surplus

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho could be on track to finish the fiscal year with $139 million in surplus tax revenue if a new forecast holds true.

The Idaho Legislature is moving closer to ending the session. However, there is one issue that lawmakers say will keep them there until Friday, and possibly into next week.  It's a disagreement on how surplus money should be spent, and the main point of contention is whether to give taxpayers a break, or to save for a rainy day.

The legislative session is just about to wrap up but lawmakers are grappling with an issue they haven’t dealt with in a few years, a budget surplus and how to disperse surplus state money. Republican Senator Dean Cameron, the Chairman of the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee says at the end of the session the state will have about $77 million dollars that they need to decide what to do with.

Public schools chief Tom Luna says education would get about a third of the projected $180 million budget surplus Idaho is expected to carry into the next fiscal year, under a spending plan he's submitting to the governor.  Luna told says he wants at least $61 million of the surplus to go toward public education in the 2012-2013 school year...

Idaho is expecting its second year of big budget surpluses when the 2012 fiscal year ends, presenting conservative Idaho with tough choices that could include restoring programs or cutting taxes.  Come July, Governor "Butch" Otter's office and the Legislature expect to have $179 million in the bank, based on the spending plan passed by the 2011 Legislature...

There’s good news regarding the state economy.  Final figures for fiscal year 2011 show Idaho came in with $85 million more in tax revenue than projected.  Much of the extra cash will be diverted to public schools and community colleges because of agreements made with the federal government to maintain school funding levels...