State Budgets in the Trump Era

The election of Donald Trump as president and Republican majorities in Congress have Washington primed for major legislative reforms. But it’s important to keep in mind that what the new government in the nation’s capital does will reverberate in all 50 statehouses. Knowing changes are coming, but having uncertainty as to the extent of these changes, is clearly making it difficult for states’ own budget-setting process. Most changes could hand states more control over programs but also demand more fiscal responsibility, forcing states to address big questions about how much they want to tax and spend in the future.