Statehouse News Bureau

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Budget Director Predicts Larger State Surplus

By Karen Kasler

Published June 10, 2019 at 9:55 PM EDT

Office of Budget and Management director Kimberly Murnieks gestures during the news conference rolling out the FY 20-21 budget in March. Standing alongside are Gov. Mike DeWine (left) and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. [Karen Kasler] — Office of Budget and Management director Kimberly Murnieks gestures during the news conference rolling out the FY 20-21 budget in March. Standing alongside are Gov. Mike DeWine (left) and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.

Total state tax collections were up 20 percent over estimates for April and 3.1 percent for May. That’s leading the state budget director to revise her projections for a budget surplus for the close of the fiscal year at the end of this month.

In March, Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget director Kimberly Murnieks turned out to be a little off in saying the two-year budget cycle would end with a surplus of $845 million.

She says now it’s actually better than she predicted – revenues are running 3 percent over forecasts. And for the full two-year period, "we are currently over original projections by just around a billion dollars.”

Murnieks said her office is now updating final projections, but doesn’t have those numbers yet. But she said she hopes they will convince lawmakers to keep DeWine’s budget investments.

Legislative researchers had suggested a much less rosy forecast, and recommended cutting the spending in DeWine’s budget by 25 percent.