State lawmakers may have $70 million less to spend in the upcoming fiscal year after they learned today that sales and income tax collections are not meeting previous estimates.
Fiscal experts for the legislature and the governor's office had estimated that they would have $151 million in sales and tax collections from the current year that could be made available for next year's budget.
But since then revenues have slowed, causing them to lower the estimate to roughly $80 million, reports Dan Kane.
It's not a lot in a budget expected to exceed $21 billion, but House and Senate budget writers were already struggling to reach an agreement on a spending plan, and the possible loss of $70 million doesn't make the negotiations easier.
House and Senate budget negotiators heard the report on the projected revenue decline in a closed door meeting this morning. Senate leaders did not allow a News & Observer reporter to attend, and afterward, Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand said the meeting wasn't open because it did not involve budget negotiations.
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