R.I. gets high marks for state revenue forecasting

ACCORDING TO A STUDY released last week by the center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Rhode Island is one of 13 states in the country that receive top marks for revenue-estimating best practices. / COURTESY CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES
ACCORDING TO A STUDY released last week by the center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Rhode Island is one of 13 states in the country that receive top marks for revenue-estimating best practices. / COURTESY CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island has one of the best processes in the country for predicting how much revenue the state will bring in, making it more likely that the state will have a reliable estimate on which to build its budget, according to a report released Aug. 8 by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The report evaluated each U.S. state on the five “common-sense” best practices: whether the governor and legislature jointly produce the revenue estimate, whether the forecasting body includes outside experts, whether the forecast is published and made easily accessible online, whether meetings of the forecast body are open to the public, and whether estimates are revised during the year.
Rhode Island was one of only 13 states to receive full marks for implementing all five of these best practices, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said.
“Ensuring that policymakers have reliable information about the resources that will be available to fund public services is critical to good fiscal discipline,” said Kate Brewster, executive director of Rhode Island’s Economic Progress Institute, commenting on the report.
The other states that received five out of five points were Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Utah and Vermont. Connecticut scored only four out of five points, taking a hit for not including outside experts in its forecasting body, while New Hampshire achieved its only point for that same practice and was among the states the worst scores.
Arkansas ranked lowest of any state, with zero points. Other low-ranking states included Alabama, Georgia and Texas, with one point each.
According to the report’s author, Liz McNichol, “while there is no one right way to forecast revenues, research and experience suggest that states benefit from including the legislature, governor and independent experts from the state, giving the public, media and advocates access to the deliberations and regularly revisiting estimates during the budget session.”
To view the full report, visit www.cbpp.org.

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