Blog Post

Insight: State Budget Report Cards Out, Utah a Model Student

By: Juliette Tennert

Note: The opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect an institutional position of the Gardner Institute. We hope the opinions shared contribute to the marketplace of ideas and help people as they formulate their own INFORMED DECISIONS™.

Mar 3, 2020 – The Volcker Alliance gave Utah high marks in state budget practices in its recently released Truth and Integrity in State Budgeting: The Balancing Act report.

The third annual report is the product of a multi-year study that assesses how state governments measure up in five fiscal practice areas:

  • Budget forecasting: Whether or not states do consensus and multi-year forecasts and the reasonableness of assumptions
  • Budget maneuvers: States’ use of short-term budget fixes that threaten long-term sustainability
  • Legacy costs: Funding efforts for public pension and other post-employment benefit obligations
  • Reserve funds:  Existence and adequacy of budget reserve funds and withdrawal and deposit policies
  • Transparency: The detail and accessibility of information on the overall budget, debt, deferred infrastructure replacement costs, and tax expenditures

Since the research began, no state has earned an all-A report card. Only Hawaii and Utah posted As in four of five categories in FY 2019. Hawaii received a D in legacy costs for failing to adequately fund public pensions. Utah received a C in transparency on account of lacking disclosure in deferred infrastructure replacement costs and incomplete reporting of tax exemptions and credits.

The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and researchers from seven other universities are part of the Volcker Alliance’s Research Network. The network provides research and analysis for the multi-year Truth and Integrity in Government Finance initiative. In addition to the just-released report, the Volcker Alliance has released a State Data Laboratory for students and researchers looking to take a deeper dive into the initiative’s underlying research.

Juliette Tennert is the director of economic and public policy research and chief economist at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.