Final answer:
Before 2010, three U.S. states required a supermajority to pass state budgets, echoing federal efforts to enforce fiscal responsibility like the 1995 attempt to amend the Constitution for a balanced federal budget.
Step-by-step explanation:
Prior to the year 2010, three states in the United States required a supermajority to pass their state budgets. These states sought a higher threshold—beyond a simple majority—for budget approval, aiming to ensure greater consensus or to address specific fiscal concerns.
The concept of requiring a supermajority for budget approval is not exclusive to states; there have also been efforts on the federal level to mandate a balanced budget through such measures. For instance, in 1995, a proposed constitutional amendment was introduced to require a balanced federal budget, which passed the House of Representatives but narrowly failed in the Senate. To become an amendment to the Constitution, this would have required a two-thirds vote by Congress and approval by three-quarters of the state legislatures.