Nebraska state budget

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Nebraska saw -4.7%, $164.5 million decrease of General Fund revenue for FY 2009 (ending June 30, 2009) from FY 2008 according to the report released October 22, 2009 by Gov. Dave Heineman. FY 2009 General Fund revenues were $3.3 billion. State income taxes were down 8.2%, $160 million from FY 2008. Sales taxes saw a very slight increase of 0.3%, $4 million over FY 2008.^[1] FY 2009 revenue growth (negative) is the lowest in the 28 years for which adjusted growth rates have been calculated.^[2]

The budget passed for the FY 2010 and 2011 biennium by the Nebraska State Legislature in May of 2009 is an initial appropriation and budget action. They are not the final appropriations as both fiscal years numbers can be changed during the 2010 Legislative Session, and FY 2011 can further be changed during the 2011 Legislative Session. ^[3]

A $211.3 million unobligated ending balance at the end of the FY10/FY11 Biennial Budget was achieved by a combination of:^[4]

• Deficit and base reductions in several entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Homestead Exemption
• Use of $554 million of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds
• Use of $254 million of Cash Reserve Funds.

General Fund figures will see a 2.9% reduction in FY 2010 and a 5.3% increase in FY 2011 with a two year average of 1.1% per year. The General Fund will be $3.38 billion for FY 2010 and $3.56 billion for FY 2011. Total funds will be $8.4 billion for FY 2010 and $8.6 billion for FY 2011 compared to $8.2 billion for FY 2009.^[5]

[edit] Budget Background

Nebraska operates on a biennium, covering two fiscal years at a time. The fiscal biennium began on July 1, 2009 and ends on June 30, 2011. Each state agency submits their budget recommendations along with prior spending and revenue data by September. In odd-numbered years the Governor is required to submit a budget proposal by January 15 with the exception in the first year of office a Governor may submit a proposal on or before February 15^[6] to the Legislature. Following a series of hearings and meetings the Nebraska Unicameral make necessary amendments prior to returning the budget document to the Governor. The Governor has 5 days to sign, not sign, veto or use a line-item veto before the bill goes into effect. According to the state Constitution 30 votes are required to override the veto. ^[7]

A budget enacted for a fiscal year can be amended or changed up to the last day of that fiscal year. Deficit appropriations are changes made to the originally enacted appropriations. There are several chances to amend a biennial budget once it has been enacted. For example, the FY09-10 and FY10-11 biennial budget was enacted in the 2009 Session. Both years can be changed during the 2010 Session, even though at that time, the state will be nine months into FY09-10. The second year of the biennial budget (FY2010-11) can also be subject to change prospectively during the 2010 Session and again during the 2011 Session as a “deficit” during the fiscal year.^[8]

[edit] Budget figures

The following table provides a history of Nebraska's expenditures and gross domestic product (GDP).

Fiscal Year	Expenditures (billions)	GDP (billions)
2000	$10.8 [9]	$55.5 [9]
2001	$11.6 [9]	$57.4 [9]
2002	$12.5 [9]	$59.9 [9]
2003	$13.3 [9]	$64.6 [9]
2004	$14.1 [9]	$68.4 [9]
2005	$14.3 [9]	$71.2 [9]
2006	$15.3 [9]	$75.3 [9]
2007	$16.3 [9]	$80.1 [9]
2008	$17.4 [9]	$85.2 [9]
2009	$18.6* [9]	$90.6* [9]

• NOTE: The figures for FY 2009 won't be finalized until the end of the fiscal year.
• See Nebraska state budget (2008-2009) for more details.

[edit] Accounting Principles

The Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts office is responsible for independent, accurate, and timely audits, evaluations, or investigations of the financial operations of Nebraska State and local governments. Mike Foley has been Auditor of Public Accounts since his election in November of 2006. The office of the Auditor of Public Accounts is one of six offices making up the executive branch of Nebraska State Government. Nebraska's audit reports are published online.^[10]

The Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA) rates Nebraska “Timely” in filing the state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) – The annual report of state and local governmental entities. IFTA rated 22 states timely, 22 states tardy, and 6 states as worst. IFTA does not consider Nebraska's CAFRs, and those of the other states, to be accurate representations of the state’s financial condition because the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis does not include significant liabilities for the pension plans and for other post employment benefits, such as health care.^[11] Nebraska's CAFRs are published online by the Nebraska Administrative Services Accounting Division.

Paul Carlson is State Accounting Administrator. State Accounting is a division of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and operates and maintains statewide financial systems. The division pre-audits agency transactions, issues statewide Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) and Budgetary Reports, and coordinates the long-term financing needs of the state. State Accounting also prepares the Statewide Cost Allocation Plan (SWCAP).^[12]

Credit Rating	Fitch	Moody's	S&P
Nebraska[13]	NR	Aa3	AA+

[edit] Accounting transparency checklist

Comprehensive Balanced budget Timeliness Usability

[edit] The good

• The website has Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) dating back to 2002.^[14]
• An independent auditor’s report is published on page 14 of the document.^[15]
• It provides supplements to the budget workup, starting on page 66.
• The budget is posted using organized and consistent methods of financial reporting.
• Nebraska law requires a balanced budget and a deficit is forbidden.^[16]
• It includes all costs incurred by the government, including long-term liabilities, starting on page 17 and 39 of the document.^[15]
• The CAFR compares estimated and actual budgetary numbers, such as on page 66 of the document.^[15]
• The Nebraska office was timely in submitting the budget.

[edit] The bad

• The CAFR is posted in a PDF format, so it’s not searchable online.

[edit] Economic Stimulus Package

Nebraska is expected to receive $1.2 billion from the $787 billion dollar economic stimulus.^[17] All told, the federal stimulus plan would create or save 23,000 jobs in Nebraska, based on White House estimates. ^[18]
For more information on how the federal stimulus funds are being used in the state of Nebraska, visit the state recovery website.

According to preliminary reports Nebraska is expected to receive:

• $234 million in education stabilization funds ^[19]
• $228 million for Medicaid ^[20]
• $4 million for foster care and adoption ^[20]
• $229 million for highway infrastructure ^[21]
• $24 million in transit capital assistance ^[21]
• $7 million towards transportation enhancement ^[21]
• $20 million for clean water projects ^[22]
• $20 million for drinking water ^[22]

[edit] Budget transparency

NebraskaSpending.com is the name of the publicly available website created by the Nebraska government. It discloses information about how the state spends taxpayer dollars, and includes data on agency expenditures and contracts. NebraskaSpending.com was created at the initiative of State Treasurer Shane Osborn in July, 2007.^[23] Treasurer Osborn reports that to date, more than 600,000 users have visited nebraskaspending.com (in a state of 1.7 million people). The average site visitor spends 18 minutes on the site, according to Osborn.

Cost estimates for creating online transparency websites have varied widely from state to state. As Nebraska's Treasurer Osborn notes in his letter to Virginia's legislators, such estimates are sometimes erroneous and higher than they should be. According to Osborn, nebraskaspending.com only cost $38,000, despite an initial $1.1 million cost estimate.^[24]

nebraskaspending.com also articulates Nebraska's openness to change and improvement to the site. The Treasurer writes:

If we are to be truly successful in bringing more transparency to state government, it will have to be a collective effort. I encourage you to contact me with your thoughts and ideas as to how we can improve this site and make Nebraska the most efficient state government in the country!^[25]

To act on this recommendation, contact the Office of the Treasurer with your suggestions and comments.

[edit] Website evaluation

Budget Usability Elected Officials Administrative Officials Ethics Audits Contracts Lobbying Public records Taxes

Nebraska.gov is the website for the state of Nebraska.

• Main article: Evaluation of state websites

[edit] The good

• Budget is published.^[26]
• State tax information is available.^[27]
• Elected and administrative officials are listed with contact information in a searchable database.^[28]
• State audit reports are published.^[29]
• All current state contracts are available online.^[30]
• Information on public records statues is posted.^[31]
• Provides list of registered lobbyists and their reports.^[32]

[edit] The bad

• Site has a search but is somewhat difficult to navigate.
• Does not provide information on state-paid lobbying and agency lobbying contracts.
• Does not provide information on state ethics and how to request public records under the Nebraska Public Records Law.

[edit] News

Transparency Study done by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom.

[edit] Legislation

The Taxpayer Transparency Act makes spending transparency an official requirement for the state government.

[edit] Government tools

NebraskaSpending.com provides a database of state financial information, which is searchable by criteria such as amounts spent, agency, and vendors. The following table is helpful in evaluating the level of transparency provided by NebraskaSpending.com:

Criteria for evaluating spending databases

State Database	Searchability	Grants	Contracts	Line Item Expenditures	Dept/Agency Budgets	Public Employee Salary
NebraskaSpending.com

[edit] Economic Stimulus Transparency

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan of 2009 designated $787 billion to be spent throughout the U.S. Of that $787 billion stimulus package, it is estimated that 69%, or over $541 billion, will be administered by state governments.^[33]
• Nebraska will receive an estimated $871,442,210 ^[34]
• The economic recovery website to show how legislators and government officials in Nebraska are spending Federal funds is available here.

[edit] Error in ARRP

On November 16 and 17, 2009, many errors were found in the $747 billion plan that showed the plan set aside money for districts that do not exist. According to Recovery.gov, the plan shows its funds will go to 884 Congressional Districts, though there are only 435.^[35][36]

Nebraska has only 3 Congressional Districts, but the ARRP has alloted $4,607,329 in funds for 15 districts, funding a total of 39.8 jobs.^[37]

[edit] Support for creation of the database

NebraskaSpending.com was created at Treasurer Shane Osborn's direction. In Treasurer Osborn's words,

As State Treasurer, my office is responsible for the receipting and disbursing of all state funds, which includes accurately recording these transactions and informing the Legislature through a yearly report on the state's financial picture. Further, as a public servant, I believe elected officials have a duty to show the public how their tax dollars are being spent right down to the last penny.^[38]

[edit] Public employee salary information

Although NebraskaSpending.com does not yet have the capacity for users to search for the salaries of specific employees, this page, from the Nebraska Library Commission, provides statistics about state employee salaries.

[edit] See Also

Nebraska taxpayer-funded lobbying

[edit] External links

[edit] Additional reading

• Wall Street Journal, Nebraska sets the standard on government accountability, March 14, 2009
• Gov. Dave Heineman,"2009 State of the state address," January 15,2009
• State of Nebraska,"Executive budget 2009-2011 biennium," January 15,2009

[edit] References

v • d • e State Budgets Cost of state transparency websites • State budget issues, 2009-2010 • Pubic employee salaries • States with spending online • Glossary of state budget terms Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming •

	v • d • e State of Nebraska Lincoln (capital)
Transparency	Public Records Law | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | Transparency blogs | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations |
Divisions	State | List of Counties | List of Cities | List of School Districts | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of school district websites |
Government	Nebraska State Constitution | Executive | House of Representatives | Senate |
Judiciary	Nebraska Supreme Court | Judicial Qualifications Commission | District Courts | Judicial Nominating Commission | Judicial news | Judicial activist organizations |
Ballot Measures	2008 ballot measures | List of 2002-2006 ballot measures | Local ballot measures | Amending the constitution | History of direct democracy | Campaign finance requirements |