I wanted to take a moment to give you all a quick update on the budget. We have been watching this closely and here are a few bullets that are based on facts rather than media speculation:
*First of all, let's take a look at how big this pot of money is. The estimated spending from all sources (general funds, federal funds and other state funds such as bonds for FY 2007 was approximately $1.46 trillion. That is a huge amount of total dollars in this sector.
Now, let's look at some 2008/2009 projections.
*The projected increase in overall tax collections for all states combined from FY 2008 to FY 2009 is 4.4%.
*There is a 1% general fund spending increase overall in the governor's recommended budgets.
*32 states project positive budget growth.
Even states with budget problems that I have recently talked with have a huge amount of technology projects and new procurements going on. I hope this helps.
*Source: Fiscal Survey of the States by the NGA and NASBO
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