AP – Mississippi budget: More talks but no agreement

Mississippi budget: More talks but no agreement

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi budget writers exchanged sharp words Friday but came no closer to deciding how much money they’ll restore to schools, prisons and other government services.

State revenues are still looking dreary. Hours after the House and Senate ended their negotiations for the weekend, the state Tax Commission released preliminary figures showing tax collections were 12.4 percent below expectations in February – a shortage of $33 million for the month.

February marked the 18th consecutive month for Mississippi tax collections to miss their mark, and the 15th for revenues to fall below where they were for the same month in the previous year.

AP
2/27/10