The state of Mississippi is seeing higher than predicted revenue collections for two months straight, after nearly two years of not meeting projections. As MPB's Mark Rigsby reports, some state leaders are hopeful it's a good sign of things to come.
Governor Phil Bryant says the amount of tax money coming into the state is beating projections. $130 million more in the past two months.
"That will hopefully deter us from needing any necessary money from the Rainy Day Fund, and that will put us in a stronger position when a ratings bureau begins to looks at the financial condition of the state of Mississippi."
Republican State Senator John Harkins, of Flowood, says more money coming in for Mississippi is good for the state budget.
"I think this will hopefully satisfy the requirement that we need to fund the budget at current levels and we're not going to be looking at making further cuts."
Corey Miller is an economic analyst with the state University Research Center.
"It's a positive sign. It's a little early to call it a trend yet, but revenues exceeding expectations are always a good thing, particularly given the performance in the past few months."
Miller says revenue collections in Mississippi have only met projections four out of the last 21 months.
Another bright spot, he says the state economy is growing. Miller says there have been increases in employment and income growth, but at a slower rate than the rest of the nation.
