On April 19, Stateline.org reported that “forty-one states figure to end this fiscal year with a total of $31 billion more than planned.� These states discovered that their coffers are plush, finishing their fiscal years with surpluses.
For seven of the remaining nine states—Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin—no surpluses are expected, but the states are expecting to finish the year even, in the black.
Maine finds itself in the unenviable position of being one of only two states finishing the current fiscal year with a budget shortfall. Maine’s Legislature must address a $34 million budget shortfall, while Michigan's Legislature must fill a $360 million gap.
Maine’s budget shortfall is an anomaly. Maine policymakers must take this dubious distinction seriously and address the state’s budget ills. The folks in Augusta need to get to bottom of why Maine is one of only two states in the nation facing a budget shortfall.
