Aggregate State Budget

Project Goal

The goal of this project is to combine the Fiscal Year 2010 state expenditures of the 50 US States into a single easy to use data-set.

The Problem

Every state publishes some version of their budget broken down by agency, program or purpose. Unfortunately, most states lock this data in lengthy PDF documents. A researcher who wants to compare state-level spending around the country faces a daunting task.

Project Steps

1. Gathering the Data - Where possible I will use data published on State Websites. If the data is not easily available, I will reach out directly to the relevant state agency. As data is gathered, it will be posted on this page in TXT, CSV, XLS or other easy to use formats. I encourage others to add data and to verify the accuracy of posted data.

2.Organizing Data - To facilitate cross-state comparisons, a common classification hierarchy will be applied to every state's budget entries.

Project Time-line

All data will be collected in an easy to use format by 5/31/2010. The final data-set will be available by 6/30/2010.

State Expenditure Hierarchy

I.Administration
    A.Legislature
    B.Executive
       i.Governor
       ii.Lieutenant Governor
       iii.Secretary of State
    C.Public Finance
       i.Public Finance
       ii.Debt Service
    D.Human Resources
    E.Oversight
    F.Elections
II.Education
    A.K-12
      i.Local School Districts
      ii.State Initiatives
      iii.Special Education
      iv.Teachers
    B.Universities
      i.General Funds
      ii.Scholarships
    C.Community Colleges
    D.Research
 III.Social Services
    A.Health
    B.Poverty
    C.Social Services
      i.Child Services
      ii.Elderly Services
      iii.Women Services
      iv.Family Services
    D.Emergency Management
    E.Disability
      i.Disability
      ii.Mental Health
    F.Veterans
IV.Law/Justice/Safety
   A.Courts
   B.Attorney General
   C.Law Enforcement
   D.Consumer Protection
     i.Alcohol/Tobacco
     ii.Banking/Finance/Insurance/Real Estate
     iii.Services
   E.Corrections
     i.Corrections
     ii.Reentry
   F.Criminal Trials
     i.Prosecutors
     ii.Public Defenders
     iii.Victims
   G.Defense
     i.National Guard
     ii.Homeland Security
     iii.Military Support
V.Economic Development/Commerce
   A.Business Promotion
   B.Community Development
   C.Tourism Promotion
   D.Employment
     i.Workforce Development
     ii.Labor Law
     iii. Unemployment
   E.Agriculture
   F.Infrastructure
     i.Transportation
     ii.Water Resources
     iii.Capital Improvements
     iv.Communications
   G.Natural Resource Management
     i.Mineral Resources
     ii.Forestry
     iii. Parks
     iv.Environmental Protection
     v.Land Management