Democrats have been trying to make an issue out of Republican oil tax reforms passed during the 2015 legislative session. To hear them tell it, the reforms were a give away to the oil industry. Something which has contributed to the state’s budget headaches of the current biennium (despite the fact that the reforms resulted…
North Dakota May Have Finally Found Rock Bottom in Revenues Free Fall
Yesterday the Office of Management and Budget released their final general fund revenue report for the 2015-2017 biennium which ended on June 30. You can read it in full below. Compared to the previous biennium – which set a record for general fund revenue collections – the State of North Dakota was down over $1.68…
David Flynn: Expect North Dakota’s Revenue Forecasts to Continue Falling
We are getting a new forecast this week for tax revenues in North Dakota. Or so we are told. I’ve written about the problems with these forecasts in the past, but there is a further issue here needing discussion. The simple fact of the matter is a lack of good practice in the overall approach, particularly with…
Not Rock Bottom Yet: North Dakota’s August Revenues Come in $9 Million Under Forecast
Revenue forecasting in North Dakota has been a train wreck over the last several years. During the peak of the oil boom years revenue forecasts understated revenue by billions. Now that the oil boom is over, the forecasters have understated revenues by billions. For a state that budgets based on revenue forecasts, this is an…
As Special Session Ends It Is Worth Remembering That North Dakota Still Has Plenty of Revenues
State lawmakers finished up their special session in Bismarck today, passing legislation which cuts spending and moves money around to fill a hole in the budget. The reasons for the hole? During North Dakota’s oil boom years lawmakers grew spending about as fast as revenues grew, which was pretty fast. But now the oil boom…
Governor Jack Dalrymple Should Have Called for a Special Session
Governor Jack Dalrymple needs to do two things to begin addressing falling post-oil boom tax revenues which just can’t seem to find rock bottom. First, we need to start the process of finding a better forecaster for state revenues than Moody’s Analytics. That company, which produces the revenue forecasts which are used for budgeting, couldn’t get state…
Who In Their Right Mind Thought North Dakota Spending Would Remain At Oil Boom Level Highs?
There is a lot of concern over North Dakota’s budget picture. And, since we’re in an election year, there are a lot of politically convenient narratives developing around the state’s finances which aren’t necessarily a reflection of the facts. Concern over the state’s budget is warranted, but a lot of people are talking about falling revenue. The real…
North Dakota General Fund Revenues Down $301.5 Million From Last Biennium
The latest general fund revenue report from the North Dakota Office of Management and Budget. In a comparison of the revenues to date in the current 2015-2017 biennium through February to the same time period from the 2013-2015 biennium the OMB is showing a slight 0.7 percent increase (see above). That’s actually a slight improvement…
Josh Boschee Is Wrong: North Dakota Has A Spending Problem, Not A Revenue Problem
According to state Rep. Josh Boschee, a first-term Democrat who just announced his re-election bid in District 44, Republicans are to blame for revenue shortfalls and the resulting budget allotments announced by Governor Jack Dalrymple because they cut taxes too much. He says as much in a letter to the editor published in the Fargo Forum…
North Dakota Revenues Continue To Fall Behind Forecast
Even after North Dakota’s budget officials revised down revenue forecasts for the 2015-2017 biennium actual revenues continue to lag, and the gap is growing. Last month the gap between the revenue forecast lawmakers used to budget and the actual revenues collected was 5 percent, an increase from 3.9 percent the previous month. Now the latest…