Legislative FY 2022 budget proposal released – includes defunding, deleting vacant positions amid other spending cuts

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee released its Fiscal Year 2022 Mississippi State Budget Recommendations on Monday.

According to the report, the FY 2022 General Fund revenue estimate adopted by the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee totals $5,754,300,000 and reflects an increase in anticipated revenue of 1.1% above the Fiscal Year 2021 revenue estimate.

General Funds available for FY 2022 are $53.6 million more than General Funds appropriated for FY 2021. Based on this General Fund revenue estimate, the FY 2022 General Funds available for expenditure (excluding the 2% Set-Aside) are $5,639,214,000.

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s FY 2022 General Fund Budget Recommendation totals $5,603,809,737, which is $18.2 million more than was appropriated for the FY 2021 budget.

The Committee’s FY 2022 Recommendation for total State Support, which includes General Funds, Education Enhancement Funds, Health Care Expendable Funds, and Tobacco Control Funds, is $6,117,769,058, or $197.4 million less than the FY 2021 budget.

The Joint Legislative Budget Recommendation includes the following actions:

• Defunding most vacant positions
• Deleting 4,119 vacant positions
• Reducing funding for travel and contractual services
• Spending down of agency cash balances where possible
• Eliminating funds for one-time expenditures like capital improvements

Spending cuts are recommended in many line items within the budget, with most others receiving a recommendation of level funding.  These are likely to change as the Legislature meets and debates the FY 2022 budget during the upcoming session.

You can review the Committee’s LBR below.

JLBC FY 2022 Recommendations by yallpolitics on Scribd