Blog Post

Successful Budgeting: A Collaboration of the Western United States

By: Dr. Jennifer Robinson, Ph.D.

The California Journal of Politics and Policy publishes, in cooperation with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, the Western State Budget Reports each year.  In these reports, you can read about how Alaska changed the oil tax, how several states have legalized marijuana and the effect on revenue, and what states have yet to recover from the Great Recession. The reports are authored by faculty from 14 universities in the west, representing Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Successful Budgeting: A Collaboration of the Western United States

14 states are represented in the Western State Budget Reports

 

The most recent Utah Budget Report highlights significant changes to the budget process that were implemented by the state legislature in 2014.  Beginning that year, the first week of the session is now dedicated as the “Base Budget Week” during which only appropriation committee meetings are held.  The change proved to be valuable right from the start for both legislators and staff.  Legislators noted that their time was more efficiently used compared to previous sessions when many early non-budget meetings were cancelled or time was not well used.  The week also provided time for all legislators, not just those in leadership positions, to be highly engaged in the budget process.

A few other important changes happened that year.  The Utah Legislature held a long-term policy and budget planning conference prior to the 2014 session.  The session was the first of its kind in the state and focused on economic and demographic changes that influence the state. The legislature also changed the revenue forecasting to be a 15-year revenue trend forecast. These changes were indicators that the state legislature was to take a long-term approach to budgeting in Utah.

Budget analysts, legislators, and scholars across the west use the annual budget reports to find best practices that can improve the legislative budget process, to learn about trends that cross the West, and see what issues are on the horizon for the upcoming year.

In just a few weeks, the faculty from the 14 universities will gather again at the Western Political Science Conference to discuss the 2016 general sessions in their respective states.  They will share any changes to the budget process, talk about how the economy is impacting their state’s budget, and delve into major policy changes that will have a significant effect on their state’s overall budget.  This year, we anticipate hearing about whether states have expanded Medicaid, how revenues have changed in state that have legalized marijuana, and whether any states increased taxes.  It’s always an interesting discussion!

The latest budget reports were released this week and can be found on the California Journal of Politics and Policy’s website.

Dr. Jennifer Robinson is the associate director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.