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keep this important state asset open, New York is stepping up to take over this responsibility,” said Cuomo. Unfortunately, stepping up like New York did to keep state economies moving could come at a cost to state coffers. Loeb said the continuing resolution Congress passed includes a provision that allows for reimbursement to states. “However, the national parks were outside of the scope and were considered donations to the federal government,” she said. That means states that kept national parks open could end up eating the costs. Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to repay the states, but its chances of success are uncertain.
Federal Instability Trickles Down States Face Sluggish Economic Recovery Fiscal Impact of Health Care Economic Development Programs High Unemployment and Raising the Minimum Wage For the latest news on the federal budget deal and its impact on states, visit www.csg.org.
Political Turmoil
The rocky rollout of the Affordable Care Act—and the shifting requirements for compliance—has been a major contributor to both political turmoil in Washington and uncertainty for states. Absent a solution to the political gridlock, states and the anemic economic recovery will pay the price. “The clock started ticking for Congress to reach a budget deal before the continuing resolution expired,” said Hendrickson. “For states, having to plan for two very different fiscal scenarios—both another shutdown and a budget deal with unknown details—has been a very difficult position.” That comes at a time when states are seeing some revenue growth brought by a recovering economy, but the unsteady situation in Washington could cripple that recovery. Utah, for instance, is anticipating total revenue growth of 3.8 percent for the 2015 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2014, said Juliette Tennert, budget director and chief economist in the Utah Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. Gov. Gary Herbert will use that forecast, which was released in November, to form his budget. Tennert said the forecast is in line with the state’s longterm averages. “Utah has been really well positioned
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