SALT Legislative Outlook, Trends And Predictions For 2012

In examining what to expect in the coming year, we again consider the threshold question that we have posed for the last several years but remains relevant – is it possible for the states and localities to somehow manage to avoid fiscal catastrophe without fundamentally altering their tax base or spending requirements? In 2011, with a slowly recovering economy, the landscape began to change for the better in some states, but not in others. Instead of practically all states facing fiscal nightmares, a chasm has begun to grow between states that will continue to have significant trouble meeting their obligations, and states that will be well-prepared for whatever the future brings. Many states will continue to face difficult fiscal situations over the next several years because of structural deficits, intractable political wrangling in the state legislative and executive branches, and other factors. On the other hand, a select number of states are in comparatively good