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The fiscal health of Utah's state government ranks seventh among the states — up four places from last year, according to a study released Wednesday.

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University used recent audited financial statements — for 2014 — by states to rank them based on their short- and long-term debt and other key fiscal obligations. It also ranked each state in five specific areas.

It said Utah ranked sixth for "cash solvency," or having enough cash to cover its short-term bills. Utah has between 4.17 and 6.25 times the cash needed to cover short-term liabilities, the report said.

Utah ranked fifth for "budget solvency," or generating enough revenue to cover its annual spending. Revenues exceed expenses by 14 percent, for a surplus of $500 per capita.

The Beehive State was 15th for "long-run solvency," or its ability to meet long-term spending commitments, and for being prepared to handle economic shocks or other risks. Total liabilities are 18 percent of total assets. Total debt is $4.90 billion.

Utah ranked 12th for "service-level solvency," or how much fiscal slack a state has to be able to increase spending if residents demand more services.

And Utah ranked 26th for "trust fund solvency," or how much debt, unfunded pension liabilities and health-care obligations the state has.

Unfunded pension liabilities are $29.83 billion on a guaranteed-to-be-paid basis, and other post-employment benefits are $267 million. Those three liabilities are equal to 31 percent of total state personal income

The top five states in the rankings were: Alaska, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota.

The study noted, however, that the most recent data used were from fiscal 2014 — before a drastic fall in oil prices that put Alaska and North Dakota into budget crises. The study said while data made it appear that those states are well off, "declining oil prices and the budget crises that are currently unfolding in Alaska and other oil-producing states highlight the danger of expanding revenue based on volatile revenue sources."

The bottom-ranked states in the study were: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois and Kentucky.