Status of state budgets

Some developments in states facing budget problems:

ARIZONA - Gov. Jan Brewer kept state government running but rejected funding levels for K-12 schools and said she was calling a special session next week to increase school funding.

CALIFORNIA - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency and ordered state offices closed three days a month to save cash. The Legislature will have 45 days to send him a plan to balance the state's budget. The governor now pegs the gap at $26.3 billion.

CONNECTICUT - Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed Democrats' proposal and was meeting privately with legislative leaders about a new two-year tax and spending plan. The day before, Rell signed an executive order to keep the government running without a budget in place.

ILLINOIS - Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday vetoed a bare-bones budget from lawmakers, leaving the state with no spending plan on the first day of its new fiscal year. The House and Senate will call a special legislative session July 14.

KENTUCKY - Kentucky lawmakers last week averted a possible $1 billion budget shortfall by passing legislation that allows Gov. Steve Beshear to cut government services and tap more than $740 million in federal stimulus money.

MISSOURI - Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed or delayed $430 million in spending for the budget that took effect Wednesday, halting some college building projects and eliminating about 200 state jobs.

MISSISSIPPI - Lawmakers left one agency - the state's utility regulatory agency - unfunded. Gov. Haley Barbour says he can run the agency by executive order.

NEVADA - Starting Wednesday, Nevadans face slightly higher sales taxes, businesses' annual fees will double and larger employers will pay higher payroll taxes. State workers must take furloughs one day a month.

NEW HAMPSHIRE - The New Hampshire budget will be balanced if the state wins two lawsuits over disputed funding sources, but state residents and visitors face a slew of tax and fee increases. Some campers will pay a 9 percent tax.

NORTH CAROLINA - State government avoided a potential shutdown late Tuesday when Gov. Beverly Perdue signed a stopgap spending plan that gives House and Senate Democrats two more weeks to work out a final deal. State agencies could begin laying off hundreds of employees or eliminating vacant positions as soon as August.

OHIO - A budget impasse over a gambling proposal by Gov. Ted Strickland continued, all but guaranteeing lawmakers would need a second temporary budget before they could resolve their differences. On Tuesday, lawmakers passed a seven-day spending plan.

PENNSYLVANIA - The state will delay payments to vendors, and Gov. Ed Rendell backs a 16 percent income-tax increase. State workers will receive only partial pay on July 17 and July 24, after which paychecks will be withheld entirely until the impasse is solved. They will then be paid retroactively.