Finances deteriorating for most states, but not all.

• Position: News & Numbers - National Conference of State Legislatures

Weaker-than-expected revenue growth is making it difficult for many states to balance their budgets for fiscal year 2008 and to enact balanced budgets for fiscal 2009, according to a study by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The situation is uneven, however; energy-producing states have strong fiscal conditions and positive outlooks, while many states face challenges including a severe slump in the housing sector.

The NCSL's State Budget Update: April 2008 covers the revenue and expenditure situation for the first three quarters of fiscal 2008 for most states. It includes information on revenue performance, spending overruns, projections of budget gaps in 2008 and 2009, the revenue outlook for next year, and the overall fiscal situation in each state.

While Arizona, Delaware, New York, and Washington reported a pessimistic outlook for the coming year, some states--Alaska, North Dakota, and Wyoming --reported a positive outlook, and ten more states--Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia--see their financial situation as stable. In Louisiana, for instance, storm recovery spending is slowing but still ongoing, and the oil and gas sector is strong. In North Dakota, revenues are exceeding legislative estimates by 13 percent. But at the same time, Florida reported that it is facing its first three-year decline in the last 40 years, and Massachusetts faces a significant budget gap. Most states fall in the middle and are concerned about mounting budget pressures, the deteriorating national economy and a possible recession.

By mid-April, 16 states and Puerto Rico reported budget gaps totaling...