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Headlines
Rich States, Poor States, 6th Edition
This 6th edition of Rich States, Poor States contains invaluable insight into each of the 50 "laboratories of democracy." With solid empirical research and the latest data on state economies, the evidence is clear on which state tax and fiscal policies directly lead to more opportunities, more jobs, and more prosperity for all Americans.
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Headlines : New York
Pension relief still a way off
For the first time in recent years, New York state's pension fund exceeded its target rate of return, but E.J. McMahon, an analyst with the conservative Empire Center, cautioned that worse-than-targeted performance in recent years means the fund lost out on gains it should have booked.
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Headlines
Ex-Penn State president tops highest paid list
Presidents of public universities are taking home bigger paychecks, and a growing number are raking in more than $1 million.
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Headlines
What if the Internet Sales Tax Doesn't Make it Through Congress?
Some states are so anxious for the anticipated revenues they've already committed the money to various projects.
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Headlines
Williams: Marketplace Fairness Act and Internet taxes are not the answers to state budget problems
Bob Williams: Hoping for more federal stimulus or hoping the feds will allow taxes on the Internet will not solve the budget crises the states currently face. The problem is spending, not revenue.
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Budget timeline: Annual
Fiscal Year starts: April 1
The current state budget can be found here.
Find the legislative session calendar here.
Find the current legislative leaders here.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
Phone: (518) 474-7516
http://www.ny.gov/governor/
Robert Megna, Budget Director
Division of Budget
State Capitol, Room 113
Albany, NY 12224
Phone (518) 473-0580
http://www.budget.state.ny.us/
Want a more robust, long-term look at your state's fiscal health, beyond the budget? There are two parts: Click here for the FY2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) compiled by the state government, and click here for information on the state's pension liabilities.
New York is required to pass a "balanced budget." Article 7, Section 2 of the Constitution states the governor must present a budget of all expenditures, and the revenue sources, including new taxes, to meet those expenditures. Section 54 of the State law then charges the legislature to demonstrate its changes to the proposed budget follow Article 7. Despite these provisions, budget deficits (negative net transactions) were reported on the State's Budgetary Comparison Schedules for two of the three years examined. Under New York law, deficits can be carried over from one year to the next.
The State reports three major individual governmental funds: the General Fund, the Major Special Revenue Fund, and the General Obligation Debt Service Fund. All three major funds are budgeted (The General Obligation Debt Service Fund is not budgeted in FY05, but it is also not reported as a governmental fund). Non-major Funds that are budgeted: Special Revenue 3 and "other" out of 10, Debt Service Funds 3 and "other" out of 6 (7 FY05), and 4 and other out of 12 (11 FY06, FY05). Budgetary Comparison Schedules are missing beginning and ending balances. [from the Institute for Truth in Accounting]
Find the state's bond ratings here.
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State Debt :
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HEADLINES: New York
Comptroller gives NY budget mixed reviews
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli gave mixed reviews Friday to the state budget passed last month amid New York's ongoing struggles with financial challenges following the national recession and massive storms.
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RESEARCH
Federal Aid to the States 2008-2011
It is well understood that the federal government must make spending cuts-these cuts will most likely drastically change the amount of federal dollars that are allocated to the states. Unfortunately for most states, dependence on federal funding has continually risen since 2008.
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Pensions :
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HEADLINES: New York
Pension relief still a way off
For the first time in recent years, New York state's pension fund exceeded its target rate of return, but E.J. McMahon, an analyst with the conservative Empire Center, cautioned that worse-than-targeted performance in recent years means the fund lost out on gains it should have booked.
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HEADLINES
GAO finds growing state, local fiscal gap with Medicaid to blame
Closing the gap to achieve fiscal balance over 50 years will require "action to be taken today and maintained for each year equivalent to a 14.2 percent reduction in the state and local government sector's current expenditures."
- View All New York articles
K-12 Education :
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HEADLINES: New York
New York State budget: Senate passes bill with $350 tax rebate, minimum wage hike
New York's Senate approved a roughly $136 billion budget that raises the minimum wage to $9 per hour over three years and offers a $350 rebate to families with children, completing the votes a little over two hours before dawn on Wednesday.
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RESEARCH
The School Staffing Surge: Decades of Employment Growth in America's Public Schools, Part II
Public schools grew staffing at a rate four times faster than the increase in students over that time period. Of those personnel, teachers' numbers increased 252 percent, while administrators and other non-teaching staff experienced growth of 702 percent, more than seven times the increase in students.
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Solutions:
How Reality-Based Budgeting Can Permanently Resolve State Budget Gaps
State Budget Solutions recommends that state legislators take action in 2013 to resolve the serious state financial crises by changing their focus from inputs to outcomes by redesigning budgets from the ground up based on priorities and performance.
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Solutions:
How to Prevent Future Pension Crises
The time for state and local governments to offer defined contribution retirement plans that protect both taxpayer dollars and public employee retirement security is now.
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Solutions:
State Lawmaker’s Guide to Evaluating Medicaid Expansion Projections
Supporters of Obamacare claim that expanding Medicaid will entail little to no cost to state governments, since the federal government will fund the vast majority of the additional costs. Indeed, some analyses project states achieving savings from adopting the expansion. However, state lawmakers should be wary of accepting such analyses at face value.
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Solutions:
Medicaid Is Broken—Let the States Fix It
Block-granting Medicaid is the best way to deliver better, cost-effective care to the most vulnerable Americans.
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Solutions:
The Case for Reform: Prisons
Prisons are supremely important, but they are also a supremely expensive government program, and thus prison systems must be held to the highest standards of accountability.
- View All Solutions
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New York
Pension relief still a way off
For the first time in recent years, New York state's pension fund exceeded its target rate of return, but E.J. McMahon, an analyst with the conservative Empire Center, cautioned that worse-than-targeted performance in recent years means the fund lost out on gains it should have booked.
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State Pension Litigation Update, May 2013
In attempts to reign in the costs of pensions, state lawmakers legislate pension reform. Challengers to those reforms often bring suit, alleging violations of state law, contracts, and the Constitution.
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GAO finds growing state, local fiscal gap with Medicaid to blame
Closing the gap to achieve fiscal balance over 50 years will require "action to be taken today and maintained for each year equivalent to a 14.2 percent reduction in the state and local government sector's current expenditures."
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New York
Double-dipping wanes: Fewer state workers draw both a salary, pension
The issue of double dippers has been a vexing one for state government as it has balanced the push for early retirements with the need to provide government services.
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In Congress, a Bill Seeks to Tie Municipal Borrowing Power to Public Pension Disclosure
Representatives from California and two other states introduced a bill in Congress on Thursday that would strip states and cities of their right to issue tax-exempt bonds unless they first disclosed the true cost of their pension plans and whether they could pay it.
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BLOG: Higher Education, Spending
Who is the highest paid state employee in your state?
Time to add a new diagram to the state budget and policy playbook--your state's highest paid employee is probably a football or basketball coach.
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BLOG: Medicaid
Medicaid expansion won't yield quality health care
The bombshell Oregon Medicaid study released this week should give all states pause as they consider plans to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. States must now ask what the point of Medicaid is in the first place.
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BLOG: Budget Gimmicks, Budget Processes and Systems, Measures to Balance Budgets, Spending, State Debt
Let's Put Privatizing Municipal Services Back on the Table
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BLOG: Unions
Airing Out the Smoke-filled Rooms: Bringing Transparency to Public Union Collective Bargaining
To help prevent union strong-arming that fleeces taxpayers, we should know precisely what public union officials are demanding and what government employers are offering in any collective negotiation about employment terms and conditions.
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BLOG: Budget Gimmicks, Budget Processes and Systems, Budget Transparency, Federal Government Impact, Federal Government Impact, Measures to Balance Budgets, Pensions, Revenue, Spending, State Debt
Yes, Your Paycheck is Smaller...And it May Get Worse
And it isn’t just individuals who must reconfigure budgets, the states are looking at smaller “paychecks” as well.
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