DFA inadvertently releases new budget forecast

As state agencies begin preparing to submit their budget requests here in the next couple of months prior to executive review this summer and fall, the state unintentionally released a budget forecast that anticipates a pretty dramatic slowdown in sales tax collections for at least part of the next fiscal year.

This would be consistent with the budget forecasts in other states, and it may give the governor ammo to get agencies to tighten their requests by a combined $107M (maybe the month-early release wasn't inadvertent). Legislative budget hearings won't take place until the fall, and the state's official revenue forecast won't be released until November. Here's more from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and here's a graphic from Stateline.org showing the change in state tax revenues nationwide: