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Crews install portraits of state capitol buildings at the Thomas Michael Menino Convention and Exhibition Center on Aug. 4 in Boston. Many lawmakers attending the National Conference of State Legislatures annual summit said they were still grappling with how to respond to President Donald Trump\u2019s major tax and spending law (Kevin Hardy\/Stateline).<\/p>\n
BOSTON \u2014 During this year\u2019s budget cycle, Oklahoma state Sen. John Haste said lawmakers had two major things on their minds.<\/p>\n
\u201cNumber one was tax cuts. Number two, what the hell is going on in Washington?\u201d he told a national gathering of state lawmakers last week in Boston.<\/p>\n
While Oklahoma lawmakers secured another round<\/a> of income tax cuts, they are still wrapping their heads around the fiscal impacts of President Donald Trump\u2019s massive spending and tax law, Haste said. The measure slashes funding for health care and food assistance.<\/p>\n That legislation, and other Trump actions, proved a central theme of discussion during the National Conference of State Legislatures summit, which organizers said was the largest ever gathering of state lawmakers with more than 1,600 in attendance. Aside from cutting funding, the law imposes costly new administrative burdens on states.<\/p>\n States are still sorting through the long-term impacts of the legislation \u2014 and what, if any, actions they can take to soften the blow.<\/p>\n Haste, a Republican, said concern is highest in rural areas, where reduced Medicaid funding could threaten hospitals. He said that just one provision of the law will cut $209 million in funds that help Oklahoma cover the cost of Medicaid, and that the state will need to spend an estimated $30 million on the new cost of checking eligibility twice per year.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of those things added together come up to a really big number,\u201d he said, but added: \u201cWe don\u2019t know exactly what that is.\u201d<\/p>\n Missouri struggles to administer safety net programs. Congress is proposing more red tape<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Lawmakers from liberal and conservative states said they are still grappling with the implications of Trump\u2019s signature legislation. With most states boasting solid fiscal positions, some expect to cover new up-front administrative costs by tapping into strong reserve funds.\u00a0But many are considering reducing services.<\/p>\n Nevada state Sen. Fabian Do\u00f1ate, a Democrat, said state leaders will have to cut Medicaid eligibility or services since Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo has said he will oppose any efforts to raise taxes.<\/p>\n \u201cThat becomes a challenge, right?\u201d Do\u00f1ate said during a panel discussion on Medicaid. \u201cDo you cut the pregnant mom or the person that makes above 180% of the federal poverty level who\u2019s under 50, or do you cut diapers for seniors?\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, states must gear up for new bureaucratic mandates from Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless of how you feel about these provisions \u2014 whether these are opportunities or challenges, fantastic or awful \u2014 regardless, it\u2019s going to be a heavy lift for states,\u201d said Lauren Kallins, NCSL\u2019s senior legislative director for state-federal affairs.<\/p>\n She said states and organizations, including NCSL, are still awaiting detailed federal guidance on all the changes, which are spread out over several years. But states will need to react quickly.<\/i><\/p>\n One provision in the law requires the 40 states plus Washington, D.C., that have expanded Medicaid to check paperwork at least twice a year to ensure those enrollees are meeting new work requirements. The legislation provided states $200 million, but experts question<\/a> whether it will be enough to help states implement the changes by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n To meet that deadline, states will need to increase outreach to Medicaid recipients and make new investments in technology, Kallins said. Similarly, states must cover new administrative costs for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, commonly called food stamps.<\/p>\n Traditionally, the federal government has fully funded SNAP benefits and split administrative costs of the program with states. The new law requires states to fund 75% of administrative costs and requires some states, depending on the accuracy of their eligibility determination, to fund a portion of benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s another very significant increase for states,\u201d Kallins said.<\/p>\n Though revenue growth is slowing<\/a>, lawmakers and experts pointed out that many states currently enjoy strong budget fundamentals.<\/p>\n That\u2019s true in Utah<\/a>, which touts deep reserve funding and a rapidly growing economy.<\/p>\n Jonathan Ball, Utah\u2019s legislative fiscal analyst, told conference attendees that the state could rely on some of its reserve for one-time administrative and technical costs associated with the federal legislation.<\/p>\n He said lawmakers and budget writers always have to find creative ways to solve their state\u2019s budget puzzles.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit maybe scarier, but it\u2019s not a new sort of problem,\u201d he said. \u201cI think you all have the tools, we feel like we have the tools to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, he said the potential for further federal funding cuts has raised many questions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe uncertainty about what happens in the future is huge,\u201d Ball said.<\/p>\n At a separate session focusing on state budgets, financial analyst Geoffrey Buswick said most states have enviable credit ratings, meaning investors can be confident in a state\u2019s ability to pay back debts, which affords it lower interest rates.<\/p>\n Buswick, the managing director and sector leader for public finance at S&P Global Ratings, said states likely\u00a0have the budgetary cushion to adjust to federal policy changes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe states are in a very, very strong position \u2014 about the strongest we\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Maryland Democratic state Sen. Karen Lewis Young didn\u2019t buy that assessment.<\/p>\n She said her state touts strong reserve funds, but that those can only be used for one-time expenses and not to replace eliminated funding on an ongoing basis. Maryland is facing a huge decline<\/a> in federal jobs, along with federal cuts in transportation, health and education funding.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat am I missing in your optimism?\u201d she asked the financial analyst.<\/p>\n Afterward, she told Stateline that Maryland may tout a stronger position compared with other states. But she added that even with low unemployment and a high average income, the federal legislation forces difficult decisions for lawmakers, who are constitutionally mandated to balance the state budget.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to cut from someplace else,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you\u2019re losing a pretty large share of your federal match, who do you cut?\u201d<\/p>\n Across the country, Democratic lawmakers hope to underscore the cuts in <\/a>Trump\u2019s new law to weigh down Republicans in state races this year and next.<\/p>\n Hawaii Democratic state Sen. Ronald Kouchi said lawmakers need to ensure constituents understand where the spending cuts originated.<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s going to be blamed when people are left out, when people are hungry and they lose out on educational opportunities?\u201d he asked during a panel. \u201cIf we as state legislators do not convey that it is a result of the decisionmakers in Washington, D.C., they will be at our doorstep as the place of last resort.\u201d<\/p>\n Kouchi, the president of the state Senate, said Hawaii leaders had socked away more than $1 billion in reserves. But he said the state cannot fill in all the financial gaps, especially during a time when officials are trying to set aside more in disaster funding and grapple with a slowdown in tourism.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no current financial ability for the state to meet the needs of everyone who is currently being impacted,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n New Mexico state Rep. Meredith Dixon, a Democrat, said her state should be somewhat insulated after directing surplus oil and gas revenues into a new<\/a> Medicaid Trust Fund. But she said it\u2019s still unclear how much pressure the federal legislation will put on the state.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not protected by any stretch. So we are going to have to look at how we cover those costs. \u2026 We\u2019re still digging into everything.\u201d<\/p>\n West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, a Republican, said no one in the federal government or at the state level seemed to have a full understanding of the implications of the legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cI look at this bill as Obamacare 2.0: We have to pass this bill so we can find out what\u2019s in it,\u201d he told Stateline.<\/p>\n Hanshaw said the law has some provisions that will benefit West Virginia and others that will cause a \u201csubstantial headache.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have no idea yet how we\u2019re going to respond,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to speak for any other state \u2026 but I would speculate that\u2019s true for nearly every other state.\u201d<\/p>\n Stateline<\/a> is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Crews install portraits of state capitol buildings at the Thomas Michael Menino Convention and Exhibition Center on Aug. 4 in Boston. Many lawmakers attending the National Conference of State Legislatures annual summit said they were still grappling with how to respond to President Donald Trump\u2019s major tax and spending law (Kevin Hardy\/Stateline). BOSTON \u2014 During…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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States in a \u2018very, very strong position\u2019<\/h4>\n\n
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A \u2018substantial headache\u2019<\/h4>\n\n