Several states passed their state budgets in June only to come up against revenue gaps later in the summer and projected for the rest of the year. In one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression many states keep cutting spending only to have revenues still fall short of keeping the budget balanced. We asked state budget expert Scott Pattison, Executive Director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, his take on the state budget crises and what his recommendations are for states to avoid such large gaps in the future.

Scott Pattison is the Executive Director of the National Association of Budget Officers(NASBO) and former Budget Director for the commonwealth of Virginia. NASBO which has worked with state finance officers to advance state budget practices for the last sixty years. In this podcast Mr. Pattison communicates effective ideas for addressing budget crises and up-to-date information on the status of state budgets throughout the country. Also, Pattison addresses what is in store for 2010 and gives recommendations how to avoid such large budget gaps during hard economic times.