States Without A Plan:
11 U.S. States Haven't Passed Budgets
Cub
Scouts being kicked out of a campground in New Jersey may be the most
visible sign of budget problems in American states, but New Jersey is
far from alone in struggling to work out a spending plan.
As
the budget year started most places Saturday, 11 states did not have
budgets in place, according to the National Association of State Budget
Officers.
Not
all the budget fights are as dramatic as Republican Gov. Chris
Christie's shutdown in New Jersey, or the granddaddy of spending
disputes - the now more than two years Illinois has operated without a
spending plan.
Many
of the disputes are driven by ideological divides made worse by poor
budget forecasting. Half of states received less in taxes than expected
last fiscal year, the worst job of estimating since the tail end of the
Great Recession, according to the budget officers association.
In some states like Wisconsin, the disagreement is whether to borrow money or raise taxes.
The
states without a budget on July 1 are Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin,
while in Pennsylvania and Michigan the budget has passed the Legislature
and is on the governor's desk.
A look at the problems blocking spending plans in several states and the potential consequences:
New Jersey
Republican
Gov. Christie ordered the shutdown of nonessential state services like
state parks and the motor vehicles commission late Friday as he puts
pressure on Democratic lawmakers to overhaul New Jersey's biggest health
insurer.
There
were the obvious signs of a modern budget impasse like the roughly 25
Cub Scouts from Pack 124 in Tinton Falls being forced to leave
Cheesequake State Park. Christie's administration placed the photo of
Democratic Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, on who it's blaming the
shutdown, on signs announcing the parks are closed.
New
Jersey Democrats worry if they don't give in to Christie's demands in
the nearly $35 billion budget, he will use his line-item on education
spending.
Illinois
Saturday
marked the start of a third year without a budget for Illinois. And
that lack of a spending plan has it in the most dire straits of any
state in the United States.
The
problems started when Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner took over in 2015,
the same year a temporary four-year tax increase ended. In his first
budget year, Democrats ignored Rauner's demands, and the state kept the
same spending plan as it had when it was collecting the extra $7 billion
a year in taxes.
Illinois
is now running on an estimated $6 billion deficit. Comptroller Susana
Mendoza is warning that without some kind of spending plan, state
workers may stop getting paychecks, pension payments may be halted,
money-generating lottery ticket sales could stop and the state's credit
rating could fall to "junk" by the summer.
Maine
In
Maine, lawmakers worked over the weekend, but it appeared residents
will start dealing Monday with the state's first government shutdown
since 1991.
Democrats
and Republicans in the Legislature worked together on the two-year,
$7.1 billion budget, but Republican Gov. Paul LePage said he couldn't
accept because it did not include his income tax cuts.
Unlike
other states facing budget disputes, both lawmakers and the governor
appear to be trying to end the game of chicken. LePage made his own
suggestions and staffers appeared to praise the work being done over the
weekend with hopes that a final vote on a deal could be held Monday.
Wisconsin
The
budget deal in Wisconsin fell apart over an issue dogging many states
these days - how to pay to fix and improve crumbling roads.
Dwindling
collections from the state's gas tax and vehicle registration fees have
left a $1 billion hole in the two-year, $76 billion spending plan
Wisconsin was supposed to have in place Friday.
Republican
Gov. Scott Walker wants to borrow $500 million and delay some projects
to save money. Some Republicans want to borrow even more and the GOP
discussed a new heavy truck fee to raise $250 million, but that appears
to be dead along with any discussion of raising the gas tax with Walker
considering running for a third term next year.
Oregon
The only western state without a budget appears to be well on its way to passing a spending plan.
In
Oregon, the drama started when Gov. Kate Brown and fellow Democrats
called for changes in the way the state taxes businesses. But as June
started with no deal over the state budget, separated into several
spending plans, Brown relented.
Additional revenue helped Democrats and Republicans reach a deal.
But
there could still be some spending disputes. In jeopardy are $670
million in taxes for health care as a Republican Rep. Julie Parrish said
she will push to get 58,000 signatures in 90 days to take advantage of
Oregon's law that allows voters to delay implementation of a law through
a special election.
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