In a state where the issue of transparency in government spending is a constant source of debate, Illinois House Bill 3181 stood out as a beacon of hope for transparency and accountability at the local level. The bill aimed to enforce a comprehensive disclosure of indebtedness in financial reports and audits of governmental units, counties, and municipalities across the state.

At the end of the fiscal year 2022, 53 cities did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.

"Another scorecard ranked California one of the worst states financially. Truth in Accounting’s 14th annual Financial State of the States report scored California 42nd among the 50 states.

"In fiscal 2022, 28 states didn’t have enough revenue to pay all of their bills, according to the 14th annual Financial State of the States report, published by the Chicago-based nonprofit Truth in Accounting.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states based on the latest available data from states’ fiscal year 2022 annual comprehensive financial reports.

New Jersey ranked last for having the worst fiscal health and the greatest taxpayer burden. Not far behind was Connecticut, followed by Illinois, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Kentucky, Delaware, Louisiana, California and Vermont in the bottom ten.

By contrast, 22 states reported surpluses, the majority of which are led by Republican governors."

"Illinois is touting its rainy day fund, which has recently passed the $2 billion mark. However, some financial analysts say the state is lying to itself about its finances.

After an $11.5 million deposit, Illinois' Rainy Day Fund is now $2.005 billion, up from $48,000 in 2017, which would have only allowed the state to run properly for 30 seconds."

"(The Center Square) - The city of Los Angeles' controller had a message for city officials: you aren’t spending enough.

The controller put out a recent report for 2023 that said while spending has increased 35% over the past six years, the city isn’t spending all of its revenues.

"The City is not spending what it is budgeting for which means less services, resources, and infrastructure are being provided for Angelenos," the controller’s October report stated."

"(The Center Square) — South Carolina doesn’t produce budget stress tests or a long-term budget assessment, and a non-profit group says the Palmetto State, like others nationwide, should start preparing for economic uncertainty.

According to a report from Pew Charitable Trusts, 15 states have developed long-term budget assessments, while 13 have performed budget stress tests.

In recent years, states have benefited from an influx of federal aid and better-than-anticipated tax revenues. However, Pew experts say state leaders should prepare for more budget shocks."

"A new report from the nonpartisan organization truth in accounting reveals the fiscal condition of each state, Maryland received a "D" ranking. 

CEO of Openthebooks.com, Adam Andrzejewski, joins Fox45 Morning Show to break this down for us."

Now Available

Our annual report on state fiscal health. Debt among the states improved slightly. Going from $1.2 trillion down to $938.6 billion. 

What happened? 

How did your state do? Read the full report below. 

https://www.truthinaccounting.org/news/detail/financial-state-of-the-states-2023

The $4 trillion municipal securities market has approximately one million outstanding securities issued by an estimated 50,000 different state and local governments and other authorities. Issuers of municipal debt can range from the largest cities to tiny mosquito abatement special districts.

“Pennsylvania needed more than $51 billion to pay its outstanding bills, including unfunded retirement obligations,” a report by the organization Truth in Accounting said in its bevy of reported grading each states’ fiscal health.

The report — unsurprisingly, in our view, when you consider the above statement — gave Pennsylvania a D. Under the organization’s criteria, Pennsylvania, when compared to other states, ranks 36th.

The organization, in talking to news service The Center Square for a report which ran in Tuesday’s Sun-Gazette, also cautioned that in recent years states are at risk of being overly reliant on federal revenue streams. 

Another factor was increased spending from pent-up demand during the pandemic driving the scope of tax revenues up. 

But, as the leaders of Truth in Accounting caution, these revenue streams are exceedingly unlikely to be permanent."

"(The Center Square) — In a report that scored states on their financial condition, Alabama taxpayers would owe $7,000 each if individually paying off the state’s debts.

The state, ranked No. 32 and given a D grade by Truth in Accounting, owes $5.9 billion. The taxpayer burden is between $5,000 and $20,000.

Truth in Accounting says the state has $17.2 billion in assets and cash on hand to pay $27 billion in bills. Those liabilities include $11.3 billion in bond debt, $10.7 billion in unfunded pensions and $2.75 billion in unfunded health care costs for state and local retirees."

"Arizona has published its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year that ended 15 months ago.

The state had more than $6 billion on hand to pay its bills at the start of July last year.

Cash then to pay the state’s outstanding bills was an improvement from a year before, when the firm called Truth in Accounting said Arizona left a burden on individual taxpayers.

Founder and CEO Sheila Weinberg spoke in general terms about the new financial report that Arizona has been chronically late in producing. She said only four states have yet to release theirs. 

“Arizona is still one of our delinquent five because, even though they issued it, they did issue it very late," Weinberg said. 

Weinberg also said the 300-plus page report would have helped lawmakers when they wrote this year’s budget.

Arizona now faces an estimated $400 million shortfall."