lav and Elizabeth McNichol of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) submitted a response to an article that appeared in Reports, Volume 29, Issue 21.

January 2012, Volume 30, Issue 1

State and Local Finances in FY 2009

The Census Bureau has released its state and local finance series for fiscal year (FY) 2009. The combined state-local data allow meaningful comparisons of tax structures and burdens among the states. This issue focuses on the revenue highlights of the newly released data.
December 2011, Volume 29, Issue 23-24

Index of State Economic Momentum

Continuum of State Fiscal Stress

After modest improvement in fiscal year (FY) 2010, state economies and budgets continued to strengthen in FY 2011. As a result, it now appears that states have begun the long, slow process of recovering from the recession that devastated state budgets in FYs 2008-2009. One big question looms: will the national recovery be sustained at a level that allows states to replace the loss of federal fiscal assistance in FY 2012 and beyond?
November 2011, Volume 29, Issue 22

States, the Department of Defense and the BCA

In August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) was signed into law. It sets federal budget caps for both domestic discretionary and defense spending, and includes triggers for additional budget reductions. A good deal of attention has focused on the likely impact on states of cuts to domestic spending, while little attention has been focused on the impact on states from cuts in defense spending. For some states, the latter pose as much a threat as the former.
November 2011, Volume 29, Issue 21

Performance Measures in Booms and Busts

A recent analysis of states’ use of performance-based budgeting finds that the system is more widely used by the executive branch, and more widely used when the economy is strong. Are those bad things?

Can States Learn from the Feds?

The federal budget process is rife with complexities that are largely absent from state processes. A recent paper suggests that states might benefit from emulating the federal rules. While some states might benefit, the data suggest that most states currently implement the spirit—if not the letter—of the proposed policies.
October 2011, Volume 29, Issue 20

Federal Spending Traceable to States

The U.S. Census Bureau has released its report for fiscal year (FY) 2010 that tracks the flow of federal funds by state. States can use data in the report to assess how they fare in their fiscal relationship with the federal government, an especially relevant issue in an era of federal budget cutting. Sadly, this report may itself become the victim of federal budget cutting, making future analyses of federal spending in the states more difficult to conduct.
October 2011, Volume 29, Issue 19

A Decade in Review: 2000-2010
September 2011, Volume 29, Issue 18

Index of State Economic Momentum
September 2011, Volume 29, Issue 17

The Intersection of Sales Taxes and E-Commerce
August 2011, Volume 29, Issue 15-16

State Solvency Slippage

A Silver Lining?
July 2011, Volume 29, Issue 14

State Reliance on Federal Spending

Curious State Rankings, Cont’d.
July 2011, Volume 29, Issue 13

Good News, Tempered

Not Cool
June 2011, Volume 29, Issue 12

Index of State Economic Momentum
June 2011, Volume 29, Issue 11

Continuum of State Fiscal Stress
May 2011, Volume 29, Issue 10

The Idiosyncrasies of Federal Funding

While No One Was Watching
May 2011, Volume 29, Issue 9

50 Degrees of Freedom

For Lawyers, Supply > Demand
April 2011, Volume 29, Issue 8

State Government Finances in 2009
April 2011, Volume 29, Issue 7

State Revenue Trends by Component

The Curious Case of the FY 2012 Census Budget
March 2011, Volume 29, Issue 6

The 2011 Camelot Index
March 2011, Volume 29, Issue 5

Index of State Economic Momentum