(H/T – JSOnline’s All Politics blog)
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has run the numbers on the current version of the FY2012-2013 budget, as put together by the Joint Finance Committee, and they are projecting something that has not been achieved in at least the last 16 years – a projected structural surplus in the succeeding budget. Of course, this assumes that, outside of already-mandated changes in both state and federal law, the situation that exists in FY2013 carries over to FY2014 and FY2015.
As a convenience, I’ve reproduced and somewhat expanded the bottom-line table, comparing the structural deficit (termed “General Fund Amounts Necessary for a Balanced Budget” in Table 6:
| Structural deficit (surplus) in the succeeding biennium (millions) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year | 2nd year | Total | |
| FY2014-FY2015 (JFC FY2012-FY2013 budget) | ($145) | ($161) | ($306) |
| FY2014-FY2015 (Governor FY2012-FY2013 budget) | $4 | $27 | $31 |
| FY2012-FY2013 (adopted FY2010-FY2011 budget) | $1,232 | $1,279 | $2,511 |
| FY2010-FY2011 (adopted FY2008-FY2009 budget) | $800 | $882 | $1,682 |
| FY2008-FY2009 (adopted FY2006-FY2007 budget) | $653 | $846 | $1,499 |
| FY2006-FY2007 (adopted FY2004-FY2005 budget) | $701 | $845 | $1,546 |
| FY2004-FY2005 (adopted FY2002-FY2003 budget) | $1,340 | $1,527 | $2,867 |
| FY2002-FY2003 (adopted FY2000-FY2001 budget) | $693 | $1,026 | $1,719 |
| FY2000-FY2001 (adopted FY1998-FY1999 budget) | $589 | $914 | $1,503 |
| FY1998-FY1999 (adopted FY1996-FY1997 budget) | $624 | $908 | $1,532 |
