By PAUL DAVENPORT
Associated Press
PHOENIX – States starting to turn the corner on their Great Recession budget woes are taking the cautious approach, socking away millions of dollars in rainy day funds rather than restoring spending for education, health care and social services.
At least 21 states, including Arizona, Michigan and Ohio, are putting parts of their surpluses into reserves, an approach championed mostly by Republican governors and lawmakers who say the return of revenues to pre-recession levels doesn’t mean it’s time to spend.
They also cite still-tepid economic growth, potential costs that could flow to the states under the federal health care overhaul’s Medicaid expansion and the possibility that federal deficit-reduction efforts will force states to shoulder more costs.