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May 2009

Addressing State and Local Fiscal Challenges Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. May 2009. State and Local Governments in the U.S. Federal System. 89,527 state and local governments

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May 2009

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  1. Addressing State and Local Fiscal Challenges Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act May 2009

  2. State and Local Governments in the U.S. Federal System • 89,527 state and local governments • State and local employment represented approximately 14 percent of total U.S. employment in 2007 • State and local government operating and capital expenditures totaled more than $2 trillion in 2007 • State and local expenditures represented approximately 12 percent of GDP in 2007 • States and localities received more than $430 billion in federal grant funds in 2007 and about $500 billion in 2009 • State and local governments collected $1.3 trillion in tax receipts in 2007

  3. State and Local Governments Face Increasing Fiscal Challenges Percent of GDP Operating Surplus/Deficit Fall 2008 Operating Surplus/Deficit Jan 2009 Source: Historical data from National Income and Product Accounts. Historical data from 1980 – 2007, Sept. 2008 & January, 2009 GAO projections from 2008 – 2050 using many CBO projections and assumptions, particularly for next 10 years.

  4. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) • Has several provisions that may mitigate the fiscal difficulties that state and local governments are facing • Provides about $787 billion in spending and tax provisions: • Over $580 billion in additional spending • More than $280 billion in grants to states (including grants that go through states to individuals)

  5. Purposes of the Recovery Act • To preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery. • To assist those most impacted by the recession. • To provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health. • To invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits. • To stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services.

  6. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act GAO responsibilities include: • conducting bimonthly reviews of selected states and localities • commenting on the estimates of the number of jobs • reviewing areas such as trade adjustment assistance, new education incentive grants, and efforts to increase small business lending • monitoring downturn’s long-term effect on states (health care costs) • fraud reporting hotline

  7. GAO’s State and Local Reporting Strategy • Recovery Act requires GAO to “conduct bimonthly reviews and prepare reports on such reviews on the use by selected States and localities of funds made available in this Act.” • Strategy • Longitudinal study of 16 states and the District of Columbia • Selection criteria based on the stated purposes of the Recovery Act • Additional states added as other events dictate, including ongoing GAO work • Localities sampled within selected states • GAO senior executives to coordinate with each selected state

  8. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 1. Arizona 2. California 3. Colorado 4. Florida 5. Georgia 6. Illinois 7. Iowa 8. Massachusetts 9. Michigan 10. Mississippi 11. New Jersey 12. New York 13. North Carolina 14. Ohio 15. Pennsylvania 16. Texas 17. Washington, D.C.

  9. Reporting Objectives • Improvements needed, if any, to OMB’s guidance • States’ and localities’ use of funds • States’ and localities’ up-front safeguards and ongoing monitoring, audits, and evaluations • States’ and localities’ plans to evaluate the impact of funds

  10. Projected Timing of Recovery Act Funds Made Available to States and Localities, by Fiscal Year

  11. Composition of State and Local Recovery Act Funding Fiscal Year 2009 Fiscal Year 2012 Source: GAO analysis of CBO and FFIS data.

  12. State Management and Oversight Issues Management • Governance • Involvement of legislatures • Accounting • Fiscal condition Oversight • Tools and mechanisms • Resources

  13. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act GAO recommendations • Methodologies to determine jobs created and retained • Administrative support to help states with oversight • Communication with states and local recipients

  14. GAO Recovery Act Information • April 2009 Bi-Monthly Report:GAO-09-580 Recovery Act: As Initial Implementation Unfolds in States and Localities, Continued Attention to Accountability Issues Is Essential • GAO Recovery Act website: http://www.gao.gov/recovery

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