BillHobbs.com is a frequently updated blog of original reporting and commentary by Bill Hobbs, a longtime Nashville journalist and media relations adviser. I am currently serving as communications director for the Tennessee Republican Party, a job I began on Oct. 29, 2007.
Tennessee's Surplus Much Larger Than Official Report
I have just sent the following email to Tennessee Comptroller John Morgan:
I am an avid follower of Tennessee tax and budget policy and write about it frequently on my website, www.billhobbs.com. One of my many correspondents sent me a report on the meeting Tuesday of the Finance Committee.
He said you informed the committee that the state has between $431-$564 million in "unbudgeted funds" available for this year's budget, including somewhere between $405-$514 million for the General Fund. He said you said all of that money is from overcollection on taxes, which I find shocking given the official press release from F&A last week put the revenue surplus at $82 million so far this fiscal year.
What is the truth?
And if the real revenue surplus is $431-$564 million, I'd like a precise breakdown of that number - how much, where did it come from, explanation of the range, etc...
Also, my correspondent said Commissioner Goetz said the money has already been spent or allocated to BEP, TennCare, teacher pay equity, and other things. I'd like a precise and detailed list of what the money was spent on, dollar amounts, etc., and information on how much of that this spending is above the amount budgeted in the FY 2003-04 state budget passed last May by the Legislature. I'd also like to see a copy of the law allocating that money in specific amounts to those programs, as required by the state constitution.
My correspondent also said either you or Mr. Goetz said the $431-$564 million revenue surplus is in addition to almost $200 million the state got from renegotiating the TennCare waiver, another $200 million in aid from President Bush's tax package for unfunded federal mandates, and $60 million from accruals for the TennCare reserve.
I'd like to know if those figures are accurate, and what the plans are for spending that money in the current fiscal year.
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