Since today – July 1st – marks the beginning of the new fiscal year for most states, legislators needed to have budgets prepared by yesterday evening. However, California is not the only state government that is facing budget problems. According to a new Associated Press article, “Legislators in more than a half-dozen states, their revenues evaporating in the recession, frantically worked to stave off government shutdowns and devastating service cuts.”
Across the country, lawmakers are feeling the heat as their legislatures began the new fiscal year without a budget in place.
In Illinois, the sputtering drive to come up with a state budget broke down completely Tuesday, leaving the state without any plan for paying its employees or delivering government services. The session ended without any firm plans to return or even for Gov. Pat Quinn and legislative leaders to resume negotiations.
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell said Tuesday night he didn't think an agreement with lawmakers would come soon. The state faces the prospect of not being able to pay state employees if they cannot resolve an impasse.
Although other states in the country are experiencing ongoing budget problems, none of them are expected to have as serious of an affect on the rest of the country as California. They other day I posted an entry explaining how the Golden State’s poor economy could prolong the recession, and this new AP article reiterates that message.
