State Faces Large Deficits in Both Fiscal 2008 and 2009: Threatens Rapid Depletion of State’s Reserves

The state is facing a $500 million deficit in fiscal 2008 and the recently passed House budget for fiscal 2009 is at least $1 billion out of balance, creating a situation in which more than half of the state's reserves could be depleted in the next year without even accounting for a recession.