This report presents an overview and a preliminary analysis of the legislative decisions made during 1987 for the 1988 fiscal year (FY) on state tax appropriations for higher education in the 50 states. The data are aggregated from GRAPEVINE, a monthly research report of state tax appropriations for operating expenses of higher education. Following an introduction, a retrospective on higher education appropriations for FY 1988 discusses nationwide gains, 2-year gains among the states and "billion-dollar states," i.e., states appropriating more than a billion dollars for higher education annually (currently, 10 such states exist). Other sections discuss the data by region and analyze trends in state higher education support. At the end of the discussion portion of the report, a section called "What the Figures Are Intended To Mean" provides a framework for the collection and presentation of data. The bulk of the publication consists of tables of data for each state. In the main, each table details appropriations to individual higher education institutions including funds for scholarhips and sums destined for higher education but appropriated to some other state agency for miscellaneous types of support to institutions or to students. For each table there is not only a column for 1988 but also a column of data for the previous fiscal year which incorporates all revisions provided to GRAPEVINE by the state. (JB)