Infrastructure Spending
States' FY 2017 Capital Spending Climbs, Led by Transportation
States boosted their total capital spending, including construction and major repairs to roads, buildings and other infrastructure, by 5.7% in fiscal year 2017, to an estimated $107 billion, the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) said in a new report.
NASBO's 2017 report on all state expenditures, released on Nov. 16, shows that transportation again was the top capital-spending category, with $70.2 billion, up 7.6% from 2016. Federal funds accounted for $27.8 billion, or 39.6%, of the transportation total.
Fiscal 2017 for nearly all states ended June 30. Capital spending also includes some equipment purchases.
The report also notes that, since 2009, states' transportation capital spending has risen by an annual average of 5.6%, "reflecting states' significant efforts at addressing both the maintenance and expansion of [their] transportation systems."
Higher-education capital expenditures totaled $11.3 billion in fiscal 2017, down 2% from the previous year. Environmental spending posted a 4% decline, to $4.9 billion, NASBO reports.
States spent $1.1 billion on corrections, up 15% from 2016, and $911 million on housing, an 8% increase.
An all-others category, which includes uses such as parks, hospitals, information-technology systems, and community and economic-development projects, accounted for $18.5 billion, a 6% hike from the previous year.
States used bonds to finance 29.5% of their total capital spending; federal funds also account for the same share of the total.
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