States rebuilding reserves.

• Position: News & Numbers - Brief article

At the close of fiscal 2016, only 15 states had a bigger cushion in their budgets than they had before the recession, according to "Fiscal 50: State Trends and Analysis," a data visualization by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The remaining states could cover fewer days' worth of operating costs than in fiscal 2007 with their total balances, counting money saved in rainy day reserves plus general fund ending balances, which are the amounts left at the end of the budget year in what functions as a state's main checking account.

After tax revenue plunged in the recession, states tapped both their savings and ending balances to help plug...