State sees $70M surplus for '10 budget
The state ended the 2010 fiscal year with a surplus of a little more than $70 million, Gov. John Baldacci announced yesterday.
In a press release, Baldacci attributed the $70.4 million surplus to higher-than-expected revenues from corporate income and sales and use taxes, as well as limits in state agency spending. State law requires the surplus to be allocated to a number of state funds, including the Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as the rainy day fund, the Finance Authority of Maine's Loan Insurance Reserve Fund, the General Fund's operating capital and the state retirement system and retiree health fund.
Despite the surplus, the state is still facing an estimated $100 million budget gap in fiscal year 2011 if Congress does not extend additional Medicaid payments, as was anticipated and included in state spending for the current budget year. Versions of the extension have been passed by both the U.S. House and Senate, but an agreement on a final version has not been reached, according to the release. The governor will require state agencies to cut their budgets should Congress not act by Oct. 1.
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