CL – State budget outlook: More cuts

State budget outlook: More cuts

Mississippi’s budget could be back on track, using no one-time money by fiscal 2015, analysts said Monday, but until then lawmakers are looking at deep cuts to state agencies.

Key budget writers are meeting in Jackson this week to discuss the fiscal year that begins July 1.

“We’ve learned even more about our fiscal situation, so maybe we’ll be a bit more prepared,” House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, said of this week’s meetings. “We’ll get through it.”

The Legislature used $700 million in nonrecurring funds to plug recurring costs in the current budget. Those funds – mostly federal stimulus dollars – will go away this year.

Clarion-Ledger
11/9/10