State of the State’s Money

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A big mortgage settlement that benefited Idaho helped push state revenue in May to $33.7 million ahead of projections with just one month of the fiscal year to go. The state got a $13.3 million share of the historic $25 billion settlement with Bank of America, Citi, J.P. Morgan Chase, Ally and Wells Fargo over mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure practices. For the month, total revenue missed projections - coming in at $151 million, or about $3 million less than projected. The big culprit behind the lagging income was higher-than-expected refunds for individual taxpayers, which the state blames on a change in historical refund patterns used to craft the forecast months ago. For June, Idaho must reap some $250  million from all revenue sources in order to stay on track.