The growing price of disasters should compel states to rethink some long-held budget practices, a new report from Pew Charitable Trusts suggests.
Many state budgets treat disasters as unpredictable anomalies rather than inevitable expenses, according to the report — leaving lawmakers to pass supplemental budgets in the aftermath of a disaster rather than planning ahead for their costs. Nor do states prioritize spending that reduces the risk of future disasters, leaving that mostly to local and federal governments.
Those factors relate to a third dynamic, according to the report: States do a poor job tracking the comprehensive costs of disasters, especially beyond the initial response. That makes it difficult for policymakers to understand how disasters shape their budgets or whether their states are investing in the right policies.
Colin Foard, director of Pew’s managing fiscal risks initiative, said there’s episodic and anecdotal data pointing to states shouldering more disaster costs.
