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Forecast cuts $190 million from budget |
State legislators face a larger problem as they begin writing a draft budget today, after state economists cut $190 million from revenue estimates for the budget year beginning July 1.Monday’s cut means House lawmakers’ spending plan will be less than the current year’s, and cuts will be weighed against several hundred million dollars in new state obligations, such as the growing cost of education and health care.“I don’t think we can restore any cuts or fund the additional increase,” said House Ways and Means chairman Dan Cooper, R-Anderson, of K-12 and health care budgets.State economists said the January decline in state tax collections was troubling and could lead to additional mid-year budget cuts next month if trends continue. But, economists also cautioned that January revenue figures are often “murky,” and they delayed budget projections that would likely translate into immediate cuts and likely layoffs.If trends hold, then economists will have no choice other than to revise estimates downward at the March meeting, said Don Herriott, a member of the Board of Economic Advisors. Chairman John Rainey said that would mean agencies would have to absorb a roughly $60 million cut over three months.
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