i take it they defunded the department responsible for their actual data

I have seen this before.

The boss wants something done but doesn't know how it should be done. He tells his subordinates to get it done. The subordinates don't know how to get it done, so they lean on their subordinates. The task eventually falls to one person making the lowest salary. That person has to figure out how all this shit works and appease the bosses. They make a spreadsheet over a weekend and present it to the boss on Monday. The boss accepts it and passes it up as their own work.

This is what happens in companies all across the country. The government is being ran like a business.