State government revenue falls 16%

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that state governments took in nearly $1.7 trillion in total revenue in fiscal year 2008, a 15.8 percent decrease from 2007.

The largest share of the state revenue came from taxes ($780.7 billion), which made up 46.5 percent of the total. The Census Bureau said the decline was primarily because of a decrease in insurance trust revenue, which fell by $377.7 billion (72.7 percent).

Insurance trust systems include public employee retirement systems, the unemployment compensation system, state government workers’ compensation programs and other state social insurance trusts.

Florida's total revenue was $69.2 billion last year, of which $35.8 billion came from taxes. Total expenditures were $76.9 billion, up from $72.7 billion in 2007. By function, the biggest chunk came from education, at $23.1 billion, followed by welfare, which totaled $18.06 billion, up from with $17.3 billion in 2007. Welfare expenditures comprised 23.5 percent of the state’s total expenditures in 2008.

Other findings:

  • Total state government expenditures increased 6.2 percent from fiscal year 2007, totaling $1.7 trillion in 2008. Education ($546.8 billion), public welfare ($412.1 billion) and highways ($107.2 billion) represented the top three outlays, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all state government total expenditures.
  • Eleven states spent more than 25 percent of total expenditures on public welfare, with Tennessee (32.8 percent), Maine (30.5 percent) and Rhode Island (29.8 percent) spending the highest percentage of their total expenditures.
  • Public welfare spending, used to support people based on need, includes such items as old-age assistance, temporary assistance for needy families, and commodities and services provided under welfare programs, including medical care or burial services.
  • Hawaii (11.5 percent), Alabama (10.1 percent) and South Carolina (9.9 percent) led in spending on public health and hospitals as a percentage of total expenditures.

The findings come from the 2008 Annual Survey of State Government Finances, which includes data on revenue, expenditures, debt, and cash and security holdings for each state, as well as a national level summary.

Click here to access the report.