Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, April 3, 2020
How Healthy is Your State’s Rainy Day Fund? -- Hawaii Ranks 39th
By Tax Foundation @ 2:05 AM :: 3046 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, COVID-19

How Healthy is Your State’s Rainy Day Fund?

by Janelle Cammenga, Tax Foundation, April 1, 2020 

Economic cycles can have significant impacts on state revenue, but states can prepare for the inevitable downturns during good times by putting away money in a revenue stabilization fund—or rainy day funds, as they’re often known. Funding levels and the actual names of these funds may vary from state to state, but rainy day funds have increasingly emerged as a standard component of states’ budgeting toolkits.

This week’s map looks at what percentage of a state’s general fund expenditures could be covered by the money in its rainy day fund (or funds). Because state revenues and budgets vary widely, looking at this percentage instead of dollar amounts alone allows us to compare how much a state has been saving, and exactly what those savings mean.

How healthy is your state's rainy day fund? State rainy day funds and state rainy day balances as a percentage of state general fund expenditures

Of the 50 states, Wyoming has the most robust rainy day account, covering 109 percent of its annual general fund expenditures with $1.6 billion. Alaska comes in second with 52.6 percent of its annual expenditures ($2.3 billion). North Dakota (30 percent and $727 million) and New Mexico (26.8 percent and $2 billion) follow behind. Notably, each of these states relies heavily on revenue from oil and gas production and other resource extraction. Because of the revenue volatility associated with these industries, which were struggling predating the COVID-19 pandemic-related economic contraction, such states often deposit a substantial amount of excess revenue from severance and related taxes into rainy day funds in years when prices and production are high.

Kansas and Illinois have the least in their rainy day funds—Illinois with very little (only $4 million), and Kansas with nothing at all. Kansas implemented its rainy day fund (the Budget Stabilization Fund) only recently, in 2016, one of the last states to do so. While the plan was to establish the fund in 2017, deposits were not scheduled to begin until fiscal year 2020, after the state would accrue some revenue from the 2017 tax increases. As such, the fund still stands empty. Pennsylvania and New Jersey are only slightly above this level, each with savings to cover 1 percent of their annual expenditures.

Due to data availability, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin numbers are from 2019, and numbers for Georgia are from 2018. All other info is from 2020.

---30---

Related: Act 268 Hawaii Unfunded Liabilities Plan: Pot of Gold for Corrupt Union Leaders
 

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT