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.”
Includes “The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii today commended Gov. David Ige for declaring his intent to veto bills from the 2021 Legislature that would have increased the state’s already notoriously high cost of living. …”
By Blaze Lovell, includes “Financing for the state’s portion of the new stadium costs would be handled entirely through general obligations bonds backed by taxpayer dollars. As it stands now, more than half of the state’s investment would be paid back directly by stadium revenues.”
By Kevin Dayton, includes “The breathtaking scope of the federal bailout of state government was on display Wednesday as House Finance Committee Chair Sylvia Luke announced the state now has enough money to repay a $700 million unemployment insurance loan on behalf of Hawaii’s employers.”
By Keli’i Akina, includes “If you had $1,000 in the bank and $10,000 in credit card debt, would you tell people you have a budget surplus? If you said ‘Yes,’ then you may have a future in politics.”
By Keli’i Akina, includes “If you had $1,000 in the bank and $10,000 in credit card debt, would you tell people you have a budget surplus? If you said ‘Yes,’ then you may have a future in politics.”
Includes “The national Governmental Accounting Standards Board is proposing a new accounting standard and a new accounting concept that the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii says would normalize and make more difficult to reform flawed government accounting practices that lack accuracy and transparency. …”