Legislative and administrative deficit
estimates for this year vary by $52.8 million, about 0.3% of the total
General Fund. However that small difference may be enough to trigger another
deficit mitigation plan of cuts by the Governor. However any
plan for cuts wouldn’t come until May, and the legislative session ends
June 3rd – it is possible that any cuts for this year would be
rolled into the next biennial budget. However all this may be unnecessary if
receipts of taxes on April 15th are good. So basically, no one knows
what is going to happen.
An important note – while Medicaid receipts are below
estimates largely due to a difference
with the federal government on reimbursements, that difference is a
one-time issue affecting only this fiscal year. Per
person costs in the program have been stable, saving the state $210 million
this year.
