Oregon’s latest revenue forecast means lawmakers won’t need to make major budget adjustments this month.
Economists told a legislative panel Wednesday that the revenue outlook is holding mostly steady. That means budget-writers won’t need to make across-the-board cuts. Some state agencies will need to rebalance their budgets since spending outpaced original projections.
State economist Mark McMullen says Oregon's financial picture is continuing a slow but steady improvement.
"We have become more optimistic about the economic outlook," he says. "In particular, job growth is now expected to be somewhat stronger than we thought three months ago, and this is generating additional revenues for the state."
Still, McMullen says the extra revenue from job growth is being offset by lower than expected corporate income tax collections. That's why the overall outlook is mostly flat.
Washington lawmakers will get an update on their state's revenue projections later this month.
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