States are facing a great fiscal crisis. At least 47 states faced or are facing shortfalls in their budgets for this and/or the next year or two. Combined budget gaps for the remainder of this fiscal year and state fiscal years 2010 and 2011 are estimated to total more than $350 billion. This figure, however, does not account for recent state actions to close their 2009 budget gaps or their projected gaps for 2010 or 2011, or for the $140 billion in fiscal relief that Congress provided for states in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The states’ fiscal problems are continuing into the next two years. At least 46 states have looked ahead and anticipate deficits for fiscal year 2010 and beyond. These gaps total $133 billion — 19 percent of budgets — for the 45 states that have estimated the size of these gaps and are likely to grow as gaps are re-estimated in the next few months.
