State and Local Budgets – the Next COVID-19 Battlefront

The pandemic and economic fallout are placing significant strains on state and local budgets, costing millions to contain the disease and driving sharp declines in income and sales tax revenues. State budget shortfalls are predicted to total to a cumulative $555 billion over state fiscal years 2020-2022.  This does not include the additional shortfalls local and tribal governments and US territories face. Unlike the federal government, most states and localities must balance their budgets every year. Large budget shortfalls, dwindling rainy day funds, and insufficient federal relief will leave policymakers facing tough choices about raising taxes and fees, cutting spending on critical programs like education and healthcare, and imposing layoffs on public employees.  We know from experience how deep spending cuts and long-term austerity policies can slow down the recovery and cause further harm to families and communities, with disproportionate impacts on immigrants, tribal nations, communities of color, and women.

Join this webinar to learn more about the state and local fiscal crisis, lessons learned from the Great Recession, key principles for an equitable response, and how state and local advocates are gearing up for the budget battles to come.

Discussants:

• Caitlin Hamood, Stoneman Family Foundations (moderator)
• Marcela Díaz, Somos Un Pueblo Unido
• The Honorable Julie Gonzales, Senate Finance Committee, Colorado General Assembly
• Erica Williams, State Fiscal Policy division and State Priorities Partnership, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Cosponsors:  Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, Children Youth & Family Funders Roundtable, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, Environmental Grantmakers Association, Funders Together to End Homelessness, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Grantmakers in Health, Grantmakers In Health, Grantmakers for Thriving Youth, Maryland Philanthropy Network, Philanthropy New York, United Philanthropy Forum, Workforce Matters