State and Local Budgets—the Next COVID-19 Battlefront

The pandemic & economic fallout are placing significant strains on state & local budgets, costing millions to contain the disease & driving sharp declines in income & sales tax revenues. State budget shortfalls are predicted to total to a cumulative $555 billion over state fiscal years 2020-2022. This does not include the additional shortfalls local & tribal governments & US territories face. Unlike the federal government, most states & localities must balance their budgets every year.

Large budget shortfalls, dwindling rainy day funds, & insufficient federal relief will leave policymakers facing tough choices about raising taxes & fees, cutting spending on critical programs like education & healthcare, and imposing layoffs on public employees. We know from experience how deep spending cuts & long-term austerity policies can slow down the recovery & cause further harm to families & communities, with disproportionate impacts on immigrants, tribal nations, communities of color, & women.

Join this webinar to learn more about the state & local fiscal crisis, lessons learned from the Great Recession, key principles for an equitable response, & how state & local advocates are gearing up for the budget battles to come.

---

Discussants

• Caitlin Hamood, Stoneman Family Foundations
• Marcela Díaz, Somos Un Pueblo Unido
• The Honorable Julie Gonzales, Colorado General Assembly
• Erica Williams, State Fiscal Policy division & State Priorities Partnership, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Co-Hosts

Sponsors

• Chesapeake Bay Funders Network
• Children, Youth & Family Funders Roundtable
• Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
• Early Childhood Funders Collaborative
• Environmental Grantmakers Association
• Funders Together to End Homelessness
• Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants & Refugees
• Grantmakers for Thriving Youth
• Grantmakers In Health
• Maryland Philanthropy Network
• Philanthropy New York
• Philanthropy Northwest
• United Philanthropy Forum
• Workforce Matters