BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- The state's revenue forecasting panel boosted Louisiana's income projections by $824 million.
That's $462 million in additional cash for the current year's budget year and $362 million more for next year. That puts new money on the table for lawmakers to haggle over -- and bolsters the arguments of lawmakers who say the state should cut personal income taxes.
The revisions were made Friday by the Revenue Estimating Conference. The bulk of the money added to the state's income projections are tied to skyrocketing oil prices.
The conference has four members: Governor Bobby Jindal's top budget adviser, the Senate president, the House speaker and an independent LSU economist.
Any changes to income estimates must receive a unanimous vote. Lawmakers can only spend based on what the conference forecasts.
