Economists Predict Less State Revenue Than Anticipated
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s revenue collections next year will likely fall short of projections made when Gov. Dennis Daugaard proposed his state budget in December, state economists told a budget-setting legislative panel on Monday.
Economists for the governor’s budget office and the Legislature told the Joint Appropriations Committee that ongoing state revenue from taxes and other general revenue is likely to be $9.4 million to $11.4 million below what the governor anticipated for the upcoming 2016 budget year that begins on July 1.
For the current budget year, economists revised down revenue estimates between $6.2 million and $7.9 million from the governor’s budget proposal in December.
State Economist Jim Terwilliger said the state is “a little bit below average in terms of our revenue growth, what we would like to see.”
Terwilliger said the forecast is down primarily because sales tax collections took a hit from lower spending in the farm sector.
He noted the softer estimates mean the state will have to revise down spending increases. That will give the Legislature less money to devote to the roughly $1.4 billion general budget.
The committee is expected to formally decide Wednesday how much can be spent in next year’s budget. The Legislature plans to pass that budget by Friday, which is the end of the legislative session’s main run.
