PENDER: Tough budget has #msleg considering creative financing

GEOFF PENDER: Lottery, internet sales: Lawmakers get creative on revenue

When the going gets tough, lawmakers can get creative on financing the state budget.

The going has been tough for the last two years, and recent state revenue figures don’t portend a major upswing as lawmakers convene in Jackson and work to set a state budget over the next three months.

This appears to have many state leaders open to ideas at which they might otherwise scoff, such as a state lottery, or collecting internet sales taxes. It’s also likely to have lawmakers looking at raising the cost of scads of small fees, fines, licenses and registrations in lieu of a major tax increase.

Clarion Ledger
1/9/17