States face a significant loss of federal dollars as temporary pandemic-related programs that were initiated in 2020 come to an end and national fiscal pressures rise.
In 2024, Hawaii experienced an improvement in its financial situation, similar to that of many other states. But it still didn’t have enough money to pay all of its bills and needed $4.4 billion to fill the gap. That means each taxpayer would have to contribute $8,800 to help pay off the state’s debt. As a result, Hawaii earned a “D” grade from Truth in Accounting.
Our sixteenth annual Financial State of the States (FSOS) report provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states.
In the spirit of promoting clear and accurate fiscal information, Truth in Accounting has once again assessed the transparency of state governments’ financial reporting. While state budgets receive most of the public and media’s attention, their outcomes are detailed in each government's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), which is audited annually by certified public accountants. Our transparency score is based on key criteria outlining best practices, offering government officials and citizens a roadmap to enhance fiscal transparency and accountability.
Our fifteenth annual Financial State of the States (FSOS) report provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states.
"The state doesn't have money sitting around that can be used for settlements like this," said Sheila A. Weinberg, founder and CEO of Truth in Accounting. "To pay for this settlement, taxes will have to be raised or services and benefits will have to be cut. The other option is to even underfund the pension and retiree health care benefits even more."
Hawaii is the first to settle a climate change lawsuit, but it may not be the last. The case may set a precedent in other states where young people have filed lawsuits over climate concerns, according to an op-ed written by Cara Horowitz, executive director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the institute's communications director, Evan George.
Truth in Accounting has once again created a transparency score for the financial reporting by state governments to encourage the publication of transparent and accurate government financial information.
"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."
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
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"Sobering Statistics
The study, called Financial State of the Cities 2023, was done by Truth in Accounting. It has some difficult truths: 50 out of 75 cities could not pay their bills; the combined debt for all 75 cities is $267 billion. Moreover, elected officials didn’t include the cost of government in this figure, instead pushing it onto future taxpayers."
This year's report found that 31 states did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.
Includes: "Hawaii Gov. David Ige on Monday proposed refunding $100 to every taxpayer and dependent as the economy and tax receipts recover from the coronavirus pandemic. ... 'We believe that the $1 billion to the rainy day fund would really prepare Hawaii to be able to stand on its own in response to the next emergency,' he said.'"
Includes “Despite receiving support from COVID relief grants and other federal programs, Hawaii’s overall financial condition worsened during the onset of the pandemic. Based upon the state’s fiscal year 2020 audited financial report, Hawaii had a Taxpayer Burden™ of $37,000, earning it an ‘F’ grade from Truth in Accounting.”
PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Truth in Accounting's twelfth annual Financial State of the States report, a nationwide analysis of the most recent state government financial information.
50-minute video presentation by Sheila Weinberg.
Press release, includes “Hawaii’s finances are in worse shape than our state and county officials would have us believe. But Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of national watchdog organization Truth in Accounting, has some ideas on how we can turn that around. Weinberg will be the featured guest at a luncheon on Maui on Thursday, Aug. 19, and a luncheon on Oahu on Friday, Aug. 20.”
By Andrew Walden, includes “In recent gambling-related cases, targeting Tracy Yoshimura on Oahu, and Lance and Stacey Yamada on the Big Island, prosecutors have so far mostly come up short against individuals and corporate structures they claimed were behind illegal game room operations in Hawaii. Obviously, the cases were filed in state courts. … What part of ‘mutually assured destruction’ did they not understand?”
By Nancy Cook Lauer, includes “A bill Gov. David Ige is threatening to veto and one he signed are the ‘winners’ of this year’s Rusty Scalpel award from two public-interest groups. Both House Bill 862 and Senate Bill 1350 are titled ‘Relating to State Government,’ and both were stripped of their original content and substituted with unrelated wording in the conference committee process, with no opportunity for public input.”