STATE BUDGET, DEBT, AND LONG-TERM OBLIGATIONS

You asked for the following data for each year since 1989: (1) total General Fund appropriations, (2) general obligation bond authorizations, and (3) debt service expenditures in both dollars and as a percentage of the budget. You also asked for available estimates of the state's total unfunded long-term obligations.

Table 2 shows total general obligation bond authorizations for each fiscal year since 1989.

Source: Connecticut's Capital Budget, Office of Fiscal Analysis, February 2009

Footnotes for Table 2:

[1] Figures show gross authorizations for agencies. Reductions and cancellations appear separately.

[2] Includes $130.85 million in old projects that were canceled and reauthorized.

[3] Does not include $250,000 in General Fund revenue bonds for the Connecticut Marketing Authority.

[4] Includes cancellation of $251.1 million for a stadium in Hartford.

[5] Does not include $20 million in revenue bonds for Bradley International Airport.

[6] Includes cancellation of $274.4 million for the Patriots Stadium project in Hartford.

[7] Does not include $40 million in revenue bonds for Bradley International Airport.

[8] Includes cancellation of $28 million in tax incremental financing for the Long Wharf project in New Haven.

[9] Includes cancellation of $120 million in tax incremental financing for the Steele Point project in Bridgeport.

[10] Includes changes made during 5/02 Special Session, 9/03 Special Session and 5/04 Special Session.

DEBT SERVICE EXPENSES

Table 3 shows the annual debt service expenditures for the General and Special Transportation funds in dollars and as a percentage of total expenditures.

Footnotes for Table 3:

[1] The figure includes a $39 million debt service payment in FY 91 for housing-related bonds by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.

[2] The General Fund and Transportation Fund totals reflect a $10 million payment by the General Fund of transportation-related debt service.

[3] PA 97-11, June 18 Special Session appropriated $40 million for debt service payments of $20 million in FY 98 and $20 million in FY 99. An additional $4 million was appropriated for debt service payments on nursing home bonds issued by the Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority and secured by a special capital reserve fund. Expenditure of these amounts is reflected in this table.

[4] PA 97-309 required the treasurer to use any year-end balance in the Transportation Fund balance that exceeds $20 million to reduce outstanding indebtedness or the debt service requirements of the fund. In September 1997, $84.9 million was used to cash (defease) $80.8 million of bonds. In May 1998, $9.8 million was used to pay debt service due in FY 99. In December 1999, $81.8 million was used to defease $84.9 million in bonds. In June 2000, the treasurer directed that the remaining surplus of $1.5 million will be used to pay debt service due in FY 01. PA 00-170 repealed the provision that permits balances in excess of $20 million be directed toward debt reduction or for the payment of debt service requirements on special tax obligation bonds, and allowed surplus balances to be carried forward as had been in practice prior to PA 97-309. Please note that the figures in this table do not reflect debt service for the defeased debt because payments are made from the escrow account and not the appropriated debt service account.

[5] SA 98-6 appropriated $15 million from the FY 98 budget surplus to FY 98 Transportation Fund debt service and carried these funds forward to the FY 99 debt service appropriation. The FY 99 figures reflect this carry forward.

The Office of Policy and Management and the Office of Fiscal Analysis must provide estimates of the state's long-term obligations every November in fiscal accountability reports to the Appropriations and Finance, Revenue and Bonding committees. The reporting requirement began in 2006. The two offices have agreed on the estimates of long-term obligations in each of the three reports submitted. The estimates for 2006 through 2008 are shown in Table 4.

Source: Office of Policy and Management, Fiscal Accountability Reports, November, 2006, 2007, and 2008


October 7, 2009		2009-R-0341
STATE BUDGET, DEBT, AND LONG-TERM OBLIGATIONS

By: Judith Lohman, Chief Analyst

*Fiscal Year*	*General Fund Appropriation* *(in millions)*
1989	$6,433.6
1990	7,071.3
1991	7,705.6
1992	7,962.1
1993	8,693.5
1994	9,298.2
1995	9,789.5
1996	10,022.8
1997	10,399.3
1998	10,839.4
1999	11,414.1
2000	12,404.5
2001	12,932.6
2002	13,265.5
2003	13,572.6
2004	13,948.6
2005	14,457.1
2006	16,168.2
2007	16,505.6
2008	17,991.9
2009	17,083.0

*Fiscal Year*	*Legislative* *Session(s)*	*Total* *Authorizations ^[1]*	*Reductions &* *Cancellations*	*Net* *Authorizations*
1989	1988	$829.3	$-51.1	$778.2
1990	1989	963.9	-82.8	881.1
1991	1990	1,442.5	-190.1 ^[2]	1,252.4
1992	1991	920.1	-236.6	683.5
1993	1992	952.8 ^[3]	-317.9	634.9
1994	1993	1,353.0	-247.2	1,105.8
1995	1993/94	976.5	-153.9	822.6
1996	1995	843.8	-396.0 ^[4]	447.8
1997	1995/96	807.3	-94.5	712.8
1998	1997	899.9	-96.2	803.7
1999	1997/98	1,382.2	-32.1	1,350.1
2000	1999	1,711.7 ^[5]	-330.8 ^[6]	1380.9
2001	1999/00	1430.8 ^[7]	-70.1 ^[8]	1,360.7
2002	2001	1,442.6	-79.9	1,362.7
2003	2001/02	1073.3	-380.0 ^[9]	693.3
2004	2002/03/04	1,246.1 ^[10]	0	1,246.1
2005	2004	1,299.2	-200.3	1,098.9
2006	2005	1,294.5	-41.2	1,253.2
2007	2005	1,488.7	0	1,488.7
2008	2007	2,179.2	-206.9	1,972.3
2009	2007	1,732.9	0	1,732.9


*Fiscal* *Year*	*Fund*	*Debt Service*
*Fiscal* *Year*	*Fund*	*Expenditure* *($ millions)*	*% of Total* *Budget*
1989	General	$210.4	3.8
	Transportation	174.3	30.4
	*Combined*	*384.7*	*6.2*
1990	General	267.6	4.2
	Transportation	213.1	34.0
	*Combined*	*480.7*	*6.9*
1991	General	310.4 ^[1]	4.7
	Transportation	247.3	40.0
	*Combined*	*557.7*	*7.7*
1992	General	413.1	5.7
	Transportation	277.1	43.0
	*Combined*	*690.2*	*8.8*
1993	General	447.8	6.1
	Transportation	312.1	45.1
	*Combined*	*759.9*	*9.5*
1994	General	498.6 ^[2]	6.3
	Transportation	303.4 ^[2]	42.1
	*Combined*	*802.0*	*9.3*
1995	General	580.7	6.7
	Transportation	330.3	43.6
	*Combined*	*911.0*	*9.7*
1996	General	645.7	7.3
	Transportation	345.5	43.6
	*Combined*	*991.2*	*10.3*
1997	General	725.5	7.9
	Transportation	358.6	44.3
	*Combined*	*1,084.1*	*10.8*
1998	General	790.2^[3]	8.2
	Transportation	372.5 ^[4]	46.6
	*Combined*	*1,162.7*	*11.1*
1999	General	848.4 ^[3]	8.3
	Transportation	379.4 ^{[4] [5]}	47.7
	*Combined*	*1,227.8*	*11.1*
2000	General	926.4	8.3
	Transportation	375.7 ^[4]	45.9
	*Combined*	*1,320.1*	*10.8*
2001	General	973.6	8.2
	Transportation	395.4	46.8
	*Combined*	*1,368.9*	*10.8*
2002	General	992.1	8.1
	Transportation	396.0	45.4
	*Combined*	1,388.0	10.6
2003	General	998.5	8.2
	Transportation	407.0	46.0
	*Combined*	*1,395.4*	*10.7*
2004	General	1,127.5	9.0
	Transportation	416.6	46.6
	*Combined*	*1,544.1*	*11.5*
2005	General	1,259.1	9.4
	Transportation	416.3	44.6
	*Combined*	*1,675.4*	*11.7*
2006	General	1,306.1	9.0
	Transportation	425.8	42.6
	*Combined*	*1,731.9*	*11.2*
2007	General	1,477.0 ^[6]	9.7
	Transportation	416.3	40.1
	*Combined*	*1,893.3*	*11.6*
2008 (estimated)	General	1,413.1	8.5
	Transportation	421.4	38.4
	*Combined*	*1,834.5*	*10.3*
2009 (budgeted)	General	1,543.9	9.0
	Transportation	449.5	38.9
	*Combined*	*1,993.4*	*10.9*


*Obligation*	*Estimated Cost* *(in billions)*
*Obligation*	*2006 Estimate*	*2007 Estimate*	*2008 Estimate*
Bonded Indebtedness	$14.8	$14.4	$16.8
State Employee Pensions – Unfunded	6.9	7.9	9.3
Teacher Pensions – Unfunded	5.2	6.9	6.5
State Employee Post-Retirement Health and Life Insurance - Unfunded	21.1	21.7	21.7
Teacher Post-Retirement Health and Life Insurance - Unfunded	Not specified	2.2	2.3
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) Deficit	1.0	1.1	1.0
TOTAL	$49.0	$54.2	$57.4