NASBO held its 2016 Annual Meeting in Big Sky, Montana on August 7-10. Budget officers from over 40 states heard directly from a number of leading experts on current issues including the national economic outlook, education financing, the federal budget, Medicaid, and credit markets. Budget officers also shared insights with their colleagues on topics of great interest including state budget systems, evidence based decision-making, working with the legislature, state workforce strategies, addressing water financing, and infrastructure challenges.
Below is a brief summary of the presentations made during the meeting.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Governor Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana discussed achieving structural balance in Montana’s budget, making sustainable investments, and investing in education at record levels.
National Economic Outlook
Rick Mattoon, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago outlined the key economic trends and issues including international events affecting the national economy and the level of economic growth.
Healthcare and Medicaid
Lindsey Browning, Senior Policy Analyst at the National Association of Medicaid Directors highlighted key issues in Medicaid including overall health care trends, the impact of regulatory actions at the federal level, and how states are improving quality and driving value.
Mary Dalton, Montana’s Medicaid Director provided an overview to the challenges and accomplishments in Montana, including the demographics in the state and changes in payment and delivery systems.
National Outlook: Governors’ Priorities and the Federal Budget
Scott Pattison, Executive Director and CEO of the National Governors Association outlined the key concerns of the governors including health care, economic development, and taxes and key issues and priorities of the governors in the next Congress.
Trinity Tomsic, Deputy Director with Federal Funds Information for States provided an update on the federal budget, trends in federal aid, and key federal issues that would affect state budgets.
Current Trends in State School Finance
Michael Griffith, School Finance Strategist at the Education Commission of the States highlighted key issues in education financing, federal developments, the role of state budget officers in reviewing funding formula changes, and challenges such as recruitment and retention of teachers and property tax financing.
State Budget Systems
David Thurman, Budget Director for the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration provided an overview of key decision points in embarking on a new state budget system and moderated discussion among budget directors and budget staff about their experiences.
State Credit Outlook
Nick Samuels, Vice President and Senior Credit Officer at Moody’s Investors Service provided an overview to the credit outlook for states and the key trends including debt issuance, credit conditions, and fixed cost analysis.
State Strategies for Workforce Training
Mike Bartlett, Policy Analyst for Workforce Development at the National Governors Association highlighted workforce sector strategies across states and how budget offices can be involved in the process.
Jill Geiger, Budget Director for the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services highlighted Oklahoma’s approach to workforce development and the alignment of budgeting with statewide strategies and performance.
Higher Education in Montana
Dr. Waded Cruzado, President of Montana State University discussed the transformation of Montana State University and the changing demographics in higher education.
Water Management and Financing
Tony Willardson, Executive Director of the Western States Water Council reviewed the efforts in the west to address water challenges and federal and state trends in financing water projects.
Michael Cohen, Director of Finance at the California Department of Finance provided an overview to California’s efforts on evaluating budget requests relative to the state’s water action plan and the financing of water projects in the state.
Infrastructure Investment and Planning
Sandra Beattie, Deputy Director at New York’s Division of the Budget highlighted New York’s approach to capital planning and infrastructure and how fiscal discipline has allowed for available resources to help finance New York’s capital plan.
Using Data and Evidence to Inform Decision-Making
Kristen Cox, Executive Director at Utah’s Governor’s Office of Management and Budget explained the process in Utah to analyze system flows as a way to generate extra capacity in state systems.
Phil Dean, Deputy Director and Chief Economist at Utah’s Governor’s Office of Management and Budget shared experiences from Utah and the Success framework and how it is used to evaluate budget requests and justify new investments.
Margaret Kelly, Assistant Commissioner and Budget Director at Minnesota Management and Budget highlighted how data is used to drive decisions in Minnesota and the many facets of performance tools that are used in the state.
Peter Bernardy, Budget Service Manager at Minnesota Management and Budget described the framework for using data to achieve policy goals and how it is applied to key education goals.
Working With The Legislature
David Schumacher, Director at Washington Office of Financial Management provided perspective on the variety of approaches that are used in working with the legislature and the need for clarity in the role of budget offices in the process
Dan Villa, Budget Director at Montana’s Office of Budget and Program Planning highlighted how negotiations may occur in the budget process, the timing of the process, and key decision points.