State revenue for December 2007 were $847.3 million, 5.9% lower than for the same month in fiscal 2006. Year-to-date, the total general fund revenues of $4.243 billion are down $16.1 million, or 0.4%.
State budget director Mary Lassiter said that the decline could be attributed to a decline in corporate income taxes.
Gov. Steve Beshear has called for $80 million of cuts for the current fiscal year. He has also told state agencies to be prepared to cut up to 12% of their budget requests for the upcoming biennium, which begins in July.
Beshear said he also wanted to address Kentucky’s budget issues by finding a new source of revenues that wouldn’t entail raising taxes. One idea he has proposed is creating a gaming industry, which he says could generate hundreds of millions of dollars. He noted that Kentucky is surrounded by other states, such as Illinois and West Virginia, that have gaming industries that lure Kentucky residents. Beshear said that leads to other states lining their coffers with dollars that could be going to Kentucky if it to allowed gambling.
Lawmakers have already started drafting the next biennium budget. They convened earlier this month for their legislative session.
