State revenue estimate up from FY10 figure

Gov. Jay Nixon, along with budget leaders from the Missouri House and Senate, released the state's fiscal 2011 Consensus Revenue Estimate Monday, and the figure is up slightly from the estimates for fiscal 2010.

Net general revenue collections in FY11 are expected to total $7.2 billion, up from the revised total of $6.97 billion in FY10. Actual collections in FY09 were about $7.45 billion.

Budget planners pointed to increases in industrial production, and subsequent expected gains in employment, as a potential catalyst for a slow recovery. That recovery likely will be tempered by the damage in the global financial sector, which has limited the ability to access capital.

"Even with a positive CRE for the 2011 budget, the state still faces financial challenges to meet our constitutional responsibility of a balanced budget," Rep. Allen Icet, House budget chairman, said in a news release.

The annual CRE is established by state budget experts and outside consultants, and it provides one of the basic assumptions the governor and legislature use to build the budget, according to the release. Gov. Nixon is expected to outline his budget proposal during his State of the State Address on Jan. 20, which will be streamed live through the state government Web site.[[In-content Ad]]