WASHINGTON — A new study recently released by the National Conference of State Legislatures shows that state finances are deteriorating–in some cases considerably–and may threaten state-provided services.

Many state lawmakers are confronting the two-fold problem of keeping their fiscal year 2008 budgets in the black and enacting balanced budgets for 2009. State budgets fund state agencies, including the bank and credit union regulators.

State Budget Update: April 2008 is based on information collected from legislative fiscal directors in April. It covers the revenue and expenditure situation for the first three quarters of fiscal 2008 for most states. It includes information on revenue performance, spending overruns, projections of budget gaps in 2008 and 2009, the revenue outlook for next year and the overall fiscal situation in each state.