Posts from — July 2009

The National Governors Association Annual Meeting will be held July 17-20 in Biloxi, MS. The governors will be discussing the economic outlook for their states, healthcare reform, energy independence, emergency preparedness, and stimulus funding as it relates to education, early childhood, and workforce training.

NPR reporter Renee Montagne interviewed the NGA Annual Meeting host, Governor Haley Barbour, on Morning Edition today. She asked the governor how the stimulus package was impacting Mississippi’s economy since Mississippi is one of the country’s poorest states. Governor Barbour said that the state had passed a balanced budget but that he had concerns regarding the requirements that governed stimulus spending. Under the federal government’s mandate, K-12 education will see a 7.2% increase in funding for FY10. He said that all levels of education in the state would receive record-high appropriations this year. Conversely, public safety is facing a 6% reduction in funding for FY10. He said the legislators would have preferred to be able spread the stimulus funds more equitably across state agencies.

It’s no doubt the governors will have a lot to talk about. The daily headlines are full of positive and negative reports regarding state budgets. Here are just a few examples: California budget talks have stalled while Illinois averted a government shutdown when lawmakers adopted a FY10 budget. Alabama begins a new fiscal year in October and Governor Bob Riley is already predicting education cuts because tax collections are falling. Florida’s Governor Charlie Christ said stimulus money saved 26,000 teachers’ jobs and enabled the state to boost unemployment benefits.

We’ll have a better idea of FY10 projections after the NGA annual meeting and the National Association of State Budget Officers annual meeting in August.

Click here to get the latest information regarding State Fiscal Stabilization Funds. Find out:

• Which states have successfully completed Part 1 of the State Stabilization Application?
• How much funding did each state receive?
• How is the state planning to spend the discretionary portion of the SFSF funding it receives?

Check back often to get the latest news you can use in developing your state-by-state ARRA marketing strategy.

John F. Hood, President
MCH, Inc.

The Department of Education, which controls the distribution of all the $48 billion in state stabilization funds, announced yesterday that they were releasing immediately the final third of the government services portion, $2.7 billion. The government services portion is $8 billion or 18.2 percent of the $48 billion, two-thirds of which has already been made available to states whose applications have been approved. As of today, over 40 states have been approved. 90% of the $2.7 billion or $2.4 billion has just been added to the pot.

The government services portion is distributed to state agencies at the discretion of the governor. The money is to be used for such things as education, school modernization, public safety, and other government services. Some guidance about where the money is going in each state is available on our spreadsheet. In many cases, however, states have put much of the money in an “undecided” classification so we can’t know.

Obviously, the Department of Education is trying to make available as much money as quickly as they can. It’s still up to the states to put it to use.