Thursday, December 30, 2010

Lawmakers schedule briefings on state budget matters

State House and Senate money committees will start holding informational briefings on the recent state tax forecast by the Council on Revenues (CoR) and other state budget matters starting Monday, January 3, 2010. The CoR yesterday reported an increase from 2 percent to 3 percent in tax collections for this fiscal year which ends in June. The new forecast will lower the projected $71.6 million deficit by $44 million. Economists say that the higher forecast for this fiscal year is due to improvement in tourism as the economy recovers from the recession.

In a Star Advertiser article, Rep. Marcus Oshiro, House Finance Committee chairman, said:

"This is good news. It helps the governor address the current shortfall by $44 million, and it means we have an additional $100 million to use in the biennium budget. This is positive. It's a good sign."

The next COR projection will be in March.

Find all current notices of future informational briefings and hearings here.

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